Tag: Akira Tozawa

WWE Main Event results: Akira Tozawa vs. Axiom

Posted on by James Cox

This week’s WWE Main Event was taped at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska before Monday’s episode of Raw.

Two good matches this week, with an appearance from the very talented Axiom to boot, made this a very pleasant experience indeed.

Nikki Cross defeated Kiana James (5:07)

This was a good five-minute match where James was able to get over who she is as a character, whilst also showing off her moveset.

Kiana James hasn’t appeared on Main Event in over a year. Believe it or not, she wrestled Asuka the last time she worked an episode. Asuka is a dream opponent for anyone on Raw, let alone on this minnow of a show.

James plays the heel really well, she appears to be a businesswoman who has the power to manipulate anyone who stands in her way. She’s got a great smile and so if they wanted to turn her babyface later down the line, that’d work too.

She hit a great-looking belly to back suplex, but unfortunately, they stuck a body scissors spot in the middle, which always look a little bit hokey for my taste. Credit to Cross who sold it like the move was squeezing the life out of her.

The finish saw Cross go for a bulldog, but she was posted as James halted it. James hit the 401K but Cross kicked out. After some back and forth, Cross used a swinging DDT and The Purge to get the win.

Akira Tozawa defeated Axiom (8:48)

This was an excellent match by Main Event standards. Tozawa is always value for money and here despite winning, he played his role just right to allow Axiom to get over with the live crowd.

Axiom has only had the opportunity to appear on a main roster show once before and it was this one in December last year. He was able to work with Mustafa Ali and they were tremendous together.

It was nice to see here that they resisted the temptation to put him up against a giant, like a Bronson Reed, and instead went with something that would be far more entertaining.

This was a really carefully crafted match. It had everything you would want: a ton of grappling and intricate mat work early on, some high spots and some late drama before the victor was crowned.

It’s hard to believe that they haven’t worked together before, because the timing was there. Before the break, they worked really hard on the mat and then Axiom did a springboard moonsault onto Tozawa on the outside as they went to the ads.

Tozawa was in control after the commercials and did a sweet spot where he did a kip up into a German before heading up to the top rope.

In the end, the top rope played a big part in the finish. They fought up there and did a wicked-looking Spanish Fly for a near fall before Tozawa got the upper hand and used the senton to get his hand raised.

Updated standings for WWE NXT Global Heritage Invitational

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Tyler Bate is now at the top of Group A in NXT’s Global Heritage Invitational.

Bate improved his record to 2-0 with a victory over Charlie Dempsey on Friday night’s episode of NXT Level Up. Bate now has four points in the round-robin tournament, putting him ahead of Butch by one point.

Here are the current standings:

Group A —

  • Tyler Bate: 4 points (2 wins, 0 draws, 0 losses)
  • Butch: 3 points (1 win, 1 draw, 0 losses)
  • Axiom: 1 point (0 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss)
  • Charlie Dempsey: 0 points (0 wins, 0 draws, 2 losses)

Group B —

  • Joe Coffey: 4 points (2 wins, 0 draws, 0 losses)
  • Nathan Frazer: 4 points (2 wins, 0 draws, 1 loss)
  • Duke Hudson: 2 points (1 win, 0 draws, 1 loss)
  • Akira Tozawa: 0 points (0 wins, 0 draws, 3 losses)

Former British Strong Style stablemates Bate and Butch will face each other on this Tuesday’s NXT. The match is to decide the winner of Group A. Joe Coffey vs. Duke Hudson is also taking place on the episode.

The winner of Group A and winner of Group B will meet in the tournament finals on the Tuesday, September 26 edition of NXT. The winner of that match advances to challenge Noam Dar for the Heritage Cup at NXT No Mercy on Saturday, September 30.

WWE Main Event results: Tommaso Ciampa vs. Riddick Moss

Posted on by James Cox

This week’s WWE Main Event was taped at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina before Monday’s episode of Raw.

We had another good offering this week, with two decent matches. Ciampa vs. Moss was the pick of the bunch, but the show has started to exist more in a vacuum again where nothing really relates to anything else relevant anymore.

Bronson Reed defeated Akira Tozawa (4:50)

A big man vs. plucky babyface match by the numbers here, but Tozawa got more in than you would expect. People clearly like Reed, but the company doesn’t seem to know how to use him.

