Tag: mike kanellis

WWE Main Event results: Revival & Kanellis vs. Slater, Rhyno & Gable

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway: No Way Jose got the win against Curt Hawkins, taking Hawkins’ losing streak to 0-209. Mike Kanellis teamed up with The Revival against Chad Gable, Heath Slater & Rhyno in an attempt to get himself his first victory since moving to the Raw roster.

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No Way Jose defeated Curt Hawkins (5:27)

Hawkins not only lost again this week, but he was put through a table at the Buffalo Bills training facility. The vocal New York Jets fan did a training session alongside Titus O’Neil and Finn Balor. O’Neil joked on Twitter that Hawkins had started a “Jets” chant and it hadn’t gone down too well.

No Way Jose’s stuttering start to his main roster career continued here. The singing and dancing conga line gimmick would work fine if we hadn’t seen Adam Rose use it in virtually the same way in recent memory. But Jose and Hawkins worked fine together on this show.

Jose hit a crossbody on Hawkins and covered him for two. Hawkins then elbowed Jose in the face and hit a back suplex for a two count. Hawkins charged at Jose, looking for the spear, but Jose had it scouted and hit the pop-up punch for the win.

The Revival & Mike Kanellis defeated Chad Gable, Heath Slater & Rhyno (4:04)

The story of this one was told by Nigel McGuinness on commentary as they made their entrances. He noted that Kanellis had been winless since the Superstar Shakeup and was looking to use The Revival to get him a much-needed confidence boost. With this in mind, it became much more of a squash match than it ought to have been.

Gable got some early stuff in here but was otherwise largely anonymous. The babyfaces got some heat towards the end, with Rhyno hitting a belly-to-belly suplex on Dash Wilder and following it up with a spinebuster on Scott Dawson. Kanellis broke up the pin and then Slater hit a spin kick on Kanellis to send him outside.

The finish started when Wilder sent Slater out and Rhyno sent Wilder, but Wilder only landed on the apron. So Wilder blind-tagged in just as Rhyno was whipping Dawson to the ropes. Dawson then slid under Rhyno so that The Revival could hit the Shatter Machine for the win. Clever little finish to a nothing match.

WWE Main Event results: Jose vs. Kanellis, Gulak vs. Tozawa

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway: After losing to Mojo Rawley on Main Event last week, No Way Jose got his win back here over Mike Kanellis. Drew Gulak and Akira Tozawa also put on a fine match at the top of the show with Gulak notching up a submission win.

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No Way Jose defeated Mike Kanellis (5:10)

After a defeat at the hands of Mojo Rawley last week, No Way Jose beat Kanellis with the pop-up punch. At this point, the decision not to put Kanellis through NXT before progressing to the main roster would seem to have been a questionable one, with Kanellis floundering and without a singles win since July of last year.

There wasn’t much to this, but Jose’s entourage of conga line cheerleaders always gives his matches more of an important feel. Kanellis took most of the match with his aggressive and physical moveset. He started to pose, blow kisses, and even bust a few ironic moves the more he took control of things.

Jose got a near fall from a flapjack and then looked beaten when Kanellis nailed him with a superkick. He looked dazed and staggered into the middle of the ring but snapped out of it in time to catch Kanellis and pop him up for the Fastball Punch.

The conga line went crazy on the bell and we went straight to the Raw recap without a replay of the finish.

Drew Gulak defeated Akira Tozawa (6:44)

The cruiserweight division over on 205 Live has made for compelling watching of late with some solid output. Not only has the content been good, but some of the personas are really developing, too.

When Gulak first came to WWE, he looked a little like a fish out of water, until he walked through the ropes. Looking at him now, he’s so much more confident in his character and really looks the part as he struts to the ring in his hooded boxer walkout robe.

These two worked well together and kept things 50-50 as they paced themselves towards a finish built around Gulak’s dragon sleeper (with a body scissors) submission hold. At one point, Tozawa locked in a modified Octopus, but Gulak got to the ropes. The other high points were when Tozawa escaped a powerbomb attempt and Gulak moved out of the way of a top senton attempt.

The finish looked really strong as Gulak sent Tozawa face-first into the second turnbuckle so that he could snap on the Gu-Lock right in the middle of the ring. Tozawa had no option but to tap to a submission hold that Gulak makes look pretty inescapable and terrifying.

WWE Main Event results: Mike Kanellis makes his show debut

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway: After the Superstar Shakeup, the show had a slightly fresher feel with Mike Kanellis and Zack Ryder opening up the episode and Percy Watson joining Vic Joseph and Nigel McGuinness on commentary.

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The show opened up with a tribute to Bruno Sammartino.

Nigel McGuinness was back this week after having taken time off to spend with his newborn daughter, Amelia. Percy Watson joined the team to make it the latest WWE show to feature a three-man commentary booth.

