Main Event – January 4, 2018: Why I Watch Wrestling (Seriously)
Main Event
Date: January 4, 2018
Location: American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness
It’s a new year and….that’s not likely to change a single thing around here. Main Event is the definition of a single formula show and really, that’s the best thing it can be. The show gives some people a chance to get in the ring which they won’t be getting on Raw, mainly because we need some more cruiserweight matches that advance nothing because Enzo Amore doesn’t defend the title anymore. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Mickie James vs. Dana Brooke
It’s nice to change up from the cruiserweights every now and then. Feeling out process to start until Dana takes her head off with a clothesline. The handspring elbow in the corner gets two and we’re off to the chinlock because that’s what you do in wrestling. Back up and Mickie grabs a hurricanrana out of the corner but the MickDT is broken up. Mickie chokes her over the ropes with her legs (similar to a Tarantula) but Dana grabs a rollup for the completely clean pin at 4:36.
Rating: D. What the heck was that? I know Mickie is mainly there to put people over but DANA? I’ve been quite a fan of her new look with Titus Worldwide and I’m one of the only people on the planet who is still a fan of hers in general but why in the world is she winning here? I mean, if you have to give her a win like this it makes sense here, though that still doesn’t mean it makes sense.
Quick look at Asuka beating Alexa Bliss on Raw.
Quick look at Becky Lynch returning on Smackdown.
We look back at Sami Zayn costing AJ Styles a match against Kevin Owens last week.
From Smackdown.
AJ Styles vs. Sami Zayn
Non-title. Shane, Owens and Bryan are at ringside. Sami takes AJ down early to start and gets two off a backdrop. A dropkick gets two more and we take an early break. Back with Sami holding a chinlock to keep AJ grounded. AJ fights back up, only to get his throat snapped across the top rope. Sami gets caught on top but punches his way to freedom, followed by the Blue Thunder Bomb for the same near fall that the move always gets.
Styles is right back up and grabs the Calf Crusher, only to have Sami make it to the ropes in fairly long order. The Phenomenal Forearm doesn’t work but the referee gets knocked to the floor. As expected, AJ grabs a rollup for two as the referee dives in after being held up by Owens. Shane shoves Kevin down and Owens is ejected, followed by Bryan saying Shane should go with him. The distraction lets Sami hit the Helluva Kick for the pin at 13:44.
Rating: C+. I don’t think the ending was any kind of a surprise and that’s all well and good. What worries me is the battle of the bosses, as I could easily see this turning into some kind of a mess where the wrestlers are overshadowed for the sake of a story that a lot of people aren’t interested in seeing. The wrestlers are talented so just let them do their thing. We don’t need to see Shane get this kind of focus and it’s been going on for MONTHS now.
Post match AJ tells Owens and Zayn to stop acting like children. He’s tired of everyone else getting involved so let’s just make it a handicap match for the title at the Rumble. A smiling Bryan makes the match to end the show.
We look back at Samoa Joe injuring Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns getting disqualified in his quest for revenge.
From Raw.
Intercontinental Title: Samoa Joe vs. Roman Reigns
Reigns is defending and loses the title if he’s disqualified. Joe pops him with the right hands to start but Reigns comes back with some forearms to the back. The referee breaks up some shots to the face in the corner because the rules say he needs to be all serious here when no referee would ever do something like this otherwise. A suplex puts Reigns on the floor and we take a break.
Back with Joe running him over with an elbow for two. Reigns grabs a suplex though, only to miss a charge and go shoulder first into the post. Joe works on the arm but Roman is back up with a clothesline. That just earns him a charge to take him down again as the pace stays slow (in a good way). A hard whip sends Reigns into the corner and Joe takes him down to the mat to crank on the arm some more.
Reigns fights up again and hits a running clothesline, followed by the standing clotheslines in the corner. The running apron dropkick gives Reigns two but hang on a second as the referee has to warn for a DQ. Joe sends him outside though and there’s the suicide elbow for a double knockdown.
They’re both back in at nine and we take a second break. Back again with Reigns getting headbutted down but yelling at Joe to hit him harder. Reigns gets two off a Samoan drop and Joe bails to the floor. Roman dives into a shot to the chest and gets sent into the steps but thankfully Joe rolls back inside to break the count. A whip into the steps is reversed but of course that’s not enough for the DQ.
Joe gets in a shot to the face, only to eat a Superman punch off the steps. Back in and another Superman punch gets two with the kickout stunning Reigns. The spear is blocked and Joe sends Reigns into the referee, who of course is talked out of the DQ. Another Superman punch is countered into the spinning Rock Bottom for two more and now Joe is yelling at the referee. The Clutch goes on but Reigns spins out of it and hits the spear to retain at 24:53.
Rating: B+. The DQ stuff was kind of annoying but they were beating the heck out of each other for a LONG time here and it made for a good match. I mean, you knew the most likely ending was spear into Reigns winning but at least Joe got in a very solid match before losing via clean pin. It’s going to be almost all Reigns until we get to the Superdome because THIS TIME FOR SURE but that’s how WWE works anymore.
Akira Tozawa vs. Tony Nese
Ok so maybe it’s nice to have the tag teams gone for a week. Hang on a second though as Nese needs to pose. Tozawa isn’t in the mood to wait and starts in with the kicks, followed by the fake out right hand. Nese is back up and stomping away in the corner as this is heavy on the striking so far. Tozawa knocks him outside but the suicide dive is blocked (just like it would be on 205 Live this week).
Back from a break with Nese grabbing a waistlock to keep Tozawa down. A double kick to the face puts both guys down, suggesting that Tozawa is a much harder kicker than Nese. Now the suicide dive connects for two and it’s time to strike it out again. Tozawa knocks the heck out of Nese and the top rope backsplash is good for the pin at 10:12.
Rating: C+. For a match that should have been just a quick time filler, they were actually working out there and that’s always cool to see. Tozawa is still one of the better options in the division and Nese is a heck of a heel, even if his in-ring stuff might not be the best in the world. This was certainly better than waiting around on Enzo but that’s what we’re stuck with for the time being.
We’ll wrap it up here.
Here are Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman to close things out. Paul thinks the company’s New Year’s Resolution is to stack the deck against Lesnar by throwing multiple challengers at the same time. It used to be challenger and now it’s CHALLENGERS because there’s no other way to stop Brock. That makes things more complicated because Brock can lose the title without getting pinned, which is the only way it could happen.
Heyman mocks the announcers talking about the odds but says Brock is always 100%. If it’s one on one, no one is beating Brock. You could even throw all thirty Royal Rumble entrants against him and it would be the same slaughter. They go to leave but here’s Kane (with Brock pausing due to a delay in Kane’s music hitting) to chokeslam Brock but Lesnar sits up like Undertaker. A Cactus Clothesline puts them on the floor but some of the locker room comes out for the break up. No Braun as Brock poses to end the show.
Overall Rating: C+. You know, as odd as it sounds, the original content here is a good example of why I keep watching wrestling. There are two nothing matches here and we had a pair of surprises. The cruiserweights worked hard and had a fun match while the women gave us a bit of a surprise with an unexpected finish. That’s the fun part about wrestling: just when you think you know what you’re going to see, it throws you the occasional curve ball. I’m not saying it was great or even very good, but it surprised me and that’s a good feeling.
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