By Chris Shore

WWE Main Event on ION
Taped on 2/12 in Little Rock, Arkansas.

A video hyped the Highlight Reel for the first time on Main Event and a recap of the Rock vs. CM Punk moments from Raw…The opening video aired, followed by the pyro, and Michael Cole and JBL welcomed us to Main Event. Chris Jericho's music hit and he came to the ring for the Highlight Reel. Jericho said Miz was supposed to be his guest, but he was injured on Raw. A video recapped the attack from Antonio Cesaro,

Jericho said he had a guest of greater value. He started to introduce him when Ricardo Rodriguez popped into the ring. Jericho stepped aside and let Ricardo introduce Alberto Del Rio as the guest. Del Rio got a good, but not great, reaction from the crowd. Del Rio thanked Jericho for having him, but said he didn't want to talk about Big Show because the time for talking was over. He said he would beat Show this Sunday, and that got a good pop.

Jericho wished Del Rio luck and said he had great respect for Del Rio's family, but he was going to win the Elimination Chamber and go on to beat Del Rio at Mania. Del Rio said it wasn't going to happen and added something in Spanish. Jericho said he spoke Spanish too and said something to Del Rio. Del Rio corrected his Spanish and they argued about it in Spanish. Ricardo jumped in and rambled faster and faster in Spanish until he collapsed into gibberish. Jericho asked him what the hell he said and Del Rio said, "Yeah, right?"

Dolph Ziggler's music hit and he and his crew headed to the ring area. Ziggler said he guessed he needed to tell them again that you couldn't talk about the World Championship unless they were also talking about him. Jericho said he had told them about 83 times, the same number of times AJ had her tongue in someone's mouth. Langston got mad and Jericho cracked on him about what the "E" in his name meant. Ziggler calmed Langston down and said he was going to cash in his briefcase and win the title soon.

Del Rio said Ziggler needed to learn a lesson, and he was going to teach it to him tonight. Jericho said that was a great idea and asked the fans if they wanted to see the match. Ricardo lead the crowd in a "Si! Si! Si!" chant…[C]

Shore's Slant: Fun opening segment. I would have rather seen the match pre-announced and given the big build treatment, but this was still fun. Ricardo was hilarious with his gibberish, and Jericho and Del Rio cracked me up looking at him.

1. Alberto Del Rio (w/Ricardo Rodriguez) vs. Dolph Ziggler (w/AJ and Big E Langston). Del Rio took quick control and dumped Ziggler to the floor where he strategized with AJ and Langston. Back in the ring, Ziggler pulled an attacking Del Rio forward into the post and Del Rio fell to the floor…[C] Back from commercial, Ziggler worked a rest hold while a video showed him slamming Del Rio into the barricade during the break.

Ziggler hit two great drop kicks for near falls. He went for a third, but Del Rio caught his feet and hit a slingshot into the corner. Ziggler made his feet and went to the top, but Del Rio ran up the buckle and hit a sudden superplex that both men sold…[C]

Back from commercial, a brawl continued. Ziggler hit a big DDT I missed but it was for a great near fall. Del Rio came back and hit his strikes in the ropes followed by the back stabber. He covered, but AJ put Ziggler's foot on the ropes to break the count. Del Rio yelled at AJ and Ziggler hit a bulldog for two.

Del Rio hit a surprise armbreaker and setup for the enziguri. Ziggler ducked and hooked the sleeper. Del Rio sold it to one knee and then slung Ziggler off. He hit the enziguri and covered for a great near fall. AJ distracted the ref, and Langston punched Del Rio. Ricardo hit Langston with the bucket and ran when Langston no sold it. Del Rio hit a surprise kick and locked in the cross arm breaker for the win…

Alberto Del Rio defeated Dolph Ziggler at 21:47.

Shore's Slant: What a great match. It was so good I forgot to track the quarter hour breaks. Oh well, we never get the quarter hour ratings anyway. I didn't like the very last part of the finishing sequence. It seemed too sudden. That's a minor complaint though. See this match folks. Awesome stuff.

A video recapped Punk vs. Rock from Monday again and then Punk was hyped for next…[C]

The announce team ran down the Elimination Chamber card…Backstage, Matt Striker interviewed Paul Heyman and said he thought Punk was joining them. Heyman said if it came from his lips it was the same as coming from Punk's. Heyman said Punk was going into the Elimination Chamber, and leaving, as the WWE Champion and the Best in the World…A replay of the Shield vs. John Cena and the Superfriends was hyped for next…[C]

A video replayed what happened on Raw with The Shield vs. John Cena, Ryback, and Sheamus…

Shore's Slant: I can forgive this relay because it is network TV and while cable is pervasive, it is not in every single home. Still, I do not like the turn Main Event has taken. The opening match was good, but Main Event used to happen slightly outside the normal WWE storylines and I hate to see it fully integrated. That said, see the match. 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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