Tag: main event

WWE Main Event results: Kalisto vs. Scott Dawson

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway: Solid cruiserweight action held up the show again, while The Revival made it two weeks running on Main Event, this time with Scott Dawson in singles action.

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Rich Swann defeated Ariya Daivari (5:40)

Although it’s sad to see Rich Swann in a lesser position than he was in previously, this was a good advert for 205 Live. Swann starts quickly and is all over Daivari like a rash, even teasing an early Phoenix Splash. Daivari coaxes him out on to the apron and is able to send him head-first into the post.

Swann sells the move and acts as a deadweight as Daivari struggles to roll him back into the ring and stomps all over him. He slaps on a rear chinlock to slow things down. Swann works his way out and is able to hit Daivari with an enzuigiri to the back of his head as both men go down.

The last two minutes are excellent. Swann hits a beautiful modified Michinoku Driver, but Daivari kicks out. He counters with an inverted DDT and the Persian Lion Splash, but Swann kicks out. They go back and forth until Swann connects with a superkick to put Daivari in position for the Phoenix Splash, which he lands for the win. This was a very good opener.

Kalisto defeated Scott Dawson (w/ Dash Wilder) (4:40)

Kalisto takes no disrespect from Dawson, and after some early shoving, slaps him in the face. Dawson charges around the ring, hitting Kalisto with European uppercuts until Kalisto spins him around with a hurricanrana and dropkicks him outside.

Dawson goes to his tag partner and calls for a timeout as Kalisto teases a suicide dive onto both Dawson and Wilder. The Revival then try to team up on Kalisto, with Wilder handing the ring apron to Dawson to help him stop the momentum of a sunset flip. Dawson then regains his balance, and as the referee sees to the apron, he drives his knee into Kalisto’s left arm and we head to a break.

When we come back, Dawson tries to superplex Kalisto but is thrown off and eats a diving crossbody, followed by a springboard seated senton. Kalisto hits the spike rana, but Dawson kicks out at two.

Kalisto sends Dawson outside, then after punting Wilder, takes a huge clothesline on the apron from Dawson and looks in trouble. But back in the ring, Dawson tries for a suplex and Kalisto catches him in an inside cradle that he can’t kick out of in time, so Kalisto steals a plucky win.

WWE Main Event results: The Revival take on Gallows & Anderson

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway: Brian Kendrick and Cedric Alexander had a really strong match at the top of the show, then The Revival made their Main Event debut by beating Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson.

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Cedric Alexander defeated Brian Kendrick (5:38)

Cedric Alexander hasn’t been on this show since February, so it was a pleasure to see these two work together here. On the bell, Kendrick hits Alexander with a big boot that sets the tone and pace for the match. Alexander responds by sending Kendrick to the floor outside and hitting him with a springboard senton.

He rolls him back in and catches him in a head scissors and follows it up with a dropkick. Kendrick thumbs him to the eye and flips him over into the Captain’s Hook. Alexander makes the ropes, but only with his foot. Kendrick regains control and transitions it into a seated Cobra Clutch.

Alexander works his way out and fires up with chops — only to be cut off by Kendrick’s leg lariat. The speed that Kendrick got up and down for this was seriously impressive. He goes for a cover but can only get two.

Alexander manages to hit a spear to the corner and follows it up with an enzuigiri to the back of Kendrick’s head. He comes off the top with a clothesline, but Kendrick kicks out at two. There’s then an awkward spot where Kendrick is trying to get the Captain’s Hook back on and Alexander lands on his head.

The finish sees Kendrick look for the Sliced Bread #2, but the counter by Alexander lets him get Kendrick up for the Lumbar Check for the win.

The Revival defeated Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson (7:20)

Even though The Revival find themselves on Main Event — there are many positives here: their opponents are Gallows & Anderson, they have a really good first outing, and they debut on the show with a win.

Dash Wilder and Anderson start things off before Scott Dawson comes in to have some quick back and forth with Anderson. Anderson starts to get some dominance and tags Gallows in.

