Main Event – February 7, 2019: The Most Confusing Thing I’ve Seen WWE Do In Months
IMG Credit: WWE
Main Event
Date: February 7, 2019
Location: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Renee Young, Percy Watson
It’s time to really start the build towards Wrestlemania and I don’t think WWE really knows that. At the moment we have a few matches set up for Elimination Chamber, though none of them are actually from Raw. You would think that would be a problem worth fixing, but WWE certainly doesn’t seem to be in any hurry. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
Opening sequence.
Lacey Evans vs. Natalya
This doesn’t exactly feel like a Main Event match. Natalya shoulders her down to start and gets two off a backslide. A wristlock is pretty easily countered and Evans has to elbow her way out of a hammerlock. The Sharpshooter doesn’t work as Lacey grabs the rope and bails to the floor for a breather.
Natalya catches her with a baseball slide but gets pulled arm first into the post. A headscissors out of the corner gives Lacey a pair of new falls, followed by a standing moonsault for the same. The chinlock is broken without much effort so Natalya clotheslines her head off. Lacey sends her into the corner though and hits a springboard moonsault (geez) for two more (uh…..) but gets pulled down into the Sharpshooter for the tap at 6:08.
Rating: C. The match was entertaining while it lasted and Lacey got to show off a lot, but why was this on Main Event, why was it against Natalya, and why did Lacey lose? You want to showcase someone so you put her on the lowest show around and have her lose? She couldn’t beat Dana Brooke or something? I’m not sure I get this but it’s not like many people saw it in the first place.
From Raw.
We open with Stephanie in the ring because she can’t wait any longer than that. Becky’s entrance cuts her off though, complete with a limp. Stephanie shows us a clip from last week’s showdown with Rousey, with Ronda talking about the bad knee. Back in the arena, Stephanie talks about the knee, with Becky says she’ll fight anyone and the doctors aren’t looking at her.
That’s not cool with Stephanie, who won’t let Becky compete without an examination. Becky doesn’t think Stephanie has ever struggled for a thing because she’s a daddy’s girl who was handed everything but wants to stop Becky from fighting for everything. No one is stopping her from Wrestlemania and that includes Stephanie.
That sounds like a liability to Stephanie because the knee can’t hold the match back. If Becky won’t get evaluated, she’s suspended until further notice. Stephanie does suspend her so Becky knocks her down with one punch. The knee gives out when Becky goes for the Disarm-Her so she beats up agents and goes for Stephanie again. Becky still can’t walk properly so she limps up the ramp.
From Smackdown.
Here’s Charlotte to say she hopes Becky gets better in time but if not, she’s 100% healthy and would love to face Ronda Rousey at Wrestlemania. Cue Becky through the crowd, with Charlotte saying the fan better have a ticket and that she needs to stop stealing Roman Reigns’ entrance. Charlotte mocks Becky’s limp but here’s an angry HHH to cut them both off. After telling Becky to get out and go see the doctor, HHH gets in Charlotte’s face and tells her to get out. Becky says she doesn’t trust any of this but HHH says get cleared by the doctor and go to Wrestlemania.
HHH goes to leave but Becky asks how Stephanie is after she got punched in the face. He doesn’t seem phased because he sees it in Becky’s face: she’s just looking to be a martyr who is trying to find a way out of this whole thing. That’s why she came to Raw just before Survivor Series. She knew it was a suicide mission and then came out blaming the doctor.
HHH continues his reverse psychology by saying Becky is doing it again. Maybe that’s why she won’t go to the doctor: the knee is fine and she’ll be stuck in the match with Rousey and be exposed as the fraud that she is. That earns him a slap to the face and the fans are right back behind her again. Becky leaves through the crowd again.
They’re doing something interesting here by going with the idea of getting inside both women’s heads where they might be scared of losing, which is a lot more interesting than the physical stuff they could do. This is a different way to go about doing things and if they can sell it right, it’s the best way to go.
Clips of Baron Corbin and Drew McIntyre going after Kurt Angle until Braun Strowman made the save.
Clips of the ensuing tag match between the four of them.
No Way Jose vs. Tyler Breeze
Jose is no Bugenhagen. Jose dances out of a wristlock to start and even helps Breeze up. A dropkick lets Jose dance some more and we’re cut to Jose getting two off a flapjack. The Supermodel Kick gives Breeze the same but he can’t get a rollup out of the corner. Breeze’s Unprettier is countered into the pop up right hand to give Jose the pin at 3:19 shown.
Rating: C-. This could have been something with the time as they were both trying, even on a show that means nothing. Now in theory that should get them somewhere, but WWE has shown that they don’t care about these two and aren’t going to anytime soon. Jose’s dancing will keep him around on house shows forever, but I’ve always wondered what he could do with a more serious gimmick.
We see the last few seconds of Jeff Hardy vs. Daniel Bryan and the brawl to end the show.
Overall Rating: C. They gave almost half of this show to the Becky stuff and really, that’s as good of a use of the time as they’re going to have. It’s not like this needs to be anything more than a recap show at this time of year, though I’m still really not sure what to make of that Evans vs. Natalya match. Anyway, the more recaps the better at this point, as it’s not like most of the people who wrestle on this show mean anything right now anyway.
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