Leighty’s WWE Main Event Review: 09.14.23

-My 49ers bullied and battered the Steelers, and that gives me bragging rights for a few years over pretty much everyone I know. Let’s get to it!

-Announce Team: Byron Saxton and Wade Barrett
-Taped: Norfolk Scope, Norfolk, VA

Bronson Reed vs. Riddick Moss

-I am intrigued by this one! Lockup to start and they jockey for position around the ring. Reed backs Moss into the corner and lands some body shots. Moss fights back, but can’t get an Irish Whip. Reed sends Moss into the corner, but a charge meets a boot to the face. Moss comes off the middle rope and knocks Reed back into the corner. Moss tries the 10 punch in the corner, but gets dropped face first on the top buckle. Corner splash followed by a German Suplex from Reed. Moss throws some elbows and avoids a splash in the corner. He tries a slam but no dice, as Reed falls back on him for two. Crowd popped for the tease of a slam. Moss gets a jawbreaker, but Reed comes back with a slam. He misses a Senton and Moss starts throwing lefts and rights. Reed pushes him off, so Moss hits a running shoulder in the corner and then does it two more times. Running clothesline knocks Reed off his feet and he bails to the floor. Moss follows and lands a running forearm. Reed reverses a whip and sends Moss into the apron. Reed comes off the apron with a flying shoulder. He sends Moss back into the ring and heads up top. Moss up and meets him on the top rope. Moss gets knocked down, but gets back up and hits the ropes to knock Reed off balance. He crashes to the mat and Moss hits the SOS Slam! DAMN! That gets two! Crowd was buying that one. Moss misses a charge in the corner and Reed hits a running shoulder followed by a Senton. TSUNAMI finishes a solid HOSS Fight at 5:49.

Winner: Bronson Reed via pin at 5:49
-I enjoyed this as they just kept hitting each other hard until one was left standing. TSUNAMI is super over with the crowd and is becoming a MDK move. **3/4

-Back to SmackDown where Jimmy Uso returned and got in the face of John Cena. That didn’t go well for Jimmy! Later Jimmy gets involved and costs AJ Styles in his match with Solo Sikoa.

-WWE and Connor’s Cure commercial!

-Hulu commercials!

-Highlights from WWE’s show in India!

-John Cena will be on SmackDown this Friday as a guest on The Grayson Waller Effect! Plus it’s The Miz/LA Knight II!

-Iyo defends her Title against Asuka next week on SmackDown!

-Back to SmackDown as we join AJ Styles vs. Jimmy Uso in progress! AJ Styles gets the win, but gets attacked from behind by The Judgment Day and they offer him up as a sacrifice to Solo.

-Back to RAW as Kevin Owens and Jey Uso have a meeting of the minds, but here is Judgment Day to continue their recruitment of Main Event Jey! KO is here for a fight and will fight all alone, but Jey says he will fight with him. Jey then superkicks Dom and our unlikely partners clear the ring.

-Hulu commercials!

-Back to RAW for KO/Jey vs. Balor/Priest! Fun match with the right result as Judgment Day are the Tag Champs and shouldn’t be losing to partners that aren’t sure if they trust each other. Jey accidentally superkicks KO and that lets Balor get the pin.

-Hulu commercials!

The Viking Raiders (w/ Valhalla) vs. Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin

-Erik and Cedric start us out and Erik backs Cedric into the corner and yells in his face. Cedric gets some advice from Shelton and apparently it’s to yell back as that’s what he does in the opposite corner. Cedric snaps off a head scissors and makes the tag to Shelton. He hits a back elbow and Cedric drops an elbow. Ivar runs in and eats a knee to the face. Shelton gets a few throws and lands some body punches in the corner. Tag is made to Cedric and he scales the ropes in the corner to catch Ivar with a boot, but gets too cute and Erik hits a knee to the face. We hit our break at 2:00.

-SmackDown commercial!

-90 seconds of Hulu commercials including Applebee’s commercial featuring “The Final Countdown.” DANIEL BRYAN RETURN TO WWE CONFIRMED! That or he is going to Applebee’s for a salad.

-Back with Cedric eating a bunch of elbows in the corner from Ivar. The crowd is not happy! Ivar with a snapmare into a cover for two and then he hooks a jaw submission. He uses the hair to pull Cedric down and drops a fist for two. Tag to Erik and he cuts Cedric off from making a tag. Cedric hits a handspring off the ropes into a double Neuralizer. Hot tag to Shelton and he hits Stinger Splashes on everyone! Leaping shoulder sends Ivar to the mat. Shelton ducks a clothesline and gets an impressive Angle Slam for two. It warms my heart that Shelton uses The Angle Slam! TEAM ANGLE 4 LIFE! Speaking of that, Shelton hooks an ankle-lock, but Erik breaks that up, so Shelton catches him with one as well. Ivar back and he runs Shelton down. Ragnarok is blocked by Cedric and all four men brawl in the ring. Cedric flies over the top onto Ivar. Shelton gets a knee in the corner, but gets distracted by Valhalla. Cedric gets caught with a knee and then we get a weird camera cut as I am not sure what happened. Tag to Ivar and Ragnarok finishes at 9:10.

Winner: The Viking Raiders via pin at 9:10
-This started slow, but picked up with the hot tag to Shelton. The Viking Raiders winning is the right call thought it could have been a bit more dominating. **

-We go back to Payback for highlights of Rhea’s win over Raquel thanks to help from Dirty Prison Dom!

-Hulu commercials!

-Back to RAW as we join Rhea vs. Raquel in progress. They have good chemistry and it’s fun seeing someone bring the fight to Rhea. Raquel swinging Rhea into the announce table and hitting an apron bomb is pretty crazy. Nia Jax returns and attacks Raquel. That lets Rhea get the win with Riptide. Nia stares down Rhea and drops her with a headbutt as she makes her intentions known.

-Thanks for reading!

6.5

The final score: review Average

The 411

Check out the opener as Moss and Reed beat each up good. The tag match was a pretty basic affair, but still solid. This was a perfectly acceptable episode of Main Event!