Gallows works over Dawson with clubs to the corner. Wilder tries to come in and help out his buddy, but Gallows fights them both off. Gallows and Anderson are total babyfaces here, sending The Revival packing as we head to a break.

After the ads, Wilder cuts off Anderson and tags Dawson in. They double team Anderson and take control, cutting the ring in half. They do every heel tag team gimmick in the book, swapping in and out when the ref’s back is turned and making the crowd desperate to see Gallows come in.

Finally, Anderson is able to give Gallows the hot tag. He hits a Stinger Splash and a superkick on Wilder and he tags in Anderson while motioning for the Magic Killer. They hoist Wilder up, but Dawson runs in and pushes Wilder off. He sends Gallows outside and The Revival hit the Shatter Machine on Anderson for their first win on Main Event.

WWE Main Event results: Gran Metalik vs. Tony Nese

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway: Kalisto grabbed a win against Rhyno in the opener, then Gran Metalik lost his second straight match on Main Event, this week losing out to Tony Nese.

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Kalisto defeated Rhyno (5:38)

A series of rarities kick off the show this week: a rare babyface vs. babyface match saw an unlikely fist-bump of appreciation between the two on the bell here. Moreover, this is Kalisto’s first appearance on this show in almost exactly a year — it was June 26th last year when he last performed on Main Event, beating Viktor in singles competition.

This was as you would expect for a giant vs. luchador match. Kalisto tried to unsteady the enormous frame of Rhyno, who pinged Kalisto around the ring like a rag doll. Occasionally, Kalisto would catch Rhyno, as he does a couple of minutes in with a hurricanrana. Rhyno is so stunned that he rolls outside and takes a walk.

Rhyno then works over Kalisto’s lower back, sending him from pillar to post, playing the heel by mocking his “lucha” arm chant. Kalisto immediately gets payback, though, as he nails Rhyno with a spike rana for two. Rhyno fights back with a second rope suplex, but Kalisto has enough to kick out.

The finish sees Kalisto dodge Rhyno’s charge so that he can tuck around the back and nail him with the Salida Del Sol for the win. This got pretty good in the last few minutes.

Tony Nese defeated Gran Metalik (3:20)

In a short match here, Gran Metalik once again lost after a reasonable amount of dominance. He rolls out of the way from Nese’s attempt at a top rope senton in the early going and dumps Nese outside. He then uses a top rope springboard senton onto the matting outside as we head to a break.

Metalik has the heat as we return. He nails Nese with a running bulldog and follows it up with a rope-walk missile dropkick. He goes up top and hits an elbow drop, but Nese kicks out at two.

Metalik looks to finish it with the Metalik Driver, but Nese ducks out of the way and uses the ropes to break the hold. He German suplexes Metalik into the turnbuckle and then finishes him with a running knee strike in the corner. This was fine, but it was quick.

WWE Main Event results: Gran Metalik vs. Ariya Daivari

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway: Curtis Axel and Curt Hawkins continued to trade wins, while an explosive cruiserweight main event saw Ariya Daivari steal one against Gran Metalik.

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Curtis Axel defeated Curt Hawkins (5:11)

Hawkins has become somewhat of a mainstay on this show of late. The weird thing is, this show used to be Superstars and when Hawkins was at the end of his last run with WWE, he was somewhat of a mainstay on that show too. It’s a career stasis that is odd given his ability.

Hawkins and Axel usually work well together, and this match is no different. Axel smashes Hawkins into the turnbuckle on the apron and then pulls him into the ring, where he dominates the early going.

Vic Joseph and Corey Graves discuss the lack of success that Hawkins has had since his return as Axel gets a near fall.

Hawkins gets some heat with a shot to the back of Axel’s head as he blocks an Irish whip. They do a spot where Axel misses a clothesline but is able to smash Hawkins to the back of the head to repay the favor. The finish sees Axel get thwarted by blocks for the Perfect Plex until he ducks under Hawkins and hits it for the win.

