5/18 WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT: Street Profits vs. Crews & Azeez, Reggie vs. Ciampa, more

WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT
MAY 18, 2022
HULU STREAMING TV
REPORT BY MIKE F. MEYERS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

WWE Main Event Announcers: Byron Saxton, Kevin Patrick

REASONS TO WATCH…

• Reggie transitioning from acrobat to wrestler

(1) REGGIE vs. CIAMPA

Ciampa backed Reggie into a corner, then twisted him round with a wrist lock. Reggie used the top rope to flip over and reverse the hold. The men exchanged some mat wrestling moves and Reggie flipped up to his feet then drop kicked Ciampa to the mat. Reggie ducked two clotheslines then went for a high cross body but Ciampa dropped down causing Reggie to crash to the mat. Ciampa laid in a series of kicks, then held up his hands to the audience.

Ciampa fired Reggie off the ropes and nailed him in the ribs with a knee lift. Ciampa sat atop the top turnbuckle and patted his own back, then applied a chin lock in the middle of the ring. Reggie broke free with a jawbreaker, but Ciampa threw him sternum-first into a corner. Ciampa called Reggie a stupid idiot, and told him he doesn’t belong in here with the main event. After landing a few blows, Ciampa went back to the chin lock.

Reggie battled out, then the men exchanged chest chops. Reggie knocked Ciampa backward into a corner, then splashed him there. He ran the ropes and took Ciampa down with a spinning cross body, then covered him for two. Ciampa hit a right cross, then Reggie knocked Ciampa down with a knee lift. Reggie climbed to the top rope and went for a moonsault but Ciampa slid out of the way. Ciampa was quick to his feet and nailed a running knee strike, then took Reggie down with the Fairytale Ending. He covered Reggie for the three-count.

WINNER: Ciampa by pinfall in 5:35.

(Meyers’s Analysis: Decent action. Reggie appears to be morphing from an acrobat into an actual pro wrestler with a lot of flair – good for him.)

-Main Event recap session:

• Replay of Riddle vs. Zayn from Smackdown
• Replay of Bloodline in-ring segment from Smackdown
• Replay of Lashley vs. Omos cage match from Raw
• Replay of Cody Rhodes in-ring promo from Raw
• Replay of Asuka vs. Becky Lynch from Raw

(2) STREET PROFITS (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) vs. APOLLOW CREWS & COMMANDER AZEEZ

Azeez locked up with Dawkins and Azeez quickly shoved him to the mat. Dawkins got to his feet and briefly held a side headlock but Azeez shoulder blocked him back to the mat. Azeez issued some punishment in the corner, then tagged in Crews. Azeez remained in the ring to hit a backbreaker while Crews ran the ropes and dropped an elbow on Dawkins’s exposed face. Ford tagged in and briefly had control until Crews knocked him off the apron and into the announce table. Azeez tagged in and clotheslined Ford to the floor outside. We cut to break.

Azeez had control of Ford back in the ring. He kneed Ford in the gut, then landed a clubbing blow to his back. Ford came back with an enziguri, then dove toward his corner to tag Dawkins back in. He kicked into high gear and took control of Crews, splashing him in the corner, then hitting a twisting neckbreaker. He covered Crews but Azeez broke the pin up. Dawkins dumped Azeez over the top rope to the floor, then Ford entered, ran off the opposite ropes and almost completely missed Azeez with a somersault senton over the top rope – Ford’s upper back thudded hard against the floor. Dawkins powerbombed Crews, the legal man, onto the canvas. Ford tagged back in and climbed to the top rope and launched into the frog splash, then covered Crews for the three-count.

WINNER: Street Profits by pinfall in 4:20.

(Meyers’s Analysis: Unusual that the second match – a tag match at that – ran even shorter than the first. Ford’s senton was frightening – not sure if Azeez was out of position or what, but he did very little to break Ford’s fall.)

SHOW SCORE (0-10): 7.6

Find Mike Meyers on Twitter: @themikeshow42

NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S MAIN EVENT TV REPORT: 5/11 WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT: Apollo Crews vs. Akira Tozawa, Reggie vs. T-Bar, more