6/3 WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT: Ricochet vs. Shane Thorne in a rematch, Cedric Alexander vs. Shelton Benjamin with a cool finishing sequence

WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT
JUNE 3, 2020
HULU STREAMING TV
REPORT BY MIKE F. MEYERS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Announcers: Tom Phillips, MVP

• REASONS TO WATCH…
• Ricochet vs. Thorne rematch
• Cool finishing sequence in Benjamin vs. Alexander

(1) RICOCHET vs. SHANE THORNE

Ricochet opened the match with an Imanari roll into an ankle lock against Thorne, but Thorne quickly reversed out. The grappling and submissions quickly went back and forth. Ricochet ducked a clothesline, then swept Thorne off his feet before baseball sliding under the bottom rope to the floor. He pounced back up to the apron and hit a somersault senton to Thorne on the mat, using the top rope as a springboard. This was all very fluid.

The prone Thorne kicked Ricochet away. The wrestlers battled on the apron, but Thorne grappled Ricochet’s left arm and dropped to the floor, smashing Ricochet’s shoulder against the ring edge. Thorne applied an arm bar. Ricochet broke free but Thorne took him down with a belly-to-back suplex, then covered for a two-count.

Ricochet was seated in a corner, but managed to dodge a Thorne cannonball attempt, causing Thorne to smash the turnbuckle back-first. Ricochet laid in chops and leveled Thorne with a back kick, then covered for two. Ricochet then hit a springboard high cross body. He attempted a standing shooting star press, but Thorne got his knees up into Ricochet’s midsection – Thorne covered for a two-count. They got to their feet, but Thorne was wobbly, allowing Ricochet to execute a reverse hurricanrana. Ricochet followed up with the Kickback, which was good for the victory.

WINNER: Ricochet by pinfall in 6:05.

(Meyers’s Analysis: This was a rematch from the 5/20/2020 episode of Main Event, which the announcers acknowledged but did not mention that Ricochet won. This match was fine.)

-Main Event recap session:

• Replay of the hit-and-run accident coverage from Smackdown
• Replay of Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan from Smackdown
• Replay of Charlotte vs. Asuka from Raw
• Match rundown for upcoming PPV Backlash
• Replay of MVP vs. McIntyre from Raw

(2) SHELTON BENJAMIN vs. CEDRIC ALEXANDER

The wrestlers exchanged moves early on, and Alexander missed a roundhouse kick to Benjamin’s head by inches, causing Benjamin to reflect on his near demise against the ropes. Alexander looked pleased and allowed Benjamin to recover. Alexander rolled up Benjamin, who immediately kicked out. Alexander used the torque provided by the kickout to cartwheel away from his opponent, then executed a drop kick with the newly created space. He covered for two, then applied an arm bar.

They got to their feet but Alexander maintained the arm bar until Benjamin swatted him to the mat with an overhead blow. Benjamin punished Alexander in the corner, but Alexander fought back. Benjamin hit a knee strike to Alexander on the apron, sending Alexander out to the floor. We cut to break.

Back in the ring, Benjamin had Alexander in a chinlock. They got to their feet, and Benjamin sent Alexander high into the air with a back body drop. Benjamin covered for two. Benjamin dropped a knee onto Alexander and applied another chinlock. Alexander got free and landed a series of blows before taking Benjamin down with a tornado DDT. Alexander covered Benjamin for two.

Alexander did a handspring off the ropes and flew backward toward Benjamin, but Benjamin caught him in mid-air. Benjamin went for a German suplex, but Alexander used the momentum to flip through the move and land on his feet. Benjamin hit a spinning heel kick, leveling Alexander. He covered Alexander for a two-count.

The men slowly got to their feet. Alexander dodged a Paydirt attempt by Benjamin, then succeeded at his second handspring attempt and nailed Benjamin with the Neuralyzer. He covered for two, and appeared shocked at Benjamin’s kickout. Benjamin escaped from the Lumbar Check, but Alexander instead took Benjamin down with a Michinoku driver and covered for the three-count.

WINNER: Cedrick Alexander by pinfall in 7:30.

(Meyers’s Analysis: This match was cool, mainly for the finishing sequence. Both wrestlers teased their finishers, but neither was able to execute. Alexander succeeded at his second attempt at his peripheral move, the Neuralyzer, which set up for the finish. It’s a nice touch that Alexander quickly improvised from the failed Lumbar Check into the Michinoku driver for the win.)

SHOW SCORE (0-10): 7.8

FINAL THOUGHTS: One decent match, and one good match – it’s Main Event!

CATCH UP… 5/27 WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT: Bianca Belair vs. Ruby Riott, Akira Tozawa vs. Shelton Benjamin, make-shift audience adds energy to matches