Sheamus Wants Rematch With Rusev (Interview Highlights)

WWE’s resident Irishman, Sheamus, gave an interview with The Independent that coincided with a series of U.K. shows. To view the full article, simply click HERE. But to make things easy for you, I’ve pulled a few quotes that I found interesting and added a few comments alongside them.

On his recent U.S. Championship loss to Rusev:

“I obviously want a rematch. I want to prove I can beat Rusev. That’s important, we went back and forth the other night – it was a long night – but it was cool the way it was on the network. It was like the first of its kind, to broadcast that match on the network and it shows how powerful the network can be with so much opportunity and options that the WWE can put any match on there, anytime, anywhere, exclusively for the fans that subscribe to the network.”

I assume the rematch will come at Survivor Series. It seemed a little rushed to make it happen already but I agree with the decision to air it after Raw on the WWE Network. That’s a big match that people have been calling for so it builds interest in the Network.

His thoughts on The Miz:

“What do I think of The Miz? Not much mate. I think he should be doing ballet dancing rather than the WWE. He just talks a lot, has a big mouth – I’ve tried to shut him up a few times but no matter how many times you hit him or kick him in the face he doesn’t get the message.”

His thoughts on Damien Mizdow:

“I think Mizdow is tremendous and I think both of them together are a very entertaining piece. I’m not sure one would survive without the other really. I mean Miz obviously has the track record, but both of them together, they’re just entertainment gold. They’ve come a long way. They’re very, very entertaining television and they’re a very entertaining couple. Even when I’m wrestling Miz, I’ve got one eye on him and one eye on Mizdow on the outside and he’s cracking me up half the time, he’s very entertaining.”

I hope he’s wrong about them not surviving without the other. I’m rooting for Sandow to have a babyface turn that hopefully solidifies his spot on the card. He seems like he could be a key player in a story line for a mid-card title.

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Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @MitchNickelson. Also, check out the last edition of Mitch and Al Radio. The podcast will continue next week, but will then be known as simply Mitch Nickelson radio. Press Play below to hear history!

 

Main Event Review For October 28th, 2014

(Just a quick reminder that my Main Event Review is my regular gig over at TJRWrestling.com. This article you are reading is what is published over there and I’d encourage you to check that site out. There is a plethora of amazing writers that cover all aspects of professional wrestling.)

Welcome to the best wrestling show on Tuesday nights, WWE Main Event! This week’s show is broadcast out of Houston, Texas. Announced prior to the show is a MizTV segment featuring Mark Henry, which doesn’t end up happening.

I recap this show by writing about all of the highlights, sprinkling in my opinion whenever I see fit. I won’t do any in-depth play-by-play, but I’ll try to cover the good stuff. At the end, I’ll wrap things up with a snazzy Final Thoughts section. Lets get to the action.

MizTV Featuring The Usos

As The Miz and Damien Mizdow were making their way to the ring, JBL was telling Byron Saxton and Michael Cole that he’s joining them on commentary on Main Event because he’ll be going on vacation to Bermuda after this. He says it’ll cause him to miss Smackdown later this week, which is in actuality taped Tuesday night immediately after Main Event. I like how dedicated WWE is to the kayfabe of Smackdown being on Friday.

Miz is still angry over the tag match on Monday night when The Usos pinned Miz illegally. He asked Jimmy and Jey why they cheated and they simply denied knowing what he was talking about. As they responded to him, they mimicked the stunt double schtick with each other. Having an actual set of twins doing it is funny. Miz acknowledged that they were poking fun at him then grew frustrated as they joined in as stunt doubles for Miz. The segment culminated with Miz demanding a ref come out for an immediate rematch while all three guys in the ring copied all of his mannerisms. I’m sure that some are getting tired of the stunt double joke but I think they can drag out for another month or so by adding elements like this to it.

Referee Charles Robinson came out before the break. The match is up next.

The Usos vs. The Miz & Damien Mizdow

As the match starts out, JBL points out that everyone has a stunt double except for Charles Robinson and Byron Saxton. Burn on Michael Cole.

Miz did a good job of playing off the crowd dynamics when he went to tag Damien into the match. When he’d point to Mizdow like he was asking the crowd if they wanted him to tag him in the crowd would cheer loudly. Then he’d raise his arms in the air for himself (mimicked by Mizdow) and the crowd would boo passionately. He did this back and forth several times in a row to really show the contrasting reactions that they were getting.

While The Miz was hurting on the outside, Damien went over to him to copy the pain he was in. This led to a flying Uso dive to the outside that only connected onto Sandow. Miz followed it up with a kick to an Uso jaw.

Near the end of the match, Jimmy was hurt and looked like he might suffer a pinfall. As the ref had his back turned Jey tried to insert himself into the match for his brother. Charles Robinson caught and prevented him from doing so but then had to briefly turn his attention to Miz and Mizdow. Jey then tried to switch out illegally again, this time successfully. When Miz came over he rolled him up for the win.

Winners by pinfall: The Usos

The Miz and Damien Mizdow argued with the ref as The Usos left the ring, celebrating their win.

John Cena was asked to join The Authority on Raw, which is recapped at this point. This setup the Team Cena vs. Team Authority match that will happen at Survivor Series.

Michael Cole tells JBL that it’s a shame that he’s going to on vacation because he’ll miss a big Divas Halloween Costume Battle Royal on this Friday’s Smackdown. JBL says he’ll be watching the match from Bermuda because he’s still trying to convince the audience that Smackdown isn’t taped.

Paige vs. Natalya (w/Tyson Kidd)

The footage of Paige beating on Alicia Fox viciously from Raw is shown before the match. Byron Saxton said that being friends with Paige is like being friends with a wild animal; you do so at your own risk. Tyson Kidd joins the announce table and JBL compares him to Stedman (Oprah’s husband or whatever)  and Todd Palin. They rib on him that Natty is the breadwinner in the family.

The announce team spent most of of their time talking to Tyson about his marriage, which is a shame because this is a way better than average match. Paige does what she can to appear super creepy by licking the side of Natalya’s face at one point.

The ending came by Paige teasing that she’d put Natty in the Sharpshooter. Natalya reversed it before she could lock it on and attempted to do the Sharpshooter as well. Paige kicked her out before she could lock it on, then rolled her up for the win. Wow, pretty much every Divas match does end in a rollup. They need a new ending for the ladies.

Winner by pinfall: Paige

Natalya looked disappointed with her loss. Tyson said that he’s embarrassed for his wife before he went into the ring to ‘comfort’ her after his loss. I really hope this leads to Natalya and Tyson becoming a heel power couple.

There was a really odd video of a pair of eyes on the Titan Tron. The voice that accompanied it said, “Sometimes I see things that just ain’t there…I’m going to piece myself back together with pieces of you.” The announcers couldn’t explain whatever that was. Bo Dallas and Sheamus are seen walking backstage. They have a match, which is next.

Sheamus vs. Bo Dallas

Bo talks before the match about Team Cena vs. Team Authority at Survivor Series. He said that if he could split himself into two people, he’d help both teams. But unfortunately human cloning hasn’t been perfected yet. Bo says that in the meantime he is offering his services to whoever Bolieves.

Bo was all about celebrations during this match. After a drop kick that connected with Sheamus, Bo exited the ring to do a lap with his hands in the air. Later, when he kipped up out of a head scissor attempt by Sheamus he immediately raised his arms in victory. Sheamus responded to the second celebration with a slap to the face. There were quite a lot of stiff slaps in this match.

Dallas went for the Running Bodog onto Sheamus, but couldn’t follow through with it. He gives another slap across the face of Sheamus who replies with a Brogue Kick. Sheamus covered his opponent for the win.

Winner by pinfall: Sheamus

Sheamus celebrated with his U.S. Title after the match. Michael Cole tells JBL to enjoy his vacation as the show comes to a close.

Mitch’s Final Thoughts

I can gladly say that this was an above average episode of Main Event. The MizTV segment that opened the show led directly to the tag match, which was about 20 minutes of the show. I like the rivalry and it will give The Usos something to do for a month other than challenging for the tag titles again. Hopefully Damien’s antics keep the attention of the fans as WWE holds off his turn against The Miz.

The Paige/Natalya match was way better than what is typically shown on Main Event. Natalya could easily bring new life to the Divas Championship scene. I don’t mind the marriage drama that she’s involved in and I’ll reiterate that I hope it leads to the heel couple of Tyson and Natty.

