6/21 WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT: McDonagh vs. Crews, Brooke vs. Li, more

WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT
JUNE 21, 2023
HULU STREAMING TV
REPORT BY MIKE F. MEYERS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Announcers: Byron Saxton, Kevin Patrick

REASONS TO WATCH…

• JD McDonagh channels Shawn Michaels

(1) DANA BROOKE vs. XIA LI

Brooke pranced around the ring as the bell rang, clapping rhythmically at the audience. The women locked up and Li twisted Brooke into a corner. She backed off at the ref’s two-count, but chopped Brooke in the chest as she did so. Brooke returned fire with chops of her own, then engaged her two-year-old tantrum moveset and repeatedly swatted at Li with downward slaps. Brooke dodged a clothesline and knocked Li to the mat. She hit Li with a handspring moonsault, then covered for two. Li trapped Brooke in the corner and rained down punches, then suplexed her from the middle of the ring against the same corner. Brooke held her right knee which was injured against the bottom turnbuckle during the landing. Li targeted that injury by propping Brooke’s ankle on the middle rope and stomping her knee. Li slammed Brooke to the mat, then covered her for two.

With Brooke on the mat, Li stomped her abdomen a few times before kicking her in the chest. Brooke dodged a quick elbow drop from Li, then clotheslined her to the mat a couple times while limping in the ring. She planted Li with a running bulldog, then covered for two. Brooke reversed out of a scoop slam and kicked Li in the midsection. She took Li down with a somersault neckbreaker, then covered for the three-count.

WINNER: Dana Brooke by pinfall in 5:10.

(Meyers’s Analysis: Nothing too special – a bit of an injury angle, and Brooke’s finisher looked pretty cool.)

(2) JD MCDONAGH vs. APOLLO CREWS

The men locked up and McDonagh elbowed Crews in the chest against the ropes. He applied a wristlock, but Crews reversed the hold. McDonagh flipped his way loose, and the men put on a brief display of chain wrestling. Crews leveled McDonagh with a shoulder block, then McDonagh came back with a drop toe hold and a leg drop to the back of Crews’s neck. He chopped Crews in the corner, then Crews returned the favor multiple times in multiple corners. He fired McDonagh into a corner, and McDonagh flipped up and over the turnbuckles to the floor in a way that would make Shawn Michaels proud. Crews held up his hands to the crowd, then knocked McDonagh down with a moonsault off the ring apron to the floor. Crews postured to the crowd as we cut to break.

McDonagh gained control through the break and was setting up for a superplex. Crews blocked it and knocked McDonagh to the mat. Crews went to the top rope and took flight, but McDonagh dodged. Crews rolled through his landing, then kicked McDonagh in the gut, then again in the face. He fired McDonagh off the ropes and took him down with a big clothesline on the rebound. Crews splashed McDonagh in the corner, then climbed to the top rope. This time he connected with a flying cross body, then remained on top for a cover and two-count. The audience fired up, and Crews nodded at them.

From the apron, McDonagh supported himself on the ropes with his hands and used his feet to sweep Crews’s feet out from under him – unique offense. With Crews on the mat, McDonagh jumped into a corkscrew diving head butt, then covered Crews for two. McDonagh slowly climbed to the top rope, with his back to the ring. He launched into a moonsault but Crews rolled out of the way. McDonagh adjusted and rolled through, but Crews still had the advantage and smashed him with a big uranage. Crews covered for two in a believable near fall.

Both men lingered on the mat; Crews looked stunned at McDonagh’s kick out. Crews was first to his feet. He set up for a vertical suplex, but McDonagh dropped a knee downward into Crews’s skull while suspended. They dropped to the mat, but Crews maintained the suplex hold. They rolled back and forth, exchanging one-counts, before getting to their feet. McDonagh flipped Crews round with a Spanish fly, then covered for two. This time McDonagh was up first, and went back to the top rope. Crews approached from behind and knocked him down to a seated position. McDonagh elbowed Crews to the mat, then jumped at him for a high cross body from the middle rope. In an impossibly smooth and single motion, Crews caught McDonagh and hoisted him up and over for a Samoan drop. He hooked both of McDonagh’s legs for the three-count and victory.

WINNER: Apollo Crews by pinfall in 7:05.

(Meyers’s Analysis: Really good action. This might be worth watching just for McDonagh’s outlandish bump from the ring to the floor. The power display from Crews to finish the match was impressive.)

SHOW SCORE (0-10): 8.0

Find Mike Meyers on Twitter: @themikeshow42

CATCH-UP: 6/14 WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT: Strong main event effort by Riddick Moss and Apollo Crews, plus solid Natalya vs. Tegan Nox