This was the most amazing comedy match of the year in NXT. They all refused to wrestle the one-on-one combinations at each time and would tag out. Crawford and Sabbatelli would always go for the same move and end up connecting to a double down. Dawkins and Moss were getting into it while Crawford yelled and went wild on the apron.
Once Sabbatelli and Crawford got in, they compared abs before a marathon rope running session. Moss and Dawkins both connected with a strike and doubled down with Moss having an arm over for the pin. Crawford half passed out over the apron and took a sip from his party cup before they made their way to the back.
– Elias Samson defeated Adrian Jaoude
Swinging neckbreaker for Samson got the win after they worked a tough match.
– Liv Morgan defeated Macey Estrella
STO by Morgan for the win.
– HoHo Lun cut an in-ring promo where he said how beautiful Florida is. He was then interrupted and cornered by SAnitY until Heavy Machinery made the save.
– Heavy Machinery (Otis Dozovic & Tucker Knight) defeated SAnitY (Alexander Wolfe & Sawyer Fulton) via DQ
This was wild and had non-stop action. They battled all over the place until Nikki Cross caused the DQ. HoHo Lun then made the save to help run SAnitY off and celebrate to close the show.
NXT was in Ft. Pierce in what was a makeup show due to Hurricane Matthew. There were an estimated 350 in attendance.
– Patrick Clark defeated Tian Bing
This was the NXT singles debut of Tian Bing, the former Bin Wang, who is billed as 6’3″ 220 lbs from China. Bing made his NXT debut at a recent house show in a battle royal, and made his TV debut in this week’s tapings in the Dusty Classic teaming with HoHo Lun.
Patrick Clark of Tough Enough fame has taken to a persona based on the late musician Prince, with a sparkling headband and frilly white shirt. The bizarre Clark was able to steal the win with his feet on the ropes.
– Peyton Royce & Billie Kay defeated Liv Morgan & Aliyah
Kay was able to cause a distraction that allowed Royce to score the pin on Morgan
– Dallas Harper defeated Steve Cutler
The 6’9″ Harper was able to slam Cutler from way up there for the win
Cross sprayed Otis in the eyes with a can of something to cause the distraction. Knight and Otis were able to fend off the beat down after the match, and even threw Nikki Cross on to Fulton and Wolfe over the top rope to send them packing
– Ember Moon defeated Mandy Rose
Top rope diving stunner by Moon for the win
– Elias Samson cut a promo but was interrupted by Asuka, who Samson tried to imply has eyes for him. Asuka actually broke his guitar after Samson tried to lay a kiss on her.
Axel was a classic heel and played it well. Neville won with the Red Arrow.
– Braun Strowman defeated Goldust
This match was actually pretty good. Goldust started strong and got a lot of offense in, including some brawling on the outside. Back in the ring, Strowman gained control. He tried a kip-up and one point and failed, which got a little chuckle from the crowd. Strowman won with his bear hug.
– A video package played showing the recent tryouts that were held in China. The new Chinese signings then made their way into the ring and were introduced.
– Tian Bin (Bin Wang) defeated Bo Dallas
Obviously, Dallas played the heel, but was loved by a lot of the fans. There were several Bo-Lieve chants. Wang played his part well, and although it was clear that he’s still very new to this, he sold well and was believable. His offense was basic with strikes, a suplex, and he finished Dallas with a running powerslam. Dallas stayed down for a long time and played to the crowd afterwards, standing up, giving his thumbs up pose, and then falling down again. It was very entertaining.
– Raw Tag Team Champions The New Day defeated Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson and The Shining Stars in a triple threat match to retain their titles
Big E stayed on the outside, but remained one of the most entertaining parts of the match. It was a decent match, with the first few minutes spent playing to the crowd. New Day were tossing their t-shirts to fans. Standard stuff. Eventually one of the Shining Stars got the last t-shirt and wiped their armpit with it.
A few comedy spots in that match, and the crowd really enjoyed it. New Day got the win with a backbreaker/top rope double stomp combo.
