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12/5 Shore's WWE Main Event live coverage: Kofi Kingston vs. Antonio Cesaro

Posted in: WWE TV Reports, MUST-READ LISTING
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Dec 5, 2012 - 07:00 PM

By Chris Shore

WWE Main Event on ION
Taped on 12/4 in Charleston, SC.


[Q1] The opening video aired, followed by the pyro, and Michael Cole and Miz checked in on commentary from ringside. They opened by announcing CM Punk's emergency knee surgery and said they would have more later. They transitioned to the Kofi Kingston vs. Antonio Cesaro hype and played a video that recapped Kofi's challenge from last week that set up the match.

Backstage, Josh Matthews interviewed Kofi and asked why he challenged Cesaro. Kofi said since he won the Intercontinental Championship, something inside of him had woken up, and that thing snapped when Cesaro said he was the best. He said something silly about a wildcat snapping and said he would be the winner tonight.

Back ringside, Cole and Miz narrated a video that showed Cesaro's title defense on Raw. The Cesaro hype video aired. Lilian Garcia, returning from her recent injuries when she was hit by a car, handled ring introductions for Cesaro. Cesaro vs. R-Truth was announced for TLC. Cesaro cut a promo and said despite everyone's best efforts, he was still the champion.

Cesaro said America had become a nation of people who didn't want to work hard; they wanted to sit on their fat butts and let others do the work for them. He said he welcomed the USA chants as he had proven these were the United States of Antonio. Kofi Kingston made his ring entrance…[C]

Shore's Slant: Good opening. I would have liked to see a Kofi video, but it isn't the end of the world. Cesaro's video did more to get him open than anything else I have seen them do to date, so a big win there.

Wade Barrett and R-Truth joined the commentary team as Cole hyped Barrett vs. Kingston at TLC…

[Q2] 1. Antonio Cesaro vs. Kofi Kingston. The first minute of the match happened in the first quarter. Cesaro hit several uppercuts early, but Kofi tossed him to the floor and hit a dive right in front of the announce table. Kofi and Barrett had a stare down moment, so when Kofi rolled Cesaro back in the ring and followed, Cesaro attacked. They battled to the apron and Cesaro dropped the arm on the top rope to take control.

Cesaro tossed Kofi around with ease. Kofi landed on his feet for one toss and ran up the turnbuckle. He jumped off for his Superman punch, but Cesaro grabbed the arm out of the air and slammed Kofi down into a submission hold. Nice spot. Kofi flipped over to escape and earned a two count, but Cesaro blasted him with a clothesline to remain in control…[C]

Back at 9:14, Cesaro continued to work the arm. R-Truth said he would have an easy time beating Cesaro at the PPV as Cesaro hit an uppercut that knocked Kofi out of the air for two. Kofi suddenly started hitting chops and a drop kick. He hit the Boom Drop and set up for the Trouble in Paradise. Barrett threw his headset down and slid in the ring. Kofi tackled him and attacked, but the ref called for the bell for the DQ…

Kofi Kingston defeated Wade Barrett by disqualification at 11:33.

Shore's Slant: Damn, I was enjoying that.

Truth slid in the ring and attacked Cesaro. Truth drove Cesaro to the floor, and then helped Kofi dispatch Barrett. Truth took a mic and said since everyone wanted to fight, they should have a tag match. The heels agreed…

2. Kofi Kingston and R-Truth vs. Wade Barrett and Antonio Cesaro. Barrett slid in the ring and Truth clotheslined him to the floor…[C]

[Q3] Back from commercial, Truth hit a shoulder tackle on Barrett and tagged Kofi. Kofi was in for just a moment before tagging out, and the Cesaro tagged out with Truth maintaining control. Kofi tagged in and hit a Superman punch from the top rope on Cesaro. Barrett tagged in, but I missed it because I forgot to close my other Word document and posted a mixture of a Hulk Hogan story and this report. Sigh. At 10:35, Barrett hit a big boot on Truth for two. He clotheslined Truth over the top rope and celebrated into the break…[C]

Shore's Slant: My apologies for missing that middle part of the match.

Back at 16:03, Barrett hit his kick in the ropes on Truth and tagged Cesaro. Cesaro rolled him back in the ring and hooked a front face lock. Truth escaped and hit a heel kick. Cesaro tried to drag Truth back to his corner, but Truth kicked him away.

[Q4] Both men got hot tags, and Kofi flew around the ring. He hit a cross body on Barrett for two. Barrett hit a quick back kick on Kofi and tagged Cesaro. Cesaro ran in and Kofi tackled him with punches. Kofi hit the SOS, but Barrett broke the count. The match broke down and Barrett and Truth spilled to the floor while Cesaro took control in the ring. He whipped Kofi to the corner, and Truth dropped Barrett on the floor.

Truth climbed on the apron and blind tagged Kofi. He climbed to the top and hit a sunset flip on Cesaro, who was trying to hook Kofi for the Neutralizer. Cesaro tried to remain standing, but Kofi hit Trouble in Paradise to allow Truth to score the win…

Kofi Kingston and R-Truth defeated Wade Barrett and Antonio Cesaro at 19:50.

Post-match, Truth and Kingston cut short promos where they both promised to win at TLC…The announce team hyped more on the Punk situation for next…[C]

Shore's Slant: A mediocre match with a fun and hot ending. Normally, I'm not a fan of champions taking the pin in matches like this, but Truth has zero chance of winning the belt Sunday, so they needed to put heat on the match up.

The Raw Rebound video recapped the end of Raw with Ryback's destruction of Punk. Cole read the Vince McMahon statement that explained Punk's surgery and changed the TLC main event to the six-man match of Ryback and Hell Now vs. The Shield in a TLC match that will end by pinfall or submission. Cole and Miz closed by hyping Ryback vs. Alberto Del Rio for next week on Main Event…[C]

Shore's Slant: I am a bit disappointed with this episode of Main Event. It wasn't bad, but it didn't have that "it factor" that so many episodes have. Part of it was the broken match becoming a tag match, but it also didn't have that "big fight" feel that we normally get. I'm very worried about that next week, but let's see what they can do with Ryback and Del Rio. Thanks for following along tonight.

Questions? Comments? Anyone, anyone? Let me hear from you. Email me at css3238@gmail.com or tweet me @TheShoreSlant with whatever is on your mind.

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