My series on the history of pro wrestling in Madison Square Garden picks up in the new building in New York City: Madison Square Garden II.
William Muldoon is promoting suspicious boxing, suspicious wrestling, and mostly himself. Then, we get the arrival of possibly the most instantly over pro wrestler in history. You think Goldberg got over quick? You’ve heard tales of Danno O’Mahoney? Let me introduce you to the original Terrible Turk. And then, just like that, he died.
Date: July 25, 2022 Location: Madison Square Garden in New York City
The Big Takeaway —
There were some very minor differences but this was essentially the same Raw show as usual.
********
Show Recap —
No intro or recaps to start Raw. The show opened immediately with Miz and Logan Paul brawling in the middle of the ring until officials ran down to break them up.
Things quickly settled and they showed a clip of Miz charging out to the ring before they went on the air because Paul had called him out.
(Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves and Byron Saxton are on commentary as usual.)
*********
Roman Reigns, the Usos and Paul Heyman entered to officially kick things off at Madison Square Garden. They received a big mixed reaction including chants for Roman.
Reigns told MSG to acknowledge him. They did. Reigns said he didn’t feel like talking anymore so he handed the microphone over to Heyman.
The mic cut out as Reigns spoke and again as Heyman spoke. Heyman said they must have a sound guy from New Jersey. Heyman said, “We want your name written down, you’re the next one out the door.”
Heyman said Sunday would mark 700 days of Reigns as the champion but he knew that Brock Lesnar wanted to end Reigns’ party. Heyman noted that Lesnar ended Randy Couture when he was on top, ended Undertaker’s streak, and took John Cena to Suplex City when he was at his peak.
Heyman mentioned notable streaks in sports, whether it be the Red Sox vs. Yankees or The Rock vs. Stone Cold. However, you wouldn’t think about Lesnar alongside Reigns’ name anymore after Saturday. It was time for Lesnar to go back to Saskatchewan to slaughter hogs. In their final match against each other, Reigns would finally rid himself of Lesnar. The crowd chanted “Suplex City.”
Theory interrupted. He repeated his plan for SummerSlam again. Reigns told him to step in the ring and acknowledge his Tribal Chief. Theory was defensive as he entered the ring.
Reigns told Theory that he had no idea what to do with the briefcase so he offered him some advice. Reigns told Theory to analyze the situation. “Your daddy’s not here anymore.” This got a big pop from the crowd followed by chants of “daddy’s boy” and “who’s your daddy.” Reigns told him that the Garden belonged to him.
As the Bloodline left, Jey Uso smacked Theory in the back of the head. Theory responded by hitting him with the briefcase. Reigns held Jey back before he could go after Theory. Reigns settled things down and they left.
********
Theory was still in the ring after a break and was introduced to the live crowd. Before he could say much, he was interrupted by Drew McIntyre. I guess they’re having a match.
Drew McIntyre defeated Theory via disqualification (9:37)
This match featured your usual number of rapid camera cuts and it ended in a DQ.
McIntyre hit a Future Shock DDT and set up for the Claymore Kick but Theory rolled outside the ring. McIntyre went after him and dropped him onto the announce table which led to break. Theory briefly took the advantage after driving McIntyre into the steel steps but McIntyre came back with a vertical suplex and spinebuster for two.
As McIntyre set up for the Claymore again, Sheamus, Ridge Holland and Butch ran in for the DQ.
As they attacked McIntyre, Bobby Lashley ran down to make the save and they cleared the ring. Theory tried attacking from behind with the briefcase but they chased him away.
US Champion Bobby Lashley & Drew McIntyre defeated Theory & Sheamus (approx. 12:20)
This match featured interference and a distraction finish.
The match started during a break. Sheamus was amused by McIntyre chopping Theory but he used a distraction to knock down McIntyre and take control. The crowd chanted “we want Bobby” as Sheamus faked a tag to Theory. McIntyre headbutted Sheamus before tagging in Lashley.
Lashley gave Sheamus a delayed vertical suplex before giving Theory a flatliner. Lashley went to spear Theory through the barricade but Sheamus clocked him with a knee strike. Butch and Holland tried to attack McIntyre but McIntyre caught Butch and suplexed him onto Holland. The referee kicked them out and they went to another break.
They briefly had the heat on Lashley until he made the hot tag to McIntyre who hit Theory with a sit-out spinebuster for two. Lashley made a blind tag and gave Theory a chokeslam but Sheamus broke up the cover with a flying knee strike. McIntyre wiped out Sheamus but Sheamus poked him in the eye and gave him White Noise on the outside.