– John Cena defeated Big Show
A ref was tightening the ropes before the match, a cue it was time for Big Show. I was shocked by the pop he got when his music hit. Show was pretty dominant for the most part. Towards the end, he had Cena in a chinlock or sleeper or something, and the ref raised Cena’s arm three times to check on him. Cena obviously kept his arm up on the third time, and eventually gained enough momentum to hit an AA. The match was decent.
– Roman Reigns defeated Chris Jericho
Jericho was out next to a very loud reaction. He cut a promo before the match. Reigns came out to face him, but Jericho refused to take off his scarf to start the match. He teased taking it off a few times, before Reigns got behind him and stole the scarf. He then put it on himself, and mocked Jericho’s teasing actions. He wiped the scarf on his armpit before throwing it into Jericho’s face. The ringside attendant then took the scarf away.
It was a good match. Reigns won with a spear after escaping the Walls of Jericho.
– WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte defeated Sasha Banks to retain her title
Charlotte worked the back, Banks made comebacks, and to avoid a clear and decisive win, Charlotte won with a roll-up.
– WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens defeated Sami Zayn and Seth Rollins in a triple threat match to retain his title
Great reactions for all. Owens wanted to be typical Owens by rolling out of the ring straight away to let the other two fight, but they lured him back in and started hammering him. They would pull one another off of Owens so they could have their turn to hit him — and that’s how they established heat between Zayn and Rollins. They each wanted to beat up Owens so badly that they got annoyed when the other got in their way.
Rollins hit a couple of suicide dives, Zayn hit his big tope dive, and there was a superplex/powerbomb tower spot that got a great crowd reaction. Owens hit a pop-up powerbomb for the finish.
The match was good, and Owens grabbed a mic afterwards. He said that he and Zayn obviously had their differences, but they started together years ago, and now here they are main eventing for WWE in China. “We made it!”, he said as he reached out his arm for a handshake from Zayn. As the two shook hands, the crowd cheered and applauded.
Then, the predictable boot in the gut from Owens. But before he could hit a move, Rollins came in, grabbed him and hit a pedigree on Owens. Owens went to the back as Rollins’ music hit. Rollins left Sami alone in the ring, and the show ended with Sami playing to the crowd.
Through the Hollywood Reporter, WWE announced a streaming deal with the Chinese service PPTV to air Raw, Smackdown, and PPV events in the country via Internet streaming starting on 6/28 with the shows airing a few hours after they air in North America.
Additionally, WWE announced the signing of their first Chinese-born talent, as well as a September 10th live event — their first event there in more than three years.
The WWE held a press event in Shanghai earlier today with Michelle Wilson, John Cena, Jay Li (Vice President and General Manager of WWE’s Shanghai office), Paul Levesque, as well as PPTV’s Stephen Zhang and Shanghai Expo’s Ding Hao present.
Up to this point, WWE had just a one hour edited version of Raw as its only television available in much of the country. The shows will air in Mandarin, and WWE will also debut a Mandarin language website.
PPTV and PPTV Sports will stream the shows on Smart TVs, set-top boxes, mobile devices, and tablets, as well as their websites. There will also be specialized Chinese programming on those services.
On the in-ring side, Bin Wang is now under a developmental deal, the first wrestler of Chinese ancestry to be with the promotion. Often known as Wang Bin, he has been a regular undercard wrestler for Antonio Inoki’s IGF promotion in Japan. The Inoki group first reported on his signing with WWE Wednesday night and wished him well. He starts this weekend with the promotion.
In conjunction with the news, WWE has reached a deal with Expo Group as live promoters, and announced a 9/10 live event at the Mercedes Benz Arena in Shanghai.
The WWE and UFC have both been attempting to open up shop in China. For both groups, it has been a slow-moving and often frustrating endeavor.
“Today’s historic announcements further demonstrate WWE’s long-term commitment to China,” said Vince McMahon. “Partnerships with PPTV and Expo Group, as well as the signing of Bin Wang, will enable us to engage our fans in China like never before.”
