10/20 WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT: John Morrison & Ricochet vs. Carrillo & Garza, Tozawa vs. Gulak, more

WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT
OCTOBER 20, 2021
HULU STREAMING TV
REPORT BY MIKE F. MEYERS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Announcers: Byron Saxton, Kevin Patrick

REASONS TO WATCH…

• Morrison tags with Ricochet for first time ever

(1) AKIRA TOZAWA vs. DREW GULAK

Tozawa clapped his hands before locking up with Gulak. Gulak twisted Tozawa to the mat with a side headlock, then grappled Tozawa’s left leg. Tozawa returned fire and flung Gulak to the mat, but Gulak scooted to the bottom rope and the ref broke the hold. They locked up again and Gulak delivered an elbow strike and a series of chops. Tozawa faked a big chop, then surprised Gulak with a right jab instead. Tozawa leapfrogged a dashing Gulak, then nailed Gulak in the face with a big boot. Tozawa climbed to the top rope, but Gulak got to his feet and swept Tozawa’s feet, causing him to topple to the mat in the corner.

Gulak applied an upright chin lock, then hit a head butt before covering for a one-count. Tozawa ducked a forearm strike, then applied an upright submission of his own , but Gulak soon dropped him with a sidewalk slam. Gulak covered again, this time for two.

Gulak got to his feet and folded Tozawa’s arms backward, straining both shoulders. Tozawa landed three shots to Gulak’s gut, then flipped him to the mat with a hurricanrana. Tozawa backed up, then hit a running knee strike. From the apron, Tozawa climbed to the top rope and took flight, turning in the air to level Gulak with a flying shoulder block. He covered Gulak for a two-count.

Tozawa hoisted Gulak onto his shoulders, and strained to lift him merely halfway up. Gulak hammered him with elbows and got free, but Tozawa hit a spinning kick. Tozawa ran the ropes but Gulak turned him inside out with a big clothesline. Gulak lifted Tozawa onto his shoulders, then spun into the Cyclone Crash – this was good for the three-count.

WINNER: Drew Gulak by pinfall in 5:45.

(Meyers’s Analysis: Decent, standard back-and-forth action. It makes no sense for Tozawa to strain so hard to stand up with Gulak on his shoulders – it would take more effort to remain suspended in that squat position than it would to simply stand up and lock the knees. It’s a weird way to manufacture false tension in the match.)

-Main Event recap session:

• Replay of Lesnar / Reigns contract signing from Smackdown
• Replay of Drew & Big E vs. Ziggler & Roode from Raw
• Replay of Belair vs. Flair from Raw
• Match rundown for upcoming cash grab Crown Jewel

(2) JOHN MORRISON & RICOCHET vs. ANGEL GARZA & HUMBERTO CARRILLO

As the bell rang, Kevin said the big question is how long Garza’s pants would stay on. Carrillo and Garza quickly double-teamed Ricochet to take control in their corner. Garza covered Ricochet, and when he kicked out at the two-count, Kevin said, “Ricochet still has life,” 40 seconds into the match. Garza laid some punches in while Ricochet covered up on the mat. Ricochet got to his feet and landed a punch. When he tried to tag in Morrison, Garza grabbed Ricochet’s wrist and yanked him back to the middle. Ricochet stepped over Garza’s arm, leaving him wide open to take a big clothesline. Ricochet then staggered to his corner and collapsed while tagging in Morrison.

Carrillo tagged in as well and absorbed several blows from Morrison in a neutral corner. Morrison was whipped into the opposite corner, then used his legs to flip Carrillo over the top rope to the floor. Morrison stood up on the apron and lined up to kick Carrillo in the face, but Carrillo caught his boot and whipped Morrison’s leg around. This resulted in Morrison doing a forward flip, landing on his feet on the floor, then knocking Carrillo down with a superkick. Meanwhile, Ricochet ran the ropes and threatened to dive at Garza who was also on the floor. Garza jumped for cover while Ricochet harmlessly bounced off the ropes. Ricochet and Morrison posed in the middle of the ring as we cut to break.

After the break, Carrillo had control over Morrison. Carrillo and Garza made a series of quick tags, inflicting punishment on Morrison in their corner. He broke free from the double teaming and tagged in Ricochet. Ricochet held his own in a two-on-one situation before landing a springboard reverse elbow to Carrillo. Ricochet covered for two.

Ricochet was distracted by Garza in the corner, which allowed Carrillo to hit a side slam and a cover for two. Kevin described Carrillo and Garza as “telepathic.” Garza tagged in for more double team antics. Garza flipped Ricochet with a back body drop, removed his pants, and tossed them at Morrison on the apron. Garza covered Ricochet, but the ref didn’t make a count because he was dealing with Morrison who entered the ring illegally to complain about the pants situation. Garza, frustrated at the lack of count, began to stretch both of Ricochet’s arms backward out of their sockets. Ricochet got to his feet, but Garza hammered him with a forearm blow to the back. Garza tried but failed to hit the Wing Clipper. He dropped Ricochet to the mat, and both men tagged in their partners.

Morrison hit Carrillo with a knee strike, then covered for two. Ricochet caught a superkick from Garza on the floor. In the ring, Morrison was going for Starship Pain, but Garza pulled Carrillo out of the way, causing Morrison to splash the mat. Garza tagged in and hit a low dropkick to Morrison, who was being held and exposed by Carrillo. Garza covered for the three-count.

WINNER: Angel Garza & Alberto Carrillo by pinfall in 7:05.

(Meyers’s Analysis: A nice, frantic tag match. Novel to see Morrison teaming with Ricochet while Miz is still Dancing with the Stars, and it made sense to see the established tag team take advantage of the randos with multiple double team efforts and eventually get the win.)

SHOW SCORE (0-10): 8.0

Find Mike Meyers on Twitter: @themikeshow42

NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S MAIN EVENT REPORT: 10/13 WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT: John Morrison vs. Angel Garza, Gulak vs. T-Bar, more