SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT
FEBRUARY 19, 2020
HULU STREAMING TV
REPORT BY MIKE F. MEYERS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Byron Saxton, Mickie James
REASONS TO WATCH…
- Alexander and Tozawa dial up the energy and intensity
(1) ZACK RYDER & CURT HAWKINS vs. SHELTON BENJAMIN & ERIC YOUNG
Benjamin started against Hawkins, but as soon as the bell rang, Benjamin ran to his opponents’ corner and knocked Ryder down from the ring apron with a knee strike. Benjamin carried Ryder across the ring and slammed him back-first into his own corner, then body slammed him in the center of the ring not once, but twice. Young tagged in and stomped Ryder before choking him against the middle rope.
Benjamin tagged back in and kicked Ryder in the gut before applying a chinlock. Ryder escaped the hold with a jawbreaker but Benjamin quickly knocked him out of the ring with a spinning heel kick to the jaw. Benjamin rolled Ryder back in and tagged in Young, who went to the top rope and landed a classic elbow drop. Young covered Ryder, but Hawkins scrambled in to break up the count.
Benjamin tagged in and missed a knee strike in the corner, stunning himself against the turnbuckle. Both wrestlers crawled to their corners to make hot tags, and the fresh Hawkins got the upper hand with blows to Young’s face and a back body drop. He screamed at the audience before taking Young down with a sitout powerbomb. He covered but Young kicked out at two.
Hawkins began to climb onto the top turnbuckle. Benjamin, on the apron, moved in to interfere, but Ryder detected this skulduggery and ran across the ring and knocked Benjamin down to the floor. Hawkins gestured for Ryder to keep Benjamin busy, so Ryder flung himself over the top rope onto Benjamin at ringside. Hawkins, meanwhile, was too enthralled with these antics and didn’t notice Young back on his feet. Young smacked Hawkins across the face, causing Hawkins to topple down to the canvas.
Young missed a clothesline, then caught an enzuigiri from Hawkins. Ryder tagged in the duo performed the Bro Island Express – a move where Ryder landed a somersault neckbreaker to Young who was in a fireman’s carry position on Hawkins’s shoulders. Ryder covered Young for the three-count.
WINNERS: Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins by pinfall.
(Meyers’s Analysis: Above average tag match with enough fun twists to make it stand out on Main Event.)
-Main Event recap session:
Replay of Reigns & Bryan vs. Miz & Morrison from Smackdown
Match rundown for upcoming PPV Super Showdown
Replay of Orton-Hardy in-ring segment, culminating with Orton’s attack, from Raw
Replay of Rollins’s sermon, featuring interruption by Street Profits & Viking Raiders, from Raw
(2) CEDRIC ALEXANDER vs. AKIRA TOZAWA
The bell rang, and a small “referee” chant broke out and was acknowledged both by the ref (Darrick Moore) and Alexander, who nodded and pointed to the ref. The wrestlers shook hands and began grappling. Twice the wrestlers swiveled into a corner and had to be separated by the ref, and both times they broke cleanly, garnering some applause from the crowd.
The men exchanged some high-tempo holds and reverses. They got to their feet and Alexander chopped Tozawa across the chest, but Tozawa went on to fire Alexander through the ropes to ringside. Alexander landed on his feet and when he got back up to the apron, Tozawa met him with a running front kick to the face. Alexander dodged another kick, then took Tozawa down with a uranage on the apron. We cut to commercial.
Tozawa had the upper hand after the break and took Alexander out with a running dive through the ropes at ringside. Back in the ring, Tozawa landed a missle dropkick then covered Alexander for two. Alexander landed a Michinoku Driver and covered for a two-count of his own. Tozawa executed a dangerous-looking reverse head scissors take down and covered for another two.
Alexander dodged a top-rope attack from Tozawa, but Tozawa rolled through on the mat. Alexander ran the ropes by way of a handspring, then caught Tozawa with the Neuralyzer and immediately followed that with the Lumbar Check – this was good for the three-count.
WINNER: Cedric Alexander by pinfall.
(Meyers’s Analysis: A decent match that featured some high-octane moves by both wrestlers. The sportsmanship was refreshing for Main Event this was acknowledged by the audience. The two-move combo from Alexander to end the match was particularly brutal and decisive.)
SHOW SCORE (0-10): 7.4
FINAL THOUGHTS: Two above average matches make for an above average episode.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.