Ariya Daivari defeated Gran Metalik (4:26)

Daivari is doing his best to amalgamate Razor Ramon and Alberto Del Rio. His current new-money gimmick is getting him some good heat and he’s backing it up with results in the ring as well.

Daivari and Metalik go at it with some pace. After a testing start, Metalik explodes into his repertoire of high-flying moves. He uses a springboard arm drag that sends Daivari outside, then when Daivari tries to outwit him, he nails him with a springboard crossbody for two.

Daivari looks stunned as Metalik superkicks him, following it up with a running bulldog and ropewalk missile dropkick. Daivari kicks out at two and a half, rolls onto the apron where Metalik charges at him, and hits a beautiful running hurricanrana to the matting outside.

They go down for a seven count. Metalik then comes off the top rope with an elbow drop. Daivari barely kicks out, so he tries for the Metalik Driver but Daivari works his way out. Daivari tries to tear Metalik’s mask off and then uses a hammerlock twisted into a short-arm lariat for the win. This was a perfect heel finish for Daivari.

WWE Main Event results: Drew Gulak vs. Lince Dorado

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway: Lince Dorado may have injured his knee in the opener against Drew Gulak, while Rhyno & Heath Slater continued their winning streak with a win against Bo Dallas & Curt Hawkins.

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Drew Gulak defeated Lince Dorado (4:38)

On the bell, Gulak charges at Dorado and they explode into action. Dorado takes most of the early going with quick springboard moves until Gulak takes him down and starts to work him over with chinlocks and armbars.

The most newsworthy part of the match, though, was about four minutes in just as they were about to go to the finish. Dorado twirled Gulak into a backbreaker, but as he did so, he landed awkwardly on his right foot and Gulak smashed into his knee.

Dorado was slightly off balance and his ankle looked to have turned over slightly. He rolled out of the move clutching his knee. He nodded to the ringside officials and the referee immediately called for the bell.

Dorado since posted on his Instagram account with a picture of his foot in a sports trainer with a comic on his lap. The caption underneath just read “Recover.” Its unclear at this stage whether the injury was an angle or if it just seemed more serious at the time.

Rhyno & Heath Slater defeated Bo Dallas & Curt Hawkins (7:01)

Hawkins’ partner this week is Bo Dallas. Dallas seems to be slowly changing his look; his beard is thicker and longer than ever and he is wearing his hair down and loose.

Rhyno and Slater take control in the early stages as Rhyno beats up Hawkins and flies off the ropes with a headbutt. Only after Slater loses out in an Irish whip does Hawkins get the chance to tag in Dallas. Dallas is able to dodge out of the way of Slater, who tumbles through the ropes to the outside as we head to a break.

Hawkins and Dallas have cut the ring in half as we return. They use a mixture of rest holds, double teams, and quick pin attempts to try to finish Slater off. Once again, even in these short tag team bouts, Hawkins’ quality as a wrestler really stands out. He hits neat suplexes and elbow drops and just makes it all look extremely easy.

Finally, Rhyno gets in and clears house. He Samoan drops Dallas, but Hawkins dives in to make the save. Slater dumps Hawkins over the top rope, but the momentum takes him with him. Rhyno turns back around and uses his spinning spinebuster for the win.

WWE Main Event results: TJP and Gran Metalik face off again

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway: With Vic Joseph from NXT leading the announce team, TJP beat Gran Metalik in the opening bout, while Rhyno and Heath Slater picked up a win against the begrudging combination of Curtis Axel and Curt Hawkins.

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TJP defeated Gran Metalik (5:25)

TJ Perkins, now “TJP,” doesn’t seem to be a perfect fit as a heel. His gimmick is perhaps more annoying than it is heelish. He comes out here against Gran Metalik and other than a curl of his upper lip, his entrance is just as it was when he first came to the main roster last year.