Bronson Reed is a little bit rudderless on his current run with WWE. He has bounced around this show – where he remains undefeated – and sporadic appearances on Raw. It’s clear the crowd likes him and the pop is always big for his finisher.

Tozawa and Reed put together a good little match. Tozawa gets more in than you would expect in these situations. He’s a lower-roster talent, but they clearly trust him to go with guys who need a little help in the right direction.

After the early going, they went to near falls pretty quickly. Tozawa hit his top rope back elbow for a two count and then a top rope senton for another near fall.

Reed thwarted Tozawa’s attempts and then finished his opponent with the Tsunami to make him 7-0 on Main Event.

We’ll see what they decide to do with him going forward, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see him working this show again next week.

Tommaso Ciampa defeated Riddick Moss (9:19)

A good match that went longer than it needed to, as they hit their stride in the last few minutes and got the crowd behind them. Moss is infinitely better under this persona than when he was Madcap Moss.

Ciampa became a little bit of a Main Event regular for a while back there. Last summer, he worked this show with the likes of T-Bar, Reggie, and Apollo Crews and was generally the one getting his hand raised.

He returned a couple of weeks ago in a losing effort against Ricochet, but was up against a renewed Moss here, who seems to be increasingly comfortable with his new gimmick.

Moss trash-talked his way through this one and at one point called out Wade Barrett on commentary, telling him to come out of retirement, because this one was proving too easy for him.

They had a quick sprint before the commercials and then started to build the match to a climax after the adverts.

In the final minutes, Ciampa took his knee pad down as Moss lay prone, but he took too long and Moss caught the charge and nailed him with a Rock Bottom/urinage for a near fall. They both lay there for a while after.

Moss told Ciampa he was done and went for a neckbreaker, but Ciampa turned it into a backslide for two. Ciampa then ate a spinebuster, but as he got up managed to nail Moss with a high knee as he was running the ropes.

The Fairy Tale Ending got Ciampa the win to end a match where both men looked exhausted at the final bell.

Global Heritage Invitational match set for WWE NXT Level Up

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The Global Heritage Invitational is set to continue on this week’s episode of NXT Level Up.

WWE has announced that a Global Heritage Invitational match between Akira Tozawa and Joe Coffey will air on Level Up this Friday. It’s the second straight week that Tozawa has wrestled a tournament match on the show. Last Friday, he lost to Duke Hudson.

Tozawa has a 0-1 record in the round-robin tournament and Coffey has a 1-0 record. They’re in Group B for the tournament.

Here are the current standings:

Group A —

  • Butch: 3 points (1 win, 1 draw, 0 losses)
  • Axiom: 1 point (0 wins, 1 draw, 0 losses)
  • Tyler Bate: 0 points (0 wins, 0 draws, 0 losses)
  • Charlie Dempsey: 0 points (0 wins, 0 draws, 1 loss)

Group B —

  • Joe Coffey: 2 points (1 win, 0 draws, 0 losses)
  • Nathan Frazer: 2 points (1 win, 0 draws, 1 loss)
  • Duke Hudson: 2 points (1 win, 0 draws, 1 loss)
  • Akira Tozawa: 0 points (0 wins, 0 draws, 1 loss)

Tozawa vs. Frazer and Bate vs. Axiom are taking place on next Tuesday’s NXT episode.

The winner of Group A will face the winner of Group B on the Tuesday, September 26 episode of NXT. The winner of that match will then challenge Noam Dar for the Heritage Cup at NXT No Mercy on Saturday, September 30.

NXT Level Up airs on Peacock/WWE Network at 10 p.m. Eastern time on Friday nights. The full lineup for this week’s episode is listed below:

  • Global Heritage Invitational match: Akira Tozawa vs. Joe Coffey
  • Ikemen Jiro vs. Tavion Heights
  • Fallon Henley vs. Karmen Petrovic

WWE Main Event results: JD McDonagh vs. Akira Tozawa

Posted on by James Cox

This week’s WWE Main Event was taped at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee before Monday’s episode of Raw. We got two good matches this week in front of a crowd who were very much into them.

