I’m at Winter Haven FL for NXT Live in front of a sold out house of approximately 350.
– No Way Jose beat Tucker Knight
Entertaining match with Jose using new baseball inspired moves like setting Knight in the corner and running the three corners like bases before a slide in drop kick. The ref even made the safe sign for the home run. Jose won it with his finish.
– Peyton Royce beat Liv Morgan
Fast action by Morgan including a big monkey flip out of the corner and spinning headscissor rana. Peyton worked holds and won it with a fisherwoman suplex.
– Chris Girard beat Buddy Murphy
Very good match with a lot of crowd interaction “You Got Dumped!” “Blake Is Better!” “Where’s Alexa?” solid support of Girarad for all his running uppercuts. Major combination at the end including running to the buckles for uppercuts and a huge spinning neck breaker for the win.
– Mojo Rawley beat Elias Samson
Comedy spots early on to upset Drifter. The hammer man dance and a lot of wiggling. Mojo won it with a running clothesline in to the corner.
– NXT Tag Team Champions American Alpha beat The Authors Of Pain
Big heels got a lot of heat on Chad Gable to set up the Jason Jordan hot tag. Assisted German Suplex for the win.
– Adrienne Reese beat Nikki Storm
Strong match, Nikki had control most of the match, talking trash, keeping Adrienne grounded. Finish was the top rope diving stunner.
– In-ring promo with Mandy Rose she says that she is a bikini model champion. This got a lot of heat and “Wannabe Diva” chant.
– TM61 beat Angelo Dawkins and Patrick Clarke
Well-paced match, TM61 hit their double team spinebuster for the win.
– NXT Champion Samoa Joe beat Andrade Cien Almas
Great match. Joe is the dominant champion so he cut off the fired-up Andrade at every turn. Andrade hit the moonsault into a standing moonsault for a near fall in his best hope spot. Joe caught Andrade in the clutch out of nowhere for the submission victory.
The show kicks off with the roster around the ring, along with some original ECW talent, such as Tommy Dreamer, RVD,Rhino, and Shane Douglas in the ring. They pay their respects to Balls Mahoney. They play “Big Balls” and the crowd sings along.
SoCal Val is your ring announcer and host for the night. She brings out Ricky Steamboat. Ricky puts over the ECW Arena and its fans. Vik Dalishus comes out and gets a ton of heat for thinking the opening ceremony was for Ricky. Vik tried to clothesline Ricky but Ricky fights back and chops him a lot.
… And we have finally have a match… a ladies match! Jade defeated Thea Trinidad with a package piledriver in about 10 minutes. Jade was the heel here.
Action Ortiz and Vik Dalishus are out. Vik says he doesn’t want to fight after getting assaulted by Ricky Steamboat, so Eddie Kingston comes out as a replacement. Their opponents are Team Tremendous. Lots of flips and dives from Team Tremendous here. Team Tremendous get the win the super blockbuster or whatever it’s called on Action Ortiz.
Billy Gunn vs Bull Dempsey is out next. Crowd is split 50/50 on this one. Billy won with the Fameasser in around 6 minutes. Billy takes the mic after and puts over Bull and the WWE Performance Center.. until they are assaulted by… Kevin Thorn?!?! Kevin beats them down until XPac makes the save. XPac does his kicks and gives Kevin a bronco buster, giving a nose bleed. Bull, Billy, and XPac all do the suck it taunt.
Tony Nese defeated Alex Reynolds and Chris Dickinson in a three way dance. Tony first eliminated Alex and then Chris a few minutes later. This was a strong contender for match of the night.
Pepper Parks and Cherry Bomb are out. Cherry introduces her new bodyguard, who I didn’t catch the name of. Tommy Dreamer comes out to a big pop. Cherry tries to interfere midway through the match, so Tommy brings out Mickie James! Mickie takes out Cherry. Pepper Parks gets the win a few minutes later with his feet on the ropes.
Intermission. 3 matches left. First half was awesome!
Brian Cage defeated Sami Callihan. Sami Callihan was more over, probably because this is CZW territory. Brian Cage wins after multiple buckle bombs and then his finisher. Match of the night.
The Killer Elite Squad defeated Chris Hero & Colt Cabana to retain the GHC Tag Team Championships. Chris and Colt were very over, and no one cared about KES. KES retained after pinning Hero with their tag finisher.
