Main Event – October 5, 2017: Can We Get Dash Away Dash Away From This?
Main Event
Date: October 5, 2017
Location: Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness
We’re back to the point where you can pretty much guess what’s coming for a show like this. Odds are we’ll be seeing Dash Wilder losing again to go with a cruiserweight match, which isn’t the most interesting stuff in the world. As usual, it all comes down to which clips we get from Monday. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Dash Wilder vs. Heath Slater
Is this some kind of a joke that I’m not getting? Wilder has now faced Rhyno, then Slater, then Rhyno, then Slater again in four straight weeks. Dash throws a shirt at Slater to start but misses a charge out to the floor as we might be in for a bit of comedy here. Back in and Slater runs him over for two before grabbing a front facelock.
A belly to back suplex gets Dash out of trouble and he tosses Heath outside for a breather. Heath comes back in and eats a hard clothesline for his efforts before we hit the chinlock. Something like Wasteland into a backbreaker (cool) gets two on Slater but Dash charges into a rollup out of the corner for the pin at 5:33.
Rating: D+. The more I watch these matches, the more I think they’re just setting up the idea that Wilder isn’t much on his own but can be part of a really good tag team. Either that or they haven’t put a bit of thought into this and keep throwing Wilder out there because they have nothing better to do on this show and it doesn’t matter in the slightest anyway.
From Raw.
We look at Amore getting destroyed last week.
Here’s Enzo Amore to talk about the beating he took last week. He’s now put the cruiserweight division in the main event two weeks in a row and you’re absolutely right that he deserves it. Enzo talks about all the money he makes and all of his star power, but carrying the division has made his back hurt. He brings up the No Contact clause from last week and says there’s a new one tonight: if anyone attacks him, they’re fired. Now he’s on top of the throne but he doesn’t have any opponents.
Cue the cruiserweight division to surround Amore but he insults every single one of them in turn. This brings out Angle to say that none of the cruiserweights at ringside can lay a hand on him. HOWEVER, there’s a new member of the Cruiserweight division: Kalisto. The fight is on in a hurry with Kalisto easily beating the heck out of Enzo.
Also from Raw.
Seth Rollins vs. Braun Strowman
Rollins kicks at the ribs to start but has to slip out of a running powerslam attempt. For some reason Seth slaps him in the face, setting off a chase. A kick to Braun’s head connects but Braun launches him into the air for a big crash. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Seth fights up and sends him outside. A suicide dive is knocked out of the air though and we take a break.
Back with Rollins getting tossed via a fall away slam but sidestepping a charge. Now the suicide dives connect, only to have the springboard knee to the face get two. A great looking superkick drops Braun but the wind up knee is countered with a clothesline. The running powerslam ends Rollins at 10:27.
Rating: C. Not a bad little match here but there was no question about Strowman winning. Rollins is great for something like this though as he’s legitimate competition for Strowman and makes him look great even in defeat. It was a fun match and a good way to open the show, which is all you can ask for.
Strowman gives him another powerslam for fun. He goes back for more but Dean Ambrose runs out for a save attempt, only to get chokeslammed for his efforts. Another running powerslam leaves both champions laying. Strowman leaves and here are Sheamus and Cesaro to pick the bones.
Lince Dorado/Rich Swann vs. Tony Nese/Noam Dar
Dorado and Dar start things off with Noam begging off in the corner early on. He goes outside to fix his hair though and quickly tags off to Nese in what is probably a smart move. It’s already time to work on Tony’s arm with Lince and Rich taking turns. Stereo dropkicks drop Nese but Dar trips Lince to take over.
Back from a break with Dorado grabbing a sunset flip but there’s no referee to count. The handspring Stunner gets Dorado out of trouble though and the hot tag brings in Swann. A bunch of kicks have the villains in trouble and the spinning kick to the head sets up the Phoenix splash to end Dar at 8:15.
Rating: C-. This didn’t have time to go anywhere when nearly half of it was spent in a break. The perk of the cruiserweights is you can throw them all out there in virtually any combination and have a watchable match. That’s very valuable and something WWE knows how to exploit. That being said, what has happened to Dar? He’s gone from a featured player in the division to nothing in just a few months.
And finally from Raw again.
Intercontinental Title: Roman Reigns vs. The Miz
Miz is defending and comes out ala the Shield with the Miztourage. Reigns wastes no time in bailing to the floor and beating the heck out of the Miztourage to make things even. Axel staggers through the crowd so Reigns follows him up for a chair to the back. Dallas gets one as well before Reigns just unloads on both of them with multiple chair shots. The bell rings after a break with Reigns headbutting the champ on the floor. Miz avoids a charge though and Reigns winds up in the crowd. That’s only good for a nine count but Miz catches him in a short DDT for two.
We hit the chinlock for a bit before Miz switches to just choking on the ropes. Back from a break with Miz hitting the YES Kicks but getting caught in a sitout powerbomb for a very near fall. The Superman Punch is countered into the Skull Crushing Finale for the same and Miz is stunned. The second Superman Punch connects for an even closer two and it’s Reigns’ turn to be shocked. Reigns loads up the spear but Sheamus and Cesaro pull him out for the DQ at 10:47.
Rating: B-. This was good while it lasted but the ending hurt it a lot. They’re not hiding what they’re going for in the post match stuff and while there’s nothing wrong with that, I could go for it not being so heavy handed. There were some awesome near falls in this one and it was really entertaining at times, but the time factor and the storyline stuff isn’t great.
Reigns gets destroyed post match. The fans chant for the Shield as Reigns takes a TripleBomb. Miz, Sheamus and Cesaro do the Shield pose. That would be a heck of a lot better than Miz and the Miztourage.
Later in the show.
A banged up Reigns is in the back when Ambrose comes in. They stare at each other a bit until Rollins comes in as well. Ambrose leaves with Rollins going the opposite way. Reigns thinks things over to end the show. No one ever said or did anything more than look at the others.
Overall Rating: C. They packed in all the big stuff from Raw here and that’s a nice feeling. The original content here is really getting repetitive though and they need to change things up a bit, just for the sake of not being so dull. It’s ok to not have Wilder lose for a single week or just throw in a tag match. Not a bad show here but skip the original stuff.
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I’m enjoying how the heels NEVER win the cruiserweight tag matches.