8/12 WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT: Ruby Riott vs. Billy Kay, Angel Garza vs. Titus O’Neil

WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT
AUGUST 12, 2020
HULU STREAMING TV
REPORT BY MIKE F. MEYERS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Announcers: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

REASONS TO WATCH…

• Garza vs. O’Neil with strong finish

(1) RUBY RIOTT vs. BILLY KAY

The announce team pointed out that Riott recently lost to Kay on Raw, but that was with the help of Kay’s teammate Peyton Royce, who was not at ringside for this match. Kay took Riott down early with a side headlock takeover. Riott got back to her feet and fired Kay off, but Kay leveled Riott with a shoulder block. Kay got into the iIconics pose and winked over her shoulder at the hard camera, which was not actually the camera used for the shot.

Riott moved in and took Kay down with a standing STO. The women briefly battled on the ring apron until Kay knocked Riott to the floor with a big boot to the head. Kay rolled Riott back into the ring and immediately covered for a two-count. Kay applied an arm bar while grinding her forearm against Riott’s face. Kay covered for another two-count before reapplying the arm bar. Riott got to her feet and eventually fought free from the arm bar with a series of forearm shots.

Riott nailed Kay with a running forearm in the corner. With Kay dazed, Riott hit a back kick to her face, then covered for two. Riott dragged Kay toward the middle, then slowly climbed to the top rope. She jumped, but Kay was up again and side stepped the attack. Riott rolled through and quickly turned to roll up Riott for a one-count. Kay came back with a palm strike to Riott’s chest, then landed a straight jacket neckbreaker. She covered Riott for a two-count. Back on the ring apron, Riott ducked another Kay boot to the face, then slid toward the middle of the ring. Kay’s boot was hung up on the top rope, allowing Riott to move in and land the Riott Kick. Riott pinned Kay for the three-count.

WINNER: Ruby Riott in 4:50.

(Meyers’s Analysis: Standard match, whose outcome made sense: The iIconics are obnoxious heels who cheat to win singles matches, but when divided, couldn’t overcome the stronger babyface in Riott. Kay’s inclination for physical comedy make her selling fun to watch, in particular when Riott smashed her in the corner during this match.)

-Main Event recap session:

• Replay of Fiend / Bliss encounter, featuring Strowman, from Smackdown
• Replay of Rollins / Dominik contract signing from Raw
• Match rundown for upcoming PPV SummerSlam
• Replay of Retribution running roughshod from Smackdown
• Replay of Orton vs. Owens from Raw
• Replay of Flair / Orton in-ring segment from Raw

(2) ANGEL GARZA vs. TITUS O’NEIL

O’Neil had the advantage early on, using his power to dominate the smaller Garza. He bodyslammed Garza, then clotheslined him over the top rope and we cut to break. O’Neil was still tossing Garza around after the break, but Garza finally knocked O’Neil off his feet and hit a drop kick. Garza fired up and fired off his pants before stretching O’Neil with a knee / neck submission. O’Neil got to the bottom rope to break this up.

On their feet, O’Neil landed a series of punches, but was leveled again with a Garza superkick. Garza applied a chinlock. With Garza on his back, O’Neil backed up to smash Garza against the turnbuckles, but Garza wouldn’t relent. Garza piggybacked O’Neil to the center of the ring, then used his knee to buckle the backside of O’Neil’s leg, bringing him down to the mat. O’Neil got to his feet again and broke free with an elbow and a hip toss. O’Neil landed two big punches and threw Garza to the canvas. Garza came back and again struck at O’Neil’s knee, then landed back-to-back superkicks. With O’Neil staggered on all fours, Garza hit a low-altitude drop kick to O’Neil’s head, then covered for the three-count.

WINNER: Angel Garza in 6:00.

(Meyers’s Analysis: I kind of liked this match, the finish in particular. Just as I was thinking they were overusing Garza’s superkicks, the kicks played a role in ending the match. The finish consisted of three violent blows to O’Neil’s head, so the ending felt realistic and abrupt, and not with the usual ebb and flow of a Main Event match.)

SHOW SCORE (0-10): 7.8

CATCH UP… 8/7 WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT: Humberto Carrillo vs. Arturo Ruas, Mustafa Ali vs. Riddick Moss