Main event time, Rhino vs Rob Van Dam. Rhino out first to a big pop. Next is Rob Van Dam who comes out to A HUGE POP, with the whole crowd singing “Walk” by Pantera. Dueling “VOTE FOR RHINO / WHOLE FUCKIN SHOW!” chants. RVD won after putting Rhino through a table and then hitting the 5 Star Frog Splash. They shook hands after… and then Enter Sandman hits! Crowd sings along as Sandman hosts a beer bash with the audience, RVD, Rhino, and Tommy Dreamer. Rhino cuts a promo saying he loves playing heel and says sorry to a fan he shoved earlier.
Tommy gets on the mic and says that House of Hardcore will be hosting shows on a monthly basis and they will be returning to the 2300 in September. Sandman puts a beer in the center of the ring for Balls Mahoney. Big Balls plays through the arena and everyone goes home happy.
Great show, a lot better than what I was expecting.
Lilian Garcia was introduced as the announcer for the show.
Cesaro beat Stardust
People loved Cesaro and they went nuts for his comeback, especially for the uppercuts. He won with a sharpshooter follwing the giant swing. Good contest.
Sin Cara beat Tyler Breeze
Quick match with a couple of high flying spots by Sin Cara. He won with his senton from the top rope. After the match, Breeze took a mic and said that he didn’t come to Italy to lose and he asked for an other opponent. Out came Swagger with an Italian flag on his shoulders.
Jack Swagger beat Tyler Breeze
Nothing to say here. They went for the ankle lock as soon as the bell rang and Breeze tapped out.
WWE Tag Team Champions New Day beat Braun Strowman and Erick Rowan
People LOVED the New Day. The match was very good. I’ll go as far as saying that this was the biggest surprise of the night. Xavier and Big E worked the match for the New Day. The heat was on Xavier at the beginning. Great hot tag for Big E who began to throw Rowan around. Then Strowman came in and he got a big “holy s**t, he’s big!” reaction. Couple of near falls. New Day won after a little help from Kofi.
WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte beat Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch
Ric Flair was ringside. This was the match of the night. Sasha and Becky put out Charlotte and went at it at the beginning. Then the champ came back and they did a good amount of “3 way” spots. People chanted “NXT” and “Women’s Wrestling” and booed the hell out of Charlotte. At the end, Sasha went for the Bank Statement on Becky, but Ric pulled her out of the ring and Charlotte pinned Becky using the ropes. Very good match.
Usos beat the Dudleys
Man, is Bubba great. People cheered the Dudleys at the beginning, but Bubba turned that around in a second. He had the crowd going from cheering them to HATE them. He even went as far as swearing at people in italian. As far as the match goes, a solid contest but nothing great. Usos won with a splash.
WWE Champion Roman Reigns beat Sheamus
Very good match, the second best after the women’s. Roman Reigns was over HUGE. Biggest reaction of the night by far. He won with a spear after a couple of near finishes.
Overall, a good show. Crowd was into everything and they cheered the faces and booed the heels. Again, women stole the show.
I’m here at NXT Citrus Springs and we are expecting approximately 300 people for Shinsuke Nakamura’s NXT Florida debut.
No Way Jose beat Noah
Fun opener with Noah wanting to shake hands and be friends with Jose, which, of course, led to chants of “No Way Jose” for the handshake offer. Solid action before Jose hit the wind0up punch and his new finish — a full nelson slam — for the win.
Liv Morgan beat Peyton Royce
Peyton tried to offer her flower to Liv, who tossed it away. Royce was going for her Venus Fly Trap submission, BUT Morgan was able to roll through and win the match.
Manny Andrade beat Elias Samson
Major heat for The Drifter and his attempted pre match song. Manny entered to a good reaction and we’re off. Great work by Andrade, countering moves, flipping over Samson and keeping the tempo up. Drifter works the headlock of doom before Manny fired up, ran wild and hit the running knees for the win.
Riddick Moss beat Alex Riley
Moss has fresh new gear and a fancy gold vest. He ordered the ref to take his vest off for him, BUT ARy snuck behind and did so himself, only to put the vest on and upset Moss. Physical match with Moss scoring the win over a distraught ARy.
NXT Tag Team Champions American Alpha beat Alexander Wolfe and Sawyer Fulton
Big reaction for Alpha showing off the titles for the first time in FL. A lot of impressive matwork by both Gable and Jordan early on before the pace was picked up. Jordan ran wild with big dropkicks before the heels took advantage of a distraction and stun-gunned Gable on the top rope. Wolfe and Fulton took turns working over Gable’s arm before he was able to escape and make the big hot tag to Jordan, ran wild again and this time, Alpha finished them off with the Assisted German Suplex.