The main event was okay but it was the weakest part of the hour for me. Sheamus was stiff like usual and I felt bad for how many slaps he traded with Bo. Sheamus is always a crowd favorite and Bo still gets heat so it works.

Thanks for reading my review this week. Feel free to share your thoughts on the show in the Comments section below. Also, you can find me on Twitter @MitchNickelson and on the web at MitchNickelson.com. I don’t typically put my email address out there, but here it is if anyone would want to chat that way – leonardbeats@gmail.com. Take care.

Main Event Review For October 14th, 2014

Welcome once again to my review of WWE Main Event. Birmingham, Alabama is the host city for tonight’s show. I’m unaware of anything that might have been advertised ahead of time. Byron Saxton and Michael Cole are our usual announcers.

I apologize for getting this up about a day later than normal, but that’s just the way things worked out this week. I’m shooting for brevity which is probably a good thing because I can be long-winded when doing my recap. I’ll wrap up everything with a Final Thoughts section at the end. Let’s start this show.

MizTV featuring Sheamian Sandow, then Sheamus arrives

The Miz hosts his MizTV segment and it appears that we’re going to have Sheamus joining him. Only it’s not Sheamus, it’s Damien Sandow dressed up as Sheamus and it is absolutely hilarious. The guy has been comedy gold as of late and I dearly hope that the WWE can give meaningful ring time to a guy who turns so much dribble into entertainment.

Sandow is wearing some sort of white tights and a bright red wig. He even has some orange colored eyebrows pasted on. When the real Sheamus shows up, he finds that Sandow has become his personal method actor and it’s brilliant. There’s genuine laughter breaking out in the crowd.

The segment reveals that because of Miz’s victories on Sheamus as of late, he’ll get a title shot against him at Hell In A Cell. Sheamus mocks Miz for thinking he’s an A-list movie star and beats up Sandow in the end. He comments how Miz lets Sandow take his bullets and gives Sandow a Brogue kick to end the segment.

Tyson Kidd (w/Natalya) vs. R-Truth

Tyson Kidd had a mic and talked about ‘facts,’ and that it was a fact that he was more than simply Nattie’s husband. R-Truth had a mic as well.  His rapping was slightly more on point than normal and even received loud cheers for it.

Early in this match, Truth did some provocative hip gyrating that Natalya found amusing. Tyson yelled at her and told her to go stand away from the ring. Byron and Michael discussed the marital woes of Mr. and Mrs. Kidd throughout the match.

The ending came after Tyson was setting up for the Sharpshooter. Truth kicked him away, into the ropes near Natalya. He yelled at her to not get involved, but got taken out when he turned back around toward Truth.

Winner by pinfall: R-Truth

Cesaro vs. Justin Gabriel

In a pre-taped segment, Cesaro told Dolph Ziggler that he promised him that he’ll be “in the swing of things.” Get it? I’ve been digging all of the mic time he’s been getting as of late, especially when he guest announces. He seems very comfortable when he has to speak.

There’s lots of reasons to like this matchup. Both guys are incredibly talented and can impress with their ring skills. But the real point of this match is to put over Cesaro and that’s what happens.  Here’s a lovely quip by Bryon Saxton, in regards to the Swiss Superman…

“The guy deadlifts over 600 lbs. That’s like, six of you, Michael.”

Gabriel is impressive and has some flashy moments, but eventually succumbs to the Neutralizer.

Winner by pinfall: Cesaro

It’s Raw Rebound time and we see a recap of everything concerning John Cena, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Randy Orton from the night prior. I feel like much of the reactions that I’ve read about the Cena/Orton match is a big yawn because the two have faced each other so much throughout their careers. Personally, I feel like Orton is on a streak of stellar bouts over the past few months and I look forward to pretty much any match he’s in…even if it’s against a guy he’s faced a million times like John Cena. I guess my point is that I’m currently a big Randy Orton mark. That guy sure can wrestle.

Rusev (w/Lana) vs. Big E

The crowd chanted “U.S.A.” loudly to Lana before the match, garnering a couple of Shut Up’s from her. She called Birmingham the unshaved armpit of America. It’s not that bad of a place. Rusev said Big Show would be the big, stinking, anus.

Rusev and Big E had a couple of fun Pay-Per-View matches earlier in the year. This match tonight was given plenty of time and it was paced well. Rusev looked vicious early on with a Fallaway Slam on the outside and a series of never-ending stomps in the middle of the ring. Big E was given chances to look strong as well. He had several well-timed suplexes that would turn the tides in his favor.

The hero of the Russian Federation would ultimately lock in the Accolade. He really leaned back on Big E and made it look painful.

Winner by submission: Rusev

Rusev faces Big Show at Hell In A Cell. He and Lana celebrated the victory with the Russian flag behind them as the show came to a close.

Mitch’s Final Thoughts:

I’d peg this hour of wrestling only to be an average episode of Main Event. Sandow was completely funny in the beginning of the show; one of his best impressions yet. Kudos to him being amazing. But apart from the humor, none of the matches meant a whole lot.

Rusev and Big E were at least given well over 10 minutes, so that’s at least one good takeaway. I won’t be too negative on the product, I’ll just say that between the spectrum of Smackdown and Superstars, Main Event seemed to have drifted slightly more into the Superstars realm tonight.

– – – – – – –

That was way shorter this time around than I normally do. I’ll try to write this review more of this length in the future. It’s way easier to write and more enjoyable for me to watch the show without so much play-by-play.

Here are some quick plugs. Follow me on Twitter @MitchNickelson. Check out my two podcasts as well. I do a shorter one called Mitch and Al Radio and a longer, more thorough one called SBP Wrestling. I see podcasting being a big part of what I do from here on out and I’d love to have your support.

That about does it for me. Take care.

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Cesaro Wants To Unify U.S. and Intercontinental Titles

WWE ran through Canada last night through the fine city of Toronto. Cesaro, who was challenging Sheamus for his United States Championship at that event, gave comments to SLAM! Wrestling in preparation for his big match. Here are some highlights…

His plans after winning the U.S. Championship (which he did not do)…

“My next goal would be to win the Intercontinental Championship and then combine those titles.”

On what the U.S. Championship means to him…

“That is the first title that I ever won in the WWE so I always hold it in very high regard. Many Hall of Famers have held the United States Championship so to me it means quite a bit. A win means I would be a champion of the United States of America and they need a good role model like myself.”

On his match with Sheamus at Night Of Champions…

“When you are in the ring with Sheamus, it is always going to be hard-hitting. I knew what I was getting into but I know he got the worst of it. He just managed to get lucky in the end.”

On what the biggest weakness is for the Swiss Superman…

“The problem is I am so good, I bring out the best in my opponents. Sometimes they are able to do things they would have never done before. My greatness is my own Kryptonite.”

Much of what he says is to be received in an obviously snarky tone. He’s the bad guy who is arrogant and full of himself, so kudos to him to keeping character. While I am hoping for a serious Cesaro main event push, I’ve been thankful for the quality of matches that he’s been giving the WWE Universe as of late. That Night Of Champions match has been regarding as the match of the night by many pro-wrestling fans.

– – – – –

To keep up with all things Mitch, follow me on Twitter @MitchNickelson. I’ve been trying to get my feet wet with podcasting, too. Check out my most recent episode of Mitch and Al Radio (Click on that player below!) and don’t forget to tune in next week. I get the opportunity to interview Amazing Kong and I’m pretty stoked about it. Take care.

 

WWE Live Results – 09/20/14 Charleston, WV

My lovely bride and I had the opportunity to spend the evening watching a WWE House Show in Charleston, WV. We live only about 40 minutes from the show, so it was a fun evening out. I won’t go too in depth with my recap of the show, but I’ll share pics of the event with the results of the night. I hope you enjoy my wonderful photography skills, haha.

Zack Ryder vs. Cesaro
Winner: Cesaro

This was a good opening bout, but nothing too special. Ryder was given a decent amount of time, which doesn’t happen too often. Our West Virginia crowd was behind him pretty solidly and while there was some support for Cesaro, he was definitely the heel. I was disappointed that we didn’t see the Cesaro Swing, but there was a Broski Boot in this match. Cesaro won, I believe, by his Neutralizer.

Cesaro vs. The Great Khali
Winner: The Great Khali

After his match with Ryder, Cesaro got on the mic and issued a challenge for anyone in the back. Here’s the answer by the Punjabi Playboy…

It was funny how much people supported Khali as he came out. My wife and I had enough sense to just sit and laugh about it. I know I said in the intro that there won’t be any in-depth play-by-play or anything, but I’ll make the exception for this match….

