Leighty’s WWE Main Event Review 3.11.21

-We are coming off what was a good episode of Main Event last week. Let’s see if we can make it two in a row. Let’s get to it!

-Announce Team: Kevin Patrick and Byron Saxton (Oh man, no Samoa Joe!)
-Taped: WWE ThunderDome (Tropicana Field), St Petersburg, FL

Lucha House Party vs. Retribution (T-Bar and Mace) w/ Mustafa Ali

-T-Bar starts out with Dorado and as you would expect T Bar uses his power game and Dorado uses his speed. Dorado tries a Tornado DDT, but who are we kidding as T-Bar just tosses him in his corner. He misses a charge though and eats a seated dropkick. The tag is made to Metalik and he comes off the top and then off the shoulders of Dorado with a splash for two. Metalik quickly tags back to Dorado. He gets caught in the wrong corner and dumped on the floor where drops him with a Harlem Sidekick. Back inside the ring Mace hits a choke bomb and then back to T-Bar who gets a two count off a running boot. Dorado tries to fight back with chops but continues to get mauled. Mace back in and he drops elbows to the shoulder and goes to a neck crank. Dorado tries a rana., but again, the power game is too strong as he gets power bombed. T-Bar misses a charge in the corner and a diving tag is made to Metalik. He runs wild a bit and gets in a few shots to stun T-Bar and connects with the Tornado DDT. Metalik springs off for a cover, but Mace breaks that at two. A springboard back elbow is countered with a boot to the back. Dorado got blasted off the apron at some point and Metalik eats a double chokeslam to end this one at 5:03.

Winners: Retribution via pin at 5:03
-Just an Extended Squash which is probably the best result as they have more invested in Retribution that LP at this point. SQUASH

-Rhea Ripley is coming to RAW at some point. Perhaps the RAW after Mania?

-Back to SmackDown last week as Roman continues to cut fantastic promos laying out perfectly the motivation for his character. We all need him as Champion and soon Daniel Bryan will know that and acknowledge him. Jey Uso tries to sucker punch Daniel, but he is ready and Uso gets dumped to the floor.

-Later that night Daniel Bryan earns a Universal Title Match at Fastlane by defeating Jey in a cage match. Fun match with the expected and needed result. Daniel winning by tap-out was much better than running away and escaping the cage as well.

-Video package covering the show long Miz/Lashley build from RAW last week. Miz fakes cramps, then gets counted out, and begs to Shane, but the inevitable happens as Lashley murders him to win The WWE Title. This video package was well done and again credit to Miz for playing his role so well. You could see the desperation and fear as he knew he was toast.

-Back to RAW as Miz doesn’t think it is fair that Lashley attacked him after the match and wasn’t punished for it. A motivated and focused Miz gets his rematch, but he is still screwed and Lashley dominates him to retain his WWE Title.

-Still on RAW as Sheamus attacks Drew McIntyre during a backstage interview as Sheamus tells him it’s not over. It leads to a No DQ match for later in the night and as expected they beat the hell out of each other. I like when friends have no issues going out there and just laying into each other for the sake of our entertainment. Kudos to both men and this feud continues.

Mansoor and Ricochet vs. Akira Tozawa and Drew Gulak

-Well, after the last few weeks this match makes sense. Mansoor starts with Gular as they renew their Main Event rivalry. Drew gets a side headlock and makes an immediate tag to Tozawa who lays in some chops and then a double back elbow gets a two count. Tozawa floats over a slam attempt and ducks another move, but Mansoor is waiting on him and drops an elbow for a one count. Mansoor gets backed into the wrong corner, but fights off both men with a basement dropkick. The tag is made to Ricochet and they send Tozawa and Gulak to the floor. Ricochet teases diving to the floor, but it’s just our standard Main Event Main Event commercial break.

-Back with Mansoor controlling with a side headlock. A blind tag is made to Gulak who gets a back elbow for a two count. He lays the boots into Mansoor as he is showing some good aggression. He hits a slam for another two count. Tozawa tagged back in and he fires off a kick and then a slam followed by a senton back splash. He drags Mansoor back to his corner and makes the tag to Gulak. A running boot gets another two count. Back to Tozawa as he gets caught with a sunset flip, but he rolls through and misses a kick. Mansoor stretches and gets the hot tag to Ricochet. He flies all over the place as he runs wild for a bit. Tozawa breaks up a pin attempt, but gets sent to the floor for his trouble. Ricochet sets to finish, but Gulak escapes and sends Ricochet into his corner where Mansoor gets the tag. He comes in off the top with a crossbody. Gulak gets in a shot and hits a powerbomb into a pin, but Mansoor is out. Tozawa tags in and comes off top with the cannon ball, but Ricochet makes the save. Gulak in but Ricochet tosses him to the floor and hits a corkscrew plancha. Tozawa eats an inverted atomic drop into a spinebuster and then Mansoor finishes with his slingshot neckbreaker at 8:42.

Winners: Mansoor and Ricochet via pin at 8:42
-Commercial ate up a bunch of this as usual, and it was kind of slow until the final 40 seconds when things picked up nicely. This was solid. **1/2

-Back to RAW where AJ Styles makes fun on Randy Orton and that leads to match between the two. Just random as AJ continues to have no real direction which is a shame since Mania is fast approaching. We know Orton is getting The Fiend at Mania in a likely Firefly Fun House Match, and there is still time, but AJ Styles needs a direction at some point.

-Back to RAW as AJ Styles gets the win over Randy Orton after Alexa Bliss pops up on the screen and Orton spews more ooze from his mouth. I am hanging with this feud just to see what they do in a Fire Fly Fun House match considering all the stuff they can do with Orton’s history in the WWE.

6.0

The final score: review Average

The 411

Back to just an average edition of Main Event this week. Tag wrestling is usually hard to screw up and both of these matches served their purpose as Retribution looked strong and Mansoor continues to roll. The recap stuff was the usual.