Tag: rhyno

Rhino on 27 years in wrestling, planning to wrestle for five more years

Posted on by Denise Salcedo

On his 27th anniversary in pro wrestling, I spoke to the “War Machine” Rhino. With nearly three decades as a professional wrestler, Rhino (real name Terrance Guido Gerin, 46) has seen and done it all in this business.

Rhino on what keeps him motivated to keep wrestling after 27 years in the business

Rhino explained that he keeps wrestling because he’s afraid that there won’t be any wrestlers left to connect between the older and newer generations of wrestling fans. He also explained that is why he never changed his appearance.

“That’s another reason why I never tried to change my look, or style, or my hair color or cut my hair, the only time I wear my hair down is when I wrestle and I can’t wait until the day that I can cut it. I try not to change too much, you never want to see your heroes get older, that’s why I try to keep the same look so I don’t change,” Rhyno explained. “I am that connection from when a kid went to watch me in ECW with their dad, and now they are taking their child to watch me wrestle twenty years later.”

Rhino says he plans to still wrestle for five more years

Currently Rhino is still an active member of the IMPACT Wrestling roster, so I asked him what he still would like to do in the wrestling world. He informed me that he would like to wrestle a few more years and slowly transition to a producer role to help younger talent.

“Well hopefully, God willing, I can have five more years in the wrestling business, I wanna slowly taper off, and then move more to the behind-the-scenes as a producer and along the way work with people and boost up their careers and and help them get on the path that they are supposed to take,” Rhino said.

When asked about who he would like to wrestle that he has never wrestled before, Rhino named Kevin Owens.

Rhino says he left WWE In 2019 when his contract expired because he was unhappy

Rhino confirmed in our conversation that he was offered double the money to stay with WWE in 2019, however due to the lack of house show appearances and traveling, he decided he would rather take the pay cut and do more for the business outside of WWE.

“Well I was very fortunate that they were even thinking of signing me, and doubling [the pay],” Rhino said. “I am not in [the pro wrestling business] because I am looking for glory, I am in it to be in the ring with the younger talent to show them a little bit here and a little bit there, and I also learn because I never stop learning.”

“With WWE, I would have been sitting at home more, because they had I wanna say close to 250 people under contract,” Rhino added. “And I understand that. I never wanted to be a focal point. I would have liked to do the live events and travel with some of the guys because you learn the business in the car traveling town to town [without having] to be on TV. But the thing is they wanted guys to get experience, so when I was only on the road once a month I was starting to hate life. So I chose. Do I collect a paycheck or do I leave, make less money but make more of an impact in wrestling to help other guys, to go on the indies, try to find the next Rock, the next Stone Cold, the next Lita. So that’s what my decision was and IMPACT was such a good fit because Scott D’ Amore is the guy that trained me, and I had seen how he built this roster. If you look from 2019 to now, the roster is a world series team.”

You can check out the entire conversation with myself and Rhino below. 

Three more matches added to Impact Hard to Kill

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Three new matches have been added for Impact’s next pay-per-view, Hard to Kill.

Sami Callihan will face Eddie Edwards in a barbed wire massacre match. Their match at the end of tonight’s Impact main event ended in a no contest when the video screen showed Edwards’ wife Alisha caged in somewhere in the backstage area. Edwards went to save her, but it was a trap as Callihan’s associate Ken Shamrock jumped Edwards as he approached the cage. Callihan then came in and attacked Edwards with a bat.

A six-man tag team match has also been set for Had to Kill. Eric Young, Cody Deaner & Joe Doering will face Tommy Dreamer, Rhino & Cousin Jake in an old school rules match (a no DQ and no countout match). Rhino & Jake faced Deaner & Doering on tonight’s show, with Deaner getting the win over Jake after a low blow. Dreamer made the save for the team after the match and issued the challenge.

Additionally, Ethan Page and Karate Man will face off against one another at Hard to Kill, despite Karate Man also being portrayed by Page. Page was in a therapy session during a segment on tonight’s Impact with Karate Man, talking about how his career has been derailed since The North lost the Impact Tag Team titles. He ended up getting into an argument with Karate Man, leading Page to challenge him for Hard to Kill.

Other matches slated for the show include Kenny Omega & The Good Brothers (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) vs. Rich Swann & The Motor City Machine Guns, Deonna Purrazzo vs. Taya Valkyrie for the Knockouts Championship, Manik vs. Chris Bey vs. Rohit Raju for the X-Division Championship, and Havok & Nevaeh vs. Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz in the Knockouts Tag Team title tournament finals.