Khali did an overhand chop. Khali pinned for the win.

There it is. The crowd popped for it, so I guess it served its purpose. My wife mentioned beforehand that we might at least see the Swing on Khali and that would have redeemed this for me, but as you can read in my novella of play-by-play commentary, no such Swing happened.

Slater Gator vs. Los Matadores (w/El Torito)
Winners: Slater Gator

If you’ve read enough of  my writing, you know I LOVE Slater Gator. Not only did I get to see them, I saw them in West Virginia, Heath Slater’s home state. Slater was given a hero’s welcome, for sure. The match was simple; Slater was first in and got beat down for a while as Fernando and Diego kept doing their “Ole” pose. This established them as the heels and the crowd booed more and more viciously as time went on.

Slater finally made his way to his corner and tagged in The Gator, Titus O’Neil. Titus had a strong showing but he too found himself the victim of the Matadores. This was simple wrestling psychology, as the match was building to that one hot tag to Heath Slater at the end. When he finally got it, the crowd went nuts. So did my wife and I. Slater Gator won, because I deserve at least that much in life.

Slater Gator was the personal highlight of the night for me.

Adrian Neville vs. Tyson Kidd (NXT Championship)
Winner: Adrian Neville

This was a treat that wasn’t advertised. Tyson came out before the  match started and told everyone how he wanted to be known as more than “Nattie’s husband.” He paused at this point, expecting a chant, but none started. He got mild heel heat in his match, but people didn’t react too much to the guy. Neville was highly impressive. The match wasn’t too long, but it was cool seeing the Red Arrow live. That is such an impressive move.

Sheamus vs. Bray Wyatt (w/Erick Rowan) (US Championship)
Winner: Sheamus

Sheamus got one of the bigger pops of the night. People went nuts for the guy. This, along with the tag match later in the show, was one of the best matches of the night. I was surprised that neither the Sister Abigail nor the Brogue Kick happened during the match, but it was still well built. Sheamus won with a roll-up. Post-match, there were shenanigans (good choice of wording for the Celtic Warrior, right?!) involving Erick Rowan. Rowan became the victim of the Brogue Kick and Sheamus took the time to high-five pretty much everyone in the front row.

Intermission

Paige vs. Natalya (2 out of 3 Falls – Diva’s Championship)
Winner: Paige

This match had a stipulation that the fans could vote on. The other option was a Submission Match, which I might’ve liked better. I remember that the first fall of this match came via countout against Natalya. There was a spot where the two girls were rolling around on the mat and they rolled over top of the ref. The ref acted like he won the lottery and went to celebrate on the corner turnbuckle, but stumbled and took a second jump to get up there. I don’t remember the second fall, which Natalya obviously won, but Paige won the third fall with a roll-up pin.

The Usos vs. Gold & Stardust vs. Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods (w/Big E) (Tag Team Championship)
Winner: The Usos

I really liked this match and was very excited to see the two challenging teams. My wife only really wanted to see the Rhodes boys and it was fun cheering for Kofi and Xavier against her.

There was a cool spot where Goldust was beating up on Xavier and Xavier almost made it to tag Kofi, but Goldust knocked him down so Woods couldn’t tag him in. Then, after he fought off Goldust he made his way to the Usos’ corner. Just when he almost had the tag, both of Rikishi’s sons backed away from the corner to leave him stranded and helpless in the ring. It was by far the coolest thing I’ve ever seen those brothers do.  Usos won the match, by the way.

John Cena vs. Kane (Street Fight)
Winner: John Cena

The biggest pop of the night was for John Cena and it wasn’t even close. WV really, really, loves Cena. I was able to get his entrance on video and you can see the pop he gets…

My wife and I left midway through this match, because we’re old and wanted to beat the traffic home. Our strategy worked, by the way. While I don’t regret missing the match, I do regret missing what happened after the match. Apparently, Heath Slater came out to sing “Country Roads” with John Cena. Well, poop. That probably would’ve been fun to see. Oh well, I was well rested when my three year old son woke me up the next morning to show me his Thomas train.
                                                   

I hope you enjoyed reading about my live WWE experience. I had a good time with my wife, one of the rare times we’ve gotten out without the kids. She’s a trooper for letting me drag her to these kinds of things, haha.

As always, please follow me on Twitter @MitchNickelson. It’s the best way to not miss anything that I do. Also, visit my website MitchNickelson.com to listen to the most recent podcast of SBP Wrestling. I do that with a couple of friends and I’m having fun with it. Just press play immediately below and give us a listen.

Thanks for reading.

***New The Wyatt Family “We’re Here” Authentic T-Shirt Now Available at WWEShop.com!***

 

Main Event Review for August 19th, 2014

Tuesday night has came and went with another eventful episode of Main Event in the books. I did not watch the show on Tuesday night and am in fact watching it Wednesday morning. I’ve heard about what happened, namely Brock’s opponent for Night of Champions, and I think that qualifies as an eventful announcement. Also, Slater Gator wrestled. So I’m looking forward to what should be a great hour of wrestling.

I’m Mitch and I write about all the fun stuff on this WWE Network show. I recap and throw in my opinion along the way. I wrap it up with a spiffy summary of how I felt of everything at the end. I have fun doing this.

Usually, Byron Saxton and Tom Phillips are the announcers. This week, it’s Bryon Saxton and Michael Cole. The WWE Network lists this as the 99th episode of Main Event. Will there be a party for next weeks triple-digit milestone? Maybe I’ll have a Rybaxel cake cooked up to celebrate. Tonight’s show comes to us from the fine city of Phoenix, Arizona.

Sheamus vs. Curtix Axel

This match is not for Sheamus’ United States Championship. These two were part of a six-man tag match on Raw the previous night that was really fun. Before the match gets started, Cesaro makes his way to the announce table in a really sharp suit. At one point, Byron asks The Swiss Superman to talk about the now-international WWE Network in Swedish. Cesaro calls him an idiot because he’s Swiss, not Swedish.

There was a fun part in this match where Axel has Sheamus in the corner and starts slapping the snot out of him. He hit him like a dozen times and Sheamus no-sold it as he looked super angry. He battled back and hit several running knees. He made it to the top rope and dove with his shoulder into Axel. Sheamus hit the Ten Beats Of The Bowery, then the Running Senton. The fans started to come alive as he set up for the Brogue Kick. Sheamus connected with it and that was enough for a successful pinfall.

Winner by pinfall: Sheamus

Post match, Cesaro grabs the US Title and admires it. Sheamus acts ticked that Cesaro is holding onto his belt too long, but then Cesaro finally throws it into the ring. It looks like the start of a new feud.

Big Show and Erick Rowan face off later in the show, which was previously advertised. Byron Saxton says that it will be a “Monster’s Brawl.”

Triple H then cuts in as he announces that Brock Lesnar will have to defend his newly-won WWE World Heavyweight Championship against the man he took it from, John Cena. Cena requested the rematch. Bryon Saxton questions how smart this decision was, so soon after the beating he took just two days ago. He calls it the worst loss of Cena’s career.

Nikki Bella vs. Emma

Nikki’s betrayal of her sister from Summerslam and their confrontation of Raw is replayed. The crowd starts a “You Sold Out” chant. Nikki did a spinning kick off the ropes onto Emma that connected nicely. She locks Emma into a front face lock and does a well-timed eye roll as the crowd starts up again with “You Sold Out.”

There’s a Breaking News graphic scrolling at the bottom of the screen, telling us about Lesnar and Cena again. Emma is able to lock her Tarantula on Nikki but fails to follow up with a cross-body off of the top rope. Nikki decked her with a hard right hand. She puts Emma in a Backbreaker and covers her for the win.

Winner by pinfall: Nikki Bella

Nikki makes her way back up to ramp as Michael Cole questions her relationship with The Authority.

Renee Young Interviews The Big Show And Mark Henry Backstage

Renee asks Big Show about his match with Erick Rowan tonight. Show calls Rowan a big, raw-boned, red-headed monster. Show talks about how the match will be a brawl but then says that he might pull out some top-rope luchador maneuvers. Mark Henry shakes his head and tells him, “No.” Henry then follows it up by simply telling him, “Win.” Big Shows tells him that he’ll give it the old “College Try.” He keeps rambling on and Henry tells him to just go out there and whoop him so that they can go eat. Henry adds that if Harper puts his face in it, he’ll put something in his face. Renee looks a little confused after that.

Back from a break and there’s a replay of Triple H’s announcement about the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at Night of Champions again. John Cena returns to Raw next week in Anaheim, California.