Zack Ryder defeated Mike Kanellis (5:10)

Ryder twisted his knee here in his first week back as a member of the Raw roster but took to Twitter to explain that although he is hurt, it is nothing too serious.

While you have to go back as far as October 2016 to see Ryder on Main Event, this match marked Kanellis’ debut on the show. They worked well together, with McGuinness really putting over Kanellis strong on commentary.

After a solid back-and-forth match, the finish saw Ryder reverse a suplex attempt by Kanellis into a neckbreaker. Ryder got a near fall, then Kanellis sent Ryder headfirst into the top turnbuckle. Ryder blocked a roll-up attempt by Kanellis and hit the Rough Ryder for the win.

The Revival defeated Heath Slater & Rhyno (7:24)

The Revival have been on a good winning run on Main Event of late. While over on Raw, they have taken some losses, most recently to the likes of Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt, here they have been a dominant force in recent weeks.

This one went longer than the typical key matches normally go, with a lot of selling from both sides. There was little to report here from two teams that are used to facing each other fairly regularly, but The Revival looked like slick operators who certainly make a good case for a main roster push.

They built to a finish where Slater hit a neckbreaker on Dash Wilder for a near fall. Scott Dawson then pulled Rhyno off the apron and Slater reversed a back suplex attempt into a crossbody on Wilder. After another two count, Slater locked in a headlock, but Wilder pushed him to the ropes so that Dawson could blind tag in.

Dawson and Wilder hit their Shatter Machine finisher on Slater — and Dawson hurriedly scrambled across the ring to cover him for the win.

Maria & Mike Kanellis welcome birth of their first child

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Another WWE couple is welcoming the birth of their first child.

WWE.com announced today that Maria Kanellis-Bennett and Mike Bennett are now officially parents after Maria gave birth to their daughter this morning. The baby is named Fredrica “Freddie” Moon Bennett and weighs six pounds, and WWE notes that “mom and baby are both doing great.”

Maria posted on Instagram that yesterday was the baby’s due date.

With Mike using Maria’s last name on television, the couple arrived in WWE at Money in the Bank 2017 after leaving Impact Wrestling. Maria announced that she was pregnant last September and made a brief appearance on Raw’s 25th anniversary episode in January, while Mike has been wrestling at house shows and in dark matches at SmackDown tapings.

This is the second straight week that WWE has made a baby announcement, with Maryse and The Miz welcoming their daughter into the world last Tuesday.

Maria Kanellis-Bennett & Mike Bennett expecting first child

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Another WWE couple is expecting a baby next year.

Maria Kanellis-Bennett announced on Instagram today that she’s pregnant with her and Mike Bennett’s first child. She wrote that she’s 13 weeks pregnant, noting that “life is what happens when you are making other plans” because they thought they had put their plans to have a baby on hold earlier this year.

Despite that, Maria wrote that they’re happy for their new path, that Mike has wanted children for a long time and her biological clock recently started ticking, and that now is the perfect time for their family.

Maria said that she plans on coming back to WWE with her doctor’s approval after giving birth and after she gets to spend plenty of time with the baby.

The couple hasn’t been on television since the August 29th episode of SmackDown, though Mike has faced Bobby Roode in dark matches in recent weeks. Maria wasn’t with Mike when he faced Roode last week or when Mike wrestled against Sami Zayn at SmackDown’s house show last night.

Maria and Mike got married in 2014. They were paired together on television in Ring of Honor and Impact Wrestling before joining the SmackDown roster at this year’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view.

Here’s Maria’s full post announcing her pregnancy:

“The Power of Love is Strong…..And BABY makes 3. Mike and I are happy to announce I am 13 weeks pregnant!! Life is what happens when you are making other plans. This is the universe’s plan for us. Last year Mike and I tried to expand our family when we had a lighter schedule and this year we thought we had put those plans on hold but apparently that is not what is meant to be and we are so happy for our new path. Mike has wanted children for a long time (he is gonna be a very good daddy) and my biological clock just recently started ticking!! Timing is everything and now is our perfect time for family.

As far as the future… WWE is and has been my dream job and I plan on coming back with my doctor’s approval after the baby is born and get’s plenty of mommy time. But, until then, I will be posting my REAL updates on my social media accounts. There is so much pressure to have the perfect pregnancy, gain the right amount of weight, and be super stylish. But, let me just say I’ve gained 7 pounds, been nauseous everyday, and wore yoga pants every day since 6 weeks. I’m not perfect. Haha… life is messy. My husband is a recovering prescription drug addict, we are in the middle of buying a house, we are moving across county, and I’m pregnant!!! I figure I can either stress or feel blessed. I feel blessed. I choose happiness. WE choose happiness. Thank you to our families, friends, WWE, and the fans for all of the support! Let’s continue building the #PowerofLove with my husband on Smackdown Live. Because the Power of Love is Real. I have the picture to prove it…..”