Hard to Kill takes place on Saturday, January 16.

Rhyno appears at Impact Wrestling Slammiversary XVII

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Rhyno appears to have made his return to Impact Wrestling at last night’s Slammiversary XVII pay-per-view in Dallas, Texas.

After Brian Cage retained the Impact World Championship against Michael Elgin by reversing a powerbomb attempt into a pin, there was a post-match angle where Elgin hit Cage with a title belt shot. Elgin then got into it with Don Callis and went for a powerbomb, but a masked man came into the ring, hit a Gore on Elgin, and did Rhyno’s taunt.

Rhyno tweeted earlier on Sunday: “Nothing better then a 4th of July weekend in Texas. Time to get back to work.” PWInsider also reported that Rhyno was backstage at Slammiversary and was going to be appearing on the PPV.

Rhyno last wrestled for WWE as part of the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal on the WrestleMania 35 pre-show. In an interview with Chris Van Vliet that was uploaded on May 7, Rhyno said July 17 was the last date on his WWE contract.

Rhyno debuted for TNA in 2005 and won the NWA World title at that year’s Bound for Glory pay-per-view. He departed the company in 2010 before briefly returning in 2014.

Daily Update: Rhyno, Anthony Johnson, Matt Morgan

Posted on by Bryan Rose

DAILY UPDATE

Latest News

Latest Audio

F4W NEWSLETTER: Figure Four Weekly: Looking at AEW’s build to Cody vs. Dustin Rhodes

A brother vs. brother match will be one of the key pieces of All Elite Wrestling’s Double or Nothing card.

After weeks of teases, Dustin Rhodes was confirmed as his brother Cody’s opponent for Double or Nothing at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, May 25. Dustin issued a statement about his status with WWE after the announcement was made, revealing that he had requested his release from WWE and was granted it. Dustin also posted a video where he said goodbye to his Goldust character.

WON NEWSLETTER: May 6, 2019 Observer Newsletter: WWE earnings report, Brock Lesnar, more

One of the biggest news issues of the year, a double issue, leads off with a basic state of the industry right now. Read about how WWE business fell in the first quarter, what is and isn’t the long-term prognostication, usage of fake stats in business that history shows are meaningless to growth, WWE injuries, WWE getting behind new talent, changes in October, and more.

Read a lot more on Brock Lesnar staying with WWE and not returning to WWE, such as how the ESPN deal has changed things for top stars in UFC, when Lesnar can command so much money, what has happened over the last year with Lesnar, UFC and WWE and more.

Read the update on Money in the Bank and Double or Nothing and the ticket demand for both.

Look at the front runner for 2021 WrestleMania, notes on 2020 WrestleMania plans including what match is off the books, Dean Ambrose becomes Jon Moxley and what that means, update on situation with Luke Harper, The Revival, Gallows & Anderson and others.

Read rundowns on the UFC and Bellator shows this past week, with business notes, how much the fighters got paid and match-by-match rundowns of both events.

Read more on the Japanese legacy of The Destroyer, listing all of his championship matches in Japan, as well as his biggest wins and his infrequent losses in All Japan in the 70s and 80s.

ORDERING INFO:  Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered  via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].

Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.

In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.

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If you order by  mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell,CA  95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.

TUESDAY NEWS UPDATE

WWE

  • SmackDown tonight is at the KFC YUM! Center in Louisville, Kentucky. Shane McMahon is set to crown new SmackDown tag team champions after The Hardy Boyz vacated the titles last week. Also set for tonight is Ali vs. Andrade and a six woman tag team match pitting Bayley, Ember Moon and Carmella vs. Charlotte Flair, Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville.
  • 205 Live tonight has Akira Tozawa facing Mike Kanellis.
  • In an interview with Chris Van Vliet, Rhyno said that WWE offered to double his current downside, but turned it down. His last day for the WWE will be on July 17. He plans on working in the independent scene once his contract expires, and in the interview said he does not have a no-compete period.
  • Peyton Royce and Billie Kay mocked Cincinnati for having bee problems in a segment not aired on Raw.
  • WWE has put out new t-shirts for Sami Zayn.
  • Drew McIntyre talked to the Independent about WWE and the UK wrestling scene.
  • WWE is looking for a writer’s assistant.

