WWE Main Event - October 24, 2012
by Scrooge McSuck
- Last week on WWE Main Event, it was the best episode to date (yes, there's only been three, but that's not the point). Kofi Kingston defeated the Miz to become the NEW Intercontinental Champion, and Dolph Ziggler offered a "main event" challenge, that was eventually answered by the #1 contender to the WWE Championship, Ryback. Despite the odds of a Ryback/Ziggler match not being able to carry the tradition of quality matches, I'm still hyped for the show...
- Taped on October 23rd, 2012, from Providence, RI. Michael Cole and FORMER Intercontinental Champion the Miz are in the ring to welcome us to this weeks edition of Main Event. Miz quickly points out he'll regain his gold at Hell in a Cell when he challenges Kofi Kingston to a rematch.
- Special Inside look at Ryback! Hype video of him destroying a bunch of scrubs over the past six months. It's weird how crowds will go from chanting "Goldberg" at him to chanting his big phrase "Feed Me More" all within a span of a minute. Miz, who was solidly defeated on Raw by Ryback, says you're like a piece of meat when you're in the ring with Ryback. We follow with a video package hyping Dolph Ziggler. It's nice of Will Sasso to give his opinion on Ziggler, comparing him to Shawn Michaels. Ziggler has definitely grown on me and become one of my "must see" guys in WWE. It's a shame he's been jobbing to everyone under the sun over the past couple of months.
- Backstage, Matt Striker is joined by Ryback. All he has to say is "watch what I do to Ziggler. It's feeding time." Josh Mathews is in the locker room with Ziggler, and he has no comment. He's too busy pacing the room, and tells Mathews to leave him alone. Ziggler selling being incredibly worried is a nice touch, for the sake of putting over Ryback as an undestructable machine. I refrain from using monster because monster implies heel, machine can be face.
Ryback vs. Dolph Ziggler:
Looks like Ziggler lost Vicki Guerrero as his manager, now that she's the new GM of Raw (or whatever new title they came up with for that position. Just do away with it, no one cares anymore). That means they have confidence in him getting heat without her or are planning on burying him into Jobberville. Even though there's no titles here, we get post-entrances introductions. Only problem with a taped show is you don't know if there's audio sweetening. Ziggler tries hiding in the ropes, but Ryback pulls him back and throws him into the corner. Ziggler rolls to the apron, and gets pulled back in with a hip toss. He goes to the floor again, suckers Ryback in, planting a few kicks. The jumping DDT is blocked, and Ryback spinebusters him and swing him into the security wall. Back in the ring, Ziggler struggles out of an overhead slam, and runs up the aisle. Ryback gives chase, and guess what... commercial break.We come back from commercial, with Ryback carrying Ziggler on his back (with his music playing again, for whatever reason). Ryback press slams him through the ropes. Ziggler with a pair of hard clotheslines, but Ryback no-sells and press slams him into the air. Ryback applies a bearhug, and poor Ziggler sells it like he's been mauled by a giant animal. He goes to the eyes, then sidesteps a charge, causing Ryback to meet the post. Ziggler to the top, and a double axehandle connects. He's still on his feet, though. Ziggler with a dropkick, but a hurricanrana is countered with the powerbomb. Ryback with a charging clothesline, and it's all over but the finish. The Shell Shock connects, and it's all over at 5:36. Well, that went longer than I thought it would, but I did expect some sort of involvment from C.M. Punk, so colored me surprised. Wrestling wise, it was just a Warrior/Goldberg style extended match, but Ziggler's selling was top-notch in a sea of nothing much else.
- Raw Rebound, because the main event wasn't 20-minutes long like usual. Vince McMahon brings out Raw G.M. A.J. to announce her resignation. No one cares. I guess she's ben humping John Cena. No one cares. A.J. is a pathetically bad actress, I don't give a shit what she tries to sell me. If this means she won't get 10-minutes to talk every week, then thank you. Go away. Vicki Guerrero is introduced as the new Raw [Insert Name of Authority Figure Status] and gets into a low-level punking out. Also, last monday, Ryback got the upperhand on C.M. Punk following a Lumberjack Match. To be fair, he just wrestled a 15-minute match against Sheamus. Odds are he wouldn't be fresh enough to fend off Ryback and a bunch of lumberjacks throwing him back to the wolf.