After a slow start, they put on some good wrestling. They previously faced off in the finals of the Cruiserweight Classic last year, where Perkins became Cruiserweight Champion.

Rest holds and TJP’s attempts to thwart any high flying from Metalik soon give way to these two reverting to type and doing what they do best.

After TJP’s suicide dive to the outside, Metalik does a beautiful ropewalking dropkick and then hits a top rope splash for a near fall. TJP rolls out of the way of a moonsault and hoists Metalik onto his shoulders and hits his Detonation Kick for the win.

Rhyno & Heath Slater defeated Curtis Axel & Curt Hawkins (7:36)

These are the kind of undercard performers it’s fun to watch before an episode of Raw. Curt Hawkins has had a string of appearances on Main Event over the last few weeks. His entrance complete with his “heaping helping of Hawkins” is the kind of stuff The Miz was attempting to get over before he was given a push. And Hawkins has the in-ring ability to match his promos.

The story of the match is that Hawkins and Axel don’t really get along but are still very effective. Slater works most of the match, with Rhyno waiting for the hot tag.

Axel and Hawkins keep blind tagging in as they tease dissension early on. But they cut the ring in half and keep Slater as the babyface in peril. The match isn’t too much to write home about as Axel and Hawkins transition from one chinlock to the next, but Hawkins is very neat and tidy and doesn’t waste too much movement.

The finish sees Slater give the hot tag to Rhyno. He nails Axel and covers him for a near fall before Hawkins makes the save.

Slater superkicks Hawkins and springboards over the top rope onto him on the outside. Inside the ring, the distraction allows Rhyno to spinebuster Axel for the win.

WWE Main Event results: Rich Swann vs. Ariya Daivari

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway: A good cruiserweight main event saved the show after a lackluster opener between Nia Jax and Dana Brooke.

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Nia Jax defeated Dana Brooke (5:05)

After such strong shows for the last two weeks, it was disappointing to see Main Event kick off with Nia Jax vs. Dana Brooke. Neither seems to have gained much momentum of late and they found themselves struggling to find any rhythm together here tonight.

Brooke tries to attack Jax on the bell with forearms, but she is thrown off. It is only when Brooke dodges a charge from the dominant Jax that Jax is posted in the corner and sent outside. Brooke dives off the apron with a crossbody and then dropkicks Jax in the corner. When she then goes for a handspring forearm, she is just shoved to the mat.

Jax starts to work over Brooke’s back, standing on it and stretching it with her knee, pulling her arms behind Brooke. When Brooke powers out each time, she is just slammed back down to the mat. Jax misses an elbow drop and Brooke tries to fireman’s carry Jax to no avail. Jax then just puts her out of her misery with the Samoan drop.

Rich Swann defeated Ariya Daivari (6:36)

Daivari’s new gimmick is that he is part of a rich family. Corey Graves clearly enjoys playing up to it on commentary, saying that Daivari “wouldn’t normally set foot in New Jersey” and so he had stayed in Manhattan and chartered a stretch Hummer to the arena.

After lots of intricate moves on the mat, Swann hits a dropkick for two. Daivari comes back with a big boot and launches Swann into the corner. He now takes over the match, working the lower back. After a backbreaker, Daivari puts on a stretch hold to get a rest.

Daivari hits a beautiful layout reverse DDT but then runs into a boot from Swann, who now hits him with clotheslines and a spin kick for two. Daivari rolls outside and Swann springs off the top rope with a corkscrew tumbleweed.

They beat the referee’s count, but Daivari kicks Swann in the face and uses a neckbreaker to put him in position for the frog splash. Swann dramatically kicks out at two, and after Daivari slaps him around the face, Swann craftily rolls him up for a sit-out pin. It feels like a steal and Daivari is furious, so hopefully we will see a rematch next week.

WWE Main Event results: Aleister Black makes his show debut

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway: Aleister Black made his show debut by squashing Curt Hawkins, then Noam Dar and Gran Metalik put on a good match to make it a thoroughly enjoyable Main Event.

