WWE Main Event results: Tony D’Angelo, Damon Kemp debut

Last week’s WWE Main Event was taped at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, before Monday’s Raw. It featured the debuts of two NXT regulars in Damon Kemp and Tony D’Angelo.

Shelton Benjamin defeated Damon Kemp (5:49)

This was a good match with Kemp looking good and getting a handshake from Benjamin after the match. It was good to see how Benjamin gave most of the match to Kemp.

On his way to the ring, they gave Kemp an inset promo in which he put himself over as the new “gold standard” in WWE. Both men are University of Minnesota alumni, but Kemp claimed that it was time for Benjamin to move over.

So while Kemp has worked some 205 Live tapings, this was his first Main Event outing and, as you might expect, they did lots of mat work early on.

The turning point was when Kemp got the better of Benjamin that led to him rolling out of the ring to take a breather. When he climbed back in, Kemp went for a handshake and slapped Benjamin as he accepted it. The veteran’s facial expression at the disrespect shown was a picture.

Benjamin took a beating from there on out with very little hope. He finally rallied after kicking out of a Perfect Plex. Shelton nailed Kemp with a German suplex and a splash to the corner before hitting Paydirt for the win.

To his credit, Benjamin gave Kemp the benefit of the doubt in storyline and, in shaking his hand, showed him that he respected him after the bell.

Akira Tozawa defeated Tony D’Angelo (7:12)

A rare win for Tozawa went over well with the crowd and D’Angelo played his part perfectly in helping that happen. This was good, basic stuff but had one of the most engaged crowds for a Main Event match in recent memory.

They replayed Tozawa’s loss against Bronson Reed from last week’s show and Tozawa came out with his ribs and abdomen taped up, selling the loss. At the time, the match was far from a squash, but the replay made Redd look like a force to be reckoned with.

D’Angelo was great here in the early going. He was surly and looked at Tozawa like he was nothing. He looked huge in his white vest next to Tozawa, who flipped all over for him. Two big moves before the break looked really impressive: an inverted backbreaker and a power bomb.

After a long abdominal stretch on the other side of the commercials, the crowd rallied behind Tozawa who hit a top rope elbow for a two count. D’Angelo hit a vicious clothesline for two before they went to the finish.

They teased a top rope suplex but Tozawa fought his way out and with D’Angelo laying in position, he looked at the crowd who roared with approval. Tozawa hit the top rope senton and they counted along for the win.

Final Thoughts:

This was good stuff on the show this week. It’s always a pleasure to see some fresh faces on Main Event and both newbies did well. The key is to give them opponents who know what they’re doing and with Benjamin and Tozawa, they got more than a safe pair of hands.