9/23 WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT: Bianca Belair looks good against Liv Morgan, Ricochet vs. Ali delivers

WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT
SEPTEMBER 23, 2020
HULU STREAMING TV
REPORT BY MIKE F. MEYERS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Announcers: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

REASONS TO WATCH…

• Belair looks good again against Morgan
• Ricochet vs. Ali delivers

(1) BIANCA BELAIR vs. LIV MORGAN

Morgan was accompanied by her tag partner Ruby Riott onto the stage for her entrance, but Riott returned to the back while Morgan proceeded to the ring. It look less than 30 seconds into the match for Saxton to refer to Belair as one of the best pure athletes in WWE.

Belair knocked Morgan down after firing her off out of a side headlock. Belair went for a drop kick, but Morgan dodged and hit a drop kick of her own to Belair who was on her knees. Morgan ducked a running clothesline and took Belair down with a hurricanrana. Morgan ran at Belair, but Belair squatted and hoisted Morgan up and overhead, face-first into the top turnbuckle. Belair recovered briefly then went on the attack in the corner.

Belair kicked Morgan in the back, then covered for two. Belair applied a chinlock. Morgan repositioned herself and attempted a pinning roll-up, but Belair flipped to safety with a reverse handspring. She gestured for Morgan to “come here,” then took Morgan down with a clothesline. Belair executed a suspended vertical suplex, pausing at its apex to do a few squats with Morgan on her shoulders, before slamming her to the canvas. Belair smacked her backside before hitting a standing moonsault to Morgan’s back. Belair kipped up while Morgan slowly got to her feet in the corner.

Belair laid in a couple kicks, Morgan fired back with a series of rights, but Belair clubbed Morgan’s back, dropping her to her knees. Belair dropped three butt blasts to Morgan’s lower back, then sent her to the corner and speared Morgan between the top and middle turnbuckles. Morgan managed to wriggle into a sunset flip position, but Belair remained upright by grabbing hold of the top ropes. Belair, annoyed, looked down at Morgan and went for a stomp, but Morgan rolled aside. With nobody home, Belair sold the stomp. Morgan took advantage and rolled up Belair for two.

Belair wasn’t slowed down and immediately hit a dropkick and pinned Morgan for two, then applied another chinlock. Tom took this opportunity to remind the viewers that all championships must be defended at Clash of Champions. Morgan began to break free with elbow shots, but Belair slammed her to the mat. Morgan dodged an elbow drop from Belair, then began a series of clotheslines and a bulldog. She knocked Belair down with an enzuigiri. Morgan attempted a double stomp in the corner, but Belair dodged, causing Morgan to briefly favor one knee. This allowed Belair to slide in and hoist Morgan onto her shoulders. Belair landed the K.O.D. and covered Morgan for the three-count.

WINNER: Bianca Belair by pinfall in 5:30.

(Meyers’s Analysis: Such an improvement over last week’s Belair match vs. Billy Kay. Everything flowed nicely and the suplex spot in the middle was fun. The match appeared to be an exercise of dodging and reversal techniques for both women, which was cool to watch. The downside for Morgan and Riott? Morgan just lost a singles match to Belair, who is not even on the card for this weekend’s PPV. The odds of Morgan / Riott defeating Jax / Baszler have dropped significantly.)

-Main Event recap session:

• Roman Reigns video package narrated by Paul Heyman
• Replay of Reigns & Jey Uso vs. Corbin & Sheamus from Smackdown
• Replay of McIntyre vs. Lee from Raw
• Replay of Orton ambulance promo from Raw
• Match rundown for upcoming PPV Clash of Champions
• Replay of Banks’s backstage promo from Smackdown
• Replay of Hurt Business vs. Retribution from Raw

(2) RICOCHET vs. MUSTAFA ALI

The wrestlers exchanged swift roll-up pin attempts to start, and Ali angrily yelled, “You’re not beating me twice in a row! Let’s go!” The back-and-forth continued until Ricochet clotheslined Ali over the top rope to the floor. Ricochet hopped to the apron and ran to the corner, doing a reverse springboard off the middle turnbuckle cable. Ali, meanwhile, rolled back into the ring, causing Ricochet to land on the floor with no target. Ricochet toppled to the floor, stunned, allowing Ali to slide back outside and level Ricochet with a big clothesline. We cut to break.

Back in the ring, Ali had control of Ricochet. He smashed Ricochet in the corner with a European uppercut, then moved to a different corner and laid in a chest chop. He fired Ricochet into the opposite corner, then hit a running neckbreaker off the ropes before covering Ricochet for two. Ali applied a chinlock, a borderline sleeper hold, but Ricochet escaped with a reverse kick. Both men struggled to their feet.

Ricochet blocked a clothesline and attacked with punches and a chop. He leveled Ali with a flying forearm. In his excitement, Ricochet quickly drew back and released the top rope like a slingshot, creating a cartoonish catapult sound effect with the rope’s hyper extension. Ali sat up, and Ricochet set him back down with a running knee. Ricochet covered for two.

Ricochet went behind Ali, but Ali knocked him off with a big reverse elbow. Ricochet persisted and hit a gorgeous bridged nelson suplex, but Ali kicked out at two. Ali dodged a running attack in the corner, then hit a high cross body. Ricochet rolled through, and hit a standing shooting star press to Ali who was still on the canvas from his landing. Ali kicked out and immediately locked Ali into the Koji clutch. Ricochet was able to pivot his body around to get the toe of his boot to the bottom rope, breaking the hold.

Ali got to his feet while Ricochet held his own head on the mat. The wrestlers traded quick surprise pins, but Ricochet’s jackknife pin was proven successful with a three-count. Ali kicked the bottom rope and glared at Ricochet. Ali angrily sauntered up the ramp while Ricochet, still in the ring, seemed surprised at their dissolving friendship.

WINNER: Ricochet by pinfall in 6:20.

(Meyers’s Analysis: Another nice match, highlighted with Ricochet’s brutal and sudden suplex to the back of Ali’s neck. Fast pace action that you’d expect, and the match was interestingly bookended with the wrestlers trading quick pin attempts. Ali maintained his bad attitude throughout – he doesn’t seem like a fully fledged cheating heel so much as a sore loser.)

SHOW SCORE (0-10): 8.4

RECOMMENDED: 9/16 WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT: A lousy Bianca Belair vs. Billie Kay match, Mustafa Ali vs. Humberto Carrillo