Main Event – January 30, 2020: The New Generation
IMG Credit: WWE
Main Event
Date: January 30, 2020
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Mickie James
We’re past the Royal Rumble and that means things can pick up in a big way. The problem is that they might not do that, which is always a possibility around here. This show can give you a good look at how things going but that is not always the case. In other words, I have no idea what to expect here so let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
Opening sequence.
Deonna Purrazzo vs. Sarah Logan
It was good last week so maybe they can repeat it this time. Feeling out process to start with Logan reversing a waistlock but getting elbowed in the face for her efforts. Deonna gets sent outside and kneed against the barricade so Logan can shout a lot. Back in and Purrazzo hits another elbow to the face but she takes Logan outside again to send her arm first into the apron.
The nasty armbar follows inside, followed by Logan’s arm being wrapped around the bottom rope. Logan is fine enough to send her shoulder first into the post and a running dropkick has Purrazzo in even more trouble. A bridging belly to back suplex gives Logan two more but Purrazzo flips over into the Fujiwara armbar. That means a rope grab and likely the end of Purrazzo’s chances. Back up and Logan knees her in the face for the pin at 5:14.
Rating: C-. Yeah not exactly last week’s rather surprising performance but they could have done a lot worse. Logan is someone who might wind up being a midcarder on one of the major shows but that isn’t happening until she gets somewhere first. Maybe she can do that in time and some wins on Main Event are better than nothing.
Video on the men’s Royal Rumble.
From Raw.
Here’s Drew McIntyre to open the show. Drew loves the sound of being introduced as the Royal Rumble winner, so let’s get this out of the way: he challenges Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania. Last night he saw the fear in Brock’s eyes and knows that he can beat Lesnar. He wants a Claymore party tonight though and that means it’s open challenge time. Cue the OC to say they’ll both fight him right now. That’s fine with Drew, so ring the bell.
Drew McIntyre vs. OC
Drew starts fast by chopping Anderson and beats up Gallows as a bonus. A top rope ax handle hits Anderson and there’s the Futureshock to Gallows. The Claymore hits them both and it’s a double pin at 2:21. Total squash and that’s how you make a star.
Post match here’s Lesnar to F5 McIntyre.
Video on the women’s Royal Rumble.
From Raw.
Here’s Charlotte to brag about winning last night but that’s what she does, because she’s Charlotte. We see some highlights from last night and Charlotte announces that she will be challenging….for a championship because she hasn’t made up her mind yet.
Cedric Alexander vs. Riddick Moss
This cameo makes some more sense after Raw. Moss works on a wristlock to start but Cedric reverses into a headlock. A rather hard shoulder puts Alexander in the corner and we take an early break. Back with Moss forearming away in the corner and shouting a lot. The chinlock goes on but Cedric is right back up with a running dropkick to the knee. The springboard Downward Spiral is broken up and Moss hits a heck of a Rock Bottom for the pin at 7:27.
Rating: D+. The key phrase here would be “they tried”. At some point you need to give us someone new and maybe Moss can go somewhere. I haven’t seen much from him to suggest that he can, but eventually you need to put someone out there and give them some wins to see what they can do. With all of the talent they have in this company, it’s worth seeing what you have.
Video on Edge returning at the Royal Rumble.
From Raw.
Here’s Edge for his big return speech. He soaks in some cheers and can’t believe that he’s here, because being back means so much to him. The reactions are why they do this so thank you. Edge gets to the big point: how can he be here? Nine years ago he was told he could never do this again but he doesn’t like living in a world of what if’s. A few years went by and he started to feel pretty good.
Then he started thinking about what if he came home. He had a second neck surgery and got in the best shape of his life because he wanted to do this one more time and go out on his own terms. Last night he was in the Royal Rumble and saw some names that he had seen before, plus some new ones. He hopes to see them again down the road, but he’s not sure how long this is going to last.
Edge wants us to join us on the ride, earning himself his first YES chant. Edge: “I’ve got to thank Daniel Bryan for that because that’s pretty cool.” Yeah he’s older now but he has one thing that you can’t fake: grit. This brings out Randy Orton, who hugs Edge and calls him a brother. Last night, Orton felt the energy and the chemistry that only they have. Edge was talking about what if’s, so what if Rated-RKO got back together one more time?
Before we get an answer, the RKO drops Edge. Orton grabs a chair and cracks Edge over the back for good measure. The chair is wrapped around Edge’s head (as his hand is shaking) and Orton goes to the middle rope. Orton gets back down and takes the chair off of his head….so he can get two chairs. The One Man Conchairto ends the show, with Orton whispering something to Edge. Good angle here, and Edge can bring the fire at Wrestlemania.
Overall Rating: C. The original stuff wasn’t great, but it did tie in together with the overall theme of this time of year: trying something different. There are only so many things that you can do before you bring in someone new and WWE is finally doing something in that area. They have a long way to go before it means anything, but at least they’re trying.
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