Pro Wrestling

  • Former WWE/Impact star Matt Morgan has been named the new mayor of Longwood, Florida after a vote by Longwood City commissioners.
  • NWA has released a Ten Pounds of Gold episode recapping the Crockett Cup.
  • Viceland announced that they will be premiering The Wrestlers documentary series starting on May 22 at 10 p.m. ET. Extended cuts of the Dark Side of the Ring series featuring new footage will air an hour before The Wrestlers at 9 p.m. ET.

UFC/MMA

  • TMZ is reporting than Anthony “Rumble” Johnson was arrested Monday night for domestic violence after his girlfriend said that he “put her in a football hold” and carried her to another room during an arguement. Johnson was previously been arrested for domestic violence back in 2009 and later pled no contest to the charges.
  • Monster Energy has parted ways with TJ Dillashaw, according to Ariel Helwani. Dillashaw is serving a two year suspension after testing positive for EPO.
  • A match between Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa has been verbally agreed on for UFC 241 on August 17.
  • Jack Hermansson told MMA Fighting that Chris Weidman is not his first choice for an opponent and would prefer Kelvin Gastelum or Yoel Romero.
  • UFC has signed a deal with Murphys Boxing that will see the promotion stream fights on the UFC Fight Pass service.
  • ONE has a video highlighting the upcoming Sage Northcutt/Cosmo Alexandre fight.
  • Max Griffin has signed a new contract with the UFC and is hoping for a spot on a UFC on ESPN+ card on July 13 in his hometown of Sacramento.
  • Rob Font vs. Cody Stamann has been set for Greenville on June 22.

Daily Pro Wrestling History: Flair vs. Steamboat at WrestleWar 1989

F4W Empire Convention Info:

  • Ed in San Antonio presents PODER~! at the FSW arena on Friday 5/24 – Showtime is at noon – Main event: Bryan Alvarez vs. Logan Stunt
  • Empire dinner on Friday 5/24 at 8:30 p.m. at Texas de Brazil – Price is $82 – All you can eat meat and salad, sodas, tea, and coffee, plus dessert included
  • Empire suite party on Friday 5/24 for those who were not able to get the Q&A package – Price is $25

Purchase tickets here. 

CONTACT INFORMATION

WWE Raw video highlights: Rhyno gets ‘fired’

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Last night’s Raw included an angle where Rhyno was fired from the show.

Baron Corbin told Rhyno and Heath Slater that he’s been crunching the numbers and Raw only has room for one of them. Neither would quit, so Corbin made a match between them. After the match, Corbin said Slater would be staying on Raw as a referee.

Ronda Rousey was supposed to team with Natalya against Nia Jax & Tamina, but the episode opened with The Riott Squad, Jax, and Tamina attacking Rousey and Natalya. Rousey ended up teaming with Ember Moon against Jax & Tamina in the main event, with Moon hitting The Eclipse on Tamina and Rousey submitting her with an armbar.

Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre’s team officially broke up on last night’s Raw. Ziggler interrupted Drew McIntyre Appreciation Night, and McIntyre told Ziggler he was never invited and that McIntyre was always the brains, muscle, and talent of their team. Ziggler attacked McIntyre and then defeated him after interference from Finn Balor. 

More coverage from last night —

WWE Raw video highlights —

WWE pays tribute to President George H.W. Bush

The Riott Squad, Nia Jax, and Tamina attack Ronda Rousey and Natalya

WWE teases the addition of Women’s Tag Team titles

Sasha Banks & Bayley vs. Mickie James & Alicia Fox

Ronda Rousey wants revenge on Nia Jax and Tamina

A video package celebrates Baron Corbin’s rise to power

The Lucha House Party vs. Scott Dawson (Lucha House Rules match)

Dolph Ziggler interrupts Drew McIntyre Appreciation Night

Dolph Ziggler vs. Drew McIntyre

Drew McIntyre says Dolph Ziggler was never his friend, he was a means to an end

Lio Rush and Bobby Lashley interrupt Elias, Rush gets hit with a guitar shot

AOP & Drake Maverick vs. Chad Gable & Bobby Roode

Ambrose comes out with a SWAT team, Rollins brawls with Ambrose before being laid out

Heath Slater vs. Rhyno (loser gets fired from Raw)

Baron Corbin makes Heath Slater a referee

Finn Balor vs. Jinder Mahal

Drew McIntyre attacks Finn Balor during an interview

Lars Sullivan says he’ll wreak havoc on whichever brand he goes to

Ronda Rousey & Ember Moon vs. Nia Jax & Tamina

Raw fallout: Rhyno leaves the building after being fired

Raw fallout: Scott Dawson shows off his swollen eye

WWE Main Event results: Mojo Rawley vs. Rhyno

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway: No Way Jose got another win against Mike Kanellis, who is still without a singles win since July 2017. Mojo Rawley also dispensed with Rhyno in fairly quick fashion.