NXT Women’s Champion Asuka beat Adrien Reese
A good, yet clearly toned down, reaction for Asuka, the usual crowd favorite had more of a guilty reaction here after beating Bayley for the title. Good early exchanges with Reese even putting Asuka in holds. The champion took advantage of a counter and rolled through for the Asuka Lock victory.
Shinsuke Nakamura beat Tye Dillinger
Huge superstar reaction for Nakamura. This match was everything you could ask for at a live event. They taunted each other, played one upsmanship, and finally, it broke down in to a fight. Dillinger did Nakamura’s taunts himself, Nakamura did Dillinger’s cartwheel; it was exactly what you could ever want in a WWE Shinsuke Nakamura match. Dillinger and Nakamura even exchanged strong style strikes before Shinsuke hit the knee to the midsection and the Kinshasa for the win.
Bayley and Mojo Rawley beat Nia Jax and Samoa Joe
Joe got the heat on Mojo for a long time while Bayley lead cheers. She finally caught the hot tag and fought off Nia, even ending up on her shoulders punching down at Nia. Joe even tried to break up a pin but the ref dove at him to prevent the boot to Bayley. Nia tried to gain control but Bayley To Belly for the win.
Post-match, they celebrated and Bayley snatched Joe’s towel, Joe was kicking the stairs on the outside as Bayley waved the towel and danced with Mojo.
I’ve been in Japan for a few days for some great wrestling action at Korakuen Hall. Here’s a rundown of what I’ve seen:
Dragon Gate:
Yosuke Santa Maria & Stalker Ichikawa (dressed as Stan Hansen for the second time this week) vs.Ryo Jimmy Saito & Genki Horiguchi H.A.GeeMeee!!!
Super fun comedy match with some good action at times.Santa Maria is such an entertaining performer and really got to shine here. Her push continued with a pinfall win over Genki.
Don Fujii & U-T vs. Kaito Ishida & Takehiro Yamamura
Wow, this was incredible. It had everything you’d want from it. Don Fujii being surly and beating the tar out of the young guys, the young guys being ultra-competitive with each other, great crowd heat and a fantastic finish. This was perfect for what they set out for.
El Lindaman vs. T-Hawk
Huge upset here as Lindaman got the biggest singles victory of his career, knocking off T-Hawk with a Cross Armbreaker after ten minutes of good action.
Kzy, CIMA & Gamma vs. Monster Express
Excellent fast paced trios match, with charisma abound. Like in the last match, this had a huge result as Big R Shimizu beat CIMA clean with the Shot Put Slam. The crowd went wild for the finish.
The stip here was that Punch had to retire if he lost. The result was a white hot atmosphere with the crowd living and dying with the nearfalls. Eita made Kotoka tap with the El Numero Uno. The finishing stretch of this was just out of this world.
Verserk vs. The Jimmys
With special “Jimmy for a night”, Masaaki Mochizuki in tow, the Jimmys scored a huge victory in the main event after 20 minutes of insane action. They did an incredible job weaving Verserk strife into a match which involved so much coordination and timing. It was incredible to watch a match like this in front of the Japanese fans. Susumu pinned YAMATO after a vicious Jumbo No Kachi lariat. Watch out for The Jimmys entrance and yours truly getting involved.
Post match, Verserk split into two sides to set up the annual DEAD OR ALIVE cage match where hair and masks are at stake. We got a bonus 19 second Cyber Kong/Mondai Ryu match to determine who could avoid the Cage. Mondai won.
Sendai Girls
This was the biggest show in the history of the promotion as they hit Korakuen Hall for the first time headlined by the renewal of a classic rivalry.
Aja Kong vs. Meiko Satomura
The result was a bona-fide Match Of The Year Candidate. I saw all the big matches from Mania weekend while I’ve been over here and this topped everything. It also topped the incredible Daisuke Sekimoto main event I saw last week at BJW. Aja Kong looked as good as she did in her prime. Not only was her offence looking fantastic but her selling and the subtle little things she did added so much to the match and made me realise I was watching one of the greatest wrestlers of all time.
However, she was topped by Satomura, who was absolutely heroic as the babyface. Her fire and her execution were on another level from almost anyone I’ve ever seen in person before. I knew she was good, real good, but not this good. Satomura won the match after an epic closing stretch and retained the title. Kong sold the loss, and the damage, brilliantly after the match. It was like Godzilla being taken down, and slumping away to fight another day.
The undercard was a really fun variety show. We had a hard hitting opening tag match, a comedy match, a really good hardcore match pitting Hikaru Shida & Syuri against KAORU & DASH Chisako, and an awesome veteran vs rookie match as Nanae Takahashi defeated hot prospect Chihiro Hashimoto. This show airs on the 16th, and the main event is absolutely must-see stuff.
