8/28 Shore's WWE Main Event live coverage: Curtis Axel vs. Cody Rhodes

By Chris Shore

WWE Main Event on ION TV
Taped on 8/27 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

[Q1] A video recapped the Curtis Axel vs. CM Punk segment from Monday night…The opening video aired, followed Curtis Axel's entrance. The pair drew good heat if you believe what you hear, but the crowd didn't seem that hot visually. Cody Rhodes got a good pop, but the crowd did look that hot for him, so it's hard to say if they are piping it in or not. Josh Matthews and Alex Riley checked in on commentary…

1. Curtis Axel (w/Paul Heyman) vs. Cody Rhodes. There was a bit of chain wrestling to start. Rhodes got the better of the exchange, but Axel hooked a waist lock. Cody hooked out with a leg and Axel went to the floor to consult with Heyman. Back in the ring, Rhodes started a string of offense, but Axel hit a straight right and took control.

A "Heyman sucks" chant broke out as Cody rolled to the floor to escape Axel. Axel followed and whipped Cody into the barricade…[C]

Axel worked a grinding headlock out of the break. The crowd chanted for Cody, and he escaped the hold only to get clotheslined again. The crowd changed to "CM Punk" chants after that. Axel short arm whipped Cody into the turnbuckle chest first for two.

[Q2] Axel hit a second rope axel handle for two. Matthews and Riley argued about whether Axel is worried about Heyman turning on him. Cody took another whip to the corner and ran up for a moonsault. Cody ran his comeback and hit his brother's drop down punch and kick to the gut. He went for the disaster kick, but Axel ducked. Cody hit the Alabama Slam instead for a good near fall.

Axel hit a surprise Saito suplex to retake control. Axel climbed the ropes, but Cody caught him and hit a muscle buster for two. Heyman sold the hell out of it at ringside. Cody tried to drag Axel back, but Axel grabbed the apron. The ref yelled at Cody, and Axel took the opportunity to kick a distracted Cody. He followed with his finisher for the win…[C]

Curtis Axel defeated Cody Rhodes.

Shore's Slant: A good match. Not a great match, but a very good match. They needed a great match there to really elevate both guys, but I have a hard time complaining about it.

A Los Matadors vignette aired…The Primetime Players made their entrance and there were several people doing their dance. Good for them. The Real Americans were out next. There was no setup for "We the people," and the crowd didn't do it with them when they said it getting in the ring…

2. The Primetime Players vs. The Real Americans (w/Zeb Colter). Young and Cesaro started. The players had one exchange of tags before Cesaro threw Young over the top rope. He tagged Swagger, who hit a running clothesline on the floor as well. Swagger hit his corner splash and Cesaro jumped over Swagger's head to hit a double stomp.

[Q3] Cesaro hit his dead lift suplex, and Swagger tagged in to hit a suplex of his own. Cesaro tagged in and took a kick to the head. Titus got the hot tag and destroyed both Americans. All four men ended up brawling in the ring, and Titus hit his finisher on Swagger for the win…

The Primetime Players defeated The Real Americans.

Post-match the Players danced out…A recap of the end of Raw was hyped for next…[C]

Shore's Slant: A decent tag match with the right team going over. Yes, WWE probably decided to push these guys a little because of Darren Young's announcement, but it has worked so far. They are getting good reactions from the crowd. If they are starting to get over, then you push them a little more, regardless of what anyone might say about it.

A video recapped Triple H giving Randy Orton the car, Daniel Bryan destroying the car, and Bryan's subsequent beat down. The announce team hyped Night of Champions…Kofi Kingston made his ring entrance…[C]

[Q4] Fandango made his ring entrance. Kofi stared at him, confused…

3. Kofi Kingston vs. Fandango. Fandango went for a monkey flip. Kofi landed on his feet and hit a real monkey flip. Kofi dragged Fandango to the floor and hit a springboard forearm. He rolled Fandango in the ring and Kofi stared Summer Rae down. He rolled in the ring, and Fandango drove him into the ring post…[C]

Back from commercial, Fandango held an armbar for entirely too long. He hit a spinning kick on Kofi for two, followed by a suplex with a float over pin for two. Fandango missed a splash in the corner and Kofi started his comeback. That woke the crowd up and Kofi hit the Boom Drop. He setup for the Trouble in Paradise, but Summer Rae grabbed Kofi's ankle. The ref saw it and called for the bell…

Kofi Kingston defeated Fandango by disqualification at 10:30.

Shore's Slant: A lackluster match to close the show. The crowd died for it at the end until Kofi started his comeback, and that made it difficult to stay plugged in. Overall a decent episode of Main Event. Thanks for watching along with me 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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