**********

No Way Jose defeated Mike Kanellis (5:14)

Both Jose and Kanellis are Raw main roster talents who are being underused at present. Jose made his Monday Night Raw debut the night after WrestleMania 34 with a quick victory over an enhancement wrestler, but he has failed to make an impact since. Kanellis seems to have suffered from a lack of a creative direction too.

These two were fine together, but you have to think that Kanellis has much more to offer than he is being allowed to show right now. There were glimpses of that here in a match that otherwise dragged a little in the middle.

The finish saw Kanellis, who looked like he was on course for the victory, take too much time setting up on the top rope with Jose prone. Jose popped up and nailed Kanellis with his knockout punch for the win.

Mojo Rawley defeated Rhyno (w/ Heath Slater) (3:23)

Nigel McGuinness and Percy Watson claimed that Rawley was still reeling from his defeat at the hands of Bobby Roode two weeks back on Raw.

The anger made sense with this going as short as it did. Rhyno didn’t get much of his stuff in at all. They did lots of tests of strength early on. They went through a commercial break and came back to Rhyno getting the hope, culminating in a near fall.

Rawley then fired up and nailed Rhyno with a running forearm smash and pinned him in the middle of the ring with an impressive Alabama slam. Slater seemed very muted on the sidelines, and it felt a little like they were trying something new with Rawley here.

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.

**********

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: The Revival vs. Heath Slater & Rhyno

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway: Gran Metalik beat Tony Nese after a beautiful finishing combination. The Revival then stole a win against Heath Slater & Rhyno to close the show.

**********

Gran Metalik defeated Tony Nese (5:43)

Nese hasn’t had too much luck of late. In fact, he has only clocked up three singles wins since August of last year. His opponent this week was Gran Metalik, who rarely loses on Main Event as of late.

Nese took much of the early going, stopping to posture to the crowd at any opportunity. His physique is pretty remarkable, and he made throwing Metalik around look easy here.

They built to an excellent-looking finish where Nese was going for a superplex and had Metalik on the second rope in the corner. Metalik countered by crotching Nese and then did a rope-walk hurricanrana off the top rope. Metalik then pounced on Nese to hoist him up for the Metalik Driver for the win.

The Revival defeated Heath Slater & Rhyno (4:14)

It had been Slater and Rhyno who dealt Dash Wilder many of his singles losses last year when Scott Dawson was out injured. But after beating Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson on Monday Night Raw the previous week, The Revival came back to Main Event to notch up another win against some old foes.

Strangely, the heels worked out of what would be considered the traditional babyface corner at the top left of the hard cam screen, but there was no doubt that The Revival were the heels here. Slater and Rhyno took the opening minutes, getting the crowd on their side with Rhyno getting a few ‘EC-Dub’ chants from the expectant pre-Raw crowd.

After the break, Slater had the heat, taking out both Revival men and nailing Wilder with a running high knee and following it up with a neckbreaker. Wilder could only stop the three count by putting his leg on the bottom rope.

After two more near falls from Slater on Wilder, Dawson took out Rhyno to stop the tag and they teased a ref bump where Slater had to go out of his way to avoid colliding with the ref. This enabled The Revival to get the upper hand and hit the Shatter Machine for the win.

WWE Main Event results: Curt Hawkins goes 0-157

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway: Curt Hawkins’ losing streak continued with yet another loss against Rhyno, and Mustafa Ali defeated TJP as the pair had a really strong match in the main event.

**********

Rhyno (w/ Heath Slater) defeated Curt Hawkins (5:32)

Curt Hawkins continues to put over his losing streak on social media, referring to where he will be #streaking every day. While he lost here on Main Event to go 0-157, he is currently 0-161. Hawkins even posted on Twitter this past week that he lost twice in the same night in Reading, Pennsylvania.

As usual with these Hawkins matches, it was perfectly fine. Despite the streak, Hawkins is a good in-ring performer and a very precise technician. Rhyno took the first half of the match and made it look easy — until Hawkins was able to take the advantage when both men had gone outside.

