WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT (8/30): Chelsea Green vs. Katana Chance, JD McDonagh vs. Akira Tozawa

WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT
AUGUST 30, 2023
HULU STREAMING TV
REPORT BY MIKE F. MEYERS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Announcers: Byron Saxton, Wade Barrett

REASONS TO WATCH…

• Chelsea Green and Katana Chance make rare Main Event appearance

(1) CHELSEA GREEN vs. KATANA CHANCE (w/ Kayden Carter)

Just after the bell sounded, Green knocked Chance to the mat with a running front kick. Chance came back with a low drop kick and covered Green for a one-count. Chance rolled up Green two more times to no avail. Green rolled out to ringside and called for the match to be started over. Green got back into the ring, and Chance used the top rope to flip her boots onto Green’s shoulders, then head-scissored her to the mat. Green dodged a charging Chance in the corner, then hit her with a back cracker before covering Chance for two. Green mounted Chance and landed a few shots before lifting her to her feet to ram her face into a turnbuckle. She dragged Chance away from the corner and covered her three times for three two-counts. Green applied a chinlock.

Chance elbowed her way free, then hit Green with an enzuigiri. Chance (sort of) swept Green’s leg with her arm, then (sort of) took Green down with a bulldog. Chance ducked a clothesline, then took Green down with a hurricanrana. Chance climbed the corner with Green bent over the middle rope, then jumped and double stomped Green’s back. Green smacked Chance in the face, then Chance took Green down with an arm drag. Green covered Chance with her feet on the ropes for leverage, but Carter intervened by knocking her boots off the rope. Green telegraphed a back body drop, allowing Chance to hold up and kick Green. Chance then hit a modified twisting DDT and covered for the three-count.

WINNER: Katana Chance by pinfall in 5:50.

(Meyers’s Analysis: Decent back-and-forth action. I like Chance’s innovative sprinting leg sweep / bulldog combo, but she just needs to tighten it up so there’s more contact between her and her opponent.)

(2) J.D. MCDONAGH vs. AKIRA TOZAWA

McDonagh got the upper hand early, tossing Tozawa to the mat then repeatedly slapping him in the back of the head. They locked up and traded wrist locks, then McDonagh pummeled Tozawa in the corner. Tozawa caught him with two boots up in the opposite corner, then knocked McDonagh down with a drop kick. He covered McDonagh for two. McDonagh knocked Tozawa down with a front kick to the gut, then dropped a double axe handle. McDonagh chopped Tozawa in two corners. He went for a third, but Tozawa moved aside and landed a flurry of his own chops. Tozawa used a slingshot maneuver to toss McDonagh over the top rope to the floor, then Tozawa dove through the ropes to knock McDonagh down. We cut to break.

Tozawa had control after the break, landing downward punches to McDonagh in the corner. McDonagh returned the favor by grounding and pounding Tozawa on the mat. He snap suplexed Tozawa to the mat and covered for one. McDonagh dropped an elbow on Tozawa’s head, then pinned his head to the mat under a knee. He stood on Tozawa’s neck near the ropes, and stepped off at the ref’s three-count. He gave Tozawa a deliberate backbreaker. Tozawa screamed in agony before McDonagh covered him for two. McDonagh applied a rear bear hug.

Tozawa nodded at the crowd who began to clap him on. He got free, ducked a clothesline, then took McDonagh down with a hurricanrana. Tozawa hit a shining wizard, then climbed to the top rope. He leaped into a flying reverse elbow, then covered McDonagh for two. Both men writhed on the mat but Tozawa was first to his feet. They exchanged blows in the middle of the ring, but Tozawa had the upper hand. He climbed to the top rope again, but McDonagh dodged when Tozawa jumped at him. With Tozawa off-balance, McDonagh hit the Spanish fly, then followed up with Devil Inside. McDonagh covered for three.

WINNER: JD McDonagh by pinfall in 7:35.

(Meyers’s Analysis: Cool match with a strong finish by McDonagh. I believe Tozawa would be excellent at selling in a more serious, longer match.)

SHOW SCORE (0-10): 8.0

Find Mike Meyers on Twitter: @themikeshow42

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