Leighty’s WWE Main Event Review 11.09.23

-Announce Team: Byron Saxton and Wade Barrett
-Taped: Mohegan Sun Arena, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

-Video package highlighting everything that went down at Crown Jewel! It was a fine show with solid wrestling up and down the card. Knight didn’t look out of place and I very much approve of Logan winning The US Title.

Meta-Four vs. Indus Sher (w/ Jinder Mahal)

-For those unaware, Meta-Four is an NXT faction that includes Oro Mensah, Noam Dar, Jakarta Jackson, and Lash Legend. Jackson and Legend are at ringside. Sanga starts with Dar and it doesn’t go well for him as he bounces off Sanga and decides to make a tag. Mensah throws chops but they have no effect. Sanga lands a heavy chop and Mensah tags back to Dar, who gets in and then tags right back out. Sanga charges and knocks Dar off the apron with a running boot. Mensah and Dar are done as they start walking up th eramp, but Sanga follows. The ladies block, which lets Mensah jumps through and land a forearm. Back in the ring he fires away, buy gets caught and slammed down. Veer gets the tag and the former Pirates’ prospect destroys Mensah with a running boot. He drops the leaping elbow and throws in a stomp for good measure. Sanga back and he drops an elbow. Back to Veer and Mensah starts to show signs of life as he avoids a charge which sends Sanga into the post. He hits a head kick on Veer and makes the tag. Noam gets in some shots and avoids a slam by hooking a sleeper. Veer just tosses him off, but misses a splash in the corner. Dar hits a running kick and Mensah gets a tag and hits a dropkick for two. They try a double team suplex, but Veet counters and suplexes both men at once. Sanga back in with a running splash and another tag to Veer. They finish with Veer coming out with a top rope legrdop while Sanga has Dar held off the ground. That’s enough for the pin at 6:03.

Winner: Indus Sher via pin at 6:03
-Weird to throw the NXT kids to the wolves like that. I have watched plenty of Veer SQUASHES on this show and this one wasn’t fun. 1/2*

-Last week on RAW, Adam Pearce announced 4 men will face off to see who gets the next shot at GUNTHER and his title. Ivar, Miz, Bronson Reed, and Ricochet are the chosen four!

-Hulu commercials!

-Don’t Try This at Home! Or Anywhere!

-Back to RAW as we join Ivar vs. Ricochet vs. Miz vs. Reed in progress. Ricochet and Miz lay each other out which lets the MEATY MEN come off the top. Ivar hits the moonsault, but Miz avoids the TSUNAMI. Ricochet kicks out at two, which was apparently a mistake and Miz gets the win when it was supposed to be a double pin setting up Miz vs. Ivar. Ivar attacks Miz after the match and hits him with the top rope moonsault.

-Hulu commercials!

-Video package on Nattie!

-WWE Elimination Chamber in Fed will be in Australia. Tickets on sale tomorrow!

-Back to RAW for a Battle Royal to determine Rhea’s next challenger. Becky Lynch gets taken out by Xia Li before the match and we are building towards a match between those two. Li’s attack has her barred from The Battle Royal.

-We join The Battle Royal in progress and good for Ivy Nile as she got a nice run in her RAW debut. Nia’s elimination got the biggest reaction and she gets revenge by pulling Nile out of the ring. Zoey Stark gets the win by last elimination Shayna and she is going to Survivor Series to face Rhea Ripley for The Gold.

-Hulu commercials!

-WWE and NFL have partnered on Team WWE Titles. Go Niners!

-Carlito vs. Bobby Lashley this Friday on SmackDown!

Ludwig Kaiser vs. Apollo Crews

-Good for Crews for finally getting back in the ring, even if it is Main Event. This could be fun! Lockup to start and Crews wins the power game rather easily. Kaiser uses his smarts and drops an elbow to the back of the beck. Side headlock is shoved off and they collide. Apollo wants him to try again, but Kaiser just kicks him in the gut. Crews presses Kaiser above his head, but Kaiser slips off and lands on his feet. To the corner where Kaiser gets bounced off the buckle. He turns things around and tries a 10 ounce count, but Crews moves out of the way. Dropkick from Crews and a clothesline sends Kaiser to the floor. We take our break at 2:15.

-Hulu commercials!

-War Games: Two Weeks! The hype video references the women, so I assume we will be getting a Women’s War Games as well. Perhaps Damage CTRL vs. Bianca and Friends.

-Back at 4:20 with Kaiser kicks Crews to the floor from the apron. Back in the ring, Crews lands some shots to the gut. Kaiser cuts him off with a knee and then a forearm to the back. Doesn’t even get a one count! Crews fights back and lands an enziguiri. They battle up top and a right hands sends Crews off the top and to the floor. Barrett all over it as he notes it was basically a slap to the ear. Back in the ring, Kaiser gets a Penalty Kick for two. He hooks a submission as the crowd starts rallying behind Crews. He responds with a belly to back suplex and that leaves both men down. Both get to their feet and Crews gets a Stinger Splash in the corner. Atomic Drop followed by a Block Buster! Gorilla Press Slam connects this time and it gets two. Kaiser slips off the back and gets a rolling driver for two. He hits the pose, but Crews counters a move with a German Suplex. Standing moonsault gets a two count. Crews off the top, but Kaiser rolls out and hits an enziguiri. Kaiser is bleeding from the nose. He finishes with a modified DDT (looked like a cross between a Sister Abigail and a DDT) for the pin at 9:16. That finisher is sweet!

Winner: Ludwig Kaiser via pin at 9:16
-This was a sweet little match that got very good after the commercials break. Good stuff and it’s good to see Crews back. Kaiser has something and the crowd is reacting to him. **3/4

-Back to RAW as Seth Rollins thanks Sami Zayn for stopping a Priest cash in at Crown Jewel. Sami wants a World Title Match tonight and Rollins agrees.

-Hulu commercials!

-SmackDown commercial!

-RAW this week: The Miz vs. Ivar; Cody and Jey vs. Judgment Day for the Tag Titles!

-Back to RAW as we join Seth Rollins defending his World Title against Sami Zayn in progress. This may shock someone, but these two had a wonderful match. Of note as it’s cool that Cole still calls it the Liontamer. Crowd was into this one and would have exploded for a Title Change, but not yet as Rollins gets a roll-up for the win. Sami was protected a bit there as it was off a roll-up vs. The Stomp.

-The real story is after the match as Judgment Day head down and attack Zayn. Seth can’t help himself and dives out for the save. Judgment Day have the numbers which brings out Jey Uso and Cody Rhodes. EVERYONE HITS EVERYONE. Red hot ending! Officials get involved, but there 8 men hate each other. What do you do with eight men that hate each other? Adam Pearce: WAR GAMES! Cody’s reaction is great and good for him to finally step inside the double cage.

-Thanks for reading!

6.0

The final score: review Average

The 411

The opener was not good and I wasn't a fan. The Main Event was strong for this show and nearly pulled this one up to "good" territory, but it ended up as an average episode this week. Give me more Crews and Kaiser on this show though!