wrestling / TV Reports
Leighty’s WWE Main Event Review 06.01.23
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...-I can’t stop listening to “Hulk Hogan Slammed Andre The Giant” by Jon Lajoie. You want to talk about nostalgia and all the feels, listen to this song if you are around my age and grew up on WWF in the 80s. The song starts with talk of going to Grandma’s house to watch WrestleMania III and that was it for me, as that is where I watched the show and can remember it vividly to this day. Find it on YouTube and watch that awesome music video that probably had Matt Cardona marking out. Let’s get to it!
-Announce Team: Kevin Patrick and Byron Saxton
-Taped: Albany, NY
-Night of Champions video package: Seth Rollins is our World Champion and Jimmy Uso has had enough of Roman Reigns!
Dexter Lumis vs. Akira Tozawa
-So, our RAW vs. NXT format is done? Lockup to start and Lumis shoves Tozawa across the ring. Tozawa throws some strikes and gets a head scissors. He throws some chops and Lumis no sells, so Tozawa just punches him. Lumis back with a delayed suplex alas The British Bulldog and that gets two. Lumis lands a back elbow and drops another one for a two count. He goes to a neck crank which lets the crowd try to rally Tozawa. Slam from Lumis and then he hooks a nerve hold. Tozawa fights out, but and gets a flash roll-up for two. Another head scissors counter from Tozawa followed by a running knee. He heads up top and hits the back elbow for two. Back up top, but Lumis rolls out of the way and catches Tozawa charging in with an uppercut. Lumis gets the pin off the modified Rock Bottom at 4:12.
Winner: Dexter Lumis via pin at 4:12
-Just a basic match of power vs. speed and it was fine. *1/2
-Lumis slithers across the ring and offers Tozawa a handshake after the match. Tozawa accepts this show of sportsmanship.
-Back to RAW where Seth Rollins kicked off the show with his celebration as our new World Champion. AJ Styles shows up to congratulate Seth and they shake hands. Judgment Day interrupt and we end up with a Tag Match for later in the show.
-Hulu commercials!
-Highlights from Night of Champions of Asuka ending Bianca Belair’s historic reign as RAW Champion.
-Back to RAW as Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler win the vacated Tag Titles. No shock there!
-Hulu commercials!
-WWE shop commercial focusing on Championship Belts! As big of a fan that I am, I have no desire to spend that much money on one of those. I will just keep trying to win The Big Gold Belt we have in my Fantasy Football League.
-Back to RAW last week where Brock Lesnar broke Cody Rhodes’ arm and then beat him at Night of Champions. The next night on RAW, Cody notes Brock didn’t make him tap and has a standing open challenge for Brock to face him again.
-Hulu commercials!
-Candice LeRae video package!
-Back to Night of Champion as Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn successfully defend their Tag Titles against Roman and Solo. The Usos get involved and accidentally hit Solo with a double superkick. This displeases our Tribal Chief and he runs them down. Jimmy has had enough of Roman’s shit and hits him with a superkick. Jey has PTSD and sees his life flash before his eyes, but Jimmy mans up and tells Jey he is doing what he should have done a long time ago and hits Roman with another superkick.
-Roman celebrates 1000 Days as (Universal) Champion on SmackDown this week!
Tegan Nox vs. Candice LeRae
-Nikki Cross is creeping behind Candice without her knowledge and Saxton calls Nikky a FIT (Friend in Training). Tegan starts quick as she beats Candice down in the corner and the yells at Nikki, who is now at ringside. Saxton notes this is the first singles match between these two in the WWE. Candice gets a roll-up for two, but an uppercut knocks her on her ass again. Suplex from Nox as commentary is more focused on Nikki at ringside. Now chokes Candice on the middle rope and mocks the crowd as they chant for Candice. Nox misses a charge in the corner and Candice is able to get a basement dropkick to turn the tide a bit. They head out on the apron and Candice looks for a German Suplex, but Nox uses the ropes to block. She ends up dropping Candice face first on the apron as we head to break at 3:21.
-Hulu commercials!
-Money in The Bank commercial!
-Back at 5:33 with Nox holding a headlock. Candice breaks, so Tegan uses her knee to choke and yells at the ref for not counting the pin. Nox hits a nice head kick and laughs as she is enjoying her work. Nox with a straitjacket choke, but Candice is able to break. She gets mowed down with a clothesline for two however. Nox yells at Nikki as she tells her to go away and calls her a psychopath. Candice reverses a suplex into a DDT and starts to run wild a bit. She hits a clothesline, a back elbow in the corner, and then a trio of step-up Sentons for two. Candice tries to go up, but Nox catches her with a right hand. They fight up top and Candice tries a neckbreaker, but Nox uses the ropes to block. She comes off with a back elbow, but then misses an uppercut in the corner. Candice comes off the top with a missile dropkick and then finishes with a Lion-sault for the pin at 9:24.
Winner: Candice LeRae via pin at 9:24
-They got a little bit of time (not counting the break) and this was solid. Tegan was really leaning into being a heel which is cool to see and Candice makes for a good babyface as she can sell a beating. The ending seemed rushed to for some reason though. **
-Nikki hugs a reluctant Candice as she isn’t ready to be friends yet.
-Back to Night of Champion as Rhea Ripley SQUASHED Nattie.
-Hulu commercials!
-Back to RAW as Ricochet beats The Miz and Nakamura beats Bronson Reed in Money In The Bank Qualifying matches. The Ricochet one makes sense as he will likely have a spot in the match any time he wants because it’s RICOCHET IN A LADDER MATCH, but Nakamura winning was a nice surprise as I had Reed pegged as one of the token MONSTERS for the match.
-Back to RAW for our Tag Main Event with AJ and Seth taking on Balor and Priest. Fun tag match that ends with Seth hitting Priest with a Stomp. It wasn’t a Title Defense, but Seth needs to keep winning matches to bring prestige and importance to the new Title.
-Thanks for reading!