Hawkins beat Rhyno down and performed a pretty impressive snap suplex on the big man, then Rhyno hit him with a Samoan drop and they both went down.

They traded near falls until Hawkins looked like he was going to come out on top. He squatted in the corner, ushering Rhyno to get up, but he was caught in the charge and nailed with a spinebuster for the win.

Mustafa Ali defeated TJP (5:20)

This was a very impressive athletic display from start to finish. TJP hasn’t been on Main Event for some time and it was a joy to watch these two work together. After the opening minutes that were 100 mph of mat work, flips, and kip ups, TJP settled the pace and turned nasty.

He pushed Ali outside through the ropes, using his boot with Ali narrowly missing the steel steps. TJP then proceeded to throw him around, smashing him face-first into the dasher boards and posing for a dab as we were sent to a break.

TJP went after Ali’s knee after the break. A failed superplex attempt allowed TJP to missile dropkick off the top rope onto Ali’s left knee. Ali did everything he could to avoid TJP getting to it, but he eventually locked in the kneebar as they teased a submission finish.

TJP went for a figure four but was kicked off out of desperation. Ali then rolled through TJP into a bridging pin and managed to steal the win. The nice wrinkle in the finish was how Ali still sold his knee, only using one leg in his bridge and keeping the injured leg raised so as not to put pressure on it.

WWE Main Event results: Gallows & Anderson vs. Slater & Rhyno

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway: Akira Tozawa beat Brian Kendrick in a cruiserweight opener, then Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson saw off Heath Slater & Rhyno in the main event.

**********

Akira Tozawa defeated Brian Kendrick (6:30)

Brian Kendrick was still without a singles win since August as Akira Tozawa shot off the top rope to finish him with the Drop Zone here. But the following night at the 205 Live taping, Kendrick would submit Gran Metalik to break the streak.

This was a little longer than the usual cruiserweight outings that we are normally treated to on Main Event. The back and forth was more tangible as both men were given time to build offense so that it really looked like either could win.

The final moments were where this was at its strongest as Kendrick looked every bit the man to take the match. He scooped up Tozawa from a near fall and ran to the ropes to hit Sliced Bread #2 when Tozawa shot over the top of him and just grazed Kendrick with an enzuigiri. As he lay prone, Tozawa sold his tiredness to build the tension and made the slow climb to the top rope to hit his finisher.

Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson defeated Heath Slater & Rhyno (3:27)

By contrast, this was far too short and was really all about Gallows and Anderson getting an opportunity to neutralize Rhyno so that they could get the smaller, lighter man in the ring for the Magic Killer.

These two teams faced off last month on Main Event with the same result, but that match was nearly twice the length of this one. Here, Slater and Rhyno took most of the going, with Slater taking Anderson to his corner and cutting the ring in half with quick tags to Rhyno. After Gallows and Anderson were sent packing, we came back from the break for the finishing segment.

Gallows clotheslined Rhyno over the top rope and followed him outside, smashing him into the dasher boards. While Slater tried to take it to Anderson, Gallows came back to help out with Rhyno nowhere to be seen. The tag was made and a furious Gallows gestured to Anderson to hoist up Slater and get this over with. They hit a slightly clumsy looking Magic Killer for the win and went to the back staring Slater and Rhyno down.

WWE Main Event results: Dash Wilder teams with Curt Hawkins

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway: Curt Hawkins took the pinfall as he and Dash Wilder lost again this week to continue both of their respective losing streaks. Akira Tozawa also got a win over Tony Nese in a fairly ordinary main event.

**********

Heath Slater & Rhyno defeated Dash Wilder & Curt Hawkins (5:22)

I mentioned a few weeks back that Curt Hawkins has been without a win since the night he returned to WWE. Well, he is now playing this up in his ring entrance on Main Event. Over his music, Hawkins’ recorded voice says, “his 118 match losing streak is going to come to an end right before your eyes.” And, of course, it didn’t.

Wilder is also without a win since his Revival teammate Scott Dawson was struck down with an injury in June, and it didn’t get any better for him here. However, his tag partner took the loss — when Rhyno nailed Hawkins with a spinebuster — to take the streak to 119.

Slater and Rhyno fared well with the pre-Raw crowd. They have been performing without each other for a number of weeks now, but, reunited, they went over well here. Rhyno did the power moves, Slater played babyface in peril, and Hawkins brought out the inner trash-talker in Wilder. Overall, this match was fun while it lasted.