Notes from Ernie Quincosa from University of Miami’s BankUnited Center
– Sami Zayn beat Baron Corbin
They kicked this house show off with a match that could have been near the top of the card. Crowd was pretty hot for Sami and heckled Baron throughout. Typical Sami Zayn match, Baron got quite a bit of offense in, more than Sami, and looked much much more experienced than he has recently, he came across to me as a main event of NXT caliber heel for the first time. Sami won with a Heluva Kick to the corner and a pin.
– Carmella and Aliyah beat Emma and Billie Kay
Match was flat. People tried to get behind Carmella and booed Emma, but this was the quietest they were all night. Everything looked very soft and not very stiff, but all the women in the match did look like great athletes. Emma and Billie Kaye worked over Aliyah and Carmella got the hot tag and submits Billie Kaye with her neck choke finisher.
– Rich Swann beat Riddick Moss
Crowd liked Rich Swann but kept heckling through the match. Very back and forth match, and Swann won with a 450 splash. Riddick Moss seems to be improving, and Rich Swann seems like a solid baby face.
– NXT Tag Champions The Revival vs. American Alpha ends in a draw
This felt like a dry run of a pay-per-view match. Match started slow with Chad Gable getting a lot of shine. Revival tries to cheat, start cutting the ring in half with Gable. Jordan gets a very hot tag and goes to town with the spot where he pulls his singlet straps down, pulls them up, and pulls them back down. Crowd loses it. Match ends with pinning trade-off between Dawson and Gable, ending in a double pin. Referee calls the match a draw, Jordan asks The Revival to go five more minutes and they refuse and try to jump American Alpha. Jordan and Gable get a come back and hit Grand Amplitude, then soak in the applause from the crowd.
– NXT Women’s Champion Bayley beat Nia Jax
Big contrast between this match and the earlier women’s match. Every time Nia hit Bayley, the crowd gasped. Nia dominated Bayley for most of the match, until Bayley had a comeback and hit the Bayley-to-Belly suplex and pinned Nia.
– Manny Andrade beat Tye Dillinger
Surprisingly, it seemed like a good amount of the crowd knew of La Sombra, and there were multiple Sombra chants during the match. Manny seemed VERY popular with the crowd, which garnered multiple chants in Spanish. A lot of the crowd was Latino, but it’s also important to remember Miami has a lot of Cubans and Central Americans, and not so many Mexicans specifically. This match got the first (and possibly only) “This is Awesome” chant of the night. Dillinger and Andrade went back and forth, lots of chops and reversals in this match. Much more high-flying than I’ve seen in an NXT match before. Andrade won with a very impressive moonsault from the corner to standing into a standing moonsault.
– NXT Champion Finn Balor beat Samoa Joe
This was more or less the same match these two have had before. The pacing was a little different, however. Samoa Joe seemed like a monster throughout the match, dominating Finn early with a very physical style. Finn won with a brainbuster, however he was not able to lift Joe all the way up and so it ended up being more of a face slam. Samoa Joe was very popular with the crowd, who sang happy birthday to him during the match without prompting. After the match, Finn led the crowd into singing happy birthday to Joe again, and then sang “Danny Boy” for the crowd, it being St. Patrick’s Day.
Live from Ft. Pierce tonight in front of a sold out house.
– Rich Swann and Tucker Knight beat Dhinsa and Selmani
The big men put a beating on Swann early to build up the Knight hot tag. Knight ran wild with shoulderblocks and big clotheslines and then tagged in Swann for a 450 splash and the win.
– Steve Cutler beat Alex Riley
Heavy hitting match up with Riley laying Cutler down using a big spinebuster and even hit a top rope flying elbow. Cutler took control, used a side Russian leg sweep then applied a submission hold for the upset win.
– Patrick Clark and Kenneth Crawford beat Sawyer Fulton and Alexander Wolfe
The larger heels worked over the more athletic faces yet they were able to get some hope spots and showcase their abilities. Crawford stole the pin with a roll up to a good reaction.
– Manny Andrade beat Angelo Dawkins
Another very good match from Manny. He hit all his flashy spots and won over the crowd before the running knees for the win.