Slater Gator (Titus O’Neil &Heath Slater) vs. Los Matadores

Well I’m happy about getting to see another Slater Gator match. I’m not a huge huge fan of the Matadores, but it’s good to see Fernando back from injury. In addition to El Torito, Hornswoggle is dressed up as a little cow. That’s…odd.

I won’t comment on the match too much; it wasn’t too special. All four of the wrestlers are talented and I like to mark out for Slater Gator, but Byron Saxton and Michael Cole kept cracking cow jokes and dumb puns. I guess the entire point of this match was simply to show Hornswoggle in a cow costume. Heath Slater got the win with an Implant DDT.

Winners by pinfall: Slater Gator

Heath Slater looks like he’s going to attack El Torito after the match, but Hornswoggle kicks his leg to try to stop him. Slater gets down on his knees and looks like he’s begging for a confrontation. Torito comes from behind and shoves Slater’s head off of Hornswoggle’s udders. They push Slater out of the ring, knocking Titus over in the process. Slater and Titus collect themselves, then run back into the ring to chase the two little people away. Even I have a hard time defending stuff like this.

Luke Harper is shown in an expectedly dark location backstage. Here’s what he says… “You may walk amongst the clouds, but he taught us that in order for you to be saved you must pay for your sins. And tonight the giant comes crashing down.” The camera then pans to Erick Rowan, who is in his creepy mask. “Big Show..RUN!”

Big Show and Erick Rowan still have a match later, but now we’re watching the last few days of events regarding Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. When a feud it this good, I’ll actually pay attention to the recap. Michael Cole and Byron Saxton talk about the crazy antics of Dean Ambrose since Raw went off the air. He apparently refused medical treatment and is on the loose. Make sure you check your car trunks thoroughly, people.

Renee Young Interviews Seth Rollins Backstage

Seth gets a decent heel reaction from the fans in the arena when he’s first shown. Renee asks if he has an explanation for what he did Monday night. Seth expalins that he wasn’t the one to choose the match, the WWE Universe did. The blood is on all of our hands. Seth wonders why we’re worrying about Dean anyway since he’s in some pretty good company. He talks about the WWE Superstars who’ve fallen on tough times. John Cena was demolished by Brock Lesnar at Summerslam. Chris Jericho had his return party spoiled by Bray Wyatt. Seth says that the biggest loser is Jack Swagger because he let an entire nation down. Swagger then appears opposite of Seth.

“Look who has his big boy pants on now,” says Swagger. The crowd pops for him. Jack says that Seth talks tough without Big Daddy Kane around. Seth says that Jack talks tough without Grandpa Colter by his side. Seth says that he won his match on Summerslam and it was his foot that put Ambrose’s head through the cinder blocks on Raw. Jack would’ve known that if he wasn’t too busy taking a nap for his country. That was a good insult and Jack gets really in his face at this point.

Swagger says that he’s wide awake right now and he’s done talking. Seth responds by saying if he wants a fight, he’ll fight him…but not tonight. The crowd boos. Seth then says that he’ll see Jack on Friday’s Smackdown. The crowd then cheers for this, because Smackdown is taped and the crowd gets their match Tuesday night. Seth tells Jack he can go hang out with Dean Ambrose on the missing person’s list. Jack walks away laughing and Swagger is heard calling him a coward.

Big Show (w/Mark Henry) vs. Erick Rowan (w/Luke Harper)

Both competitors make their way to ring before the show cuts to its last commercial break. Back from the break and there’s only 7:30 left in the broadcast. Assuming they don’t fight all the way up until the last second of the show, this will not be a long bout.

Rowan starts with a headlock on Show. Off of an Irish Whip, Show takes down Rowan with a shoulder, then clotheslines him out of the ring. Show rolls out of the ring after him. Show gets sent head-first into the steel post. They battle back in to the ring and Rowan kicks the big man while he’s down. Show caught the last kick and then clotheslines him down. Show backs him into the corner and delivers a loud chop to his chest. Rowan’s shirt is opened up and he’s chopped again. Show takes him into another corner, does the ‘ssshh’ signal to the crowd, then delivers another chop.

Big Show sends him into the opposite corner and runs backside-first into him. Show bounces off of the ropes, but Rowan takes him out at the knee. Rowan runs towards Show, but Show tries to counter by lifting up his foot for the Big Boot. Rowan catches it and drops to his knees to take out the leg. Rowan hits a clothesline and gets pretty fired up. He covers Show only to get a two count.

Michael mentions Henry’s confrontation with Rusev last night. I wonder how they’ll balance these two feuds that he’s in? Rowan is punching on Show and runs hard into him in the corner. Rowan does his knuckle-squeeze onto Show’s head and slams his knee into Show’s back. Show punches his way back into the match and administers a side Russian leg sweep.

They both make their way to standing and Rowan kicks Big Show right in the face, knocking him down. Pinfall for only two. Rowan is squeezing his knuckles onto Show’s temples again. Shows throws Rowan over his own body to break it that time. Another well-timed foot to the face from Rowan to Show. Rowan climbs to the second rope and dives elbow-first into Big Show. Rowan gets a lot of boos at this point. He taunts Show to get up.

Big Show is on his feet and Rowan goes for a body slam on Big Show and he hits it! He did that on Raw and it’s still pretty impressive. Pinfall for only two again. Rowan wants Show to get up again. As he tries to get close to him, Big Show lands a KO Punch onto Rowan. Big Show rolls him over and pins him for the win.

Winner by pinfall: Big Show

Mark Henry gets in the ring to raise The Big Show’s hand in celebration. Luke Harper is outside the ring, looking on like a creeper. The Wyatts look on as Show and Henry start making there way out of the ring. The show ends there.

Mitch’s Final Thoughts:

I usually really like Main Event, but tonight was a below average show. The Triple H announcement was huge, but none of the wrestling matches felt special. I’d probably name the opener, Sheamus vs. Axel, as the best match of the night. But even then, it was just there to lay the groundwork for a Sheamus/Cesaro US Championship rivalry. Cesaro did a good job on commentary. I’d like to see him be his own mouthpiece more.

I like being a big Slater Gator fan, but it seemed like the whole point of that tag match was just so Cole and Saxton could crack really bad cow puns. People have been responding well to Slater’s fluke wins in recent weeks, I wish they’d make that more of a thing. Hornswoggle in corny outfits should not be the focus of any segment, even on a B show like Main Event.

The crowd liked chanting “You Sold Out” to Nikki Bella, so kudos to her for getting some heat. The Seth Rollins and Jack Swagger confrontation was interesting. I hope they good a good match on Smackdown.

The main event, Big Show vs. Erick Rowan, was just alright. They didn’t have much time, so I think that was the biggest fault. Erick Rowan’s body slam on Show is an impressive move. I was expecting interference and a melee between all four guys at the end, but that never happened. I hope this is a feud that carries on for a few weeks, but with Henry facing off against Rusev this tag feud might not get that much attention. I hope that’s not the case because I think Henry can deliver the goods in both angles.

What did you think of the show? Comment below with your thoughts and we’ll discuss it. Also, follow me on twitter @MitchNickelson. And if that isn’t enough Mitch for you, check me out at TJRWrestling.com. I actually write this review for that site, then repost it here. I will post a news update there at least once a week as well.

Main Event Review for August 12th, 2014

by: Mitch Nickelson

Live on the WWE Network, this is Main Event! This little show tries its darndest to be the best weekly show on the Network. And until Kevin Steen and the other amazing recent hires show up on NXT, it will keep having a somewhat valid point.

The show is being broadcasted out of Seattle, Washington this week. Tom Phillips and Byron Saxton are the announcers. I’ll recap the show as I watch it, adding in my opinion along the way.

Prior to the show, their was an open challenge issued for any team to battle The Usos for their WWE Tag Team Championships. If you read my review regularly then I’m sure what keeps you coming back again and again is my love for the goofier tag teams like Rybaxel and Slater Gator. I hope one of them wins tonight, setting up a rematch either on the Summerslam card or at least the pre-show. Let’s get to the show and see if it’s my lucky day.

The Usos See Who Answered Their Open Challenge

The crowd greets Jimmy and Jey with loud “Usos” chants. The Usos explain that they asked the Authority for this open challenge. They said that they wanted to be known among the truly great tag teams, like The Hart Foundation, The Road Warriors, Edge and Christian, and even The New Age Outlaws. They casually mention the WWE Network and the Washington crowd started a “9.99” chant. They issue the challenge and wait to see who comes out.