The finish started when Rhyno got the hot tag. Hawkins blind tagged in while Wilder was wheeling from the onslaught, but Slater saw it and dumped Wilder outside so that Rhyno could focus on Hawkins, who he nailed with a spinebuster for the win.

Akira Tozawa defeated Tony Nese (4:56)

Tozawa hasn’t been on Main Event since April, but he’s such a pleasure to watch. Here, he was all action and took the match 100 miles per hour. Nese is a good foil for Tozawa’s pace and made it look like he was going to take the spoils until he got caught trying something on the top rope and Tozawa was able to hit the Drop Zone.

There was a spot here where they teased an early finish with Nese lying prone and Tozawa in position for the Drop Zone, but Nese rolled out of the ring. Tozawa’s response was amazing: he leaped off the top rope and — as he landed — began sprinting into the ropes and then dove through them headfirst at Nese. It was both breathtaking and really quite dangerous at the same time.

Otherwise, it was Nese using his physique and strength to try to dominate Tozawa and the match was punctuated by Tozawa’s efforts to get the crowd riled up. When the finish came, it felt a little early, but Tozawa seized the opportunity and got plenty of hang time on his impressive finisher, the Drop Zone.

WWE Main Event results: Dash Wilder loses three in a row

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway: Dash Wilder made it three losses in three weeks, then Lince Dorado and Gran Metalik put on a beautiful display in the main event.

**********

Heath Slater defeated Dash Wilder (5:35)

Two weeks ago on Main Event, Dash Wilder was beaten with relative ease by Rhyno’s spinebuster. Last week, he and Slater went back and forth in a fairly by-the-numbers bout with Slater getting the win with the Smash Hit. This week, Wilder lost again. To Rhyno. With the spinebuster.

Nigel McGuinness was nowhere to be seen on the show and, instead, we were back with Corey Graves alongside Vic Joseph. Graves has a way of drawing you into matches and he really knows his wrestling and calls moves well, but McGuinness is better at putting the talent over.

Wilder is comfortable on his own, here, but lacks the kind of charisma at this stage of his WWE run to be carrying a match with a veteran like Rhyno. Rhyno sold a lot as Wilder took the match until the finish, where Rhyno fired up to hit his big moves.

The match was what you’d expect. It was slow and full of rest holds and Wilder’s quick pin attempts. Rhyno made Wilder look strong and powerful, but he finished him with the spinebuster in the end without too much concern.

Rhyno still seems to exist off the nostalgic pop that hasn’t faded too much, but without Slater the act is less fun for pre-Raw matches like these on Main Event.

Lince Dorado & Gran Metalik defeated Drew Gulak & Tony Nese (4:25)

The Cruiserweight tag match once again saved the show, bringing some pace, action, and invention to an otherwise run-of-the-mill episode. The finish was awe-inspiring from Dorado, who finished Gulak with a magnificent springboard shooting star senton.

Gulak, who is now clean shaven, had a few matches on Main Event over the summer months, but is now without a win on any show, televised or otherwise, since the end of May.

Dorado and Metalik speak for themselves. They’d be fantastic together on the main roster and could easily find a position in the tag team division. They did a great spot here where Metalik was teasing a springboard attack on Gulak on the outside, but the distraction meant that Dorado was able to fly at him with a seated senton. They did similar things a couple of times in the match and it proved to be very effective.

The match was far too short, but the finish made up for it. Metalik flew over the top rope onto Nese on the outside, while Dorado stunned Gulak on the top rope to set him in position for a huge springboard shooting star senton. Graves’ exclamation of “good lord!” after he landed it said it all.

WWE Main Event results: Rhyno vs. Dash Wilder

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway: Dash Wilder made his singles debut on Main Event in a loss to Rhyno, then the cruiserweights put on a good six-man tag match with a magnificent finish.

**********

Rhyno defeated Dash Wilder (5:45)

Wilder took a lot of the match here despite Rhyno’s size and strength advantage. Unfortunately, Wilder has been completely forgotten about since Scott Dawson got injured and the crowd, who were initially behind Rhyno, quickly didn’t care too much for this match.

Rhyno and Wilder went back and forth until Wilder knocked him off the top rope over to the outside. The blow Rhyno took as he tumbled to the matting slowed him down and let Wilder look like he had a realistic shot.