– NXT Women’s Champion Bayley vs. Asuka vs. Billie Kay vs. Peyton Royce went to a no-contest
The heels worked separation on the faces early, keeping it two on one and keeping Bayley away from Asuka. Once Bayley scored a flash pin on Billie, Asuka snatched Peyton up in her Asuka Lock submission leaving us with the 1 on 1 we all want to see. Asuka and Bayley went a good five minutes of great action. Asuka was laying in kicks to Bayley who fired up, hit her flying uppercut, and was trying to set up the Belly To Bayley yet the heels ran back in to cause the no contest. Asuka and Bayley fought them off and had a staredown, handshake, embrace moment.
– Mojo Rawley beat Josh Woods
Woods used his MMA style to work Mojo’s arm in this one, yet before the match could get going, the lights in the venue went off and stayed off for over a minute. Woods just held an armbar taunting Mojo during this time until they got back on. Once they came back on, Mojo ran wild and hit the big punch for the win.
– In ring interview with Chris Atkins from Australia.
– Nia Jax beat Liv Morgan
Liv had some good hope spots to show her athletic ability, an amazing handspring rotation rana, some dropkicks and good fire. Nia hit the Samoan drop and a leg drop for the win.
– NXT Champion Finn Balor and Apollo Crews beat Tye Dillinger and Baron Corbin
Very good action as expected. Dillinger worked over both faces and Baron seemed disgusted waiting for tags. Fun stuff. The big hot tag to Balor and him running wild with slingblades and dropkicks. Balor laid out Dillinger and hit the coup de grace for the win.
Submitted by Ross Blair, live from the Maxwell Snyder Armory Thursday
– Mojo Rawley def. Alex Riley
Crowd favorite Rawley got the fans “hyped” in a decent opener against Riley. Both men had equal offense, and Mojo got the pin after he spun around and clocked Riley with a big right hand.
– Liv Morgan defeated Daria the Jersey Devil
Daria had MMA attire and the slugfest match came off more like an MMA match than a pro wrestling contest. It worked here. This was Morgan’s third consecutive appearance at this venue and, judging from the ovation she got, I’m probably not alone in saying she’s my favorite newbie in the NXT women’s division. Morgan pinned Daria after a standing moonsault…a deviation from her last two appearances, which ended with moonsaults of the top rope.
– Tucker Knight pinned Angelo Dawkins
Knight won with a Thesz press. Knight has new attire, a singlet, which greatly improves his look as it hides his gut.
Enzo got double teamed for the majority of the match, followed by a hot tag to Big Cass and a pinfall victory after the popular duo’s rocket launcher finisher.
– Levis Valenzuela Jr. pinned Riddick Moss after a wind-up knockout punch
Moss was greeted with chants of “You’re OK” and “Welcome Back” as he made his entrance. The final image of the previous Jacksonville show was Moss receiving medical attention after the 6-man main event he was in ended prematurely when he had his bell rung after a suplex-gone-wrong. Moss did some mic work to turn around the sympathy he got from the fans & regain his role as a heel: “The last few weeks haven’t been easy, but all your support has been the only thing…that has completely annoyed me! I don’t need any of you!”
– Six-foot-seven former collegiate football player Dan Matha debuted in an interview segment. He touted to announcer Tom Phillips that he is an “A+ player” and an apparent heel: “If you’re not a girl or a dumbbell, I don’t have time for you!”
– Nia Jax def. Aliyah
Jax got a big pop as she entered the ring to face the ridiculously smaller Aliyah in actually a very entertaining David & Goliath matchup. The crowd moaned in unison after Jax menacingly said “say hi to Aliyah”, followed by grabbing her by the hair & spinning her halfway across the ring. Aliyah did a good job appearing nervous during her brief moments of offense. Jax playfully said “bye bye” before finishing her with a Samoan drop.
– NXT Champion Finn Balor & American Alpha (Jason Jordan/Chad Gable) def. NXT Tag Champions The Revival (Dash & Dawson) & Baron Corbin
Balor got a huge pop in his long awaited return to Jacksonville. Excellent match. Gable got triple teamed for much of the contest. The finish came when Gable & Jordan had both Dawson & Wilder in ankle locks as Balor came off the top rope with his foot stomp to pin Corbin.
Notes:
– A return date to Jacksonville of April 23rd was announced.
– Manny “La Sombra” Andrade (joined by Mandy Rose & Steve Cutler) made his meet & greet debut. He is apparently conquering the English language as he fit right in during the NXT pre-show ritual of autographs and pictures with fans. Unfortunately, he was not on the actual card.
– WWE has upgraded its live event entrance ramp since the last house in MPLS last spring. Two larger HD screens and a small ramp lined with LED lights.
– Before the show started, The fans voted on a Wrestlemania match to be shown on the big screen. Bret Hart vs Austin won. Taker vs HBK second, Rock vs Cena third.
