4/28 WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT: Ricochet vs. Mustafa Ali, Drew Gukak vs. Akira Tozawa

WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT
APRIL 28, 2021
HULU STREAMING TV
REPORT BY MIKE F. MEYERS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Announcers: Byron Saxton, Kevin Patrick

REASONS TO WATCH…

• Screwy finishes spread from main roster to Main Event

(1) RICOCHET vs. MUSTAFA ALI

Between initial lockups, Ali yelled at Ricochet, “You ain’t on my level!” Ali took Ricochet to the mat with a unique arm bar. He fired Ricochet’s face into a turnbuckle, but Ricochet threw him into the same corner and laid in a couple chops. He sent him into the opposite corner and flew in with more chops. He scoop slammed Ali, then dropped two quick elbows before covering for a one-count.

Ricochet knocked Ali off the ring apron, then climbed the corner to prepare an aerial attack. Ali saw this brewing and raced up onto the ring steps and grabbed Ricochet’s ankle, then flung him down face-first onto the apron. Ali climbed to the top rope and hit a splash on Ricochet’s lower back, then covered for two. Ali applied a leglock around Ricochet’s midsection on the mat.

Ricochet got to his feet with Ali on his back. Ali had a sleeper hold applied, but Ricochet simply fell backward, crushing Ali against the canvas and breaking the hold. Ali hit a European uppercut in the corner, but Ricochet came back with a flurry of shots and a knee to the jaw. He suplexed Ali into a pin and a two-count. Ali attempted a tornado DDT but Ricochet reversed out and turned Ali inside out with a clothesline. Ricochet slowly approached Ali while holding his ribs. Ali tried to escape under the bottom rope but Ricochet grabbed him by the foot. Ali’s boot came off in Ricochet’s hands, creating space for Ali to roll up Ricochet and score a pinfall while illegally using his feet on the rope for leverage.

WINNER: Mustafa Ali by pinfall in 5:50.

(Meyers’s Analysis: Nothing too special here. The ending was pretty strange; did the heel Ali somehow plan for Ricochet to yank his boot off and be temporarily distracted?)

-Main Event recap session:

• Replay of Daniel Bryan / Cesaro vs. Jey Uso / Seth Rollins from Smackdown
• Replay of Charlotte in-ring apology segment from Raw
• Replay of Charlotte vs. Mandy Rose from Raw
• Replay of McIntyre vs. Strowman from Raw

(2) DREW GULAK vs. AKIRA TOZAWA

The wrestlers exchanged wristlocks early on. Gulak twisted Tozawa down to the mat and they grappled there for a bit. Tozawa broke free and both men got to their feet simultaneously. Tozawa applied a side headlock and briefly dropped to a knee, but Gulak soon fired him off and leveled Tozawa with a shoulder block. Tozawa kicked Gulak off the ring apron. With Gulak on the floor, Tozawa ran the ropes and dove between the top and middle ropes to spear Gulak. We cut to break as Tozawa ran back into the ring to wait for his opponent.

Back in the ring, Tozawa was landing chops onto a stunned Gulak. He covered for a one-count near a corner. Tozawa hoisted Gulak onto his shoulders, and oversold the strain of standing up with a man on his shoulders – he acted as though Gulak weighs 300 lbs. During this pause, Gulak slipped to the mat after elbowing Tozawa in the head. He flipped Tozawa with a big clothesline, then pinned for a two-count.

Gulak hit a quick low-altitude drop kick then covered for another two. While back-to-back, Gulak reached back over his own head to clutch Tozawa’s jaw, then bent forward to suspend Tozawa above the mat in a brief, bizarre submission hold. The ref confirmed there was no choke, but Tozawa soon wriggled free. Gulak rolled into a pin and a two-count, then applied a headlock.

Tozawa landed repeated elbows to escape the headlock, then took Gulak down with an enzuigiri. He hit a running knee strike, then climbed to the top rope and launched into the flying senton and another two-count cover. Tozawa landed a few shots, but Gulak caught a kick-attempt and twisted Tozawa into a submission on the mat. Tozawa rolled over and got to the bottom rope to break the hold. Tozawa connected with a spin kick that leveled Gulak. Tozawa climbed a corner but Gulak got up and met him there. Tozawa knocked Gulak to the mat then took flight. Gulak saw him coming and caught him and immediately applied the Gulock – Tozawa soon tapped out.

WINNER: Drew Gulak by submission in 8:25.

(Meyers’s Analysis: This was marginally more interesting than the first match due to Gulak’s varied submission holds and Tozawa’s dive through the ropes. Not bad.)

SHOW SCORE (0-10): 7.6

Find Mike Meyers on Twitter: @themikeshow42