7/31 Kester's WWE Main Event Live Coverage Review: R-Truth vs. Wade Barrett, The Uso Brothers vs. The Prime Time Players, and Mark Henry vs. Drew McIntyre

By Ryan Kester

Main Event on Ion Television
Taped earlier in Houston, Texas.

[Q1] JBL returned to Main Event Commentary with Josh Matthews.

1. R-Truth vs. Wade Barrett. Truth took control early and got in some of his flashy offense, but Barrett rolled out of the ring to break his momentum. Barrett got some licks in when he returned to the ring, but Truth remained in control.

Barrett rolled back to the floor and Truth pursued him only to get dropped face-first on the steel steps. Truth sold on the outside… [C]

Back from the break, Barrett was in control. He focused his assault on Truth's midsection and neck. Truth had several hope spots, but Barrett managed to maintain his dominance.

[Q2] Truth hit a scissor kick out of nowhere for a near fall. Truth got in a few more big spots before walking right into Barrett's Winds of Change. Truth got his hand on the rope to break the count.

Barrett went for and missed the Bullhammer, and Truth hit Little Jimmy. Barrett fell to ringside before Truth could get the pin. Truth went for a suicide dive only to charge right into a second Bullhammer.

Barrett returned to the ring and covered Truth for the pinfall victory…

Wade Barrett defeated R-Truth in 16:02.

A brief recap of Punk getting his hands on Paul Heyman aired… [C]

Ryan's Reaction: The announcers were discussing Barrett's losing streak, so one can only hope that's a sign that they're planning to tell a story with him soon. With his win tonight it came off as a one off, but Barrett has been treading water for far too long. This match was entertaining; they got enough time in to have several swings in momentum and spots we don't often see from the two men.

2. The Uso Brothers vs. The Prime Time Players. The Usos quickly established control and worked quick tags to wear down Darren Young.

[Q3] Titus O'Neill eventually got the tag into the match, and the Usos regrouped as the big man entered the ring… [C]

Back from the break, O'Neill was in control of Jey Uso. O'Neill tagged Young back into the match, and Jey managed to get back to his corner and tag in Jimmy. Young backed Jimmy into the heels' corner and they began to work quick tags as they wore Jimmy down.

Jimmy eventually got the hot tag off to his brother and Jey stormed the ring. Jey connected with a wrecking ball on O'Neil. Young broke the subsequent count, but he was quickly tossed from the ring by Jimmy. The Usos hit a stereo superkick on O'Neill followed by a Superfly Splash from Jimmy for the 1-2-3….

The Uso Brothers defeated the Primetime Players in 14:36.

Ryan's Reaction: A passable tag match, but it didn't reach the quality that these two teams have had in previous pairings until late in the match. We've seen this match many, many times by now, and there just wasn't enough memorable about this outing to make it standout from all the rest.

[Q4] [C] The Raw Rebound focused on Daniel Bryan's interaction with Vince McMahon and his quest to prove himself worthy of a WWE Title shot… [C]

3. Mark Henry vs. Drew McIntyre. McIntyre mushed Henry at the start, and Henry responded buy shoving McIntyre to the floor. McIntyre managed to get in a few shots and knocked the big man down with a shining wizard, but Henry kicked out at one.

Henry hit a few power moves before landing the World's Strongest Slam for the quick victory.

Mark Henry defeated Drew McIntyre in 2:41.

Ryan's Reaction: I am pleasantly surprised by how much offense and athleticism McIntyre got in in that sub-three minute match. The man does have some talent, but he's being wasted in the 3MB role. I'm not sold on Mark Henry as a face. He seems to be getting over well enough in that role since being paired up against the Shield, but I can't shake the feeling that his story as a heel isn't complete. He's doing exactly what he did before, and it was so much more interesting when it was being done for heat rather than admiration.

Overall, this was a better than average edition of Main Event. The video packages were rather well done and despite the none of the matches on the show felt like a complete waste.

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.