3/16 WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT: Veer Mahaan wins again, Tommaso Ciampa vs. T-Bar

WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT
MARCH 16, 2022
HULU STREAMING TV
REPORT BY MIKE F. MEYERS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Announcers: Byron Saxton, Kevin Patrick

REASONS TO WATCH…

-Mahaan matches are getting even shorter

(1) VEER MAHAAN vs. GARY HECK

The bell rang and Mahaan sprinted diagonally across the ring to splash Heck, who was still stretching out against the top rope. Mahaan lifted him to his feet and tossed him across the ring. Mahaan punished Heck in the opposite corner. He whipped him back across the ring and Heck collapsed to the mat again. Mahaan scooped and sidewalk-slammed Heck in the middle of the ring, then followed up with his standing elbow drop. He went for the cover but lifted Heck himself before the three-count.

This allowed the excitement to continue as Mahaan applied a bear hug. Heck battled out with two forearm shots – his first offense of the match. Heck ran the ropes and jumped at Mahaan but Mahaan caught him in mid-air. He tossed Heck face-first into the top turnbuckle, then leveled Heck with the Million Dollar Arm. Mahaan followed up with a DDT, a cover, and the pinfall.

WINNER: Veer Mahaan by pinfall in 3:25.

(Meyers’s Analysis: If Mahaan matches are going to be repetitive, at least they are brief.)

• -Main Event recap session:
• Replay of Lesnar in-ring segment from Smackdown
• Replay of Montez Ford vs. Matt Riddle from Raw
• Replay of Rollins vs. Owens from Raw
• Match rundown for upcoming PLE WrestleMania

(2) TOMMASO CIAMPA vs. T-BAR

Ciampa tried to grapple T-Bar’s left leg, but T-Bar remained upright and tossed Ciampa away by his hips. They squared off and Ciampa went behind T-Bar with a waist lock. T-Bar transitioned out and into a side headlock. Ciampa pried his way out, but T-Bar flattened him with clubbing blows. T-Bar ran at Ciampa, but Ciampa ducked and yanked down the top rope, causing T-Bar to topple out to the floor. He got back onto the apron but was met with a Ciampa knee strike. Ciampa moved to the apron and hit a flying clothesline to T-Bar on the floor. Ciampa hopped onto the ringside barricade and patted his own back. Back in the ring, T-Bar stopped a charging Ciampa with a superkick, and we cut to break.

T-Bar had control through the break. Ciampa battled out but once again T-Bar knocked him to the mat, this time with a reverse elbow. He covered Ciampa for two, then applied a chinlock on the mat. Ciampa broke free and clotheslined T-Bar three times against the ropes, teasing a big flip out to ringside, but T-Bar wouldn’t go over. Instead, T-Bar ran the ropes and took Ciampa down with a big boot. He covered Ciampa for two.

Ciampa dodged a knee strike, then took T-Bar down with a clothesline and covered for his own two-count. Ciampa urged T-Bar to his feet from the corner. He charged in, but T-Bar caught him with a hand on his throat. T-Bar blocked the Fairytale Ending, but Ciampa still managed to convert into an upward knee strike to the face, then rolled up T-Bar for the three-count.

WINNER: Tommaso Ciampa by pinfall in 5:50.

(Meyers’s Analysis: The remarkable thing about this match was that Ciampa’s third clothesline did not flip T-Bar over the top rope. In the moment I would’ve bet $75 USD that it would happen, so WWE managed to swerve me on a Main Event match of all things. The ending sequence of moves was also pretty slick.)

SHOW SCORE (0-10): 6.8

Find Mike Meyers on Twitter: @themikeshow42