10/6 WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT: Viking Raiders vs. T-Bar & Mace, Ricochet vs. Karrion Kross, more

WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT
OCTOBER 6, 2021
HULU STREAMING TV
REPORT BY MIKE F. MEYERS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Announcers: Byron Saxton, Kevin Patrick

REASONS TO WATCH…

• Can Ricochet defeat Kross?
• WWE’s tag match formula exposed

(1) RICOCHET vs. KARRION KROSS

Ricochet must’ve been eyeing the timekeeper, because he had a running start and nailed Kross with a drop kick a split second after the bell rang. Kross was smashed into the corner, and Ricochet unloaded a barrage of strikes. Ricochet maintained a side headlock for a bit, then went to the top rope. Kross caught him there and threw him to the mat by his neck. Ricochet rolled out of the ring and we cut to an early break.

Kross had just landed a suplex and covered Ricochet for a two-count after the break. As he moved Ricochet into a corner, Kevin described Kross as “slow-moving and methodical.” Kross hit another suplex, covered for two, then applied a brief arm bar. Kross landed three blows in the corner, then whipped Ricochet chest-first into the opposite turnbuckles. Kross slowly covered Ricochet for two, then applied a chin lock. Ricochet came back and hit Kross with a handspring reverse elbow. He knocked Kross down again with a flying forearm. Ricochet kipped up, then dealt four kicks to Kross, whose life meter appeared to be recharging with each kick. He leveled Ricochet with a clothesline and covered for another two-count.

Kross set up Ricochet for a powerbomb, but Ricochet reversed it into a DDT. Ricochet spun into a shooting star press, then covered Kross for two. Ricochet landed more kicks and went into another handspring off the ropes, but Kross had this one scouted. Kross caught him in a sleeper hold and fell to the mat. The ref soon called for the bell as Ricochet ceased to respond.

WINNER: Karrion Kross by submission in 5:50.

(Meyers’s Analysis: This marks Ricochet’s third loss to Kross. Nothing special here.)

-Main Event recap session:

• Replay of Reigns / Lesnar in-ring segment from Smackdown
• Replay of Goldberg / Lashley in-ring segment from Raw
• Replay of Lynch / Charlotte / Belair in-ring segment from Raw
• Replay of Belair vs. Flair from Raw

-Match rundown for upcoming cash grab Crown Jewel

(2) VIKING RAIDERS (Erik & Ivar) vs. T-BAR & MACE

T-Bar and Erik were first to square off. They locked up and T-Bar forced Erik up against the ropes where the ref separated them. Erik went behind with a waist lock, but T-Bar rotated his hips and tossed him to the mat. Mace tagged in and absorbed some body blows from Erik. Erik reached for a tag but Mace suplexed him away from his partner, then covered for two. T-Bar tagged in caught a knee strike to the face. He responded by kicking Erik in the face. Mace tagged back in and landed elbow strikes to Erik, then covered for two. T-Bar tagged in and ran the ropes before hitting a front kick to Erik’s face. Erik briefly battled out of trouble in the corner, but T-Bar fired back with greater ferocity. He snap mared Erik to the mat and applied a chin lock.

The crowd nearly got excited as Erik battled out. He leveled T-Bar with a right cross, then both men collapsed to the mat. The crawled to their respective corners, but Mace tagged in first and blocked Erik’s tag. This mattered not, as Erik became fully recharged somehow and ran roughshod over Mace. Erik covered Mace, but T-Bar jumped in to break up the pin. Erik stood up and threw T-Bar out of the ring, and made a point to keep his sights on T-Bar at ringside so that Mace could sneak in and roll up Erik from for the three-count.

WINNERS: T-Bar and Mace by pinfall in 5:10.

(Meyers’s Analysis: Average match with a bad finish. Ivar didn’t tag in at all – perhaps he is injured? The situation helped prove WWE’s complete and shameless reliance on Main Event match formula by having Erik perform the roles of both babyface partners: The one absorbing a prolonged beating, and the one who rushes in to save the day. Ivar saved his own day. It was suspicious on its own and graduated from suspicious to stupid when he lost via a surprise roll-up due to his own attention deficit. Junk.)

SHOW SCORE (0-10): 6.2

Find Mike Meyers on Twitter: @themikeshow42

NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S MAIN EVENT REPORT: 9/29 WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT: John Morrison vs. Drew Gulak, Mace vs. Austin Crain, more