Katana Chance (w/ Kayden Carter) defeated Chelsea Green (5:04)

This was a good little opener with some nice work, particularly from Chance who looks better every time she’s in the ring.

Chance worked this show for the first time since a win over Emma in June, returning here to make it two-for-two against Green. It was Green’s first Main Event appearance since January 2020. However, she wasted no time reasserting herself and came right out of the block at the bell to nail Chance with a big boot. The early going was pretty much all Green, who played the heel well.

Eventually, Chance got back into things and did a nice spot where she had Green hung on the middle rope and came off the second turnbuckle with a stomp. Green kicked out at two and then tried to use the ropes to steal a win. This prompted Carter to show her absolute disgust for such behavior, but she remained on the outside.

Green signaled to the crowd that it was game over for Chance. She then tossed her opponent into the ropes but Chance blocked it. Chance then hit her with a kick to the midriff and followed it up with a rolling facebuster for the win.

JD McDonagh defeated Akira Tozawa (7:57)

This was a good match here between two guys who can really go. McDonagh has some amazing stuff in his arsenal and Tozawa is the ideal opponent for him to showcase it against.

After a run on this show over the summer, McDonagh has flirted with main roster action, but his presence is always welcome on Main Event.

McDonagh is reasonably active on X, but he didn’t do much to promote this one, other than reposting a gif that tells you pretty much all you need to know about his current persona.

After being beaten down, Tozawa fought his way out and saw the telegraphed clothesline from McDonagh, reversing it into a head scissors takedown. Tozawa then used a top rope back elbow for a near fall.

McDonagh fired up and they went back and forth until Tozawa nailed him with an enziguri and went up to the top rope. This time, he got caught and McDonagh hit him with a beautiful Spanish Fly.

The Devil Inside got this one done for McDonagh who now really needs a main roster run in a proper program with more eyeballs on him.

Global Heritage Invitational match set for NXT Level Up

Posted on by Ian Carey

The Global Heritage Invitational tournament will continue on Level Up this week. 

WWE has announced that a round-robin match between Duke Hudson and Akira Tozawa will take place on Friday’s show. 

The tournament kicked off on Tuesday’s episode of NXT. Joe Coffey defeated Nathan Frazier in a Group B match and Butch of the Brawling Brutes defeated Charlie Dempsey in the first Group A match. 

The winners of each block will meet in the finals on the September 26 episode of NXT. Noam Dar will defend the Heritage Cup against the winner of that match at NXT No Mercy on September 30. 

NXT Global Heritage Invitational Standings

Group A

  • Butch – 2 points (1-0)
  • Tyler Bate – 0 points (0-0)
  • Axiom – 0 points (0-0)
  • Charlie Dempsey – 0 points (0-1)

Group B

  • Joe Coffey – 2 points (1-0)
  • Duke Hudson – 0 points (0-1)
  • Akira Tozawa – 0 points (0-0)
  • Nathan Frazier – 0 points (0-1)

NXT Level Up airs Friday at 10 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock in the U.S. and the WWE Network internationally. It was filmed on Tuesday, August 29 from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. 

NXT Level Up August 31 lineup:

  • Akira Tozawa vs. Duke Hudson w/Andre Chase in a Global Heritage Invitational B Block match
  • Stevie Turner vs. Valentina Feroz w/Yulisa Leon
  • Riley Osborne vs. Javier Bernal

WWE Main Event results: Nikki Cross vs. Tegan Nox

Posted on by Arya Witner

To celebrate my surgery going well, the show began with a five-minute video package recapping last weekend’s SummerSlam.

This week’s WWE Main Event was taped last Monday in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with Byron Saxton and Wade Barrett on the call. Barrett threatened to quit after Saxton did a bad “Bad News Barrett” impression.

Indus Sher (Veer Mahaan & Sanga) (w/ Jinder Mahal) defeated Apollo Crews & Akira Tozawa (3:57)

As mentioned last week, if you are a Crews fan, Main Event is the show for you as he has now appeared on eight of the last ten episodes. Tozawa is coming off a loss two weeks ago to Sanga. Saxton made sure to call Mahal a former WWE Champion which is somehow even more preposterous in 2023 than it was in 2017.

