Leighty’s WWE Main Event Review 06.09.22

-My Slamboree 1997 Retro Review can be found here. Thanks to everyone who has checked it out and commented. It seems a lot of people forgot Luna Vachon had a run in WCW in 1997. Next up will be King of The Ring 1997. For now though it’s present day Main Event. Let’s ger to it!

-Announce Team: Kevin Patrick and Byron Saxton
-Taped: Green Bay, WI

Reggie vs. Ciampa

-This better be a slaughter! Big pop for Ciampa sine he is from Milwaukee and it gets him to smile which is cool to see. Apparently these two wrestled here a few weeks back and I don’t remember that at all. You’d think since I reviewed it, I would have, but here we are. Ciampa escapes an wristlock and gets a side headlock before landing a forearm. Reggie flips over a whip to the corner and does some cartwheels and flips. “Let’s Go Ciampa” chant from the crowd. Ciampa gets a two count, but Reggie flips away from a clothesline which causes Ciampa frustration. He opts to just stomp the face of Reggie and lets Reggie flip some more before ducking a cross body. Ciampa is proud as he pats himself on the back and the crowd loves him. Back elbow from Ciampa gets a two count. Side headlock on the mat and Ciampa uses the hair to pull Reggie down. That usually draws boos, but not in this city as they give Ciampa a round of applause that he basks in. Another go and they start exchanging chops and strikes. Reggie hits a spinning kick and an up kick off a back flip. Spinning crossbody gets a two count. Reggie gets dumped to the apron, but avoids a knee. Reggie hits a knee and heads up top. Moonsault misses and Reggie tries to flip to his feet, but Ciampa murders him with a knee. Fairytale Ending finishes to a big pop at 5:29.

Winner: Ciampa via pin at 5:29
-This was okay and went better than I expected as Ciampa played to Reggie’s strengths. He got to flip around and show his athleticism before Ciampa finished him. The crowd lowing Ciampa added to this as well. **1/4

-Ali vs. T-Bar is our Main Event!

-Back to Hell in a Cell as we get a video package and still photos for Rollins/Cody. Great match with crazy, insane drama thanks to Cody’s injury. That was frightening to look at and the hush of the crowd when he took off his jacket was something else. Props to Cody for gutting it out and to Rollins as well for working a match with a guy who had one arm and delivering. Yes, you can make the case other matches have been better, but that match may still end up getting my Match of The Year vote just because of the circumstances around it.

-Don’t Try This at Home or Anywhere! So, yeah, don’t try having a match at home with a torn pec!

-Hulu commercials!

-Back to RAW as Cody Rhodes teases being in MITB in 4 weeks. I mean, Brock won the thing by walking in at the end and climbing. They could do the same with Cody, but would be kind of a heel move and out of character for what they are doing with him. Instead, it’s just him being the babiest of babyfaces by showing he will do anything to get there and makes Seth a bigger dick as he comes down to interrupt. Seth shakes Cody’s hand and whispers something to him before taking his leave. Cody basks in the cheers a bit more in the aisle and here comes Seth with a sledgehammer shot. He also stomps the injured pec and you know what he is doing is evil because even Graves is bashing him for it.

-Hulu commercials!

-MITB commercial!

-SmackDown this week: Ricochet puts the IC Title on the line against GUNTHER!

-Back to SmackDown, which is weird because this show never covers SmackDown when a PPV just happened. Just shows that Hell in a Cell was basically a RAW show. Anyway, Sami Zayn helps The Usos retain against Riddle and Nakamura.

-Back to RAW as The Street Profits earn a Tag Title match after beating The Usos by count-out. The matches between the two teams will be fun and it’s actually two real tag teams.

-Video package with still photos of Judgment Day’s win over Styles/Balor/Morgan.

-Back to RAW as Judgment Day celebrates and Finn Balor is out to be the newest member. Finn explains why and if you notice he compliments Rhea and Damian only. Priest tells Edge he is holding them back and the beatdown is on. Edge is turfed from the group and Balor gets his chance to run as a heel on the main roster. I wonder if Edge will turn to AJ? Razor’s Edge through the table looked rough! You can question why the change, but the actual heel beatdown was impressive!

-Hulu commercials!

T-Bar vs. Mustafa Ali

-When I took this show over for the late, great Larry, Ali was all over this show and two years later we are still here. T-Bar overpowers Ali to start and roars to the crowd. Ali tries a headlock, which doesn’t work and then tries a shoulder block, which also doesn’t work. Ali gets a go behind, but T-Bar shakes him off like a flea and pounds away in the corner. He works the shoulder and arm for a bit. Ali uses T-Bar to spring to the ropes and flip off to break. He hits a dropkick and then another to send T-Bar to the floor. Ali looks to fly, but T-Bar meets him back in the ring with a lariat to send us to our commercial break. Green Bay apparently digs Ali too as they chant for him.

-Hulu commercials!

-Back with T-Bar in control with a side headlock. Ali escapes and lands a boot to the face, but gets caught. T-Bar buries a knee to the ribs and tosses Ali across the ring. Another loud Ali chant. High Justice is escaped and Ali hits a superkick. Ali lands a flying clothesline and then a dropkick. Another drop kick, but T-Bar is still standing. Head kick from Ali and he rolls in but gets caught with a boot to the face. Nice! That gets two. This Green Bay crowd has been great for these two matches. Ali is gone as T-Bar tries to set him up for a move. T-Bar talks trash, so Ali lands a few chops. T-Bar hits a DVD variation for two and T-Bar is rather annoyed. Snake Eyes is escaped and Ali sticks a Tornado DDT. Ali up top and he hits the 450 for the win at 7:13.

Winner: Mustafa Ali via pin at 7:13
-I wish they would have given them longer as this was getting good in the final minutes. On one hand it sucks these two are stuck on this show, but for me as the reviewer I’ll take it. This was solid. **1/2

-Back to HIAC as we get video and stills from Bianca/Asuka/Lynch. Bianca retains and it seems she is finally moving on from Lynch.

-Lacey Evans video package as she wants us to Wake Up, Work, and Win. She is on SmackDown this week.

-Back to SmackDown as Nattie wins a 6 Pack Challenge and she gets the next shot at Ronda Rousey. See this has nothing to do with HIAC so they can show it here. Kind of wish they pulled both SmackDown videos and gave more time to Ali/T-Bar.

-Back to RAW for Bliss vs. Liv vs. Doudrop vs. Ripley to see who gets Belair at MITB. I mean, Ripley losing here after the Judgment Day angle would have been pretty dumb. As expected, Ripley gets the win and they tease a Bliss/LIV tag match.

-Thanks for reading!

6.5

The final score: review Average

The 411

I found this more enjoyable than most weeks and I credit that to the crowd being into both matches. It also helps that both were solid, perfectly acceptable Main Event matches. The closer could have gotten really good without the break and giving them more time, but you take what can get with this show.