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Aleister Black defeated Curt Hawkins (2:00)

Hawkins cuts a pre-match promo, asking who’s ready for a “heaping helping of Hawkins?” He does some awful comedy aimed at the British, but much to everyone’s delight, Aleister Black from NXT comes out to “face the facts.”

Black wrestled under the name of Tommy End in Europe and the UK, but was born in Amsterdam, Holland. At TakeOver: Orlando, Black made his televised in-ring debut in NXT, defeating Andrade “Cien” Almas and this marks his main roster debut (even if it’s only temporary).

Black’s speed and talent is too much for Hawkins, who is an excellent foil for him here. He cuts an imposing figure — he has the height and bulk, but a fairly unique look. After sending Hawkins outside, he threatens a suicide dive, but instead does a flip off the second rope, lands on his feet, and sits cross-legged in the middle of the ring, staring back at Hawkins.

After giving a little of the match to Hawkins, Black takes over. His moveset is full of kicks, leg lariats, and forearm strikes. He’s agile, athletic, and impressive. After two charges into the corner, he boots Hawkins to the mat and then drags his chin up with his foot and hits a roundhouse kick (the Black Mass) for the win.

This was exactly what the crowd at the O2 would have wanted from Main Event.

Noam Dar defeated Gran Metalik (7:47)

It was good to see Noam Dar in action in front of the London crowd. These two are really talented and Dar and Metalik put in some intricate work early on, but the crowd are a little subdued after the debut of Black. They come to life when Metalik open hand chops Dar and springs off the top rope with an armdrag that sends Dar outside.

Metalik stands on the apron and boots Dar in the face and then sets up a top rope springboard moonsault. After a little shaky footwork on the top rope, he lands the move perfectly and is safely caught by Dar as we head to a break.

Dar gets some support from the London crowd when he boots Metalik in the shin and he tumbles down to the matting outside. Dar rolls him back inside and slows things down, tying Metalik up with what looked like a standing STF. After more rest holds, Metalik gets a suplex in and both men go down.

After Dar kicks out of a running bulldog and a small package, Metalik hits Dar with a tope to the outside. They both crawl back in and Dar hits his impressive running enzuigiri to a nice pop and ends the match.

This was the second good Main Event show in as many weeks — and long may it continue.

WWE Main Event results: Rhyno in singles action

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway: Rhyno returned to this show with a win against Titus O’Neil, and the team of Gran Metalik & Lince Dorado entertained against Drew Gulak & Tony Nese in the main event.

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Rhyno (w/ Heath Slater) defeated Titus O’Neil (5:15)

This was Rhyno’s first appearance on this show since last November. This week he is over with the pre-Raw crowd. He and Slater burst out of the curtain ready to fire things up. Rhyno and O’Neil exchange power moves to begin with as O’Neil takes the early going.

As Slater cheers him on outside, Rhyno gets some hope, hitting a shoulder block and then tossing O’Neil over the top rope to the outside. O’Neil manages to reverse things there and gets a near fall after rolling Rhyno back in the ring and hitting a big boot.

O’Neil slows things down with his usual chops and strikes in the corner, but Rhyno gets the heat with shoulder blocks and a belly-to-belly suplex for two. O’Neil hits a knee strike, but he misses a charge and runs into a spinebuster for the win.

Gran Metalik & Lince Dorado defeated Drew Gulak & Tony Nese (6:57)

Gulak comes out with a megaphone and a hand-made sign that says “No Fly Zone” on it. Although it’s an improvement on his normal entrance, it doesn’t seem to either generate heat or a reaction of any sort from this crowd.

Nese and Dorado start things off together with Nese overpowering Dorado in the early going. Dorado then hits a sunset flip and a rana and tags in Metalik. They use a series of quick tags and double team Nese with dropkicks. Gulak manages to shove Dorado off the top rope as we head to a break.

