Leighty’s WWE Main Event Review 2.02.23

-Announce Team: Kevin Patrick and Byron Saxton
-Taped: Tulsa, Oklahoma

Damon Kemp vs. Shelton Benjamin

-LEVEL UP IN THE HOUSE! This is also a battle of Minnesota Golden Gophers. This could be fun! Handshake which is nice to see. Kemp gets a waist-lock, but Shelton reverses and takes it to the mat. Kemp is able to switch and they do some mat wrestling before Shelton rolls to the corner to break. Shelton grabs an arm and they trade counters before Kemp gets an arm drag to many boos from the crowd. He tells the fans, “I do this. I’m the real gold standard.” Kemp offers a handshake and then slaps Shelton in the face. Shelton chases Kemp on the floor, but gets caught come back in the ring. Kemp lands another slap to the face and a neckbreaker gets two. Kemp throws down some right hands followed by body shots in the corner. Kemp lands some European Uppercuts before Shelton starts firing back. Kemp sends Shelton into the corner and catches him on the way out with a neckbreaker for two. Kemp hooks a chinlock as he has dominated the opening four minutes of this match. Shelton starts to rally again and they trade right hands. Shelton gains the advantage and lands a heel kick that gets Kemp off his feet. Stinger Splash in the corner. Kemp ducks a clothesline and gets a spear. He gets a twisting suplex into a neckbreaker for two. Shelton comes back with a German Suplex and gets the step up running knee in the corner. Pay Dirt out of nowhere finishes at 5:49.

Winner: Shelton Benjamin via pin at 5:49
-This was like a mid 90s Sting match as Shelton was dominated for 90% of the match, had a rally and hit his finisher for the win. This was fine and Kemp didn’t look out of place. **1/4

-Tozawa vs. Tony D later!

-Back to The Royal Rumble where Cody Rhodes returned at #30 and won after eliminating GUNTHER. I loved the match and Cody makes sense as the winner. GUNTHER getting the monster run was a pleasant surprise and the man needs to be challenging for World Titles by the summer.

-Don’t Try This At Home Or Anywhere!

-Hulu Commercials!

-Woman’s Rumble Video Package: This was solid with the right winner. Credit to both Rhea and Liv for going the distance. Asuka was awesome and the new old look is welcome. Rhea vs Charlotte at Mania is the right call as it needs to be Rhea getting her win back from WrestleMania 36. I am sure they are thrilled they are getting the chance to run it back and this time in front of a crowd.

-Back to RAW as Rhea officially names Charlotte as his pick to face at Mania.

-Back to The Rumble as we see the close of Bianca’s rather easy win over Alexa Bliss.

-Bianca will face the Winner of The Elimination Chamber at Mania. So far we know it will be Raquel, Asuka, Liv, and Nikki. We have 2 slots to fill and one will be filled Monday in a 4 Way between Piper Nevin, Candice, Mia, and Carmella. I think Piper makes sense as they need a monster in there unless that role is going to Asuka. Candice makes sense too if they want Mr and Mrs Wrestling both in Chamber Matches. I think overall Asuka needs to win this as Asuka vs. Bianca at Mania could be great. Now if Rousey ends up in The Chamber then she is the winner and we get Rousey vs. Bianca at Mania.

-Hulu commercials!

-Back to RAW as Seth Rollins beats Chad Gable to qualify for The US Title Elimination Chamber Match. Good match between two pros!

-Johnny Gargano and Bronson Reed also qualified. The final two qualifiers will see Montez Ford vs Elias and Angelo Dawkins vs. Damian Priest. Ford and Priest will likely fill the last two spots I would guess.

-Tony D video package to introduce him to those who watch this show and don’t watch NXT.

-Hulu commercials!

-Back to The Rumble as we get video and stills from the closing angle with The Bloodline and Kevin Owens. I have already mentioned how amazing all this was. I can’t stop watching clips of it on YouTube and I have rewatched the entire Rumble PPV 3 times since Saturday. Just insanely well done by everyone involved. The pop from Sami hitting Reigns with the chair is legendary and epic. The beatdown was as hellacious as we all thought it would be but the twist of Jey walking out made my jaw drop. Nobody has been as hated as Roman was that night for a long time. That “Fuck You Roman” chant wasn’t the crowd just playing along and booing the heel. They were legit pissed! I can’t wait for tomorrow as we get the first piece of the fall-out.

Akira Tozawa vs. Tony D’Angelo

-Last week Tozawa got SQUASHED by Bronson Reed. This week it’s back to facing someone from NXT. Tony D is coming off a knee injury as this is his third match back. He clowns Tozawa to start as he throws him around the ring and tells him he is nothing. Tozawa slaps him in the face and fires off some strikes, but gets caught with a right hand. Tozawa blocks in the corner and gets a head scissors. He looks to fly, but Tony catches him and gets a gut-buster as he targets the taped ribs (from the loss to Reed last week). Tozawa back with a kick and he comes off with a cross-body, but gets caught and Tony PLANTS him with a powerbomb as we head to a break.

-Elimination Chamber commercial! The reaction for Sami is going to be something else.

-Hulu commercials!

-Back with Tony D controlling the head and throwing uppercuts to the ribs. Suplex from Tony gets two. Tony hooks an abdominal stretch as he yells at the crowd. “If I suck then he sucks.” The crowd starts a loud “Tony Sucks.” He may have something here when he hits the Main Roster. Tozawa escapes and gets a roll-up for two. Another head scissors followed by a running knee. Tozawa heads up and comes off with the flying back elbow for two. The crowd chants “This is Awesome” which I don’t hear often on this show. Tozawa tries to lift Tony, but not with the damaged ribs. He does counter into a crazy submission hold, but Tony escapes and hits a nice clothesline. Perfect-plex into a tight pin gets two. Well, he’s not Perfect! Tozawa gets set up top and Tony pounds away. Tozawa fights back and blocks a superplex. Tozawa comes off with The Senton for the pin at 8:28.

Winner: Akira Tozawa via pin at 8:28
-I enjoyed this as it was one of the better WWE vs. NXT matches we have had on this show. Tony D got himself over enough with the crowd to get booed and get the crowd into cheering for Tozawa’s comeback. It was a basic match, but done well and it made the people care. Credit to both men. ***

-Back to RAW as Cody cuts his victory promo and segues into his upcoming Mania Match with Roman Reigns. The important thing was the fans were behind him. Judgment Day interrupt and Cody is cool with facing any member. It ends up being Seth Rollins and that match is next.

-Piper Nevin hype video!

-Back to RAW a few weeks back as Bayley vs. Becky inside The Steel Cage doesn’t happen as Damage CTRL attacks Becky. The match will happen this week!

-As mentioned it will be Carmella vs. Candice LeRae vs. Michin vs. Piper Nevin for a spot inside The Elimination Chamber.

-Back to RAW as we get the final moments of Cody Rhodes vs. Finn Balor. Very good match with Rhodes getting the win over a former World Champion. He needs to keep stacking wins on the way to Roman.

-Thanks for reading!

7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

Good show this week as I found both matches enjoyable with Tozawa/Tony D being much more than I expected. The recap stuff was better just because it was off a very good Rumble show and the stuff they included from RAW was the best stuff as well.