3/23 WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT: Veer Mahaan in action, T-Bar vs. Cedric Alexander, more

WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT
MARCH 23, 2022
HULU STREAMING TV
REPORT BY MIKE F. MEYERS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

WWE Main Event Announcers: Byron Saxton, Kevin Patrick

REASONS TO WATCH…

Veer marginally expands his move set

(1) JOE ALONZO vs. VEER MAHAAN

As the bell rang, Mahaan charged in hard and knocked Alonzo down with a bicycle kick to the face. Mahaan hoisted Alonzo in a bearhug position and ran across the ring to plow him into the corner. Mahaan choked Alonzo against the middle rope, then whipped him back across the ring into the opposite turnbuckles. In the middle of the ring, Mahaan scooped and slammed Alonzo. Mahaan planted a few kicks, then choked Alonzo some more on the rope. Mahaan landed body blows in the corner, then tossed him to the middle of the ring. Mahaan moved in and applied a death claw to Alonzo’s shoulders.

This was the cue for Alonzo’s token offense: He landed some elbows to break free, then a drop kick that knocked Mahaan back a step. Mahaan came back with a shoulder block to knock Alonzo back to the canvas. Mahaan splashed Alonzo in the corner, then took him down with a sidewalk slam. Mahaan repositioned Alonzo on the mat, then dropped the jumping elbow before going for his phony two-count cover. Mahaan tossed him face-first into the top turnbuckle, then leveled him with a big clothesline. Mahaan observed his victim on the mat, then jumped and dropped his own rear-end to the exposed back of Alonzo. He wrenched back on Alonzo’s neck with both hands cinched, and Alonzo quickly tapped out.

WINNER: Veer Mahaan by submission in 4:15.

(Meyers’s Analysis: Mildly interesting – Mahaan is showing a slight expansion of his move set and worked this brief match at a brisk pace.)

-Main Event recap session:

• Replay of Charlotte Flair in-ring segment from Smackdown
• Replay of RK-Bro vs. Alpha Academy from Raw
• Replay of McAfee / Theory in-ring segment from Smackdown
• Replay of Seth Rollins vs. A.J. Styles from Raw
• Match rundown for upcoming PLE WrestleMania

(2) CEDRIC ALEXANDER (w/ Shelton Benjamin) vs. T-BAR

Alexander grappled T-Bar’s leg to start, but T-Bar tossed him across the ring. T-Bar missed a reverse elbow strike, allowing Alexander to land a flurry of quick shots. T-Bar tossed Alexander into the corner by his neck, then threw him across the ring with a vertical suplex. Alexander reversed out of a hold and hit T-Bar with a drop kick to the back. Alexander attempted a tornado DDT but T-Bar remained upright and positioned Alexander on the top rope. T-Bar ran off the opposite ropes and knocked Alexander to the floor with a big boot. We cut to break.

T-Bar maintained control through the break and was issuing punishment to Alexander in the corner. He dropped an elbow in the middle of the ring and covered Alexander for a one-count. T-Bar applied a chin lock. Alexander got to his feet and battled out. He landed a forearm strike to stun T-Bar, then ran the ropes. T-Bar was ready on the rebound and turned Alexander inside out with a big clothesline. T-Bar covered for two.

T-Bar briefly mounted Alexander and rained down some forearm shots, then covered for another two-count. T-Bar applied another chin lock. Alexander landed three shots to break free, then jumped at T-Bar from the middle rope. T-Bar caught him in mid-air and hit a knee strike to Alexander’s ribs before tossing him to the mat. T-Bar covered for two, then went back to the chin lock.

Alexander broke free for the third time and hit T-Bar with a knee strike to the face. He finally took T-Bar off his feet with a dragon screw leg whip, then hit a tornado DDT and went for his first cover and a two-count. Alexander stood up and briefly applied an ankle lock, but T-Bar kicked him off. Alexander hit another knee strike in the corner, but then ate a big boot to the chin. T-Bar slowly covered Alexander who kicked out at two. T-Bar hoisted Alexander onto his shoulders but Alexander reversed out of the hold and smoothly rolled up T-Bar for a surprise pin and three-count.

WINNER: Cedric Alexander by pinfall in 8:50.

(Meyers’s Analysis: Decent match with standard back-and-forth action, but the crowd never really got into it. T-Bar exhibited some good big-man tendencies against Alexander. At nearly nine minutes, this match pushed the outer limits of match length for Main Event.)

SHOW SCORE (0-10): 7.4

Find Mike Meyers on Twitter: @themikeshow42

NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S MAIN EVENT TV REPORT: 3/16 WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT: Veer Mahaan wins again, Tommaso Ciampa vs. T-Bar