Main Event – September 7, 2017: I’ll Walk With You
Main Event
Date: September 7, 2017
Location: CenturyLink Center, Omaha, Nebraska
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness
We’re in a new era here because a change in the commentary team is enough to warrant calling it a new era. Corey Graves has moved up to Smackdown so this show falls to Joseph and McGuinness, who probably aren’t going to change all that much. Hopefully the show is good, though as usual it depends on what you get from Monday. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
TJP/Brian Kendrick vs. Mustafa Ali/Lince Dorado
Dorado enziguris Kendrick to start and gets two off a dropkick. Ali comes in with a neckbreaker for the same but it’s off to TJP for a headscissors into some dabbing. A double slam drops TJP and Kendrick charges into a double flapjack. TJP gets in a clothesline from the apron to drop Ali and the villains take over for the first time.
It’s off to Brian for an armbar with a neck crank but TJP can’t get the kneebar. Kendrick can get a superkick to his jaw though and the hot tag brings in Dorado. A moonsault press gets two on TJP and everything breaks down. Dorado dives onto Kendrick and it’s the 054 from Ali to put TJP away at 6:32.
Rating: C+. These cruiserweight tag matches have been getting a lot better in recent weeks. They’re flying all over the place and showing what they’re capable of doing, which makes them great choices for opening matches like this one. TJP has grown on me considerably and Ali is getting better every single time. Good, fun match here.
From Raw.
John Cena vs. Jason Jordan
Before the match, we look at Cena answering an open challenge from Kurt Angle fifteen years ago in his debut match. The fans are actually behind Cena, which should tell you a lot about Jordan’s future. Jason grabs an early takedown and grabs a waistlock. Cena can’t do much with him to start until a hard clothesline drops Jason without much effort. A suplex gets two on Jordan, followed by a hard whip into the corner for the same as we take a break.
Back with Jordan hitting his own suplexes and that’s enough for Cena, who initiates the finishing sequence. Jordan’s rollup is countered into the STF but he reverses into something like a Crossface. Cena powers out (because he’s Cena) and reverses another suplex into a crossbody. That’s enough for Cena though as he grabs the AA for the pin at 11:38.
Rating: B-. These performances make Jordan look like a star but the whole being Angle’s son thing is really not doing him any favors. It’s not an effective story and I think WWE is starting to get that. Hopefully they build Jordan up and then do something to get rid of the Angle connection because it’s not doing much for him.
Post match Roman Reigns comes out for a chat. Back from a break with Roman asking why it took a veteran twenty minutes to beat a rookie. I don’t think Reigns knows A, what a rookie is or B, how to tell time. Cena says Roman is starting to ask questions and that’s the worst thing he could do. They’re distracting him and he’s out here with his zipper down. Reigns: “I busted it actually. Big dog.”
Cena promises that Reigns will get his answers at No Mercy, either by a guy who has lost his steps or someone who has been stringing Roman along. Roman is going to learn that he’s an entitled golden boy while people like Chad Gable, Jason Jordan and even the Miz have had to fight and claw their way to get where they are. Point being, Cena doesn’t respect Reigns because Roman is the only one living a lie. Reigns wants to fight right now but Cena doesn’t seem interested. That makes Roman think he’s all talk, which is why Reigns doesn’t respect him.
From Raw again.
Intercontinental Title: The Miz vs. Jeff Hardy
Miz is defending. Jeff gets three near falls in the first minute before a clothesline puts Miz on the floor. A dive is teased but Jeff pulls back as Miz moves, sending us to a break. Back with Jeff getting two off his sitout gordbuster but mostly missing the Whisper in the Wind. Dallas offers a distraction so Axel can break up the Swanton, leaving Matt to take care of both of them. All three are ejected and it’s Jeff grabbing a rollup for two.
Miz’s DDT gets the same but he misses the running clothesline in the corner. Miz hits a running knee ala Daniel Bryan for two and we hit the YES Kicks. Jeff is right back with a dropkick but his dive off the apron is broken up. We hit the Figure Four for a bit with Jeff getting out without too much trouble.
The Twisting Stunner has Miz in trouble so he heads outside, only to get caught by Poetry in Motion against the barricade. Back in and the Swanton misses thanks to Maryse telling her husband it was coming. Another Twist of Fate is countered into the Skull Crushing Finale to retain the title at 13:02.
Rating: B. Better match than I was expecting and Miz retaining clean (the Maryse thing wasn’t interference) is a good idea. The fact that they’re pushing Miz’s total days as champion is interesting too as he’s only about six months away from setting the all time record for combined days with the title. That’s easily something he could reach, along with most title reigns. They would be crazy not to push the heck out of that and it seems to have started.
Elias vs. Kalisto
The fans seem interested in walking with Elias. After a little ditty about how there’s nothing cool about Omaha, we’re ready to go. Kalisto starts fast with a bunch of kicks to the leg and we take an early break. Back with more kicks, followed by the hurricanrana driver. Not that it matters as Elias nails Drift Away at 5:55. Not enough shown to rate but it felt like they were very rushed.
Video on Big Show and Strowman breaking the ring back in April.
Big Show vs. Braun Strowman
Inside a cage with pinfall/submission/escape to win. Strowman splashes him up against the cage to start but runs into the KO punch as we go to a break. Back with both guys down again until Show slams him into the cage over and over. Show tries to climb for some reason and gets crotched, only to shove Strowman off again.
That means a top rope elbow for two and a THIS IS AWESOME chant. Show goes for the door but gets pulled back, only to have Strowman get the door slammed on his head. A double shoulder puts both of them down but Show’s chokeslam is countered into a DDT for two. The chokeslam is good for two and Show escapes the powerslam. Strowman misses a charge and goes into the cage wall but is still able to catch Big Show escaping. The big old superplex plants Show and it’s the running powerslam for the pin at 16:58.
Rating: B. These two continue to surprise me as they haven’t actually had a bad match. WWE has a bad tendency to turn these battles of the big men into really boring matches but this was another great power match with both guys looking good. It’s also proof that having an obvious winner isn’t the worst thing in the world. Strowman was obviously winning (Big Show isn’t Kalisto after all) and it didn’t make the match any less entertaining.
Post match Strowman says that’s nothing compared to what he’ll do to Lesnar. Now it’s time to put Big Show out to pasture, so Strowman powerslams him through the cage (a section of which breaks and falls to the floor) to end the show.
Overall Rating: C+. Pretty standard episode this week, though I really like that cage match. The Reigns vs. Cena stuff is still entertaining and I remain stunned by how well they’re treating Elias. He’s barely lost aside from Finn Balor and that’s quite the record for someone who shouldn’t be that big of a deal. Hopefully things go well for him and he can get back on Raw soon enough.
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