Sanga was tired of beating up Tozawa, so he encouraged Crews to tag in. Crews got a brief flurry of offense in before tagging out and then Tozawa had no chance. Tozawa didn’t fare any better against Mahaan, but was able to fend him off long enough to tag out to Crews. 

Crews ran wild for 30 seconds and, again, tagged out to Tozawa. Well, the third time was the charm as Tozawa finally got in some offense, at least until Mahaan hit a full body block. Finally, Sanga pinned Tozawa after a double team move where Sanga held Tozawa and Mahaan came off the middle rope with an elbow drop.

A bunch of stuff happened on Raw and SummerSlam that got replayed for the next 22 minutes (minus commercial breaks). If you care, you already know what happened. If you don’t know what happened and care to find out, you are definitely reading the wrong report.

Nikki Cross defeated Tegan Nox (7:40)

Did you remember Nox was drafted to Raw? Neither did I.

Cross got a large reaction by shoulder blocking Nox to the mat and then doing a wacky dance. The fans were less excited when Nox then used an STO into the middle turnbuckle and then were even less excited when Nox mocked Cross’ dance. Apparently, this is a rematch from two months ago on Main Event which was won by Cross. 

Cross ran down the apron with a crossbody to Nox while Nox was outside the ring. Returning from commercial, we were back in the ring and Cross hit the ten punches of doom. 

Cross is horribly miscast as a heel as in my three weeks of doing Main Event reports. She is the only person the crowd is into. Nox used a series of kicks to get the advantage and then used a face-first suplex for a 2 count.

The fans broke into a “Let’s go Nikki” chant as I started to wonder if she is still a heel. 

Cross fired up and hit a bulldog before going to the top rope. Nox knocked her off and Cross fell on her face. Nox went for the cover and put her feet on the ropes, but the referee caught her and stopped the count. Cross then won with a swinging neckbreaker.

That does it for Main Event this week. Some people won, some people lost. What’s most important is we spent almost 12 minutes watching wrestling and there isn’t anything wrong with that. 

This is also my last scheduled Main Event report. There are three guarantees in life: Death, taxes and someone will be back next weekend reporting on this show.

WWE Main Event results: Kayden Carter vs. Nikki Cross, Sanga vs. Akira Tozawa

Posted on by Arya Witner

This week’s WWE Main Event was taped at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, before last Monday’s Raw with Byron Saxton and Kevin Patrick on the call. 

Akira Tozawa defeated Sanga (w/ Veer and Jinder Mahal) (3:38)

Before the match, Mahal announced this was the most destructive tag team on Raw and tonight, Sanga would be unleashed on the carcass of Tozawa. 

Tozawa tried jumping on Sanga’s back, but was promptly thrown off. He came off the top rope with a crossbody but got caught and slammed by Sanga. 

Sanga hit a really nice clothesline and a spinning cobra clutch slam. He almost had the submission with an over-the-shoulder backbreaker, but Tozawa managed to escape. 

Tozawa made a comeback and hit a missile dropkick, but it didn’t drop Sanga. Finally, Sanga hit a giant boot to the face and a chokeslam for the pin.

Nikki Cross defeated Kayden Carter (w/ Katana Chance) (8:13)

This was Carter’s first main roster singles match since an April 2020 loss to Charlotte Flair on Raw.

Before the match began, Cross crouched behind Chance, grabbed her hair, and held it to her upper lip as if it were a mustache. She dropped Carter and began dancing while moving her hands in a claw-like fashion as if she wanted to grab something.

After a brief game of running around the ring, Carter hit a low dropkick. However, her advantage didn’t last long. Cross trapped her in the ring apron (similar to Fit Finlay) and beat on her foe. Hey, if you’re gonna steal spots, steal them from the best.

Back from the commercial break, Cross hit a sit-out death valley driver for a near fall. Cross locked on a straight jacket hold that Carter eventually got out of, but Cross then applied a sleeper. The story of this match was Carter not being used to singles competition as a few times it looked as though she was reaching for a tag. 

Carter got out of the sleeper and began a comeback, hitting a running punch to the face, a kick, and a springboard leg drop off the bottom rope. Cross got the near fall with a bulldog and Carter got one off an STO. Cross eventually won with a flying crossbody which was little surprising if you ask me. 

