3/15 WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT: Cedric Alexander vs. Dante Chen, Williams vs. Tozawa, more

WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT
MARCH 15, 2023
HULU STREAMING TV
REPORT BY MIKE F. MEYERS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

WWE Main Event Announcers: Byron Saxton, Kevin Patrick

REASONS TO WATCH…

• Dante Chen makes Main Event debut

(1) CEDRIC ALEXANDER (w/ Shelton Benjamin & MVP) vs. DANTE CHEN

Chen took Alexander down with consecutive arm drags, then controlled Alexander a wrist lock. Alexander leveraged Chen through the ropes where Chen was momentarily distracted by Benjamin on the floor. Alexander took that opportunity to fire his knee into Chen’s shoulder. Alexander dragged Chen back through the ropes and dropped him with a modified DDT. Alexander hit a running forearm strike in a corner, then followed up with a low drop kick. Alexander covered for a one-count. Chen swatted away Alexander’s attempt at a chinlock, but then Alexander applied an arm bar. Chen got free and covered Alexander with a sunset flip. Alexander kicked out, then kicked Chen repeatedly in a corner.

Chen was staggered but got to his feet. Alexander punished Chen’s left shoulder some more, then Chen took Alexander to the mat with a back body drop. He fired Alexander into the ropes and hit him with a forearm strike on the rebound. Chen took Alexander down with a big front kick, then covered him for a two-count. Chen maintained the pressure, splashinig Alexander twice in a corner, but Alexander came back with another DDT followed up by the Lumbar Check. Alexander covered for the three-count.

WINNER: Cedric Alexander by pinfall in 5:10.

(Meyers’s Analysis: Decent back-and-forth action, and they managed to tell a brief story of Alexander working over Chen’s shoulder.)

(2) TRICK WILLIAMS vs. AKIRA TOZAWA

Williams watched Tozawa circle the mat after the bell rung. They locked up, but Williams immediately shoved him to the canvas. Williams made fun of their height difference, then told Tozawa he was embarrassing himself and urged him to leave. Tozawa briefly stepped through the ropes, but then he sprang back into the ring to knock Williams down with a drop kick, arm drag, drop kick combination. He battered Williams in a corner, then screamed out at the audience. Williams fired Tozawa into the opposite corner, but Tozawa jumped from its second rope and took Williams down with a hurricanrana. Trick rolled out to ringside, but then came back in to hit Tozawa with a big uppercut. We cut to break with Tozawa on the mat and Williams standing over him.

Williams maintained control through the break and was pounding Tozawa in a corner. He yelled for the crowd to remember his name. He chopped Tozawa in another corner, then missed a second chop. Tozawa chopped Williams’s chest instead. Williams came back with a jumping clothesline, then covered Tozawa for two. He mounted Tozawa and landed a few downward blows, then applied a chinlock. Tozawa got free and smashed Williams with a DDT in after dodging another uppercut attempt. Tozawa hit a running knee strike, then climbed to the top rope. He jumped and knocked Williams down with a flying reverse elbow. Tozawa covered Williams for two. Tozawa applied a rear waist lock but Williams leveraged him to the mat with a hip toss. He kicked Tozawa in the face, then hit a slick neckbreaker and covered Tozawa for two. Tozawa dodged a splash in the corner, then hit Williams with a series of three kicks. Tozawa went back to the top rope and looked to the crowd. He hit a clean senton and covered Williams for the three-count.

WINNER: Akira Tozawa by pinfall in 6:25.

(Meyers’s Analysis: More decent action. Williams poured a lot of heel antics into a six-minute affair. The height jokes were corny, but his confidence seems high.)

SHOW SCORE (0-10): 8.0

Find Mike Meyers on Twitter: @themikeshow42

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