1/25 WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT: Bronson Reed vs. Akira Tozawa, Cross vs. Brooke, more

WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT
JANUARY 25, 2023
HULU STREAMING TV
REPORT BY MIKE F. MEYERS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

WWE Main Event Announcers: Byron Saxton, Kevin Patrick

REASONS TO WATCH…

• Can Tozawa avenge his loss to Bronson Reed?

(1) BRONSON REED vs. AKIRA TOZAWA

Reed cornered Tozawa and whipped him to the mat with a waist lock. Tozawa hit a flurry of quick punches with little effect. Tozawa went for a hurricanrana, but Reed simply caught him and resisted the move before tossing Tozawa into the turnbuckle. He yanked Tozawa to his feet by his wrist, then body slammed him and applied a chinlock. Tozawa got free and kicked Reed in the face, then went behind but was unable to get his arms around Reed’s torso. Reed twisted his hips to whip Tozawa to the mat. He scooped Tozawa up in his arms and twice dropped him ribs-first across his knee. Reed covered for two.

Reed applied a bear hug from behind, wrenching on Tozawa’s ribs. Tozawa stood up but Reed hammered his back with a forearm blow, then chopped Tozawa across the chest. Tozawa fell to the mat. Reed went for a suspended vertical suplex, but Tozawa slipped free and missed a spinning kick, then hit a second attempt from behind. Tozawa climbed to the top rope and hit a missle drop kick, causing Reed to roll out to the floor. Tozawa ran and dove at Reed through the ropes where he took Reed down with a DDT. Tozawa ran the ropes again as Reed entered the ring, hitting another DDT in the middle of the ring, then climbed to the top rope again. Tozawa launched into a senton, but Reed got both knees up into Tozawa’s back. Reed immediately took Tozawa out with the Black Forest bomb. Reed climbed to the top rope and splashed Tozawa on the canvas, then remained in position for the three-count.

WINNER: Bronson Reed by pinfall in 4:45.

(Meyers’s Analysis: Apparently they’re done using Tozawa as the “little man” against any opponent larger than him. He got in substantial offense, and with a speed-run match like we see on Main Event, Reed did no selling of back-to-back DDT’s. Both guys looked good, but Tozawa was unable to avenge his big loss to Reed on Raw last week.)

A camera approached Nikki Cross backstage. She appeared to be hiding, and “shushed” the camera as it drew near. She giggled maniacally while tapping the side of a road case.

(2) NIKKI CROSS vs. DANA BROOKE

As the WWE Main Event match started, Cross repeatedly whipped her jacket against the canvas. Brooke shoved Cross to the mat, then fired her head-first into all four turnbuckles. She shoulder blocked Cross to the mat, then covered for a one-count. Cross chopped Brooke in the chest, then applied a headlock. Brooke escaped by way of a side suplex, then hit Cross with a low drop kick. Cross rolled out to ringside, and Brooke knocked her down with a baseball slide under the ropes. Brooke backed off and slid again at Cross, but this time Cross yanked the ring apron away, trapping Brooke between the apron and ring frame. Cross landed a series of forearm shots to Brooke’s chest, then screamed as we cut to break.

Cross was in control in the ring after the break. She hammered down forearm shots to Brooke on the mat, then screamed once again before applying a chin lock. Cross whipped Brooke into the corner. Brooke managed to hit a reverse elbow and a front kick, but Cross stopped her with a knee to the gut. Brooke hit a sunset flip and pin for a two-count, then immediately rolled up Cross for another two-count. Cross clotheslined Brooke to the mat and covered for a two-count of her own. Cross sat up and grinned at the audience, then applied a single-leg crab to Brooke. Brooke reached toward the rope, then kicked Cross away. Brooke hit a jawbreaker, stunning Cross. They ran at each other and hit simultaneous clotheslines, causing both to writhe on the mat.

Brooke blocked Cross’s punches and fired back with shots of her own. She clotheslined Cross to the mat three times, then slammed her back-first by her hair. Brooke shook her chest at the crowd before hitting a reverse elbow in the corner. She took Cross down with a bulldog, then covered for two. Brooke blocked a Cross suplex, then dropped Cross onto the mat with a release suplex. Brooke ran the ropes and went for a splash, but Cross lifted her knees into Brooke’s midsection. Cross quickly got to her feet to hit a twisting neckbreaker, then covered for the three-count.

WINNER: Nikki Cross by pinfall in 6:35.

(Meyers’s Analysis: Standard back-and-forth. Will Cross’s character be anything more than “a creepy maniac”? Not so far.)

SHOW SCORE (0-10): 7.4

Find Mike Meyers on Twitter: @themikeshow42

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