Final Thoughts:

In case you’re wondering how this show lasted an hour, we got some lengthy recaps of Raw, SmackDown, and NXT. If you want to know more about those shows, go read the remarkable recaps written by Steve Khan (Raw), Chris Aiken (NXT), and Colin McGuire (SmackDown). I approve of anything The Judgment Day does, but do you really need to know that?

WWE Main Event results: JD McDonagh vs. Apollo Crews

Posted on by James Cox

This week’s WWE Main Event was taped at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, before Monday’s Raw.

This was a perfectly watchable show but Apollo Crews vs. JD McDonagh III was a disappointment given how strong their first two exchanges were.

Riddick Moss defeated Akira Tozawa (5:20)

This match was all about Moss, although Tozawa appeared to have hope at times. Moss bullied his opponent and showed off his power in a fairly run-of-the-mill match.

This was Moss’ first win since dropping the Madcap name in May. Meanwhile, Tozawa, who doesn’t get many wins anyway, lost here for the 15th time in 2023. For a loser, he’s a pretty fantastic performer.

Moss worked Tozawa over pretty much from the get-go with Tozawa flipping all over for him. Tozawa sold a clothesline as if it had killed him and took a posting before having to work his way out of a rest hold.

The hope came as Tozawa played the plucky babyface, coming off the top rope with a back elbow and turning a power bomb into a hurricanrana. The crowd really liked Tozawa and was rooting for him as he was getting some shine.

In the end, Tozawa got caught coming off the top and Moss was able to put him in a delayed suplex before using a modified jackhammer for the win.

Apollo Crews defeated JD McDonagh (6:35)

This was the long-awaited rubber match between these two, but it didn’t deliver nearly as well as the previous two.

McDonagh took control in the early going. He was trash talking Crews and definitely looking more of a heel than he has in previous weeks. 

They went outside and McDonagh tried to get one over on Crews, but Crews had him scouted and rolled him back inside. McDonagh was sent over the top rope with a clothesline as we headed to the commercial break.

Crews worked out of a side headlock and came off the top rope with a beautiful crossbody for a near fall. The hang time alone here was impressive.

They started to trade near falls in what was easily the best segment of the match. There was much grace here amongst the big boots and kicks to the head. McDonagh loves the Spanish Fly and I think the one he did here was the best-looking of all of the ones he’s done with Crews.

Unfortunately, they went to the finish quite quickly after they had started to really get going. Crews caught McDonagh off the top rope, hoisted him up onto his shoulders, and delivered his Samoan Drop for the win.  

WWE Main Event results: Apollo Crews vs. Akira Tozawa, Xia Li in action

Posted on by James Cox

This past week’s WWE Main Event was taped at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut, before Monday’s Raw.

Candice LeRae defeated Xia Li (4:45)

This was a fine opener. Li got some of her stuff in and LeRae seems to be getting over.

Li made her Main Event debut, playing the heel and taking her time over everything that she did. She certainly looked comfortable enough. Byron Saxton noted that she had not quite got going over on SmackDown.

LeRae was at the top of the show last week in a winning debut performance, and seems to have something that the crowd likes. Either that or it was Li as her opponent that they disliked.

Li was methodical and burst into occasional flurries of offense, using a modified suplex at one point to throw LeRae across the ring. She tried a chin lock before LeRae broke loose and nailed her with a series of strikes in the corner.

They worked back and forth until Xi caught LaRae’s leg and got nailed with a kick to the head. LeRae stepped on her back, hit a senton and went to the middle rope for her moonsault finish to get her second win in as many weeks.

Apollo Crews defeated Akira Tozawa (7:09)

This was a solid match that was what you would expect. If Crews is back on the Raw roster, though, this isn’t the way to book him.

Before his run back on NXT, Crews had become quite the regular on Main Event. He and Commander Azeez were often tagging up or Crews would work solo with Azeez in his corner. It was an act that they grew tired of when it actually had legs.

As noted on commentary, Tozawa and Crews have worked together in a previous life and it showed. They were smooth and did the whole power vs. pace thing well.

Crews used a Perfect Plex at one point after having clotheslined Tozawa out of his boots, but as ever Tozawa was plucky to the last. He gave Crews a run for his money with a running headscissors and top rope back elbow.