Dorado is maintaining the advantage as we return, but quickly Gulak comes in and stomps all over Dorado. He and Nese work quick tags, cutting the ring in half and isolating Dorado in their corner. Dorado hits the desperation superkick and makes the tag.

Metalik then hits his patented ropewalk elbow drop and Dorado hits a handspring cutter. The heels get clotheslined to the outside and Dorado and Metalik nail them with top rope dives. The finish then sees Metalik come back inside to hit the Metalik Driver on Gulak for the win.

WWE Main Event results: Daivari & Nese battle Metalik & Dorado

Posted on by F4W Editors

The Big Takeaway —

Titus O’ Neil scored a win over Curtis Axel, and the team of Lince Dorado & Gran Metalik came up short by losing to Tony Nese & Ariya Daivari.

Show Recap —

Titus O’Neil defeated Curtis Axel

Curtis Axel runs out fired up to face Titus O’Neil. Corey Graves talks about The sky being the limit for the Titus Brand. Axel circles O’Neil before getting tossed into the corner. O’Neil slaps his head before eating kicks and then a mudhole stomp in the corner. Axel lands a running shoulder block in the corner before kicking him down out of a corner charge for two.

Graves talks about how a good showing on Main Event might mean that you can eventually get title shots or move higher on the card — offering up two valid reasons for this show being around still despite its prime being long gone.

O’Neil slugs Axel down before tossing Axel’s shoulder into the buckle. O’Neil dominates for a bit, but Axel lands chops and kicks to regain a bit of an edge. A dropkick sends O’Neil down before a Perfect neck snap gets a nice pop. A running knee lift hits and gets two for Axel.

Axel goes up top, but gets taken down by O’Neil with the Clash of the Titus to win. The finish looked impressive, and he does the Sky High quite well.

A recap then aired of the past two Raw angles between Dean Ambrose and The Miz. The women’s fatal four-way from Raw aired as well.

Ariya Daivari & Tony Nese defeated Gran Metalik & Lince Dorado

Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado come down to face Tony Nese and Ariya Daivari — so this is 3/4 of the main event from last week’s show. With Daivari being switched in, I’ll guess that he eats the fall here.

Dorado starts off hot with a sunset flip off the shoulders of Daivari to get two. Nese comes in to face Metalik, who uses a variety of backflips to get a rana and uses that to get a springboard elbow off the ropes for two.

Nese hits a running trip near the ropes and gets pulled to the floor. Nese hits a leg drop for a near fall before Daivari tags in and clubs away. Nese comes back in to kick away at Metalik before his cover is broken up by Dorado. Metalik flips onto Nese’s shoulders to hit a big DDT.

Dorado and Daivari come in, with Dorado hitting a series of lariats before hitting a big overhand chop to the chest. A quebrada gets two for Dorado.

Nese tosses Metalik out before Dorado hits a superkick to Nese and a spinebuster from Daivari gets two. Dorado hits the handspring stunner — sending him outside, so the faces hit stereo Asai moonsaults. Dorado goes up, but gets tossed into the barricade by Daivari and eats a big lariat to win this. The heels have once again won on Main Event!

A recap of Braun Strowman’s destruction of Roman Reigns airs before the Strowman vs. Big Show match from Raw is shown in full.

WWE Main Event results: Gulak & Nese battle Metalik & Dorado

Posted on by F4W Editors

The Big Takeaway: Big Cass destroyed Titus O’Neil, who at least booted Enzo Amore on the floor. Tony Nese & Drew Gulak then got a surprising win over Lince Dorado & Gran Metalik.

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Big Cass defeated Titus O’Neil

Enzo Amore mixes up his usual promo by responding to “How you doin’?” with “Great — thanks for asking!” Sometimes, just small changes in the routine really help out and prevent every intro from feeling the same, and that helped this out a lot.

