wrestling / TV Reports
Leighty’s WWE Main Event Review 08.24.23
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...-RIP to Terry Funk! I grew up on WWF in the 1980s, but watched my fair share of NWA since it was on TBS. My first real memory of Terry Funk was hit Flair with the piledriver on the table and then trying to murder him with a plastic bag over his head. Then he just kind of vanished and my next vivid memory was his WCW run in 1994 against Dusty and Dustin Rhodes. I was blown away when I saw his match against Hogan on Saturday Night’s Main Event for the first time as they meshed so well together, but you could say that about a lot of people with Funk. He is definitely a wrestler I appreciated more as I got older and he always made you believe. The heroes and villains of my childhood are all starting to leave, but that is part of life. We mourn and we celebrate a life well lived. Once again, Rest in Peace Mr. Funk! FOREVER!
-Announce Team: Byron Saxton and Wade Barrett
-Taped: Centre Videotron, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
Ricochet vs. Riddick Moss
-No Emma out with Moss this time. The Quebec crowd is jacked for this which is always a plus for this show. Massive Ricochet chant. Oh man! They collide in the middle of the ring and Ricochet gets a side headlock. Moss shoots him off and they collie again. Ricochet ducks a clothesline and goes back to the side headlock. He takes it to the mat, but Moss powers up and tosses Ricochet away. They run the ropes and Moss runs him down to many boos from the crowd. Moss stomps away in the corner and plays to the crowd as I am sure he is having a ball getting this kind of reaction. Ricochet grabs the rope and lands an elbow to Moss’ jaw. He throws some forearm strikes and hits the handspring elbow. The crowd really like this Ricochet kid! More strikes and then Ricochet snaps off a head scissors. He gets a dropkick that sends Moss to the corner and hits an enziguiri. He tries to spring in, but Moss catches him and gets The SOS Slam. Moss with a side slam with a forearm to the chest on the way down gets a two count. Ricochet fights out of a suplex and hits The Recoil. He follows with a standing Moonsault and standing Shooting Star Press for two. The crowd is pissed at that! Head kick from Ricochet and Sliced Bread gets the win at 5:44.
Winner: Ricochet via pin at 5:44
-Great reaction from the crowd as Ricochet came off as a massive star. The match was just your basic Ricochet match, which is still pretty sweet. This was solid and Ricochet seems to be back to being Mr. Main Event. Again, if they don’t have much for him on RAW, entertaining me every week on this show is cool. **1/2
-The awesome Edge video package on his career is played here. Great stuff! For a few years when he took on the Rated R gimmick, Edge became my favorite wrestler on the planet. He is one of the few wrestlers that I spent money for one of his shirts. As far as his future, Edge took to social media this morning and released a video shooting down the reports that WWE didn’t meet his contract demands. He stated he has the contract extension in his inbox, but he doesn’t know what he wants to do yet.
-Hulu commercials!
-Jimmy Uso returns to SmackDown this week! Mysterio vs. Waller!
-Back to SmackDown where Edge celebrates 25 years in WWE by having a BANGER with Edge in front of a rocking Toronto crowd. Great stuff! Edge gets the win in front his wife (crying in the front row) and daughters along with the rest of his hometown fans.
-Back to RAW last week as Chad Gable gets a win over Da Vinci. GUNTHER then gets a win over Otis. Gable hits GUNTHER with a suplex to add to things.
-John Cena returns to SmackDown next week!
-Hulu commercials!
-Back to RAW as GUNTHER defends against Chad Gable and they tear the house down in a wonderful match. Gable gets the count-out to keep the feud going and I assume we get the rematch at Payback. That suplex by Gable over the retaining wall was tremendous!
-Hulu commercials!
-Nakamura video package where explains he whispered to Seth that he knows about his back. He eve brings up Rollins wife and daughter. EVIL SHIN is the best SHIN!
Natalya vs. Nikki Cross
-Wade notes to Byron that his number one job is to sacrifice himself if Nikki gets too close. As you would expect the crowd is very excited to see Nattie and she eats it up. Nikki lands a boot to the guy and goes to work on the arm. Nattie with a flash roll-up for two. She then rolls into another two count, and then another one. Cross gets to the ropes and yells for Nattie to get off her. She yells at Wade also as I am sure that’s a fun inside joke between the two. Nikki tries another boot, but gets caught and she yells for the crowd to tell Nattie to put her foot down. They end up on the floor and the chase is on. Cross reverses fields at some point and gets a running tackle as we head to the break at 2:35.
-90 seconds of Hulu commercials!
-Back at 4:05 and Nikki is ripping at Nattie’s nose and mouth on the ropes. Nikki hooks a chinlock but also has the arm trapped. Nattie tries to fight back, but Nikki drags her down by the hair. Nattie gets a roll-up for two, and Nikki drops her again. Nattie fights back again and lands a back elbow. She gets a front kick follow by a clothesline. Side Russian Leg Sweep next followed by a basement dropkick for two. Nikki avoids a slam, but walks into a discus lariat. Sharpshooter is countered into a small package for two. Nattie tries again and gets sent head first into the middle buckle. Cross with The Purge neckbreaker for two. Nikki argues with the ref before heading up top. She argues with the fans as she is taking too much time. She misses the splash and now Nattie gets the Sharpshooter for the tap at 8:06.
Winner: Natalya via pin at 8:06
-This was a decent match and again, the crowd was way into it. Nattie getting the win was pretty obvious as it popped the crowd and I am sure Nattie was thrilled to be out there. **
-Video recap of Judgment Day and their internal issues and their issues with Cody, Sami, and Kevin Owens.
-This Friday, Jimmy Uso returns!
-Hulu commercials!
-RAW: Gable vs. Kaiser! Lynch vs. Stark: Falls Count Anywhere!
-Back to RAW as Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn took on Dirty Prison Dom and Finn Balor. No winner as it ends in a DQ. Cody Rhodes heads down and now we have a 6 Man Tag!
-Now we join the 6 Man Tag in progress and it’s a fun party match with a hot crowd. Dom eats the pin this time as I guess they realized Balor was eating too many loses.
-Thanks for reading!