After a segment where they traded kicks, including Tozawa going to town with a veritable can can of kicks, he tried to go up top for his finish, but got caught and nailed with a Samoan drop to give Crews the win.

The finish was really neat and the crowd was into it. Crews looked dominant and Tozawa continued his run of being excellent in the curtain jerker role for these pre-Raw crowds.

Final Thoughts:

This was a  perfectly pleasant enough show this week. It was nice to see Crews back in action and for Li to make her show debut. The crowd certainly seem to like LeRae, so they should probably do something more with her. 

WWE Main Event results: Candice LeRae vs. Tegan Nox

Posted on by James Cox

This past week’s WWE Main Event was taped at the MVP Arena in Albany, New York, before Monday’s Raw.

Dexter Lumis defeated Akira Tozawa (4:11)

As always, Tozawa and Lumis were good together with Lumis getting the win and a handshake.

Lumis is certainly due a storyline having worked Main Event a lot over the last few months. There is definitely a portion of the WWE Universe who likes him, but his character is confusing now, having gone from menacing to essentially quite comical.

Tozawa managed to get Lumis off his feet with a hurricanrana, but he then no sold some of his chops and stared him down. This is where working Main Event makes no sense. If he’s so dominant, why not give him a program on Raw?

Lumis used a delayed suplex which the crowd enjoyed before using a nerve rest hold to lead in to the hope spot for Tozawa who used a rana and running high knee before going up top.

Ultimately, Tozawa took too long as he went up top for his senton finisher and thus, Lumis got out of the way. He caught Tozawa on the charge, nailing him with a side slam for the win.

Lumis did his slithering gimmick after the bell and offered Tozawa a handshake, which was accepted.

Candice LeRae (w/ Nikki Cross) defeated Tegan Nox (7:12)

This was a little too long with too much heat, but Nox and LeRae worked well together.

Nox took most of this one with LeRae basically selling for most of it. With Cross cheerleading from the sidelines, it felt like a bigger pop when LeRae finally got her hand raised.

Before the break, Nox was in control as commentary focused on Cross. Her character is just a little bit too zany for my taste, but she does seem to be over with a certain segment of the crowd.

They ended up on the apron and Nox used a flapjack on LeRae as they went to the break.

Cross never really featured in this one, other than Nox calling her a psycho from the ring. Alas, she was there in full ring gear and did absolutely nothing other than support LeRae from the outside.

In the end, LeRae came up off the top rope with a missile dropick and a moonsault off the second rope for the win. Cross hugged LaRae after the bell, but she didn’t seem too keen on the idea.

Final Thoughts:

These were two matches that were perfectly fine with the babyfaces going over. It had been better when they were giving NXT workers the chance to work against main roster talent, but Tozawa and Lumis are always entertaining together. The women’s match at the top of the show was fine, but focused way too much on Cross’ wackiness.

WWE Main Event results: Nathan Frazer, Roxanne Perez in action

Posted on by James Cox

Last week’s WWE Main Event was taped at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, before Raw.

Emma defeated Roxanne Perez (6:10)

This was a good match that allowed Perez to show what she could do while giving Emma her first appearance on the show in over six years.

As she made her way to the ring, they gave the debutante Perez an inset promo. At just 21, she is really quite impressive. She referred to the fact that she is a former NXT Women’s Champion and that she would show everyone tonight why they call her “the prodigy.”

For Emma, this was her first outing on Main Event since 2017. Back then, she was facing the likes of Mickie James and was probably still doing her wacky dance on her way to the ring. She looked far more assured as she entered here in 2023.

After looking like it was going to be a friendly contest in the early going, Emma turned on Perez and shoved her to the floor. Perez was athletic and agile here, showing that she is a natural gymnast and does way more than just the fundamentals.

Emma took most of the match, working over Perez’s lower back. Eventually, Perez got some hope and fired up with a series of strikes and running European uppercuts. She went up to top, but Emma had it scouted and toppled her to the mat.

Emma used a new finisher here to get the win — the Widow’s Peak — previously used by Victoria. It looks a little ungainly to get her opponent locked in, but there’s no doubt it’s a dangerous looking move that could really get over. 

Akira Tozawa defeated Nathan Frazer (8:52)

This was yet another good match on Main Event involving Tozawa who gave the impressive Frazer a platform to show what he can do.