Theory set up for his finisher but got distracted by Dolph Ziggler who suddenly appeared at ringside so Lashley applied the Hurt Lock for the submission win.
— The Usos superkicked Theory after the match. Reigns placed the briefcase on Theory’s chest and sarcastically reminded him to bring it on Saturday.
********
There was a Rey Mysterio video package featuring words from JBL, Kurt Angle, Kofi Kingston, Batista, Randy Orton, AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, and John Cena. There was a clip of Rey early in his Smackdown run where he wiped out Lance Storm and Christian with a dive off the top of the steel cage as well as clips of Rey winning the 2006 Royal Rumble and winning the world title at WrestleMania 22. They also showed Rey and Dominik winning the tag titles.
Rey, Dominik, Aalyah and Angie were shown arriving at the building.
[SECOND HOUR]
The cryptic video aired.
Ziggler told Kevin Patrick that Theory has risen fast but hasn’t done anything to earn it. AJ Styles approached him and basically agreed with him. Alpha Academy showed up to mock them and challenge them to a match. Styles and Ziggler accepted.
********
Rey Mysterio’s 20th-anniversary celebration
Rey and Dominik entered. The crowd chanted “thank you, Rey.”
Rey mentioned having his first match at 14 years old in Tijuana and never imagined back then that he would perform in a WWE ring, travel the world, make money, and create legendary rivalries for the crowd to enjoy.
Rey said guys his size were not part of the business back then but he broke the blueprint of what a superstar should look like. He was a smaller guy and a proud Latino who went on to win the world title.
Rey thanked Dean Malenko, Konnan (“K-Dog”), Batista, Kurt Angle, Edge, and of course, Eddie Guerrero. The crowd chanted for Eddie. Rey choked up as he told Eddie how much he missed him. He thanked Eddie for always watching over him.
Rey was humble and appreciated the love and support the fans have given him over the years. Rey said it meant that much more to be able to celebrate it with his family. The crowd chanted “you deserve it.”
Rey thanked Angie and Aalyah for always being there. He told Dominik that he was proud of him. Rey knew that Dominik would represent the Mysterio legacy to the fullest when he no longer could.
Rey thanked the fans for always accepting him and for the most awesome 20 years. Rey especially wanted to thank the fans at the Garden. Rey spoke in Spanish and said, “Viva mi Raza!”
Finn Bálor and Damian Priest approached through the crowd and sarcastically applauded as they went to break.
********
Rey & Dominik Mysterio defeated Finn Bálor & Damian Priest (approx. 10:30)
Dominik tried a dive but Priest caught him and chucked him into the barricade. Rey made a hot tag after a break and hit Priest with a springboard crossbody, kicks and a seated senton for two. Priest responded with a thrust kick for two.
Priest tried a Razor’s Edge but Rey brought him down with a hurricanrana. As Rey set up for a 619, Bálor made a blind tag and killed Rey with a clothesline. Bálor followed with a shotgun dropkick and Coup de Grace but Dominik broke up the cover.
Bálor tried the Eddie Guerrero trick by chucking a chair at Rey before taking a bump. Dominik had the ref distracted though so Rey chucked it back at Bálor and took a bump himself. As Bálor pleaded with the ref, Rey dropped both members of Judgment Day on the ropes and the Mysterios followed with 619s.
Rey gave Bálor a frog splash for the pinfall win. The crowd popped big for the win.
The celebration and match finish was a big thumbs up.
********
They aired clips of Titus O’Neil and Cody Rhodes (with Brandi Rhodes) at the ESPYs.
********
Mysterios/Judgment Day angle
Rey’s extended family was shown celebrating in the back. Rey and Dominik entered to celebrate with them and Rey took a shot of tequila. Aalyah had a gift for him: his original gear from Halloween Havoc 1997. Rey was surprised to see it and said he’s been looking everywhere for it.
Rhea Ripley entered the room. Aalyah told her to back off. It was a distraction and the Mysterios were attacked by Bálor and Priest. They put Rey through a table.
(During the ambush, Bálor yelled, “it’s not your anniversary, it’s my birthday!” which was pretty damn funny.)
********
Bianca Belair/Becky Lynch segment
This was supposed to be a promo by Bianca Belair but she was immediately interrupted by Becky Lynch. Belair was in the middle of her catchphrase when Lynch decked her. Belair fought back and they brawled until officials broke it up.
