6/28 WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT: McDonagh vs. Crews 2, Chance vs. Emma, more

WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT
JUNE 28, 2023
HULU STREAMING TV
REPORT BY MIKE F. MEYERS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Announcers: Byron Saxton, Kevin Patrick

REASONS TO WATCH…

• Crews / McDonagh rematch

(1) KATANA CHANCE (w/ Kayden Carter) vs. EMMA

Emma dumped Chance to the mat with a pair of waist lock take downs. Chance applied a side headlock, but Emma fired her off into a corner. Chance executed a gymnast maneuver over the top rope and into a hurricanrana. Emma countered the finesse move with a big clothesline that took Chance to the canvas. Emma laid in a series of kicks, then held her boot against Chance’s throat in the corner. Emma yanked Chance’s head and neck backward over the middle rope, then covered for two.

Emma hit a double underhook suplex and covered for another two-count. Emma stood on Chance’s hair and pulled upward on her arm. Chance landed a few body blows, but again Emma regained control with a suplex. Emma applied an arm bar. Chance escaped with a dual-boot kick, then swept Emma’s feet with her arm. Chance hit a spinning splash and covered Emma for two. Emma got to her hands and knees after the cover, then Chance stood on her back, jumped upward and hit a standing moonsault to Emma’s back, causing her to collapse back to the mat. Chance rolled her over and covered for two.

Emma ran into Chance’s boot in the corner, but then Emma dropped Chance face-first onto the top turnbuckle. Emma covered Chance and had her boots on the ropes for added leverage. Not seeing this, the ref began the count, but Carter approached from the floor and knocked Emma’s boots off the rope, thus breaking up the pin. Emma swiped at Carter through the rope. This distraction allowed Chance to move in and plant Emma with a double-knee face breaker. Chance covered for the three-count.

WINNER: Katana Chance by pinfall in 5:30.

(Meyers’s Analysis: Not bad! Chance’s moonsault onto Emma’s back looked pretty cool, but perhaps required too much cooperation from Emma to work. I’m fine with Carter’s involvement at the end since Emma cheated first, but I would’ve been amused if the ref disqualified Chance due to outside interference.)

(2) JD MCDONAGH vs. APOLLO CREWS

Crews blocked a punch from McDonagh and held his blocking arm in place as if to savor the forthcoming clothesline he delivered, knocking McDonagh to the mat. Crews laid in a series of punches and fired McDonagh across the ring into the corner. On the rebound, Crews launched McDonagh with a back body drop. Crews leveled McDonagh with a pretty drop kick. He hoisted McDonagh into a long, suspended vertical suplex. While in the vertical position, Crews motioned to the audience with his right arm to fire them up, then did a bicep flex while dropping McDonagh do the mat. Crews got to his feet and hit McDonagh with a standing moonsault, then covered for two.

McDonagh landed a couple chops, then Crews monkey flipped McDonagh against the ropes and to the mat. McDonagh rolled out to the floor. Crews went for a moonsault off the apron, but McDonagh sidestepped. Crews landed on his feet, but McDonagh had scaled the apron and went for a moonsault of his own – this one successful. We cut to break with both men on the floor.

McDonagh was in control after the break. He hit a backbreaker, then locked up Crews’s torso with his legs from behind. Crews got free and fired McDonagh face-first into the ring post with a slingshot. He kicked McDonagh in the face, then hit a big clothesline. Crews kipped up and splashed McDonagh in the corner. Crews went to the top rope and hit a high cross body, then remained on top for a cover and two-count.

Crews blocked a punch and hit McDonagh with an enziguri. Crews set up for a gorilla press, but McDonagh gouged Crews in the eyes, then reversed the hold into a DDT. McDonagh hit a surprise roll-up and cover, but Crews kicked out, then kneed McDonagh in the face. Crews ran the ropes, but McDonagh caught him with a Spanish fly on the rebound. He covered Crews for two. McDonagh went for a hurricanrana, but Crews caught him and slammed him with a sit-out powerbomb. He covered McDonagh for two. McDonagh slipped free from a Samoan drop attempt, then stacked up Crews for a cover. During the count, McDonagh arched backward and grabbed the bottom rope for leverage as the ref reached the three-count.

WINNER: JD McDonagh by pinfall in 7:40.

(Meyers’s Analysis: Also a good match. Lots of power on display in a short period. This was a rematch of last week’s episode, where McDonagh gave Crews a beatdown after Crews’s victory. They played a video of that action to give context for Crews relishing his violence against McDonagh. Perhaps a rubber match next week? Hell, put it on Raw!)

SHOW SCORE (0-10): 8.4

Find Mike Meyers on Twitter: @themikeshow42

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