– NXT ring announcers Greg Hamilton and Eden Stiles were our emcees.
A.J. Styles beat The Miz (12:50)
Loud A.J. Styles chants before the match. Miz got huge heat trying to take off his sunglasses after the bell rang. Miz did the Ric Flair fall-on-his-face bump at one point. Miz got the heat kicking the middle rope as A.J. was entering the ring. A.J. hit a nice pump handle into a gut buster for a near fall. Miz hit the Skull Crushing Finale but A.J. kicked out of the believable near fall. A.J. Hit the springboard flying forearm for the win. Really fun match. Miz was a great heel.
Darren Young & Jack Swagger beat Adam Rose & Curtis Axel (7:20)
Match was sloppy and crowd was dead for most of it, even with the hometown guy Curtis Axel. Heels worked over Darren Young. Swagger with the comeback. Hit the Swagger Bomb, match broke down and Swagger made Rose tap to ankle lock.
– Bray Wyatt cut a spooky promo on the big screen. He said he was going to change the world, he wasn’t afraid of anyone and he was a god.
Ryback beat Neville (8:30)
Ryback got a stronger reaction than Neville. Not necessarily a face reaction but more of a shocked reaction that this was Neville’s opponent. Crowd was chanting Feed Me More and Goldberg during the match. Ryback took most of the match. Neville hit a standing enziguri, a few strikes and the asai moonsault and that was about it for his offense. Neither man worked like a heel. Good finish. Ryback caught Neville after a springboard. Neville escaped and rolled Ryback up for a near fall. Ryback then hit the meat hook, which flipped Neville, and a shell shock for the win.
WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day beat the Usos (8:50)
Both teams got a huge reaction. New Day cut a pre-match promo saying Minnesota was poorly educated and everyone was ugly. They sang We Are The Champions…really badly. New Day’s antics are outrageous but are extremely entertaining. Let’s Go Usos/New Day Rocks dueling chants. Crowd really into the match. Kofi missed Trouble in Paradise and Jey Uso hit two superkicks. However, Xavier distracted the ref as the crowd counted to three. Kofi then hit Trouble In Paradise for the win. Really fun match with a hot finish.
Dean Ambrose beat Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens (c) via DQ (9:30)
Ambrose easily received the biggest pop of the night. Owens attacked Ambrose before the match started. Owens brought a chair into the ring and Ambrose rolled up Owens for what the crowd believed was the finish. Owens was trying to walk out for the count out finish but Ambrose brought him back. Owens had Ambrose in the tree of woe and wouldn’t break the five count for the disqualification. Crowd hated the finish. Owens announced himself as the champion and said “The Kevin Owens Show has just begun.” He went to pick up Ambrose but Ambrose hit Dirty Deeds for the huge pop.
Divas Champion Charlotte vs Becky Lynch went to a no-contest (5:32)
Charlotte did some Ric Flair spots such as the flip over the ropes in the corner, and Becky mocked the Ric Flair strut a time or two. Becky rolled Charlotte into the ring and hen everything stopped. The ref checked on Charlotte, Becky sat aside and doctors came to the ring. They stopped the match when Charlotte was busted open hard way. It looked like it was either when Becky charged Charlotte down the aisle and hit her or when Becky rolled her into the ring.
United States Champion Kalisto (c) beat Sheamus (roughly 13 minutes)
Sheamus stood on the middle rope in the corner for nearly a minute before the match to aggravate the crowd. They stalled a lot pre-match. Sheamus was bumping everywhere for Kalisto. Sheamus rammed Kalisto back first into the post for the heat. Kalisto hit a big moonsault during his comeback and kicked Sheamus square in the face. Ref put the gloves on. Sheamus hit White Noise from the middle rope for a near fall. Sheamus missed a Brogue Kick, Kalisto rolled to the apron, hung Sheamus on the top rope and hit the Salina del Sol for the CLEAN PIN. Crowd popped for the finish and I forgot to stop my timer because I was shocked Sheamus was pinned clean.
Kane beat Bray Wyatt in a street fight (13:10)
Kane received a solid pop and many fans stood for his entrance. 90 seconds into the match they brawled in the aisle. Kendo stick was introduced by Wyatt when Kane tried bringing him into the ring. Wyatt beat the hell out of Kane with the kendo stick but Kane whipped Wyatt pretty good when he took it away. Wyatt then brought a chair into the match DDTd Kane on the chair.
