3/8 WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT: Carmelo Hayes vs. Akira Tozawa, OC vs. MMM, more

WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT
MARCH 8, 2023
HULU STREAMING TV
REPORT BY MIKE F. MEYERS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

WWE Main Event Announcers: Byron Saxton, Kevin Patrick

REASONS TO WATCH…

Maximum Male Models do their thing

(1) CARMELO HAYES vs. AKIRA TOZAWA

The men squared off and locked up. Tozawa took Hayes to the mat with a waist lock. They scrambled there for a bit then jumped to their feet simultaneously. Tozawa kicked and chopped Hayes, then nailed Hayes with dual boots to the chest in the corner. Tozawa took Hayes down with back-to-back arm drags, then hit a drop kick and covered Hayes for a one-count.

Tozawa allowed Hayes to slowly get to his feet. Hayes suplexed Tozawa from the apron into the ring with his legs locked around the middle rope. Hayes remained there after the throw and did some vertical situps. Hayes fired Tozawa into a corner, then caught a reverse elbow as he ran in after him. Hayes came back with a guillotine leg drop while Tozawa was hung up in the corner. He covered Tozawa for two. Hayes yelled to the crowd, “I’m him!” Tozawa landed a few shots, but Hayes took him out with a springboard flying clothesline off the middle rope. Hayes covered for two, then applied an arm bar.

Tozawa fought out and drop kicked Hayes in his midsection. Tozawa followed up with a hurricanrana and a running knee strike. He went to the top rope and knocked Hayes over with a flying reverse elbow. He covered Hayes for two. Hayes then took Tozawa down with a spinning DDT. Tozawa missed two kicks but hit the third. He climbed to another corner’s top rope, but Hayes dodged Tozawa’s senton. Hayes took his turn on the top rope and came down on the stunned Tozawa with another leg drop to the back of the neck – this was good for the three-count and victory.

WINNER: Carmelo Hayes by pinfall in 5:45.

(Meyers’s Analysis: Good show-opening high-flying action. Tozawa looked dominant in the opening, but Hayes came back with some flash of his own.)

(2) MAXIMUM MALE MODELS (Mace & Mansoor) w/ Maxine Dupri vs. THE O.C. (Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson) w/ Michin

Mansoor started against Anderson. Mansoor crammed some posing into the early part of the match before missing a high cross body. Anderson hit him with two arm drags, then mocked the MMM pose. Mace and Gallows tagged in. They hit a stalemate shoulder block, but then Gallows knocked Mace down on the second effort. Mansoor tagged in and Gallows beat the crap out of him in the O.C.’s corner. Anderson tagged in and kicked Mansoor in the ribs before leveling him with a reverse elbow. Dupri found her way onto the ring apron and held aloft an MMM business card – very tempting indeed. She grabbed Anderson’s boot near the ropes, allowing Mansoor to knock him down and gain the advantage. Gallows, always a man of integrity, complained to the referee about this injustice. Meanwhile, Michin came round the ring and began bickering with Dupri while Mace knelt between then and begged them not to fight over him. We cut to break.

MMM maintained control through the break, and Mace tagged in to cover Anderson for a two-count. He hammered Anderson’s back with a forearm blow, then hoisted him onto his right shoulder. Anderson shimmied down and knocked Mansoor off the apron. Anderson nearly tagged Gallows, but Mace knocked him down with a big kick then covered for two. Mansoor tagged in and kicked Anderson in the chest. He landed a couple kicks in a corner, then snap mared Anderson to the mat and applied a chinlock. Anderson got to his feet with elbow strikes, then finally made a diving tag to Gallows. He repeatedly knocked down Mansoor and splashed him in a neutral corner. Mace entered the ring to slow Gallows’s momentum, but Gallows booted him in the face and sent him off.

Anderson tagged in and the O.C. hit the Magic Killer, but Mace jumped in to break up the pin. On the floor, Gallows fired Mace into a ring post. Michin chased Dupri up the ramp. Mansoor rolled up Anderson for a two-count. Anderson came back with a spinebuster, then tagged in Gallows. They combined forces again and hit a second Magic Killer, this time good for the three-count.

WINNER: The O.C. by pinfall in 6:20.

(Meyers’s Analysis: The Models are truly invested in their characters, both with their wardrobes and mannerisms. The facial disgust they displayed as Gallows and Anderson made their entrance rivaled William Regal’s famous sneer – really fun to watch. Good action in the match, as well.)

SHOW SCORE (0-10): 8.6

Find Mike Meyers on Twitter: @themikeshow42

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