WWE Main Event Review - February 23, 2016

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Bo Dallas def. Darren Young

I got my fill of the garbage between The Social Outcasts, R-Truth and Goldust for one week, so I'm glad we got a break from it on Main Event. This really wasn't much of a match as it only lasted a few minutes. In fact, the pre-match promo from The Social Outcasts probably went longer than the actual matchup did. That said, it was fine for what it was, yet ultimately forgettable. If nothing else, it was nice to see Dallas score the victory. The Social Outcasts have been winning more than they have been losing lately, which is more than I thought they would amount to when they first formed.


Naomi def. Paige

I've been signing the praises of Naomi for a while now, and although I admittedly lost hope for her when she failed to win the Divas Championship last year, she has been turning heads in recent weeks in her matches with Sasha Banks and now in this bout versus Paige. This was without a doubt the best matchup I have seen on Main Event in quite some time and I was happy they received the time they did to contest the match they were capable of having. Paige has always been excellent, but this was a breakout performance for Naomi and her winning was just the icing on the cake. Seriously, check this match out. If you weren't sold on Naomi's potential before, you should be after watching this.

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Ryback def. Tyler Breeze

Given Ryback was the babyface in this bout, perhaps his "heel turn" on Monday's Raw wasn't a heel turn after all? It's possible it's a slow burn heel turn, but only time will tell. This marked the first time Ryback and Breeze have faced off, so it felt fresh and I enjoyed the dynamic they had. Ryback was on offense for a majority of the matchup, which wasn't too surprising since Breeze has been nothing more than a glorified enhancement talent for months on end.


Braun Strowman def. Fandango

Watching this match simply made me thankful we won't be seeing Strowman vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania 32. That's not to say he's awful because he certainly has improved immensely in the ring, but that wouldn't have been remotely close to being WrestleMania worthy. This was a quick and painless squash match that was over in under two minutes, so I can't complain, but it was weird that it closed the show. Personally, I would have ended the night with that amazing women's match.


Overall Show

We got one more match than we usually do on Main Event, but the last two matches were short-lived squashes, so it balanced out. Ryback vs. Breeze and Strowman vs. Fandango were nothing noteworthy and Dallas vs. Young was whatever, but as I previously mentioned, Naomi vs. Paige was absolutely fantastic. Seek this episode out if only for that incredible contest.