WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT (12/6): Gigi Dolin vs. Elektra Lopez, Apollo Crews vs. Javier Bernal

WWE MAIN EVENT TV REPORT
DECEMBER 6, 2023
HULU STREAMING TV
REPORT BY MIKE F. MEYERS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Announcers: Byron Saxton, Wade Barrett

REASONS TO WATCH…

• Can Apollo Crews win his fourth match in a row?

(1) GIGI DOLIN vs. ELEKTRA LOPEZ

Dolin snap mared Lopez to the mat and applied a chinlock. Lopez imediately escaped and reversed into a wrist lock. Dolin somersaulted to break the hold, then swept Lopez’s leg and applied another chinlock on the mat. Dolin ran the ropes, ducked a clothesline, and hit Lopez with a forearm strike against the ropes. Dolin hit a drop kick to the small of Lopez’s back, then covered her for two. Lopez knocked Dolin to the mat with a double chop to the neck, then dropped an elbow and covered Dolin for two.

Lopez knocked Dolin down again with a front kick and a knee lift. She covered Dolin for another two-count, then applied a chinlock. She took Dolin down with a neck breaker and covered again for two, then went back to the chinlock. Dolin got to her feet and covered Lopez with a backslide. Lopez kicked out at two, then Dolin landed a few strikes before leveling Lopez with a clothesline. The women exchanged quick two-count covers. Dolin was first to her feet, and smashed Lopez with a big roundhouse kick, then followed up with the Gigi Driver. Dolin remained on top for the cover and three-count.

WINNER: Gigi Dolin by pinfall in 5:00.

Meyers’s Analysis: Decent match. The one-two finishing sequence from Dolin was extra cool. That kick seems difficult to execute well, but it looked good on camera.

(2) APOLLO CREWS vs. JAVIER BERNAL

Bernal took Crews down with a quick arm drag. He followed up with a scoop slam. Crews blocked a second attempt at an arm drag, then came back with a body slam and a few arm drags of his own – these were more fierce than Bernal’s. He applied an arm bar on the mat. Bernal got free and applied an upright side headlock. Crews fired him off and took him down with a drop kick on the rebound. Crews mounted Bernal in the corner and landed ten downward punches. Crews elevated Bernal with a gorilla press. The power was impressive but Bernal slipped free, then knocked Crews down with a low drop kick. Bernal hit a second drop kick to Crews’s shoulder on the apron, knocking him out to the floor. We cut to break.

Bernal maintained control during the break and was kicking Crews on the mat in a corner. Crews stood and landed several punches. Bernal took Crews to the mat with a double underhook slam, then dropped a sliding leg drop before covering for two. Bernal choked Crews against the middle rope, then twisted Crews into a deliberate neck breaker. He covered Crews for two. Crews landed some labored punches, but Bernal took him down again with a knee lift. Bernal locked his legs around Crews’s neck on the mat. Crews twisted over onto his belly, then stood up with Bernal sat on his shoulders. Bernal slipped down and Bernal attempted a piledriver, but Crews blocked and executed a back body drop.

Crews splashed Bernal in the corner, then clotheslined him to the mat. Crews landed two kicks and a flying clothesline. Crews hoisted Bernal with another gorilla press, but this time dropped him onto the mat. Crews hit a standing moonsault, then covered for two. Crews went to the top rope and rolled through a splash when Bernal rolled out of the way. Bernal leaped at Crews from the middle rope. Crews caught him, but Bernal defied all odds and physics by converting this into a DDT with no momentum on his side. He turned Crews over and covered for two. Crews reversed out of a neckbreaker and kicked Bernal to the mat. He went again to the top rope, and this time connected with the frog splash. Crews covered Bernal for the three-count.

WINNER: Apollo Crews by pinfall in 8:25.

Meyers’s Analysis: Lots of teasing – Crews teased both the gorilla press and frog splash, then delivered both later in the match. The Bernal DDT was distracting. I think they had a slight misstep in rhythm that caused them to freeze before proceeding into a DDT after Bernal’s momentum had been erased by Crews on the catch. Barrett covered by calling it “a double reversal.” Still, a pretty good match.

SHOW SCORE (0-10): 8.0

Find Mike Meyers on Twitter/X @themikeshow42

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