- Paul Heyman is backstage to talk about the upcoming Ryback vs. C.M. Punk match at Hell in a Cell. He points out that Punk isn't at the level of Dolph Ziggler, pointing out Ziggler's plan on running away was cowardly. Well DUH. He promises victory for C.M. Punk, and when Heyman makes a promise, he keeps it (unless it comes to money. Then all bets are off). I'm still not too hyped for that match, but that may be because I like the wrestlers, not the undefeated brawler, and I have a bad feeling the wrong guy will go over.
Sin Cara vs. Alberto Del Rio:
Woah, I know Sin Cara is nothing more than midcard fluff at this point, but a decent level match for the secondary match of the show, considering we've been getting Michael McGillicutty and Zack Ryder every week. Alberto Del Rio faces Randy Orton (THE VIPER!) at Hell in a Cell. Lockup into the corner, and Del Rio quickly stomps Sin Cara down to the canvas. ADR with a snap suplex, and a cover only gets one. Cara counters a hip toss and pounds on ADR with rights. He uses the ropes to take Del Rio down with an arm drag, but the offense doesn't last long, as Del Rio throws him shoulder first into the ring post. Back in the ring, Del Rio covers for two, then hooks a hammerlock. Sin Cara fights free and rolls Del Rio up for two. Del Rio quickly puts Sin Cara down with a tilt-o-whirl backbreaker for a two count of his own. Del Rio pounds away and hooks a chinlock. Sin Cara with elbows to the midsection, but a springboard attempt is countered with a push, sending him to the floor.Back from commercial, Del Rio has another chinlock applied. Cara fights free and comes off the ropes with a sunset flip for two. Del Rio charges to the corner, and this time he rams his shoulder into the post. Sin Cara takes him down with a head scissors, then hand springs off the ropes with an elbow. Asai DDT from Sin Cara gets 2.9999. Kick to the face connects, but the Senton Bomb meets the knees. Del Rio applies the Cross Armbreaker, and Sin Caras taps at 5:07. Short match to make Del Rio look good. Not bad, not spectacular. Sin Cara didn't blow any spots, for those who make a drinking game out of it. Post-match, Del Rio cuts a promo on Randy Orton, then starts making fun of random people. I don't know what the hell is going on, but Ricardo Rodriguez acting like a goof to Del Rio's comments is hilarious. Suddenly, the Prime Time Players come out and have an issue for Alberto Del Rio. ADR convinces them to "work together" in laying a beatdown on Sin Cara. That took absolutely NO convincing. Who's going to make the save? RANDY ORTON, DURR! Del Rio takes off, while Orton wipes the canvas with the PTP by himself, with no effort. Why is Orton concerned for Sin Cara? He should RKO him, too, for the hell of it. Next week on Main Event: SIX MAN ACTION! Orton, Rey Jr, Sin Cara vs. Del Rio and the PTP. I like me some Six-Man Tags, but that is a bit thrown together for me. How do you hype that one?
Final Thoughts: The actual wrestling was on the lower side of the spectrum, but when you throw Ryback on here, you have to expect that. Everything on the show, however, did work in pushing towards Hell in a Cell. Ryback crushing Ziggler gave him another convincing victory over a top heel in the promotion, much like he did to Miz on Raw. Del Rio/Sin Cara was thrown together, but we needed a reminder Del Rio and Orton face off at Hell in a Cell. Not a show worth checking out this week, and I'm sorry, but next week's main event Six-Man Tag is leaving me less inspired. It's nice to give guys like the PTP a decent rub by putting them in a big match, but at the same time, it's too thrown together for me.
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