9/1 WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT: Mansoor & Ali vs. Lucha House Party, Hardy vs. Alexander, more

WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT
SEPTEMBER 1, 2021
HULU STREAMING TV
REPORT BY MIKE F. MEYERS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Announcers: Byron Saxton, Kevin Patrick

REASONS TO WATCH…

Mansoor & Ali have conflicting plans during tag match

(1) JEFF HARDY vs. CEDRIC ALEXANDER

Hardy stirred the crowd into a clap-along before locking up with Alexander. Alexander powered Hardy into a corner, then screamed in his face. Hardy acknowledged the fans before the wrestlers locked up again. Alexander applied a side headlock and carried on with more screaming. Hardy rammed his shoulder into Alexander’s mid-section in a corner, then rammed Alexander face-first into two other corners. From the second rope, Hardy jumped and knocked Alexander down with a double axe handle to the shoulder.

Alexander avoided a Twist of Fate attempt, but was then knocked out to ringside by a Hardy drop kick. Hardy moved to the apron and revved up to jump at Alexander, but Alexander moved in and knocked Hardy’s leg out from under him, causing Hardy to topple to the floor. Hardy grasped his left knee, and Alexander rolled him back into the ring. Alexander suplexed Hardy and covered for two.

Alexander rained down a series of punches to Hardy’s face. The fans chanted “Hardy” as Hardy struggled to get to his feet, still holding his knee. Alexander lightly kicked at Hardy’s back. Hardy managed to (barely) take Alexander down with a hurricanrana. Alexander dodged another Twist of Fate, then the wrestlers clotheslined one another. Both lingered on the canvas.

The men slowly exchanged blows in the middle of the ring. Hardy picked up the pace and knocked Alexander down with a shoulder block, then again with a low drop kick. Hardy motioned to the crowd and was yet again denied the Twist of Fate. Alexander quickly transitioned into a Michinoku driver, then covered Hardy for two. Alexander waited on the middle rope in the corner, yelling, “Get up, you piece of garbage!” When Hardy got to his feet, Alexander jumped, but Hardy intercepted him with a kick to the mid-section. This stunned Alexander enough for Hardy to finally hit the Twist of Fate. Hardy climbed to the top rope and dropped into the Swanton Bomb. He covered Alexander for the three-count.

WINNER: Jeff Hardy by pinfall in 6:15.

(Meyers’s Analysis: Nothing too special. Nice job by Hardy to repeatedly threaten the Twist of Fate. When it finally hit, it was effective to finish the match. Hardy sold the injured knee when it was convenient, but he seemed to have no problem going into the Swanton.)

-Main Event recap session:

• Replay of Becky Lynch in-ring promo from Smackdown
• Replay of Belair vs. Vega vs. Carmella vs. Morgan from Smackdown
• Replay of Lashley & MVP vs. RK-Bro from Raw
• Replay of the Bloodline Family Celebration from Smackdown

(2) MANSOOR & MUSTAFA ALI vs. LUCHA HOUSE PARTY (Lince Dorado & Gran Metalik)

On the way to the ring, Mansoor smiled and high-fived fans along the entrance ramp. Ali noticed this and grabbed him, pulled him to the center of the ramp and gestured for him to focus on the ring. Mansoor nodded in agreement, but when Ali walked ahead, Mansoor smiled and high-fived another fan.

Metalik and Mansoor had a quick back-and-forth to start, after which Metalik offered a handshake. Mansoor accepted. Ali asked, “What’s wrong with you?!” and tagged himself in. Dorado tagged in as well and absorbed a brief beating in a neutral corner. Dorado dodged a clothesline, then drop kicked Ali out of the ring. Mansoor checked on Ali on the floor, then LHP got running starts and faked a dual flying attack. When they remained in the ring and posed, Mansoor said, “That was cool!” Ali corrected him, saying “That’s not cool!” as we cut to break.

Back in the ring, Dorado suplexed Mansoor before laying in a chop across his chest. When Dorado attempted to run the ropes, Ali yanked down the top rope from the apron, causing Dorado to flip down to the floor and across the announce table. Ali tagged himself in again and rolled Dorado into the ring, then covered for one. Ali hit a jawbreaker and covered again, this time for a two-count. Mansoor tagged in, and Ali ordered him to “Stomp on him!” Instead, Mansoor hit a snap suplex and covered for two. Mansoor applied a waist lock to prevent Dorado from making a tag. Mansoor got to his feet and muscled Dorado back to the mat, never releasing the hold.

Ali tagged back in and whipped Dorado into a corner. He hoisted Dorado onto the top turnbuckle, then set up for a superplex. Dorado shoved him off, then launched into a high cross body. Both wrestlers writhed on the mat. Dorado dove at his corner and tagged in Metalik. He spun Ali to the mat with a head scissor takedown, then leveled Ali on the floor with a springboard dive. Dorado tagged back in and LHP hit back-to-back splashes to Ali on the mat. Dorado covered Ali, but Mansoor was quick to break it up. Dorado went for a top rope splash but Ali rolled out of harm’s way. Ali then rolled up Dorado and placed his own feet on the middle ropes for a leverage advantage. As the ref began the count, Mansoor appeared on the floor and knocked his partner’s feet down from the rope, thus breaking up the pin. Ali asked Mansoor if he was an idiot. Dorado hit a stunner that caused Ali to stagger backward toward his own corner. This allowed Mansoor to tag in and hit a quick neckbreaker. He covered Dorado for the victory.

WINNERS: Mansoor & Ali by pinfall in 7:00.

(Meyers’s Analysis: This was pretty cool. Mansoor and Ali told a self-contained story that began with their entrance and continued right through the match ending. The commentators supported the narrative, describing how Mansoor has said he wants to win, but not by cheating. This odd pairing would be better off developing on the main roster.)

SHOW SCORE (0-10): 8.6

Find Mike Meyers on Twitter: @themikeshow42

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