YES! The Big Guy and The Ax Man, Rybaxel comes out! My birthday actually is this week, so maybe this is WWE’s present for me? Rybaxel applauds the open challenge. Ryback says that “play time’s over and so are we,” so you know he means business. He talks about how good the belts would look around their waists, (and they would,) when they get interrupted by RVD. What’s going on?

RVD enters the ring and tells them to look no further than RVD for his challenge. The Big Guy calls RVD a big dummy and informs him that they call this a tag team for a reason. He also calls him a “Singlet-stealing Feed Me Moron,” which is pretty much comedy gold. He tells RVD he needs a partner and then laughs at him.

RVD says that he knew he forgot something, but then introduces his partner…Sheamus. United States Champion Sheamus must be hungry for more gold. The two challenging teams start shoving each other and look to start brawling when Director of Operations Kane comes out. He tells us the challenge will now become a Triple Threat Tag Team Championship match. Big news, however that dilutes the chances for Rybaxel to win now. Don’t toy with my emotions, WWE.

The great John Cena/Brock Lesnar video is played now. I hope Brock wins on Sunday. I like the idea of Seth Rollins cashing in on him immediately, too.

Seth Rollins is shown backstage, making his way to the ring. He’s carrying his briefcase and will be in action next.

Seth Rollins vs. Kofi Kingston

It’s hard to see Kofi in this match and not wonder why he isn’t alongside Big E and Xavier Woods. Why start the angle and end it? Especially since it seemed to get such good buzz? (Matty Douglas touches on this very subject well in his recent column, Wasting Time. It’s a good read.)

Kofi did an impressive front flip leap over the top rope to the outside onto Seth that garnered a well deserved “Kofi” chant. Both of these guys normally work hard to make their opponent look good and they click really well in this match. Their quick styles make this match feel really physical.

There were several believable nearfalls. When Kofi went for the S.O.S. and then a pin it seemed like the crowd popped when he only got the two count. Seth went for his Powebomb into the corner, but Kofi reversed it with a Hurricanrana that sent Seth’s face into the corner. Only a two count on the pin attempt that followed.

The ending sequence saw both guys on the top rope and Seth Rollins doing a sunset flip over Kofi. Instead of Powerbombing him off of the rope right there, he carried him all the way to the other turnbuckle to do it onto that one instead. He then shot off the ropes to nail Kofi with his Curb Stomp. Seth pinned him and that’s it for Kofi.

Winner by submission: Seth Rollins

The announcers said that Seth’s win was a message for Dean Ambrose. They have their Lumberjack Match at Summerslam.

Renee Young Interviews Sheamus and RVD Backstage

Renee tells Rob that Sheamus was an interesting choice for a partner. RVD said it’s been a while since he had gold in WWE and that it was Sheamus’ idea to team together. Sheamus loves to fight and RVD is laid back. They’re like yin and yang. They fight for the Tag Championships later in the show.

It’s time for the weekly Stephanie McMahon recap segment. She faces Brie Bella at Summerslam. Up next is that Tag Championship match I’m so excited about. There will be a MizTV segment on this Friday’s Smackdown. His guest will be Roman Reigns.

The Usos vs. Rybaxel vs. RVD & Sheamus (WWE Tag Team Championship)

Rybaxel gets a little heel heat from the crowd when the teams are announced. The crowd really likes RVD and he received favorable chants, of course. Before a commercial break, RVD jumped from the top rope to the outside, cross-bodying Rybaxel to the amusement of Seattle.

Back from the break and Sheamus is doing the Ten Beats of the Bowry onto Ryback. He jumps to Ryback a few moments later, but gets caught by The Big Guy and then Powerbombed. Byron Saxton comments on the technical Savvy of The Ax Man when Curtis is in the ring. Good announcing, Byron.

Later on, Sheamus hit White Noise on Ryback after a while of taking a beating. He hot tags to RVD who goes to work on Axel. The Usos tag themselves in from RVD and Superkick their way back into our hearts. Jimmy did a Corkscrew off the top rope onto Axel. The match breaks down and lots of signature moves abound. The winning maneuver is a top rope splash by an Uso onto RVD, pinning for the win.

Winner by pinfall: The Usos

I originally typed “That was dumb” as my post-match comment. It wasn’t dumb. I’m just a Rybaxel fan-boy and for some reason thought they might be able to win.

The Usos celebrate in the ring, being congratulated by RVD and Sheamus for their win. I guess WWE didn’t get the memo about my birthday.

Mitch’s Final Thoughts

I’ll try not to let my emotions influence this wrap up here; I’m a sucker for The Big Guy and The Ax Man. At least The Usos got to defend their titles in a decent match. Have they even done anything since their Wyatt Family feud ended? Even if they don’t have an actual feud, let them have competitive title defenses like this every once in a while so we don’t forget about them.

The Rollins/Kofi match was an athletic bout. Hopefully Kofi’s New Nation (or whatever they’d call it) faction isn’t dead. He’s a great wrestler who lacks a compelling storyline.

There were only two matches tonight, but they were good ones. If they cut the Stephanie recap and just put a squash match in its place I think that would be an improvement. Let the filler be actual wrestling, even if it’s short. WWE wouldn’t do that, obviously.

I’ve gotten into a habit of ending these by saying if the show was above average, average, or below average. It’s a way to sort of grade this B-show without putting much thought into it. I find myself liking these more often than not and I would say that tonight was an above average Main Event. There were two good wrestling matches between some great workers that I really like, so it worked for me.
                                                                                                                                       

So, were you as bummed as me that Rybaxel didn’t win? I should have seen it coming, right? Comment below with your efforts to console me or check me out on Twitter @MitchNickelson. Also, I ramble pretty regularly at my personal site, mitchandal.wordpress.com. Thanks for reading my weekly Main Event review.

Main Event Review For July 15th, 2014

by: Mitch Nickelson

(Note from Mitch: This review is originally posted at TJRWrestling.com. Go check it out there, as well as a ton of other great articles by a fantastic team of authors.)

Live from Fayetteville, North Carolina, it’s WWE Main Event! Announcers, like always, are Tom Phillips and Byron Saxton. I am Mitch Nickelson, and I will be walking you through tonight’s festivities. Expect some salty banter from me along the way, because that’s how I do these.

The only match that I’m aware of being announced for tonight’s show is Sheamus vs. The Miz. The Miz pinned Sheamus on Raw the night before, so that earned him this rematch. I don’t understand why that didn’t earn him a shot at the US Championship, but maybe they’ll add in that stipulation later.

While this doesn’t feel like as big of an announced matchup as we’ve had in previous weeks, The Miz has been a welcome return to WWE programming. He’s an A-List celebrity now and he’s worried about his movie-star face. It was pretty funny that they both wrestled with The Miz’s mug displayed on the Titan tron for their match yesterday. Let’s get to the show.

The Miz walks out and acts like he’s pointing to legions of adoring fans. He’s dressed is a nifty blue outfit. That is not wrestling gear that he has on. I just realized that this is a MizTV segment. The Intercontinental Championship is on display at ringside.

MizTV – Sheamus Doesn’t Like Miz’s Moneymaker

The Miz thanks the fans. He says that Lebron James isn’t the only person with a big announcement. His announcement is in the form of a letter. He retrieves his letter as the fans boo him. He casually says, “Thank you” back to them. He reads his letter, reminding fans of his Wrestlemania headlining match. He mentions his past movies as well as his upcoming Marine 4 role.

“People have seen me grow up. I sometimes feel like I’m your son, spelled s-u-n, cause I’m the center of your universe.” Haha, that was a great line.

He wants to inspire us when he can. He owes that to us. He’s going to leave his dying city of Cleveland behind. It’s small-minded and he wants to remind kids of better places, like Hollywood. He says that he’ll earn the Intercontinental Title at Battleground. He finishes his talk by saying, “I’m The Miz, I’m from Hollywood, and I’m…a star.”

Sheamus now comes in and says that he speaks for everyone as he tells Miz to drive straight into the Pacific Ocean. The Miz tells him that he’s jealous. Sheamus asks what he could be jealous of. Miz removes his sunglasses and says that he’s jealous of “The Moneymaker.” He of course motions to his face when he says this. The Miz is hilarious right now. I’m about to make a last minute campaign to give this man the Intercontinental Title.

Sheamus laughs and says that his Moneymaker is making people ask for their money back. He says that his next major movie title should be called “Sunday, Bloody Sunday” because of what he’ll do to Miz’s Moneymaker then. Sheamus then asks why he should wait as he goes for the Brogue kick. The Miz narrowly escapes as Sheamus stands tall in the ring.

