11/27 Kester's WWE Main Event Live Coverage Review: Dolph Ziggler vs. Alberto Del Rio, Damien Sandow vs. Santino Marella, and Fandango vs. Kofi Kingston

By Ryan Kester

Main Event on Ion Television
Taped earlier in Uncasville, Connecticut.

[Q1] 1. Dolph Ziggler vs. Alberto Del Rio. The two men fired up the crowd early and encouraged them to start and maintains a "USA" chant. Ziggler was the early aggressor, and he wasted no time in flooring Del Rio and pounding him with a series of elbow drops.

Ziggler missed a corner splash and Del Rio kicked Ziggler in the head. Del Rio began working through his move set, and he scored a tilt-o-whirl backbreaker for a near fall.

Ziggler managed to bait Del Rio into charging the ropes, and Del Rio tumbled to the apron. Ziggler hit a dropkick to send Del Rio to the floor, but when he pursued the man, Del Rio threw him into the barricade… [C]

Back from the break, Del Rio continued to set the pace and focused his attacks on Ziggler's midsection and neck. Del Rio went to the top rope and dove at Ziggler, only for Ziggler to cut him off with a dropkick. Both men struggled to their feet, but Ziggler was able to gain momentum first.

[Q2] Ziggler began working through his move set to the crowd's delight. Ziggler hit a neckbreaker for a solid two count. Del Rio attempted to respond with an enziguri but missed, and Ziggler made him pay for the mistake with a Fameasser for another near fall.

Del Rio scored with an enziguri moments later for a near fall. Del Rio went back to the top rope, but Ziggler was hot on his heels and Ziggler dragged Del Rio into a facebuster from the top rope. Ziggler set up for a superkick and missed, but he managed to recover and hit a jumping DDT.

Del Rio battled Ziggler in the corner and hit a reverse superplex for an excellent near fall. Del Rio called for the Cross Armbreaker, but Ziggler was able to battled out of the attempt. Del Rio hit a powerbomb moments later before locking in the Cross Armbreaker tight for the quick submission victory…

Alberto Del Rio defeated Dolph Ziggler in 13:41 of TV time.

The announcers set up a video package hyping the 50 years of WWE DVD/Blu-Ray... [C]

Ryan's Reaction: Phenomenal match. These two have an amazing in-ring chemistry together when they're allowed to just go, and they put on one hell of a show here. Go out of your way to see this match.

Sandow cut a promo before his match about how he was giving up on trying to educate the masses. He drew a great deal of heat. He said he doesn't need a Money in the Bank contract to be the Uncrowned World Heavyweight Champion. He downplayed the threat of Marella and entered the ring.

2. Damien Sandow vs. Santino Marella. Marella worked his usual comedy spots in the early going, but Sandow wasn't having any of it. Sandow kneed Marella in the gut and rained stomps on him when he fell to the mat.

Sandow continued his assault on Marella's neck, but Santino managed to make a brief comeback and did more of his comedy spots. Marella called for the Cobra, but Sandow avoided the strike and nailed an emphatic You're Welcome for the pinfall victory.

Damian Sandow defeated Santino Marella in 2:34

Ryan's Reaction: Simple enhancement match that did more to show off Sandow's more aggressive character than anything else. He won't get much out of wins over the Santino's of the roster, though.

[Q3] [C] A recap of the setup for John Cena vs. Randy Orton aired…

An interview from WWE.com saw Triple H detailing that the goal for TLC's main event is to get one undisputed WWE Champion… [C]

Ryan's Reaction: I, for one, think the time is right to unify the two WWE heavyweight titles. The World Heavyweight Championship has seen less prestige than the old intercontinental title has the past several years, and the champions on the blue brand are consistently mismanaged. A unification brings prestige back to the top title, and should help make the chases for the belt more meaningful.

[Q4] 3. Fandango vs. Kofi Kingston. Kingston went for a series o early rollups, but none of them proved fruitful. Kingston scored a monkey flip that sent Fandango scampering to the floor. Kingston outpaced Fandango and hit a dive over the top rope to the outside. Kingston celebrated with the crowd… [C]

Back from the break, Kingston continued his offense until Fandango shoved him from the top rope to the floor. Fandango worked his moveset and relied on several rest holds. The crowd began to grow quiet from the lack of action.

Kingston eventually regained control and woke people up with his flashy offense. Kingston landed a Boom Drop for called for Trouble In Paradise. Summer Rae caused a distraction and Fandango managed to attack Kingston and regain the advantage. Fandango hit a sunset flip powerbomb from the top rope for a near fall.

Fandango went for an missed his leg drop finisher, and Kingston made him pay with a Trouble in Paradise kick for the pinfall victory.

Kofi Kingston defeated Fandango in 9:18 of TV time

Ryan's Reaction: Decent match. The crowd was absolutely killed by the early rest holds from fandango, and they never really got back into the action down the stretch. That left what could have been an otherwise entertaining match very flat. Overall, this was a great episode of Main Event. The action delivered well and the live crowd was into everything they were being given until the lull in the final match. Thanks for following along with me this evening and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

If you have any questions or comments or just wish to chat with a fellow wrestling fan about whatever, then feel free to email me at ryan.kester@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter.