8/3 WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT: Omos vs. Ezekiel, T-Bar vs. Benjamin, more

WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT
AUGUST 3, 2022
HULU STREAMING TV
REPORT BY MIKE F. MEYERS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

WWE Main Event Announcers: Byron Saxton, Kevin Patrick

REASONS TO WATCH…

Fresh blood on Main Event: Omos vs. Ezekiel

(1) OMOS (w/ MVP) vs. EZEKIEL

Ezekiel circled Omos, who stood in the center of the ring. Ezekiel landed some feeble blows until Omos caught his right fist and pushed him down to the mat. Omos scooped him onto his shoulder and strutted around confidently, then tossed him face-first onto the top turnbuckle. Ezekiel staggered away from the corner and Omos took him down with a big boot to the face. Omos raised his fists victoriously, then applied a death grip to Ezekiel’s traps.

Ezekiel got to his feet and planted two elbows, but Omos stunned him with a knee lift then tossed him through the ropes to the floor. Omos distracted the ref while MVP moved in and jammed his cane into Ezekiel’s face. Omos dragged Ezekiel into the ring over the top rope, then dumped him on his back. Kevin said Omos has “no regard for this man’s body,” which should absolutely be your mindset in a combat sport.

Omos fired Ezekiel into a corner, back-first, where he collapsed. He briefly stepped on Ezekiel’s spine, then threw him into another corner. Omos charged at Ezekiel but Ezekiel sidestepped, allowing him to get in some token offense. He hit a knee strike to Omos’s face, but this merely angered the big man who powerbombed Ezekiel and covered for the three-count.

WINNER: Omos by pinfall in 4:50.

(Meyers’s Analysis: Fresh blood for Main Event with both of these guys, but they certainly didn’t stray from the show formula. Omos is, of course, extremely limited, and Ezekiel doesn’t exactly elevate him past “mediocre big man” territory. Decent heel work from MVP, helping his man cheat despite not needing this advantage.)

-Main Event recap session:

• Replay of Becky Lynch in-ring promo from Raw
• Replay of Io Sky vs. Bianca Belair from Raw
• Replay of Ciampa vs. AJ Styles from Raw
• Replay of Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus from Smackdown
• Replay of Mysterios vs. Usos from Raw

(2) T-BAR vs. SHELTON BENJAMIN

The men locked up and seemed evenly matched as they twisted around the ring and ended up against the ropes, where the ref separated them. T-Bar landed clubbing blows and knocked Benjamin to the mat. He laid in some kicks to his downed opponent in the corner. Benjamin came back with a series of front kicks and chops, then knocked T-Bar down with a reverse elbow. Benjamin clotheslined him up and over the top rope to the floor. T-Bar leaned against the barricade, holding his jaw.

T-Bar got back in the ring and was rolled up by Benjamin. Benjamin didn’t seem interested in a pin, as he transitioned into an ankle lock instead. Almost immediately Benjamin grabbed the ropes to break the hold. Benjamin climbed to the top rope, but T-Bar ran in and hit a jumping kick to his chest, knocking him down to the floor. We cut to break.

T-Bar had just covered Benjamin for a two-count as we returned from break. He drove his knee into Benjamin’s back and pulled both arms backward. Benjamin slowly stood, but T-Bar blasted him with forearm shots to the back. Benjamin crumpled to the mat, then awkwardly swung his right fist and completely missed T-Bar. T-Bar responded with a standard suplex and another two-count cover. T-Bar went back to the submission.

Shelton got free and flipped T-Bar to the mat with a back body drop. They traded plodding blows, then Benjamin sped things up with a running reverse elbow. He hit a spinning heel kick to T-Bar’s face. Benjamin lined up for the Paydirt, but T-Bar intercepted and hit him with a backbreaker. T-Bar followed up with High Justice, then covered and Benjamin somehow kicked out at two. T-Bar dragged Benjamin’s body toward one corner, then he slowly climbed to the top rope. He jumped into a moonsault but Benjamin rolled aside. T-Bar landed on his feet but Benjamin still managed to re-apply the ankle lock. T-Bar turned over and kicked Benjamin into a corner. Benjamin hit a German suplex, then landed a running knee strike in the opposite corner. T-Bar raked Benjamin’s eyes. Benjamin attempted a roll-up pin, but T-Bar grasped the ropes to prevent the turn. Instead, T-Bar hooked one of Benjamin’s legs and grabbed the ropes for an illegal pin. This was in the ref’s blind spot and T-Bar got the three-count.

WINNER: T-Bar by pinfall in 7:55.

(Meyers’s Analysis: Decent back-and-forth action. I actually started to check the time after T-Bar’s High Justice, believing the match to be over. Similarly, I thought maybe Benjamin’s second ankle lock could’ve submitted T-Bar. It isn’t often that Main Event keeps the viewer guessing like this.)

SHOW SCORE (0-10): 8.2

Find Mike Meyers on Twitter: @themikeshow42

CATCH-UP: 7/27 WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT: Tamina & Carmella vs. Brooke & Asuka, Ali & Alexander vs. Tozawa & T-Bar, more