Tom Phillips and Corey Graves are on commentary, and their NXT chemistry is back — it’s a shame it’s for a secondary show. Cass hits a big fallaway slam that sends O’Neil outside, where he kicks Amore on the floor.

Cass beats up O’Neil on the floor before tossing him in the ring and missing a Stinger splash. O’Neil clubs away before a long chinlock, but eats a pair of knees. Cass hits a big slam and an Empire Elbow before the big boot ends it. 

Seth Rollins’ speech from Raw is shown in full. Roman Reigns’ interview with Michael Cole, and the subsequent beating from Braun Strowman is shown in full as well. Strowman came off as such a badass beating up Reigns and then the sheer ridiculousness of him tipping over the ambulance put things over the top.

It did an excellent job putting Strowman over, but hurt Reigns, who always had a chance to at least be in the fight — but couldn’t stand up to Strowman. 

Drew Gulak & Tony Nese defeated Gran Metalik & Lince Dorado

The babyfaces come out first, followed by the heels and their incredibly generic theme music. Gulak hits a knee to the gut of Metalik before chopping away. Metalik hits a double backflip into an armdrag off the ropes to Gulak.

Nese goes for Metalik, but eats an elbow — giving Gulak a chance to lock on a dragon sleeper with a bodyscissors. Metalik escapes and dropkicks both men to the floor before Dorado hits an Asai moonsault. Gulak hits a sloppy swinging powerbomb into the barricade.

Nese and Gulak double team Metalik, who fights back with chops. A calf kick hits Gulak and allows Metalik to tag in Dorado. Dorado hits a moonsault block for two, before a frog-style crossbody on Nese gets a near fall.

Dorado hits a two-man Lethal Injection with a stunner instead of a cutter. Metalik walks the rope to moonsault on Gulak before Nese gets two off an O’Connor roll. Nese crotches Dorado before hitting shotgun knees in the corner to win.

The show closes with the Kevin Owens vs. Dean Ambrose match from Raw.

This was a solid little show — it’s a shame that it’s relegated to obscurity without a global TV deal because it was a fine showcase for the cruiserweights on this episode. It was neat to see the heels actually win the main event, especially given that they’re two of the most bland guys in the division and it would be easy to assume the faces would win.

Darren Young suffers an injury on Main Event; other Raw off-air notes

Posted on by F4W Staff

Submitted by reader Michael Riba

Here are some notes from Raw in North Little Rock, Arkansas last night:

Main Event tapings —

– Alicia Fox defeated Dana Brooke

Pretty much what you’d expect from these two. It was nothing spectacular. The crowd was behind Fox.

– Epico (w/ Primo) defeated Darren Young (w/ Bob Backlund) via referee stoppage

Young appeared to suffer an arm injury that ended the match early. It happened on the opposite side of the ring from me, but it might have happened when he was slammed into the barricade. The ref never threw up an “X,” but the ringside doctor called it off.

There was no dark match before Main Event or after Raw went off the air.

The crowd didn’t seem interested in the cruiserweight matches or the UK tournament recap, sadly. Cedric Alexander was the most over of all the cruiserweights.

Biggest pops:

  • The New Day
  • Enzo & Cass
  • Seth Rollins
  • Sami Zayn
  • Bayley
  • Kurt Angle HOF announcement

Biggest heat:

  • Charlotte
  • Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens
  • Neville attacking Rich Swann
  • Roman Reigns

WWE SmackDown dark matches & Main Event spoilers: Curt Hawkins; John Cena vs. AJ Styles

Posted on by F4W Staff

Submitted by Dan Short from Tuesday’s SmackDown in San Diego, CA:

– Dark Match: 

Curt Hawkins def. Chase Silver

Silver wasn’t announced, but some knew who he was as they heckled him for being squashed by Braun Strowman the other night. This was a squash that Hawkins won after hitting a lariat.