Kane went for a chokeslam, Wyatt hit a low blow and a slightly botched Sister Abigail but Kane kicked out. Wyatt kicked out of a chokeslam. Crowd chanted “Table Table Table” and Kane got one. Kane set up a table and choke slammed Wyatt for the clean pin. Crowd popped huge for the spot and most instantly hit the exits. Show ended about 10:15 pm local.
Kane cut a promo afterward. “I’ve been in WWE for a long time. Minneapolis is still one of the greatest cities that we come to. Thanks for being such an awesome audience.”
I’m here at the Arnold Classic for the NXT show in Columbus, Ohio tonight in front of a sold-out house.
Asuka beat Alexa Bliss
Big reaction for Asuka and also a good one for the hometown girl Bliss. This was all Asuka, nailing the Yes Kicks and finally applying the Asuka Lock for the submission.
Johnny Gargano and Tomaso Ciampa beat The Vaudevillains
The Vaudevillains were obviously the heels tonight. There was a lot of ‘Johnny Wrestling’ chants and the match built to a hot tag. The big finish saw Johnny as the legal man get the pin after double low angle superkicks on Gotch.
Apollo Crews beat Tye Dillinger
Dillinger’s first match back from injury got a great reaction then he did some heel mic work pre match to give Apollo a big entrance. Very good match including NXT chants from the crowd. Big Apollo Slam for the win.
Eva Marie and Nia Jax beat Billie Kay and Peyton Royce
Major heat on Eva. Nia hit a big Samoan Drop and allowed Eva to get the pin.
Sami Zayn beat Baron Corbin
Great reactions for both in their own ways as Baron soaks in the booos and Sami is beloved. Slow start to the match with Baron winning a test of strength, then hitting some great looking punches with Sami just making the count of ten. Big fired up comeback by Zayn including a dive off the entrance way a blue thunder bomb and after nearly connecting once before, hits the Helluva Kick for the win.
GM William Regal welcomes us back from intermission and speaks highly of the roster. An NXT chant leads to him giving us what we want, more NXT action.
NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival beat American Alpha
Excellent match. The heels used the ring and worked the ref to keep Gable isolated until the big hot tag to Jordan. As per usual, Jason Jordan has the best hot tag in wrestling. The straps came down, then went back up, then back down. That’s how wild he ran. Suplexes, dropkicks, backdrops. Alpha had Revival set up for the German yet Dash held Jordan’s feet, then pulled Jordan out of the ring and held Gable’s feet during a sit out pin by Dawson to steal the win. Post match, we had “Yay – Booo” spots when the champs and challengers lifted their arms.
NXT Women’s Champion Bayley beat Emma
Superstar reaction for Bayley. Emma got a lot of punishment in early and the crowd just chanted and sang for Bayley. Good action here with Bayley firing up after refusing to feel the pain of being rammed in to the turn buckle padding. Belly To Bayley for the win.
NXT Champion Finn Balor beat Samoa Joe
Huge reactions for both men, dueling chants at times. Finn took a lot of punishment from the big man. These two always work great together. Finn hit the running dropkick and the Bloody Sunday ddt for the win. No top rope stomp tonight. Post match, Finn celebrated with the crowd and put up the gun sign.
From Atlanta, GA’s Philips Arena, taped for Wednesday in Canada and Thursday in the U.S.
Dean Ambrose opened the show sitting on a chair in the ring. He said that some people have five-year plans, but he has a five second plan. He said it sometimes gets him in trouble like when Brock Lesnar throws him through a windshield or HHH beats him down, but it sometimes works because he’s got a world title match. He wondered if he’d have to defend against Lesnar or HHH after he wins the title.
Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens came out and said he’s the IC champion and there are no contenders for him around. Owens insulted Ambrose and tried to attack him, but Ambrose nailed him with a chair.
– Sheamus & Rusev beat The Usos when Sheamus pinned Jimmy after a Brogue kick. After the match, the Dudleys came out and attacked the Usos. The Dudleys had a table but refused to use it.
– Dolph Ziggler beat The Miz for revenge for Raw.
– R-Truth was at catering. He apologized for how he’s been treating Goldust and said he would be his partner. Goldust refused and threw food in his face.
– Sasha Banks DDQ Becky Lynch when Charlotte attacked both of them.
– WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day did a promo building up their match with A.J. Styles & Chris Jericho on Raw on Monday.
– A.J. Styles beat Kofi Kingston
– Dean Ambrose beat I-C Champion Kevin Owens in a non-title match with the Dirty Deeds.
Crowd was pretty dead for this match who didn’t know who Corbin was. Corbin won with End of Days.
– Sin Cara vs. Stardust
Good pop for both, good match. Crowd really into chanting “Cody”. Sin Cara went over.