Graphics are shown to hype the Intercontinental and World Heavyweight Championship matches at Battleground. Also, Big E teams up with Kofi Kingston to take on one of my personal favorite tag teams right now, Rybaxel. I’m expecting The Big Guy and The Ax Man to bring their A-games tonight…like they always do, of course.

Emma vs. Cameron

Fresh out of prison, or wherever you go when you shoplift a twenty dollar item at Wal Mart, Emma makes her way to the ring doing her goofy arm dance. Naomi has joined the announce team and talks about her feud with Cameron, who’s making her way to the ring now.

Emma goes for a cross body to Cameron and runs into a stiff set of legs as Cameron blocks her. Later, Cameron shoves on Emma’s face repeatedly while she locks her in an abdominal stretch. Emma goes for her version of Tajiri’s Tarantula submission on the ropes, but Cameron avoids the move and throws her to the outside. Cameron takes a moment to smack-talk Naomi on the outside instead of attacking her opponent. When they get back into the ring, Emma does a quick roll-up for the win.

Winner by pinfall: Emma

As I’m missing Santino a little, Cameron flips out and wails on Emma. Naomi runs in for the save as she chases her former partner away. These two will fight on the pre-show of this Sunday’s Battleground event.

Sheamus and The Miz will still face off later. The tag team match that has Ryback and three other guys is up next.

Rybaxel vs. Big E and Kofi Kingston

Ryback and Curtis Axel come out first. They have matching red skull caps because that strikes fear in the hearts of nerds. Big E comes out next, clapping chalk into the air like always. His partner Kofi comes out next.

When Big E and Curtis Axel face off, they stare for a second and the announcers point out that Big E was the man who defeated Axel for his Intercontinental Championship. I couldn’t hear exactly what Axel said to Ryback when he tagged him in, but he definitely said the words “Big Guy” when he did it. That made me happy.

Big E and Ryback are two huge guys to face off. When Big E did a shoulder tackle to him, the crowd popped for it. He later did an overhead belly-to-belly suplex to The Big Guy as well. Kofi ran off the ropes and was catapulted outside as he took out both of his opponents. This brought on a commercial break.

Back from the break and Big E is slamming his shoulder into Ryback over and over and over. He goes over to Axel and massively slams him into the ring. Outside of the ring and Ryback distracts Big E as Axel does a diving axe-handle onto Big E to stop his momentum.

The two meat-heads do tandem knees into Big E in the corner. That’s the mark of a couple of tag-team specialists. “We want Kofi” chants are heard as Rybaxel keeps Big E from making the tag. Rybaxel does a great job of isolating Big E away from Kofi.

Ryback goes for a powerbomb, but Big E back body drops him to turn the tides. He finally gets the hot tag to Kofi who flies into the ring, taking out anything that moves. Axel gets taken down and then meets the Boom Drop. He signals for the Trouble In Paradise, but Ryback distracts him from connecting. Kofi gets a top rope cross-body and then Ryback stops the pinfall attempt. There’s several big move attempts by all four members, but Kofi finally nails the Trouble in Paradise on Axel and pins for the win.

Winners by pinfall: Big E and Kofi Kingston

Tom Phillips and Byron Sexton talk about WWE 2k15. We get to see the great Sting ad that they did for it. A WWE Championship belt was on display by a player at the MLB Home Run Derby yesterday. I really don’t follow baseball, so I don’t know if that was the guy who won it or not. Feel free to clue me in by posting in the comments below.

There’s a video package promoting the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Fatal 4-Way match this Sunday. I’m not expecting it to be a great match or anything. At least I’m not getting my hopes up. I am excited about several other matches on the card, though.

Renee Young Interviews The Miz

Renee asks the Miz how he feels about facing Sheamus tonight. The Miz tells Renee that Sheamus wants all that he has, just like every other WWE Superstar. Sheamus is trying to damage the WWE’s most valuable asset, The Moneymaker (he motions to his face while saying that line). He’s not just a WWE Superstar, he’s a Reality TV star and he’s a movie star. He’s a bright, shining 1,000 watt mega-star. Tonight, like at Battleground, The Miz is putting his money on The Miz. He puts his sunglasses on and says “Ciao.” Renee looks disgusted by all that The Miz is. I love this guy.

Flo Rida will be on Raw next Monday. Chris Jericho takes on Luke Harper on this Friday’s Smackdown.

Sheamus vs. The Miz

The Miz is in the ring, wearing sunglasses and pointing to his adoring fans. Sheamus comes out and the announcers tell us about his intentions to unify his title with the Intercontinental Championship. I guess this match isn’t for Sheamus’ US Championship after all.

The Miz seems cautious in the beginning, protecting his face every chance he can. The announcers call Miz’s face on the big screen during his match on Raw, “product placement.” The Miz acts like a cowardly heel and escapes to the outside. He comes back into the ring and wails on Sheamus into the corner. Sheamus turns the tides with a shot to the stomach.

Sheamus delivers a rough clothesline to Miz. Miz breaks free again and escapes to the outside. The fans boo him for this. Miz snaps Sheamus’ neck on the top rope as he enters the ring. A top rope double axe-handle ends with Sheamus reversing with a strike to the mid-section.

Sheamus goes for the Ten Beats of the Bowery and Miz fights hard to protect to his face in the process. Sheamus only gets about five strikes in the process. Miz again finds respite on the outside.  Sheamus runs after him this time and knocks him down. Miz dropkicks Sheamus’ knees as he tries to get back in the ring. Miz whips him into the barricade.

The ref goes for the ten-count on Sheamus, but he gets back in before getting counted out. I lose track of the play-by-play a little in the final few minutes, but it’s typical brawling and setting up for finishers.

Sheamus finds himself ready to administer the Brogue Kick. Miz simply bends over and clutches his face to guard his Moneymaker. Sheamus rolls up The Miz and gets his win back.

Winner by pinfall: Sheamus

Sheamus goes over to the Intercontinental Title and poses with it, along with his US Championship. The show ends there.

Mitch’s Final Thoughts:

I’ve been really positive about tonight’s show and I can blame that entirely on The Miz. He’s really funny with his Hollywood A-Lister gimmick. Sheamus and Miz don’t have classic matches together or anything, but they do well. Sheamus is a tough brawler and The Miz is really protective of his pretty-boy face, so it works for me. Renee Young was only on the show briefly, but she played off Miz well with a simple facial expression.

I like Rybaxel and wish they’d be given an actual rivalry from time to time. Kofi and Big E have good chemistry, so the four of them are good filler. Emma and Cameron had a short, decent match. I like that the women’s division seems to be putting the focus where it needs to be on, on the wrestling.

I don’t really grade these shows and don’t plan on starting, but this was a solid episode of Main Event. It didn’t have the star power this week that it has on some editions, but everything was good to above average. Nothing was bad and sometimes that’s good enough for me.

Follow me on twitter @MitchNickelson. Also, I’ve been doing short, more frequent blogging over at mitchandal.wordpress.com. That’s all for me this week, take care.

Main Event Review for July 8th, 2014

Welcome back to Mitch Nickelson’s review of your favorite subscription-exclusive Tuesday night professional wrestling show. I, of course, am Mitch Nickelson. I am always thankful that you would not only watch this show but you would also read my lovely blend of recap and opinion.

This week looks to be another solid hour, as Main Event usually is. Chris Jericho is advertised to be on the show. He’ll be conducting his always-entertaining interview segment, The Highlight Reel. His guest is supposed to be WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart. That’s some star power right there.

Also advertised is a U.S. Championship match between Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio. While it does feel like we’ve had that match more than a few times recently, tonight is guaranteed to be different. Joey Styles announced via Twitter earlier in the day that tonight’s bout will be a Last Man Standing match. It might just get brutal between these two.This is a free preview week for the WWE Network. Maybe the show tonight will be just slightly more special.

Live from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, this is Main Event. Tom Phillips and Byron Saxton are our announcers.

United States Championship Match
Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio
Last Man Standing Match

Sheamus comes out first and grabs a microphone. He says that he won’t need the luck of the Irish to beat Del Rio. When he gets to Battleground, he plans on being the first man since Edge to carry both the Intercontinental and US titles. Del Rio cuts him off from the big screen. Del Rio says that if anyone is going to be unifying the titles, it’ll be him. Sheamus tells him that anything goes tonight, including kendo sticks, chairs, and tables. They both banter and Del Rio finally decides to come out to start this match.

