Leighty’s WWE Main Event Review 8.31.23

-My latest retro review for SummerSlam 96 should be up in the next few days. From there I just have Fall Brawl 96 to do and that completes that year in PPV 1996. I will then rank every PPV match from WCW and WWF based on my opinion and post that column. Then I have to decide whether to start another year or work on something else for the last months of this year. For now it’s time for Main Event! Let’s get to it!

-Commentary: Byron Saxton and Wade Barrett
-Taped: FedEx Forum, Memphis, TN

-In Memory: Terry Funk and Windham “Bray Wyatt” Rotunda

Chelsea Green vs. Katana Chance (w/ Kayden Carter)

-Green immediately drops Chance with a running boot to the face. Chance gets a float over in the corner and gets a basement dropkick for one. Chance grabs an arm as Wade wonders why Piper isn’t out with Chelsea. Chelsea bails to the floor and calls for a timeout as she lets the ref know she wasn’t ready. Chance with a slingshot into a head scissors which got a pop from the crowd. Chance gets caught by Green and goes splat on the mat which gets two. Green with some ground and pound. She gets a two count and keeps going for the pin, but Chance is out each time at two. Chance flips out of a belly to back suplex and gets a desperation enziguiri. She catches Green with a boot in the corner and gets a leg trip. She plants Chelsea on her face and then gets another head scissors. She comes off the middle ropes and stomps on Green’s back as she was hung on the middle rope. Nice! That gets two! Green lands a slap, but Chance escapes a move. Chelsea gets a roll-up for two with her feet on the ropes. They start trading blows and Green wins that exchange. Carter grabs the ropes to avoid a backdrop and gets in a kick to the chest. She catches Chelsea with a modified Flatliner and that gets the win at 5:04!

Winner: Katana Chance via pin at 5:04
-Well, that’s an upset and one I didn’t seem coming. The match was fine as Chance is good at getting beat up and making the crowd sympathize. Weird to beat Green here, and since it was on Main Event I doubt it leads to anything. *1/2

-Back to RAW a few weeks back as Judgment Day continues to have problems with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn!

-Don’t try this at home or anywhere!

-Hulu commercials!

-TMZ Sports interviews The Miz about LA Knight. He refers to LA Knight as MySpace, Napster, Vanilla Ice!

-Back to SmackDown where LA Knight responds and does an amazing job of tying in his issues with Miz while also paying respect to Bray Wyatt. That “run” line was fantastic!

-Back to RAW as the show opened with Sami Zayn vs. Damian Priest. Good match as you would expect. Priest working night after night with people like Sami, Owens, and Cody is perfect for him as he grows into what they are obviously counting on him to become. JD McDonagh gets involved which lets Priest win, but Priest shoves JD on his ass as he wants nothing to do with him. JD then eats a stunner from Owens and Helluva Kick from Zayn.

-Jimmy Uso returns to SmackDown this week! Also Theory/Waller vs. Santos/Rey!

-Hulu commercials!

-McRiddle vs. Viking Raiders: Tornado Tag this Monday! Also, GUNTHER/Gable II. I am bummed no GUNTHER in Pittsburgh.

-Back to RAW as Seth Rollins calls out Nakamura for making things personal. Awesome touch by Seth to include Fiend side plates on his World Title. Nakamura doesn’t answer the challenge in person and just has the promo video he did last week played on The Iron. Seth cuts a fired up promo to hard sell the show this Saturday. As he basks in his song being hummed, Nakamura hits the ring and attacks Rollins from behind. Head kick! Evil Nakamura is the best Nakamura!

-Byron and Wade talk about Bray Wyatt. Wade notes he teamed and partied with Bray and will miss him massively.

-They play the Wyatt tribute video and the can play it every show for eternity at this point. It is just so well done as it is beautiful, haunting, respectful, full of love, and joy with sadness. Again, you forgot how many moments Wyatt had in WWE that are remembered. Outside of The Shield/Wyatt Match and Wyatt/Bryan (first Rumble) there aren’t many great matches, but that isn’t what made Wyatt great. It was the character work and how you couldn’t take your eyes off him. He sucked you in with his words and presence. Go watch how the crowd freaked out anytime The Fiend made one of his attacks or how the crowd reacted when The Wyatt Family entered. His wrestling wasn’t my personal taste in wrestling, but the character is one of my favorite of all time. Here is the piece I wrote the night the new of his passing broke. Thanks to everyone who has read and commented!

-Hulu commercials!

-John Cena returns this Friday on SmackDown! It seems he will be around for a few months!

JD McDonagh vs. Akira Tozawa

-This could be good! JD gets a takedown and slaps Tozawa in the back of the head. Another go and Tozawa takes JD down. JD back up and he gets a slap and then kicks away in the corner. Charge in the corner from JD, but Tozawa gets up both feet to block. He snaps off a head scissors and gets a two count. JD with a front kick and he drops a forearm. He lands a 12 to 6 elbow and throws some chops in the corner. Barrett brings up that JD once held the Cruiserweight Championship and then mentions Tozawa did as well before I was going to mention it. Tozawa send JD to the floor and gets a suicide dive that sends them both up the aisle. That sends us to a break at 2:35.

-Payback: World Title: Rollins vs. Nakamura!

-1:30 of Hulu commercials!

-Back at 4:43 with Tozawa working JD over in the corner. He avoids a charge in the corner and catches Tozawa with a clothesline. He goes ground and pound and then gets a snap suplex into a cover for two. JD buries a knee to the back of the head and leaves it there to pin Tozawa down for a few seconds. He chokes with his boot for a bit and gets two off a backbreaker. He hooks a reverse bearhug on the mat. Tozawa gets to his feet and punches his way out. He ducks a clothesline and snaps off a rana. Shining Wizard for Tozawa and he heads up top. He hits the diving back elbow for two! Crowd was into that near fall. JD elbows out of a suplex and lands a chop. Tozawa responds with strikes of his own and gets a head kick. He heads up again, but JD rolls through and catches Tozawa with The Spanish Fly. Devil Inside gets the pin at 9:04.

Winner: JD McDonagh via pin at 9:04
-Fun little match as they gave them some time. Again, if this was The Cruiserweight Classic years ago they could have torn the house down, but this is Main Event so it’s a fine little match. **3/4

-WWE and NFL have teamed up for Legacy Titles. I am too cheap to buy a replica WWE Title, so no way I would pay for one of those, but I know a lot of people who will.

-Hulu commercials!

-The Grayson Waller Effect comes to Payback (Pittsburgh) with Cody Rhodes as the guest. Well, we will get Cody’s entrance and pyro at least. Perhaps they turn it into a quick match as well.

-Back to RAW as Becky Lynn and Zoey Stark closed the show with a fun Falls Count Anywhere Match. Trish gets involved and people get put through tables, but Becky gets the win in the end. She then holds up her Bray armband and breaks down in tears. That was heartbreaking as it all just seemed to hit her and come out there.

-Thanks for reading!

6.5

The final score: review Average

The 411

This was a solid episode as the Main Event was better than what we usually get and the opener was decent for the time given.