They also gave Frazer an inset promo as he made his entrance. In previous weeks, this has only been used for the opener. He said we had to obey three words (Never. Slow. Down.”) and warned us that we shouldn’t blink or we might just miss it.

This was Frazer’s second Main Event appearance as last time out, he lost to Bronson Reed. That was more of an extended squash and thus, this was a much better way for him to showcase his in-ring style.

Tozawa practically feels like a trainer these days. Every week he puts over a different fresh face, bumping all over for them, never putting in a bad performance. If he’s happy in this spot, it’s ideal. But, he does deserve a run on the main roster at some point.

Before the break, they put on lots of intricate mat work and got the crowd’s appreciation for the technical skill on display. They built to a point where Frazer nailed Tozawa with a springboard dropkick off the apron before the ad break.

Frazer then locked in a cravat for a long period as Tozawa tried everything to work his way out of it. He then fired up with a German suplex, running leg lariat, and a top rope back elbow for a two count.

Tozawa kicked out of a Cross Rhodes before they went to the finish with Tozawa coming off the top rope for the senton to grab only his third win in 2023.

Final Thoughts:

Two really good matches made this episode very strong indeed. It goes without saying that Perez has a huge future ahead of her, but so does Frazer who could become a really accomplished in-ring performer. Credit yet again goes to Tozawa, who is such a safe pair of hands and never gives anything other than his best.

WWE Main Event results: Mustafa Ali vs. Von Wagner

Posted on by James Cox

This week’s WWE Main Event was taped last Monday at the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, before Monday’s Raw.

Odyssey Jones defeated Akira Tozawa (4:23)

This was a pretty basic match with Jones getting his second win in his second-ever appearance on Main Event.

Back in August 2021, Jones made his debut on this show, defeating Austin Theory. It seems hard to imagine that happening now and just shows how radically things change in pro wrestling.

They gave the very excitable Jones an inset promo as he made his way to the ring. He’s going to need some work on who his character is, but he’s certainly likeable.

Tozawa is perfect in this role. He is an excellent opponent for a less experienced talent because he is so giving and will always bump all over the ring to make them look better. This was certainly true here.

They didn’t go for restholds which was a welcome relief and instead while Tozawa tried his best to take Jones off his feet, Jones worked over his left arm and wrist.

When Tozawa did eventually topple the big man and get a cover on him after a top rope spinning elbow, Jones kicked out and pushed Tozawa off him with Tozawa launching himself up in the air like he had been attached to a rocket.

But when Tozawa went up top again, it was one time too many as Jones dodged it and used a spinning side slam to get the victory.

After the match, they shook hands and hugged with Jones showing respect as he was playing the babyface.

Mustafa Ali defeated Von Wagner (7:35)

All things considered, this was a match that had some context and allowed them to tell a good story.

Before the match, they aired some backstage footage from earlier in the day when Wagner was arriving in the building. He was rude to the camera crew and Ali intervened, calling him out on being a bully. The segment ended with Ali saying he was going to get payback for what Wagner did to Cedric Alexander two months ago.

As he made his way to the ring, they aired the beatdown that Wagner gave to Alexander that led to a DQ in addition to a post-match angle where he continued to destroy Alexander. The announcers tried to put him over as a force to reckoned with.

This all played well into how Ali was received by the crowd when he came out as well as throughout the match with Ali trying to build up their support as the two circled each other after the bell.

Before the break. it was pretty much all Wagner with little bits of hope for Ali snuffed out as soon as they got going. Ali was on the apron when Wagner grabbed him by the throat and drilled him into the ring post to leave him writhing in pain as we headed to the commercials.

After the ads, every time Ali got some separation, he was thwarted by Wagner and the match overall did a good job in making him look strong.

For the finish, they teased a top rope superplex but when Ali reversed it into a sunset flip, his face was a picture. The crowd reacted knowing that it meant he had a chance. With Wagner down, Ali seized it and hit his 450 splash for the victory.

Ali celebrated and Wagner retreated to the back selling his ribs from the splash.

Final Thoughts:

These were two perfectly watchable matches with the second being the better of the two this week. It would be good to see them return to the Alexander, Ali and Benjamin storyline at some stage as they have really fully resolved it and none of the trio have much material on WWE main show television right now.