Wilder tried some quick pin attempts and used a rear chinlock to wear him down, but Rhyno worked his way out and speared Wilder in the corner. Rhyno tried a belly-to-belly suplex but only got a two count.

Rhyno went for the Gore, but Wilder dodged and rolled the posted Rhyno into a schoolboy, using the ropes for leverage. Rhyno kicked out and this time picked up the running Wilder into a spinebuster for the win.

Gran Metalik, Lince Dorado & Mustafa Ali defeated Ariya Daivari, Noam Dar & Tony Nese (5:20)

After endless entrances, Dorado and Daivari started things off together. Ali distracted Daivari and he turned around to eat a slick dropkick from Dorado, but Daivari kicked out at two. Dorado hit him with a second rope springboard moonsault for two and then locked in a rest hold.

Daivari tagged in Dar and Dorado made the tag to Ali. Ali came off the top rope and nailed Dar’s left arm with a double foot stomp and then tagged in Metalik, who did likewise with a double axe handle. Metalik flipped all over around Dar, who did his best to dodge, but he was planted with a bulldog and rolled outside.

Both teams stared each other down as we headed to a break.

Daivari was yelling at Dorado as we returned. He slapped on a rear chinlock to a roar of boos. The crowd clapped Dorado out of the hold and he was able to surprise Daivari with a springboard stunner. They crawled to their corners and tagged in Ali and Dar. Ali overwhelmed Dar and hit him with a roll-through neckbreaker, but Nese and Daivari broke up the pin.

The ring filled, with all six men going at it. The heels were sent packing and Metalik, Dorado, and Ali hit them with triple seated sentons in what was quite the spectacle. Ali rolled Dar back into the ring and hit the 054 for the win. Nese never even got tagged in, but this was a fun match.

WWE Main Event results: Slater & Rhyno vs. Gallows & Anderson

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway: R-Truth made his first appearance on Main Event in a year while beating Curt Hawkins in the opener, then Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson stole one against Heath Slater & Rhyno in a strong main event.

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R-Truth defeated Curt Hawkins (4:38)

R-Truth comes out rapping to this expectant crowd in Nashville. He is in incredible physical shape at 45, a fact that many casual WWE fans just won’t realize. He and Hawkins do a lot of comedy early here, with Truth now adding dabs to his dubious dance repertoire.

Truth legdrops Hawkins, who rolls under the ropes to take a breather. Hawkins spikes Truth on the top rope and then takes over with strikes and a big vertical suplex. Truth kicks out at one and Hawkins slows things down with a rear chinlock.

When Truth works his way out, Hawkins takes him down by sweeping out his legs from under him and goes back on offense. Truth kicks out of a side suplex as Hawkins postures to the crowd. Truth nails him with a leg lariat and then gets the heat with clotheslines and a sit-out reverse suplex slam.

Truth misses the axe kick but is able to hit him with a finisher that he used to use in TNA, the reverse STO. This was pretty much by the numbers and exactly what you would expect.

Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson defeated Heath Slater & Rhyno (6:09)

Rhyno and Anderson start off together, with Rhyno taking the early going. He runs through Anderson and tags in Slater for some tag team tandem offense. Slater works over the left arm until he goes to tag in Rhyno. Anderson decides he’s had enough and retreats to his corner. He tags in Gallows to square off against Rhyno.

Gallows looks to waste no time, but he gets caught by Rhyno, who then goes to the second rope and floors Gallows with a diving shoulder block. Gallows kicks out of the cover, then Rhyno tags in Slater.

As Slater mounts him in the corner for punches, Anderson distracts Slater and he turns around to eat a superkick from Gallows. Anderson and Gallows celebrate with the too sweet as we head to a break.

Gallows and Anderson have the ring cut in half as we return, with Slater playing babyface in peril. Slater works his way out of a rear chinlock and is nailed back to the mat, then Gallows goes over and nails Rhyno. He turns around and gets dropkicked by Slater as both men crawl to make tags.

Rhyno comes in and is all over Anderson with a running spear to the corner and a huge belly-to-belly suplex. Gallows has to come in to make the save and Slater takes him out and they both spill outside. Rhyno hits Anderson with a superplex, but he kicks out at two.

Rhyno then looks for the tag, but Gallows sneaks around and takes out Slater’s feet so that he smashes his head into the apron. With the referee’s back turned, Gallows enzuigiris Rhyno to the back of the head and they hit the Magic Killer for the win. This was a decent match but had a really good finish.

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.