Main Event Reax - 5/8/13, NXT star works dark match, when the new Development Center will open, Smackdown notes, more WWE return notes, Rock update, Impact changing times, Hall of Famer confirmed, Interview with DiBiase, World Champion hurt, and Questions on big WWE DVDs, Taker, "ruining" Punk, and WCW in 2000

Main Event:
Now THAT was a wrestling match. Cesaro continues to show that he can hang with WWE's top acts, and Orton shows off his veteran instincts every match as well. Both guys should be praised for this one, and WWE should take another look at the former U.S. Champion. He's better than a yodeling gimmick.

I'm glad that they did a segment to set up the second match. It makes sense to continue the rivalry between Gabriel and Slater.

A strap match is an interesting choice. They're kind of silly at times, with the tagging of turnbuckles and such.

I'm always impressed by Gabriel. Hopefully WWE is looking at his recent work. I think he could have a good future if he keeps doing good things. I don't think he'll be WWE Champion in a year or anything, but I do think he can do something bigger than he's doing now.

Everything else from yesterday is after the break.
NXT's Adrian Neville (formerly PAC) beat Curt Hawkins ahead of the Smackdown taping. Hawkins hasn't won a 1-on-1 match since December 2011. I don't think he's super-important or anything. He's just been pretty much defined as a loser. More important is what the future holds for Neville. Is he more than just a flashy finisher?

Triple H updated the status of the WWE Development Center. I look forward to how that turns out. He also responded to the Chael Sonnen situation, with the same answer that's previously been given by WWE.

This week's Smackdown was the lowest attended TV taping in months. Understandably there were some in the company upset about that. Nice going, Raleigh. Now they might not come back there. Anyway, they really need to do some rebuilding of Smackdown's credibility.

Shane (Gregory/Hurricane) Helms was backstage at Smackdown. I can't recommend his interview from the other day enough.

After Smackdown went off the air, Randy Orton and Sheamus beat Mark Henry and Big Show. I wonder if the results will be the same at Extreme Rules?

Sin Cara has been cleared to return to WWE, and will be on TV next week. I continue to hope that he does big things in the company. He's got a ways to go as a talent to be at the level of a Rey Mysterio, but I think it might be in him.

Rosa Mendes is also preparing for a return, but there's no set date. I hope whatever got her sent home is taken care of.

WWE is working on the promotion of Summerslam, which will probably be focused on L.A. and the beach instead of the company's competitors facing off in big clashes. Remember, WWE isn't a "wrestling promotion".

The Rock had to get steel mesh inside his abdomen to put his intestines back in place. He was unable to make some UK interview commitments promoting his latest movie because he hasn't been cleared to travel overseas. I think it says a lot that he was willing to wrestle despite the risks of injury and the possible damage it did to his movie career. But instead of appreciating that, a lot of fans complain about him "taking someone's spot" and being "gassed". He brought a lot of eyeballs and dollar bills to the product, and that's all Vince cares about (perhaps that's all he SHOULD care about).

Starting on 5/30, Impact Wrestling will be moving back to its 9 p.m. time slot, presumably in an attempt to boost ratings. I hope that helps. It's worth watching, especially if you're tired of what WWE is doing.

The Sun confirmed Paul Bearer going into the WWE Hall of Fame. OOOOOOHHHHHHHHH YYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. I'd be ok with Michael Hayes putting him in given their history, but there'd need to be a really good reason why Taker wouldn't do it. If there's ever a time to break character, it's then.

Ted DiBiase, Jr. talked about his faith in God. That success was a long time ago. It's going to take a lot of work both on his part and WWE's for him to not just be known as the "Jannetty" of Legacy.

Dolph Ziggler suffered a concussion at the Smackdown taping. More on this in future posts. Of course I hope he's ring-ready by Extreme Rules. If not, they can make Swagger vs. Del Rio a #1 Contendership match.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. That Taker DVD would do really well. I also wonder about the Sting DVD for the same reasons. The WWE audience probably isn't all that familiar with him. It'd be worth a shot, though, I think once he's done with TNA.

2. It's nice that they got him to go, since a lot of times he just kind of disappears after Mania. He gets some props from me for working "extra" this year.

3. This is straight-up bullshit. Punk was nothing like Cena as a face. His character was basically the same as the "summer of Punk" character; he just wasn't facing off with Cena anymore. Look at his promos "shooting" on Jericho, HHH, Nash, and Laurinaitis. He also wasn't a coward as a heel. He challenged The Undertaker at WrestleMania, including mocking Paul Bearer's death. He got in a fight with Ric Flair while he was on crutches. A coward doesn't do those things. And yes, the NJ crowd was more about getting themselves over than being WWE fans. Why is it that fans of other sports and forms of entertainment are ok with the show being about the performers but wrestling fans feel the need to show how "smart" and "cool" they are?

4. Welcome to "Smark Corner" with random questioner and Dave, where everything is negative and the truth doesn't matter. Yeah, WWE does some things that are pretty bad and backwards. There's still good stuff on Main Event, Superstars, and NXT. And TNA is loads better than it has been. But yeah, if you won't watch them and the only thing you enjoy in wrestling is ROH, you might already be too far gone to "save". Enjoy your spotfests.

More wrestling tomorrow.