WWE Main Event results: The Street Profits vs. Alpha Academy

Posted on by James Cox

This week’s WWE Main Event was taped at the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC before Monday’s Raw.

Shelton Benjamin defeated Akira Tozawa (5:22)

This was a solid match between two good athletes where they both played the babyface. Coming off of back-to-back defeats on Main Event, Shelton got his arm raised here against an exciting Akira Tozawa.

Tozawa is so good at flipping all over for a bigger opponent. Some of the air time that he got on his back body drops and suplexes were not only impressive but made Benjamin look seriously strong here.

One little thing that seems to have changed since Vince departed is some of the camera work on this show. There was a nice moment where they cut to a camera that was behind the hard cam to the left and it panned across to take in the action. It gave the feel that this was a classy live event.

In the end, Tozawa came off the top but Benjamin had it scouted. Tozawa landed on his feet and then ran into the Pay Dirt to end it.

After the match, Benjamin helped Tozawa to his feet and offered him a fist bump as a goodwill gesture.

The Street Profits defeated Alpha Academy (6:51)

Not only was this a really strong match but the live crowd were really into it, which helped the match.

These two teams have been used sparingly on Main Event in the past year or so, but this is the first time they’ve faced off against each other on an episode of the program. It was well received by the live crowd and you could tell that they were all buoyed by the reaction.

The Street Profits came out in Washington Commanders shirts which got them a nice pop when they hit the ring.

They began with Dawkins and Ford cutting the ring in half to keep Gable in the ring and they did loads of neat chain wrestling that the crowd enjoyed. They then headed to the break with a tope from Ford.

Otis was in after the break and the action slowed down. Ford played babyface in peril and they built up the tension for the hot tag really well.

After Dawkins came in and cleared house, they quickly went to the finish, with the Street Profits hitting the Doomsday Blockbuster on Otis for the win.

Seeing Otis take the finisher here got a great reaction. They should be doing this sort of match on Main Event every week. As far as curtain-jerkers go, this was pretty hard to top.

Final Thoughts:

Lots of babyfaces having good matches is a fun way to book a show. If they continue to do this every week, this show will be a pleasure to watch. There’s still a rationale, though, that says that Main Event ought to be a platform for talent to try out new gimmicks and for fresh talent to learn their trade. Otherwise, you have to ask what this show is really all about.

Three matches announced for WWE Raw, Big Show & Flair to appear

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE has announced three matches and a segment that will be airing on tonight’s episode of Raw.

United States Champion Apollo Crews vs. MVP in a non-title match, The Viking Raiders vs. Andrade & Angel Garza, and Akira Tozawa defending the 24/7 Championship against R-Truth are set for the episode.

WWE has also announced that Big Show and Ric Flair will appear on tonight’s Raw. Big Show confronted Randy Orton and Flair last week during the segment where Flair was anointing Orton as the greatest wrestler ever.

Crews defeated Shelton Benjamin in non-title matches on Raw each of the past two weeks. MVP has been trying to recruit Crews and there was a VIP Lounge segment with the two of them last week. MVP mentioned his previous 343-day reign as United States Champion and said that — whether Crews likes it or not — the US title is coming back home to him where it belongs.

A distraction by MVP allowed Benjamin to attack Crews before their match last week. After the match, Bobby Lashley put Crews in a full nelson.

Tozawa won the 24/7 title from R-Truth last week after MVP and Lashley took out Tozawa’s ninjas and Lashley put Truth in the full nelson.

The Street Profits retained their Raw Tag Team titles against The Viking Raiders on last Monday’s show. Andrade & Garza attacked The Street Profits after until The Viking Raiders made the save.

Tonight’s Raw was supposed to be taped last Friday, but the tapings for the show were pushed back to Saturday. It was confirmed last week that multiple people in WWE have tested positive for COVID-19.

Tonight’s show will feature a double contract signing for Drew McIntyre vs. Dolph Ziggler for the WWE Championship and Asuka vs. Sasha Banks for the Raw Women’s Championship at Extreme Rules. The contract signing will be hosted by Samoa Joe and will feature all of the participants in the ring at the same time. The feud between Seth Rollins and Rey Mysterio will also continue tonight.