WWE Main Event 4-17-13: Wade Barrett Retains

The show began with a Battle Royal to determine the #1 contender to Wade Barrett’s Intercontinental Championship. The winner would then immediately go on to face Barrett for the championship in the following match. The competitors in the Battle Royal consisted of The Great Khali (accompanied by Natalya & Hornswoggle), Justin Gabriel, The Usos, 3MB members Drew McIntyre & Jinder Mahal, Santino Marella, Primo & Epico (with Rosa Mendes in a neutral corner), Yoshi Tatsu, and Alex Riley. I’m surprised that R-truth wasn’t a competitor because he had beaten Barrett in a non-title match this past Monday on Raw. In the end, Justin Gabriel outlasted every other competitor, thus earning the championship opportunity. There is a lot of history between Barrett and Gabriel. For instance, they were both rookies during season 1 of NXT and they are both former members of the factions The Nexus and The Corre, so these two know each other quite well. As for the match, Barrett ended up defeating Gabriel and retaining his championship by first raking Gabriel’s eyes (unbeknownst to the ref) and then finishing him off with his finishing maneuver, the Bull Hammer Elbow. Since Barrett retained his championship, that means that he will still be defending his championship against Bo Dallas next week on NXT.