– After SmackDown went off-air:

John Cena def. WWE Champion AJ Styles in a non-title match

Styles attacked Cena after Dean Ambrose left. Cena demanded they start a match right then and there. The advertisement dark main event was supposed to be a six-man tag of Cena, Ambrose, and Randy Orton against Styles, The Miz, and Bray Wyatt.

This was a quick five-minute match where Styles was dominant until the end when Cena got a surprise pin. They tried to play it off like it was a title change until Styles demanded the ring announcer note that this was a non-title match. Styles tried to sneak attack Cena with the belt, but was instead met with the AA.

They announced that the new dark main event was Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt before switching gears to the Main Event TV tapings.

– WWE Main Event 

Naomi def. Natalya

Nice, competitve match. Natalya had control through most of the match and seemed to be setting up for something when Naomi got the win following a leg sweep.

Smackdown Tag Team Champions Heath Slater and Rhyno def. The Ascension

Not too bad of a match. The finish was each guy hitting big moves before Rhyno took out Viktor with the gore for the win.

– Dark Match: 

Randy Orton def. Bray Wyatt

It seemed like they were look to build to a long, competitve match, but this only went about ten minutes. Orton won when he was finally able to connect with the RKO after a number of tries throughout.

Live notes from the first episode of WWE SmackDown after the draft

Posted on by F4W Staff

By Joseph Woodbury III

Dark Match: Kalisto vs. Viktor of the Ascension

Kalisto won via pinfall after Salida del Sol.  

It looks like they might try to do something with Apollo Crews yet. And even though the state of the tag team division is up in the air, I think Crews & Kalisto would make a fun tag team at some point.

For WWE Main Event:

Hype Bros vs. Vaudevillains

I think Rob Gronkowski and/or his family were in the 3rd or 4th row behind the announce table. They’re from the Buffalo area. Either way, Mojo had a cheering section there. Zack Ryder got the pinfall victory.

Tyler Breeze with Fandango vs. Jey Uso

Breeze won with a superkick to Jey, who was sitting on the top turnbuckle with his head slouched between his legs. I don’t know what he calls the move. Perhaps this the new Glamour Shot, like Dean Ambrose kept the name Dirty Deeds for his finishers.

Jey wasn’t accompanied by his brother.

Dark Main Event: Bray Wyatt & Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns

Crowd popped for Rollins. I don’t know if this match was advertised locally, but I don’t think anyone was expecting any Raw talent. Roman was heavily booed. Seth went for a tag but Bray stepped off the apron. Ambrose hit Dirty Deeds for the pin.

The crowd was super hot all night. A lot of people got good reactions. I think Daniel Bryan got the biggest pop. He’s so over they cheered a battle royal announcement from him — think about that.

A return date was announced for November 14, Monday Night Raw. Presale code: WWERAW

Building looked pretty full by the time SmackDown started, although the the top section was trapped off.

They had merch from the top stars for both brands.

We couldn’t hear the first post-match ringside interview with Apollo Crews, but were able to hear the one with Becky Lynch.

WWE Smackdown, Main Event & Superstars spoilers: AJ Styles vs. Heath Slater

Posted on by F4W Staff

Notes from Leon Peters and Peter Troiano from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY

Superstars:

– Jack Swagger defeated Tyler Breeze. This was a fun 10-12 minute match. Swagger won clean pin via Swagger Bomb

Main Event:

– Ryback defeated Fandango after the Shellshock.

Smackdown (airing Wednesday in Canada and Thursday in the U.S.):

– AJ Styles defeated Heath Slater (with Axel, Dallas & Rose in his corner).  Even with the building still not full, there was a big reaction and chants for AJ. Clean pin for Styles with the springboard forearm.

– D-Von Dudley (with Bubba Ray) defeated Jey Uso (with Jimmy Uso) after hitting a spinebuster.

– Dean Ambrose defeated Erick Rowan (with Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman) after hitting Dirty Deeds. Bray and Strowman went backstage after their entrance.

There was no post-show dark match. It was a long night of wrestling and people were drained by the end.