– R-Truth vs. Adam Rose
R-Truth wins with help from Goldust.
– Alberto Del Rio vs. U.S. Champion Kalisto
Good match. Kalisto wins. Crowd really into the match.
– Team B.A.D. vs. Summer Rae and Sasha Banks
Summer and Sasha win. Crowd into Sasha. “We want Sasha ” chants throughout match.
– Sheamus vs. Mark Henry
Sheamus wins.
– Dean Ambrose vs. I-C Champion Kevin Owens
Ambrose wins via DQ I think for refusing to stop kicking Ambrose in the corner? Owens gets on mic, downtalks Evansville and a kid with a sign that said “sux” instead of “sucks”. Ambrose hits the dirty deeds. Crowd goes home happy.
Overall, it was a good, solid house show. Ambrose and Owens by far the most over people all night.
There were loud, lengthy “Cody” chants, which Stardust acknowledged on the house mic, saying, “It’s not Cody. It’s Stardust.”
– R-Truth d. Curtis Axel w/ Adam Rose
Goldust saved R-Truth from a two-on-one situation and they teased Golden Truth’s formation with a “maybe” from R-Truth, the two dancing together, the two going backstage together, etc. It’s also worth mentioning that Axel appears to have gotten busted open near the finish as there were drops of blood outside of the ring where he fell near the finish, which I’m pretty sure WWE’s social media manager inadvertently mopped up with his pants while filming the Truth & Goldust mic work from his cell phone.
– US Champion Kalisto d. Alberto Del Rio to retain
The finish involved a turnbuckle that ADR exposed, which backfired on him.
– Sasha Banks & Summer Rae d. Naomi & Tamina
Sasha played Ricky Morton during the majority of the match but somewhat telegraphed when the false tags were by not grabbing the tag rope consistently.
– Sheamus d. Mark Henry
Before the match, Sheamus cut a promo, offering not to embarrass Mark in front of a Louisville crowd who remembers his OVW days. Mark balked, Sheamus kept true to his word, and got the victory. Sheamus also did a strange rolling maneuver going up the aisle, which seemed planned.
– Dean Ambrose d. I-C Champion Kevin Owens via DQ
Owens was pummeling Ambrose in the corner and wouldn’t stop when the ref demanded that he break. Owens got on the mic and basically said that DQ was a ridiculous finish and he was going to show the crowd why he is the greatest IC Champion and WWE Superstar of all-time.
When Owens went to lift Ambrose off of the ground, presumably for a Pop-up Powerbomb, Ambrose countered into Dirty Deeds. It’s also worth mentioning that they teased Del Rio’s turnbuckle pad removal spot from earlier in the night but the ref caught it before it could be completely removed. Once Dean got out of the ring, he posed for numerous selfies with ringside fans.
*****
Overall, it was a solid show. I believe that the only three who were advertised locally to appear but did not were Paige, Natalya, & Dolph Ziggler. The top most section of the KFC Yum! Center was curtained off, which was likely a planned aspect of the ring configuration to begin with.
Slow paced for much of first half picked up in second half after close to 20 min of ring time. Ziggler wins via pin after hitting zig zag.
WWE Tag Champions The New Day vs. The Dudley Boyz vs. The Usos.
The New Day retains via pin after Dudleyz hit 3D on an Uso and clear Dudleyz of the ring. Pretty solid 11+ min match.
Rusev w/Lana vs. Neville
Lana cuts pre-match promo of basically nothing. Nothing special here. Rusev wins via submission with the accolade after 9 mins.
The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt ringside) vs. Big Show, Ryback, & Kane
Big Show gets big pop after a hot tag. Ryback, Kane, and Big Show win via pin after Big Show choke slam on Erick Rowan. Luke Harper walked off to back right before end of match. Possible injury? Could be nothing.
Team B.A.D. vs. Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks with special guest referee Alicia Fox
Sasha and Becky win via submission after Naomi taps out to banks statement. Solid 8 min match. Good ring work from Sasha here.
I-C Champion Kevin Owens vs. Dean Ambrose
Ambrose gets biggest pop of night so far. Ambrose wins by DQ after chair shot after 11 mins. Owens retains. Owens cuts promo about “losers from Ohio” and Ambrose hits Dirty Deeds to send Owens packing.
Street fight: Sheamus vs. Roman Reigns
Big pop for Reigns though not sure it beat out Ambrose (because Ambrose from Ohio possibly?). Kendo stick, chair, and tables involved. Each man goes through table. Reigns wins via pin after spearing Sheamus through table. Good 23+ min match.