When Del Rio gets announced, he gets a hearty boo. Sheamus gets applauded. The belt is held up as the two start pummeling each other. Sheamus throws Del Rio into a barricade. The ref starts counting and only gets to two. It’d be funny if that was all it took.

Sheamus ripped off the announce table cover and threw it at Del Rio. He did his Rolling Senton to him on the outside. Del Rio finds a kendo stick and wails on Sheamus as they go to a break.

Back from the break and Sheamus looks hurt in the ring. During the break, Del Rio hit his opponent with a diving kendo strike from the top rope. He does it again. He continues to use the stick, driving it into Sheamus’ ribs. He goes for another strike off the top rope, but Sheamus deflects it.

The two trade shots and Sheamus starts to gain the advantage. He hits Del Rio with the Irish Curse Backbreaker. He gets counted up to seven on that. Sheamus grabs the kendo stick and Del Rio begs him not to use it. Sheamus does, however. Several strikes and Del Rio is grounded again. The crowd chants “We want tables” while Del Rio gets another seven count.

Del Rio connects with a big DDT and now Sheamus gets a count. Del Rio kicks him and also goes for a running kick, but finds himself receiving the Ten Beats of the Bowery. It was more like twenty, though. Poor Alberto. He gets counted on the outside and it goes to nine this time. We get another commercial break?

This commercial break is interesting because they’re advertising a Wrestlemania Rewind about CM Punk. I’m sure it was recorded and planned for air before he exited the company, but it’s sure to add to any speculation that might be out there.

Back from the second break in the first 20 minutes and the crowd is still chanting for tables. Sheamus rolls to the outside and grabs himself a chair. Before he can use it, Del Rio cuts him off with a kendo stick. Del Rio sees Sheamus dazed and still holding the chair up. He then does his kick, Van Daminator-style, to a kneeling Sheamus. Does that count as a chair shot to the head? I didn’t think WWE did those anymore.

Del Rio props up the chair into a corner. There’s a little exchange that ends with Del Rio’s knee into Sheamus’ stomach. Del Rio goes for a chair shot but Sheamus stop it with his bare hands. He slams Del Rio, then goes for the Brogue Kick. Del Rio avoids that and hits the Backstabber instead.

Del Rio went for another kick, no chair this time, but got hit with the White Noise instead. They both get counted but Sheamus gets back on his feet at eight. Sheamus finally grabs a table from under the ring and the crowd loves that. He sets it up near the corner.

Del Rio battled back and kicks Sheamus in the head in the corner. Count again that ends at eight. Del Rio attacks and rams his shoulder into the chair on the corner. He applies the cross arm breaker. Sheamus lifts him up by his arm that is still in a submission hold and drops Del Rio through the table he set up earlier. The ref goes for the count and almost counts them both out, but they both get up. Sheamus used his Brogue kick and Del Rio fails to get up after ten. Sheamus is the last man standing.

Winner and Still US Champion: Sheamus

Chris Jericho’s return segment with The Miz and Bray Wyatt is replayed. Tom Phillips said that he has breaking news as they announce that Chris Jericho will face off against Bray Wyatt at Battleground.

Renee Young Interviews Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho says that the WWE is more than just about flashing jackets and surprise returns, it’s about survival. He used the “along came a spider” line about Bray Wyatt and said that he crushes spiders. He talks about Bret Hart being on his Highlight Reel later in the show and says that WWE Main Event will never, ever, be the same again.

There’s a recap of last night’s main event on Raw, with Seth Rollins taking on WWE World Heavyweight Champion John Cena. Lots of interference and an almost cash-in. Good stuff. A graphic is shown for the Fatal 4-Way main event at Battleground.

Nikki Bella vs. Natalya, Naomi, Eva Marie, Cameron, Summer Rae, and Rosa Mendes

This is  a six on one handicap match. Poor Nikki. She looks sad in the ring with ring with her spikey baseball hat. Why is is spikey? She could use it as a weapon, I guess. She probably won’t. It sounded like Natalya got a decent pop, which makes sense because this is in Canada. Cameron wasn’t at ringside, which Tom and Byron point out.

There’s a pretty mean smack that Nikki did on Summer Rae that was worth pointing out. The more talented wrestlers, like Naomi and Natalya, didn’t even tag in. They are apparently friends with Nikki and were conflicted about being in the match. I don’t watch Total Divas, so I don’t get all of these dynamics with the ladies. Eva Marie actually got the pinfall.

Winners: Eva Marie and Friends

Cameron came out and attacked Naomi after the match was over. It was a quick strike and then she ran to the back. Will they fight at Battleground? I assume AJ Lee and Paige are already fighting, so will we have another Pay-Per-View with more than one women’s match like we did at Money In The Bank?

Chris Jericho’s Highlight Reel With Bret Hart

A loud “Y2J” chants welcomes Jericho. The crowd is excited for this. Jericho says that he’s happy to bring the Highlight Reel to Main Event and the WWE Network for the first time…right here in Ottawa. That was a good cheap pop that the crowd ate up. Jericho called Bret Hart one of his idols and a friend, then announced him.

Bret Hart gets a warm reception as he walks to the ring. Bret says that it’s a great day to be back in the capital. He says it’s a great time with the launch of WWE network. He talks about Jericho being in the legendary Dungeon and jokes that Chris tapped out to Bret’s sister. He gives Chris props about his championships. Jericho jokes with him that the crowd tonight wouldn’t be chanting “Y2J” if they saw Bret’s sister. She was a tough chick.

Jericho talks about great matches and asks Bret who some of his greatest rivals were. Bret names Mr. Perfect, his brother Owen, Stone Cold, The Undertaker, and Shawn Michaels as his greatest rivals. To the excitement of everyone, HBK’s music hits and the crowd gets pumped. I get even more excited when we actually get…Damien Sandow!

“You Screwed Bret Chants” sort of took off, which is hilarious. Jericho says that he is so excited that Shawn (Damien, of course) is with them tonight. He tells Shawn that he let himself go. He says that he’s a big, ugly fish with a beard. Shawn then retorted by apologizing that Chris didn’t pay the light bill on his jacket. His jacket wasn’t lit up.

Shawn (Sandow) told Bret that it was because of him that Bret wanted to be a wrestler. He told him that he was his son’s favorite wrestler. He says that after tonight, the world would be talking about the Ottawa screwjob. Sandow gets into Bret’s face and then meets a punch that levels him. Bret then puts the Sharpshooter onto Damien. He celebrates with Jericho to close out the show.

Mitch’s Final Thoughts:

This was one of the better Main Events that I’ve reviewed. The show just felt simpler to process. There’s only an hour to digest, so simple is good. I don’t like it when it feels like there’s way too much crammed into the broadcast.

The opening match was great, but much of that was thanks to the crowd. If they did that same match in front of a dead crowd it wouldn’t have worked. Sheamus and Del Rio benefited for sure. Sheamus is looking strong going into the Intercontinental battle royal at battleground. I’m glad he’s getting to defend his U.S. Championship regularly. I don’t see him winning the IC title at Battleground, but he’ll hit some dudes real stiff in the match and that’s always fun.

The women’s match was okay considering Naomi and Natalya didn’t actually wrestle in the match. The Bella/McMahon story continues as does the Cameron/Natalya story. Both are acceptable to me, so I’m okay with it all.

The Highlight Reel was main event. I was anticipating a Wyatt run-in of some sorts, but that never happened. As much as it saddens me to see Damien do these comedy bits, I think he’s highly entertaining in them all. Tonight was funny. I really hope it leads to something more meaningful for him. I can dream, right?

That’s another show in the books. Let me know what you thought of everything tonight. Is anybody watching that’s taking advantage of the free preview week of the WWE Network? Comment below with your thoughts and opinions and also remember follow me on twitter @MitchNickelson .

Thoughts On Raw for July 7th, 2014

Less than two weeks remains until WWE’s next big show, Battleground. Things are taking shape with plans already set for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and the Intercontinental Championship. Lots of exciting returns happened last week, including the always fantastic Chris Jericho. Will Bray and his family continue to be a thorn in his side this week? I’m Mitch Nickelson and I’m hear to recap and opine about the night’s events. Lets get to the show!

(Note: Al N. Jaxson had full intentions of reviewing with Mitch Nickelson this week, but suffered an unfortunate power outage while he was writing his review. If he goes for it again and finishes his review, this post will be update.)

