WWE Main Event - July 20, 2016
by Scrooge McSuck
- Taped on July 19th from the DCU Center in Worcester, MA. Even though the brands are split and the Superstars have been assigned to either Monday Night Raw or Smackdown Live, we still have a few more days to get through before it all means anything going forward. Tom Phillips and David Otunga are at ringside to call the action, unless otherwise noted.
The Golden Truth & Apollo Crews vs. The Dudley Boyz & Baron Corbin:
Who doesn't love Six-Man Tag Team Action? Golden Truth and the Dudley Boyz are going to Raw, Apollo Crews and Baron Corbin will be right at home on Main Event Taped, the B-Show for Smackdown Live. Corbin completely snubs the Dudley's on his way to the ring, probably setting up a walk-out finish. R-Truth and Bubba Ray start. Lockup and Bubba Ray with a headlock, followed by a shoulder tackle. Truth stops him in his tracks to show off some dance moves and connects with a jumping heel kick. Whip to the ropes and Truth with a head scissors on D'Von. Goldust in for a double arm wringer and leg sweep for a near fall. Whip to the ropes and an elbow gets two. Everyone comes in... well, except Corbin. Crews and Truth with dropkicks to clear the ring as we take a break. We return with Goldust meeting an elbow on a charge. Dudley's with a modified version of their 3D. Corbin forcefully tags himself in and puts a beating on Goldust in the corner. Goldust fights his way out of the corner, but gets slammed back into the turnbuckle. Whip across the ring, Corbin slides out and rushes back in to cut off the tag with a clothesline. Goldust comes back with a spine-buster and hot tag to Crews. He runs through D'Von with clotheslines. Whip to the ropes and he connects with a diving elbow. He takes a shot at Bubba, allowing D'Von to recover. He goes to tag Corbin, but he hops off the apron. Crews from behind with the Angle Slam, and it's enough for three at 6:18. Corbin an unwilling, uncooperative partner? Surprise. * Just stuff happening, used more as a tool to push the idea that Corbin is indeed a "Lone Wolf."- Special thanks to Skillet for "Feel Invincible", the official theme song for WWE Battleground. They said it, not me.
Kalisto vs. Viktor (w/ Konnor):
Did anyone else catch Kalisto's GOD AWFUL promo during the Live Draft on the WWE Network? Holy crap. Sometimes taped promos and reactions are your friend. All men involved here have been drafted to Smackdown Live, so again, they should feel at home. They aren't that good, but the Ascension could use this new beginning for a fresh push as at least a mid-level threat instead of complete jobbers. Lockup and Viktor dumps Kalisto to the floor. Konnor tries to take a cheap shot, but fails. Back in the ring, Kalisto with a spinning head scissors and a dropkick. Konnor with another distraction, allowing Viktor to connect from behind with a corkscrew diving elbow. Kalisto fights out of a chin-lock, but Viktor with a knee to the midsection. Kalisto with a kick from the apron, followed by a seated senton and corkscrew plancha. He comes off the ropes with the mini-head scissor spike. Viktor gets dumped to the floor and Kalisto nails Konnor with tope suicida. Back in the ring, Kalisto counters a Powerbomb with a Frankensteiner, and that's it for Viktor at 3:31. *1/2 Good action for what little time they were allotted.Mark Henry & Jack Swagger vs. Breezango:
More tag team action! Henry and Swagger will make up the Superstars section of the Raw roster, while Tyler Breeze and Fandango stay on Smackdown/Main Event. Seriously, how much longer is Henry's contract? Was it really worth the time to draft him? Breeze and Swagger start. Lockup to the corner and Breeze takes a cheap shot. Swagger with shoulders to the midsection. Fandango comes in and gets nailed with an inverted atomic drop. Swagger with a Power Slam on Breeze, but the Swagger-Bomb meets knees. Fandango with a boot to the face for a two count. Breeze puts the boots to him in the corner. Whip to the ropes and Breezango with a double elbow and elbow drop for another two count. Swagger tries fighting out of the corner, unsuccessfully. Fandango with a snap mare, into a chin-lock. Swagger fights off another double team effort, dumping both to the floor. Mark Henry with the hot tag, and might as well ring the bell. Clotheslines to Fandango, followed by a Power Slam for two. Swagger pulls Breeze out of the ring and traps him in the Patriot Lock, while Henry finishes Fandango with the World's Strongest Slam at 4:21. * Fine for what it was. A decent showcase for Breeze and Fandango to show off their tag team chemistry before jobbing to a 50-year old, barely mobile, ready to retire relic from the Attitude Era.Jimmy & Jey Uso, Dolph Ziggler, and Titus O'Neil vs. Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio, and the Shining Stars:
"Main Event" of Main Event... if you need to know who went where, just read the Smackdown Live recap. I'm more concerned WHY THE HELL are they teaming Sheamus and Del Rio again! The League of Nations broke up in April, and then they teamed up a few weeks back (Raw in Tampa) and split them again! O'Neil and Sheamus lockup and give a clean break. Whip to the ropes, O'Neil with an elbow, followed by a slam and leg drop. Jimmy Uso comes in with a double axe-handle. Primo tags in and gets worked over. Whip to the corner, Jey avoids a charge and gets booed for dancing. It's the Roman Reigns Connection™. All eight men come in to brawl as we take a break. We return from the Battleground plug, with Jimmy and Primo in the ring. Epico with a dropkick to the back of Ziggler, followed by a slingshot elbow from the apron. Are they seriously pushing Epico and Primo as "new" talent, despite uninterrupted employment for 6-7 years? Del Rio with a snap mare and kick to the back for two. Ziggler fights out of a chin-lock, but runs into a tilt-o-whirl back breaker. Primo tries to cut off a tag, but gets planted with a DDT. Jey Uso with clotheslines and a Samoan drop on Epico. He hits the running butt-to-the-face and nails him with a roundhouse heel kick. Sheamus tags in and eats a Super-Kick. Jimmy to the top rope and the Splash only gets two. Ziggler with a Super Kick to Epico. Primo with the Back Stabber. Clash of the Titus on Primo. Del Rio with a Super Kick on Titus. Jey Uso with a dive over the top onto the Shining Stars. Del Rio nails Jimmy from the outside, and Sheamus with the Brogue Kick for three at 8:08. ** Decent action and the mandatory wild finish of rapid fire finishing moves can be fun as long as it doesn't get too clunky or botched. Still don't care for Del Rio and Sheamus teaming and acting like buddies.Final Thoughts: I'm surprised we didn't get one recap segment, but then the run-time was only 38:52, so that means I saved myself 10-minutes of talking about the same things I've already covered on Smackdown. Nothing must-watch this week, with a lot of meaningless tag team matches to give almost everyone on the roster matches for the taping if they weren't featured on Smackdown Live.
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