SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT
JULY 8, 2020
HULU STREAMING TV
REPORT BY MIKE F. MEYERS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Tom Phillips, MVP
REASONS TO WATCH…
- What did Titus just say?
- Belair’s Main Event win streak on the line
(1) TITUS O’NEIL vs. AKIRA TOZAWA (w/Ninjas)
During the entrances, Tom asked MVP how great it was to see O’Neil back in the ring. MVP replied, “It’s nice to see him take time off from hanging out with poor people and doing nice things.”
Tozawa landed some quick kicks and a chop to start, but O’Neil soon overpowered him. While he had Tozawa backed into a corner, he looked to Tozawa’s cohorts at ringside and shouted, “Ninja, please!”, which references a term of disagreement involving a racial slur.
O’Neil tossed Tozawa across the ring. Tozawa rolled out to ringside and moved into a rotating football huddle with the ninjas. O’Neil approached them on the floor, and the ninjas lined up to face him. O’Neil dispatched of three of the masked men while the others stood by doing nothing. Tozawa scrambled back into the ring, and hit O’Neil with two drop kicks as he re-entered. Tozawa landed a senton and covered O’Neil for two.
As Tozawa applied a chinlock, MVP explained that in Japanese history, ninjas were able to invoke spells that allowed invisibility and shapeshifting. Tozawa attempted a sleeper hold, but O’Neil got to his feet and flipped Tozawa off his back, then leveled Tozawa with a right cross and a front kick. O’Neil barked at the audience, then splashed Tozawa in the corner before landing Clash of the Titus. O’Neil covered Tozawa for the three-count.
WINNER: Titus O’Neil in 5:00.
(Meyers’s Analysis: A Japanese wrestler plays a comedy ninja role while a black wrestler uses a pun recalling a racial slur. Welcome to the world of people of color on WWE’s mid-card.)
-Main Event recap session:
- Replay of Rollins & Murphy vs. Owens & Mysterio from Raw
- Replay of Ziggler / McIntyre confrontation from Raw
- Replay of Slater vs. McIntyre from Raw
- Replay of Bray Wyatt video promo from Smackdown
- Match rundown for upcoming PPV The Horror Show at Extreme Rules
- Replay of Bayley vs Asuka from Raw
(2) BIANCA BELAIR vs. PEYTON ROYCE (w/Billie Kay)
Royce dodged an early Belair attack, then flexed and kissed her biceps. Belair took down Royce twice with waistlocks. Belair knocked Royce down with a shoulder block, then dusted her hands off. Belair hip tossed Royce, then covered for two. On the floor, Royce yanked Belair’s arm against the ring post, and we cut to break.
Royce maintained control in the ring after the break, working on Belair’s left shoulder. Royce planted Belair’s face into two turnbuckles, first with a drop toehold, then with a kick to the back. Belair fired up and leveled Royce with a drop kick, then issued some punishment in the corner. In spite of the alleged shoulder injury, Belair executed a backward handspring before running back at Royce to smash her into the corner. MVP compared Belair to “a bulldozer, a freight train,” neither of which are known for wasting motion or flipping around a wrestling ring.
Royce dragged Belair’s arm down across the top rope. Royce climbed to the top turnbuckle and landed a meek double stomp to Belair’s back, then covered for two. Belair set up for the Glam Slam, but Royce rolled through and pinned Belair for another two. Belair knocked a taunting Kay off the ring apron, then turned back to Royce to deliver the KOD, which was good for the three-count.
WINNER: Bianca Belair in 7:00.
(Meyers’s Analysis: The match had no glaring issues, but overall felt a little slow and clunky because of Royce. She will benefit from more work with talent like Belair, who remains undefeated on Main Event.)
SHOW SCORE (0-10): 7.0
FINAL THOUGHTS: The men’s match was needless, but Belair continues to be featured in Main Event victories before what has to be an eventual main roster singles run.
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