4/19 WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT: Dexter Lumis vs. Eddy Thorpe, Cross vs. Dawn, more

WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT
APRIL 19, 2023
HULU STREAMING TV
REPORT BY MIKE F. MEYERS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

WWE Main Event Announcers: Byron Saxton, Kevin Patrick

REASONS TO WATCH…

• Eddy Thorpe debuts

(1) NIKKI CROSS vs. ISLA DAWN

The women locked up and twisted into a corner. Dawn grappled Cross to the mat, then slammed her back-first to the canvas. Dawn ran the ropes but Cross intercepted her with a shoulder tackle. She splashed Dawn in the corner, then took her down with a bulldog. Cross climbed to the top rope but Dawn got to her feet and knocked her down. Dawn hit a running meteora, then covered Cross for two.

Dawn issued some heel-style punishment in the corner, then whipped Cross back into said corner. Dawn applied a chinlock. Cross got to her feet but Dawn took her back down with a clothesline, then reapplied the chinlock. Cross surprised Dawn with a roll-up pin – Dawn kicked out and tossed Cross to the mat and covered for her own two-count. Dawn was first to her feet and she smashed Cross’s face into the mat. Cross dodged a splash in a corner, then landed several forearm strikes to Dawn. Cross ducked two clotheslines, then hit two basement drop kicks. Dawn whipped Cross to the mat by her hair, but Cross came back with a tornado DDT from the middle rope. Cross followed up with a twisting neckbreaker, then covered Dawn for the three-count.

WINNER: Nikki Cross by pinfall in 5:00.

(Meyers’s Analysis: Pretty basic, back-and-forth. Dawn had an inset video during entrances that felt extremely performative and unnatural – not great. The announcers acknowledged that Dawn is the NXT women’s tag champion, but that her partner Alba Fyre wasn’t present tonight.)

(2) EDDY THORPE vs. DEXTER LUMIS

The bell rang but the wrestlers allowed the crowd to simmer a bit – a “Dexter” chant broke out and Lumis gestured to the fans. The wrestlers locked up and Lumis went to an arm bar. Thorpe reversed out and took Lumis to the mat with a side headlock. Lumis got to his feet but Thorpe maintained the headlock. Lumis powered out and reversed the hold. Thorpe took Lumis down again with a waistlock and this time backed off to reset. Lumis leveled Thorpe with a big clothesline, then Thorpe came back with a high cross body off the ropes. Lumis knocked Thorpe back down with a reverse elbow. Lumis mounted Thorpe in the corner and rained down the ten-count strikes. He followed up with a bicycle kick to Thorpe’s face. Lumis measured Thorpe from the corner and charged, but Thorpe sidestepped, then flung the stunned Lumis to the mat with a suplex. We cut to break as both men recovered on the mat.

Thorpe had control after the break. He laid in three kicks with Lumis clinging onto the middle rope. Thorpe applied an arm bar but left his ribs exposed – Lumis used strikes to escape, but Thorpe took Lumis down with a dragon screw leg whip. He dropped an elbow, then covered Lumis for two. Thorpe applied an arm bar, then twisted Lumis around so they’d be facing the hard camera. Lumis struggled to his feet, but Thorpe transitioned into an abdominal stretch. Lumis got free and blocked a suplex attempt. Instead, Thorpe laid in a chop, but Lumis came back with a suplex of his own. Lumis landed a series of shots, then hit a bulldog and a side suplex. Lumis kipped up and went back down with a leg drop. Lumis waited for Thorpe to get to his feet, and when he did, Lumis moved in and took him down with a uranage. Lumis covered for the three-count.

WINNER: Dexter Lumis by pinfall in 6:30.

(Meyers’s Analysis: Decent action. Thorpe was just acquired by WWE in January of 2023. He had wrestled in New Japan Pro-Wrestling for four years before that.)

SHOW SCORE (0-10): 7.4

Find Mike Meyers on Twitter: @themikeshow42

CATCH-UP: 4/12 WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT: Tyler Bate vs. Dolph Ziggler, Cross vs. Stark, more