WWE Main Event
August 14, 2013
San Jose, California
Match #1: Alberto Del Rio vs. Cody Rhodes (non-title)
Alberto Del Rio, no longer with Ricardo Rodriguez, prepares for his match with Christian this Sunday by facing the second-generation superstar Cody Rhodes. It’s odd to see Cody slapping hands with fans for the first time since his rookie year. ADR quickly tries for the cross armbreaker after the opening bell. Both athletes struggle for control during the opening minutes of the match, as The Miz and Josh Matthews pump Rhodes’s feud with Damien Sandow. ADR takes over with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker until Rhodes channels the spirit of Shinjaro Ohtani, unleashing a surprise springboard dropkick, followed up by his brother’s fist combo. An early disaster kick sends Del Rio to the outside as Miz babbles on about his own career.
Del Rio turns the tide (I have a feeling I’ll be using that cliché a lot in this column), snapping Rhodes’s neck and arm on the ring ropes. He hits a vicious kick while Cody is in the TREE OF WOE. My excitement grows as Del Rio looks to pull off his swank reverse superplex, but, sadly, this is Main Event, not a pay-per-view, so there will be none of that. A Shawn Michaels-esque standing moonsault press by Cody Rhodes? What is this match? Hot back-and-forth action as Del Rio escapes a Cross Rhodes, leading into a cross armbreaker in the ropes. My new system for grading a match: if I can ignore the commentary, it must be good. I’m definitely ignoring it here. A second disaster kick by Rhodes, ADR can’t get the armbreaker again, but spins into a perfect German suplex with a bridge. Cody pulls off the Cross Rhodes out of nowhere, but can’t pin Del Rio. Rhodes is completely out of moves, there’s no way he can win now! Both men down, Del Rio gets up and locks in the armbreaker, and Cody eventually taps. Great television match, about fourteen minutes, that establishes Rhodes as just one notch below the champion.
Winner: Alberto Del Rio
A CM Punk/Brock Lesnar/Paul Heyman feud recap is next. Check out Scott Criscuolo’s review right here. I’m sure we’ll see this video package twenty times in the next few days.
Match #2: The Usos vs. Heath Slater and Drew McIntyre of 3MB (with Jinder Mahal)
Like last week with the Usos, this is the first time I’ve seen 3MB in a regular matchup outside of the Royal Rumble. Are the Usos the kings of Main Event? Slater starts off with Jimmy Uso, and the crowd is going bananas for the Usos. The brothers employ some basic double-team maneuvers until Heath makes a comeback with a boot. As host of Summerslam, The Miz informs the audience that JoJo will be singing the National Anthem. I sincerely have no idea who that is. The announcers stumble and bumble, losing track of which Uso is which, eventually, Jey dumps everyone to the floor.
As we come back from break, 3MB is in control with no replay explaining how that happened. In a nice touch, Miz talks about the Usos’ title aspirations stems from their desire to carry on the family lineage. 3MB use the number advantage to start pummelin’ Jimmy. The frequent jump cuts in standard definition are making me dizzy. The Usos make the comeback with a Samoan Drop, and follow-up with a thrust kick and top rope plancha on two 3MB members. Jimmy finishes them off with the big splash in 11 minutes.
Winners: The Usos
For the second week in a row, the middle match of the show seems like a filler bout. Good action, but the outcome was obvious going in.
A second Raw recap, this time of the John Cena and Daniel Bryan promo. A lot of people are complaining about the appointment of Triple H as referee, but you can also look at it as the WWE showing that they believe in Daniel Bryan by placing him with the two legitimate faces of the company on the second biggest PPV of the year. I’m not a big Cena fan, but I was definitely mesmerized by that recap.
Match #3: Big E. Langston (with AJ) vs. Justin Gabriel
Looking at his tights, Big E. should be sponsored by Express. Langston dominates Gabriel with power moves. Watch as he breaks out Samoa Joe’s STJoe! Admire his height as he copies Ultimate Warrior’s finishing splash to perfection! This match is the 2013 version of a Wrestling Challenge squash match. As on cue, Gabriel begins his comeback with some kicks, but he’s countered by a huge belly to belly suplex. The Miz breaks out a reference to Shark Week and the prehistoric Megalodon shark, which my kid would mark out for if he was allowed to watch wrestling. Anyhow, after missing a second Warrior splash, Gabriel unleashes a top rope quebrada (imagine Jericho’s lionsault). After Miz gets his weekly stint of bullying on Josh Matthews, Langston hits a vicious shoulder block and hits his finisher for the win in about five and a half minutes.
Winner: Big E. Langston
Langston is surprisingly swift for a big man. Overall, I like the flow of this show. It’s one cruiserweight match away from the old Velocity show, and that’s a compliment.
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