Rollins Opening Promo; Kane Interrupts

Mitch: Raw took a bit of a gamble and let Roman Reigns do a solo promo to start the show. He’s lacking in the vocal arena and it shows a little. He mentioned that the Authority was not there and built up his upcoming title match at Battleground. Kane came out and stared at him from atop the entrance ramp. Roman bad mouthed him and used the B-word on him. There goes the PG rating. Or not, people really don’t hold WWE accountable for those slips and it’s annoying for those of us who’d like to watch with our young children. Also, it feels like letting Roman use a curse word is a substitute for actually developing his personality. If he has heat with Kane, tell the story with plot development.

But the two brawled around the ring and had to be separated by officials from backstage. Finlay was shoving on Roman and got a spear for his efforts.

Harper & Rowan vs. The Usos

Mitch: I was excited to see these two teams fight, because they have great chemistry together and I’m loving this extended rivalry. I’m not excited about the Uso’s entrance, though. That tribal chant into a hip hop doodad still annoys me.

The crowd was really hot for this match. There were several great near-fall attempts and a couple of “This is awesome” chants, which was well deserved. Luke Harper did a massive clothesline on the not-legal Uso for the win. They complained to the ref about that after the fact because he’s apparently racist for thinking that all Samoans look alike. It doesn’t help them that they dress identically. They should wear name tags.

Winners: Luke Harper and Erick Rowan

Kane, Orton, and (sort of) Rollins Have Each Others Backs

Mitch: Randy Orton and Kane are backstage and they affirm that they have each other’s backs. Seth Rollins shows up, MITB briefcase in hand, and says that if either of those two win and Battleground then he’ll think twice about cashing in on them.

Rusev (w/Lana) vs. RVD

Mitch: I’m glad that Lana’s schtick about Putin works with our Canadian neighbors, too. Zeb Colter challenged Rusev via a pre-taped promo that popped up during this match. He told Rusev to step out from behind his commie skirt and fight Jack Swagger at Battleground. I’m looking forward to that match.

The match was a little slow. RVD is more than the average jobber that Rusev faces, so he got more time. It dragged on a little at time. RVD failed at his Rolling Thunder attempt, which set up Rusev’s kick then Accolade finish. The announcers ask if Rusev will accept Zeb’s challenge. My guess is yes.

Winner: Rusev

Randy Orton vs. Dean Ambrose

Mitch: Ambrose’s mannerisms are so good. As the match is starting, the smaller and still injured (shoulder) Ambrose taunts Orton like a crazy person. He’s making his gimmick work so well in part because he comes across as fearless.

I like JBL, but when Dean applied the Figure Four he said that it was out of respect to Bret Hart. He then said that Bret won a ton of matches with that submission. Bret Hart used the Sharpshooter, JBL, not the Figure Four. I’m kind of disappointed that no one called him on it either. It made the whole announce team look stupid.

There was a noticeable botch midway through the match. Dean jumped off of the top rope and just landed on his feet, staring at the back of Randy’s head. Randy turned around and the the fight went on. It looked like Dean was expecting Randy to turn around and kick him on landing and Randy just forgot or something.

The match was good, minus my two previous rants. Dean acted like a lunatic and started throwing chairs into the ring at one point. Orton did one of his DDT’s with Ambrose’s feet on the outside barricade. The crowd really appreciated it. Randy Orton hit his RKO for the win.

Winner: Randy Orton

Renee Young Interviews John Cena, Roman Interrupts

Mitch: The crowd immediately booed loudly for the WWE World Heavyweight champion. John talked about having a target on him and that he doesn’t have to be the one to lose at Battleground for his titles to change hands. Roman interrupts and talks way too softly. Not sure what he said. I don’t really want to rewind to find out, really. He’s lucky he does a pretty mean Superman Punch.

Jerry Lawler Introduces Bret Hart, Bret SANDHart Interrupts

Mitch: The last time Jerry Lawler was in Montreal, he suffered a pretty big heart attack. The crowd gave him respect for being back in the ring, healthy. They gave a big ovation for Bret as he made his way to the ring.

Bret said that if he could wrestle one more match, he’d do it in Montreal. Damien Sandow comes out in Bret Hart garb and looks hilarious at it. He makes fun of the screw-job and calls it an elaborate conspiracy and says that Canada is a third world country. He says that Bret regrets never being in the ring with the great Damien Sandow. Bret Hart decks him out of the ring. Funny segment, but I’m still lamenting the disaster that his Damien Sandow’s career.

Renee Young Interviews The Miz

Mitch: I like The Miz’s heel antics. He’s just acting like heel Jericho, which is good. He reads a note from a fan and keeps calling himself a movie star. He doesn’t want anyone to mess up his movie star face. The fan’s name that wrote the letter is named Johnny Russo. Surely the writers were thinking of Vince Russo when they thought up that name. I wonder what the connection might be.

Chris Jericho vs. The Miz

Mitch: If I had to name my favorite entrance music of any wrestler, ever, I’d probably have to say it’s Jericho’s. I like how The Miz acts so concerned about protecting his movie star face. It gives a dynamic to the match without trying too hard. Jericho popped Miz in the face to set up the Walls of Jericho.

After the match, a sea of cell phone lights lit up the arena. Bray Wyatt was in his rocking chair with a microphone. He told Jericho that he will hold his every word against him. He will never, eeeever, let him forget. Jericho retorted by agreeing that actions speak louder than words. He made his way from the ring toward Bray. Before he could get there, Harper and Rowan joined him and that stopped Jericho cold.

Winner: Chris Jericho

AJ Lee & Paige vs. The Funkadactyls

Mitch: Paige insisted on introducing her partner, mockingly calling AJ “our” Diva’s champion. Cameron refused a tag from Naomi at one point, continuing their heat. Cameron applied lipstick at one point while Naomi tried to tag out. When she finally tagged out, she did so without using the tag rope. Kudos to Michael Cole for pointed that out. Paige and AJ won when Paige hit her Paige Turner finisher. Those two work well together as a tag team.

Post-match, Naomie and Cameron finally went through with the disintegration of the Funkadactyls. Naomi hits stiff. I felt bad for Cameron for how hard it looked like Naomi was hitting her.

Seth Rollins approaches John Cena Backstage

Mitch: Seth says that their match tonight is about who’s the best. He tells John that his days are numbered. Cena, in a “civilized” way, tells him he’s full of crap. John says that the briefcase is no guarantee that Seth will be champion. The only guarantee that Seth has is that he has a match tonight with a champion.

John Cena vs. Seth Rollins (Non-Title)

Mitch: John Cena got a ton of boos as he came out. I know that I ton of people dislike Cena and the fact that he’s champ again, but who gets reactions like that? The guy is money, love him or hate him.

The match was lively. The crowd was chanting lots of fun things, like “Fruity Pebbles” and “You Sold Out.” As Cena applied the STF in the middle of the ring, Kane’s music hit. Cena watched as he was coming down the ramp, but Orton came through the crowd and struck him from behind. Disqualification in favor of Cena.

They both were making waste of Cena when Roman Reign’s music started. He came down to the ring and Superman punched Orton and Kane. Rollins took him out from behind with his briefcase. He also took out Cena with his briefcase, too. He realized that he had a chance to cash in and called to the back for a ref to come out.

Referee Charles Robinson ran out. Before Seth could get his title match started, Dean Ambrose came from the crowd to thwart him. They brawled backstage. Cena struck Orton with the AA and Roman hit Kane with a spear. Cena and Roman had a mildly uncomfortable standoff, but chose to raise each other’s hand victoriously instead.

Winner: John Cena

Final Thoughts:

Mitch: I read spoilers that this night of Raw was only so-so, but I really liked it. The Montreal crowd was very lively and that makes everything better. Here are my awards of the show…

Match of the Night: Usos vs. Harper Rowan. Great opener to the show. Sometimes these four seem a little bland because they fight so much, but this was one of those nights where it worked really well.

Promo of the Night: Bray Wyatt. This category almost always goes to Bray Wyatt or Dean Ambrose. I was really feeling Bray’s rocking chair verbal assault on Chris Jericho. This is a feud that I keep looking forward to.

Superstar of the Night: Seth Rollins. Not only was his main event match really good, he had a couple of standout backstage pieces. He placed distrust among his allies, Orton and Kane, and had a solid exchange with Cena before their match. He’s stepping into his bigger role and looking like he belongs there.

Keep following me on twitter @MitchNickelson and comment below if you want to keep up the conversation. I’ll see you back here and at TJRWrestling.com whenever my weekly Main Event review posts.