********
Sarah Schrieber asked Alexa Bliss about having Doudrop again. Bliss couldn’t blame Doudrop for asking for this match again but what she didn’t understand was her relationship with Nikki ASH. Bliss didn’t think they seemed to be gaining anything from it, unlike her and Lily. She claimed Lily was independent and made her own money — she was even number one on WWE Shop.
Bliss got serious and informed Belair and Lynch that she was coming for the winner of their match at SummerSlam.
********
Medical staff checked on Rey in the back when Bálor and Priest showed up to mock him so Dominik chased them away. Ripley booted Rey and wished him a happy anniversary. Dominik returned to check on Rey.
Alexa Bliss defeated Doudrop (w/Nikki ASH) (4:22)
Bliss set up for Twisted Bliss but Nikki knocked her off the ropes. It didn’t matter though because Bliss countered a Doudrop powerslam into a DDT for the pinfall win.
The crowd was silent for this.
********
AJ Styles told Logan Paul that he liked what he did to Miz earlier. Styles told Paul that he didn’t really like him that much (“I don’t know you that well”), but he liked Miz even less. He told Paul to do us all a favour and shut the Miz’s mouth at SummerSlam. They bumped fists.
[THIRD HOUR]
impaulsive TV with host Logan Paul
Logan Paul noted that his brother would be fighting in MSG next week which drew a smattering of boos. He said that was next week but tonight was the debut of “impaulsive TV.” He called out Miz.
Miz didn’t show but Maryse did. She plugged her show before warning Paul to never talk about her kids again. She didn’t appreciate Paul’s comments about Miz’s “package.” (Maryse had a purse or something shaped like silver balls.) She said Miz had average-sized testicles and Paul wondered who measured their testicles.
Miz entered to his music and said he measures his testicles. He warned Paul that he was getting big-match Miz at SummerSlam. Paul told him to shut up. Paul mentioned his balls again so Maryse tried smacking the mic out of his hand. Paul said she had bigger balls than Miz.
Ciampa tried attacking from behind but Paul fought him off. Paul tackled Miz so Ciampa pulled him off and they double-teamed him until Miz gave him a Skull Crushing Finale. There was a modest “one more time” chant as Miz and Ciampa stood tall.
This was quite bad.
********
Patrick interviewed the Street Profits and the Usos. Jeff Jarrett (wearing a referee shirt five days early) stood between them. The teams exchanged words before Jarrett told them to shut up. He warned them to keep the peace or else.
********
Chad Gable told New York not to boo an Olympian and not to boo a man with a Master’s degree who did it with a 4.0 GPA. He warned them that the island they live on would collapse to the bottom of the ocean under the weight of human garbage and that was just science speaking. He said Ziggler and Styles weren’t a real team and would fail just like the Knicks.
AJ Styles & Dolph Ziggler defeated Alpha Academy (7:29)
They went to break a minute into the match and Alpha Academy took control during the break after Otis dropped Styles onto the barricade. Ziggler made a tag but was quickly cut off by Otis. Gable followed with the Chaos Theory suplex (he used this recently as a finisher but didn’t go for a cover here). Gable tried a moonsault but Ziggler dodged and hit a superkick. Otis broke up the cover so Ziggler and Styles worked together to take him out.
Styles blocked a Gable suplex attempt and Ziggler gave him a Zig-Zag for the pinfall win.
********
The announcers ran down the SummerSlam card. A no disqualification match between the Mysterios and Judgment Day was added to the show.
********
I feel obligated to do this before the main event every week, so here goes:
10:28pm – Bloodline enter 10:31pm – Commercial break 10:35pm – Street Profits enter 10:36pm – Riddle enters 10:37pm – Main event begins 10:40pm – Commercial break 10:44pm – Main event resumes, heat on the babyfaces 10:49pm – Commercial break 10:53pm – Main event resumes 10:57pm – Main event concludes
Six-man tag team match: Universal Champion Roman Reigns & Tag Team Champions The Usos vs. Riddle & The Street Profits (19:23)
This opened with the usual sequence. Ford wiped out the Usos with a flip dive which led to break less than three minutes into the match and the heels were randomly in control after the break.
Ford (who earlier yelled, “acknowledge me” at Reigns) briefly ran wild before Reigns cut him off with a Uranage. Ford got busted open at some point here (possibly after getting driven into the turnbuckle).
The Bloodline continued to work over Ford after another break. Reigns knocked Angelo Dawkins off the apron as he set up for a spear and the distraction allowed Ford to hit a blockbuster.
Riddle tagged in and handed out suplexes and sentons to Jimmy and Jey Uso before wiping them out with a dive. Riddle gave Jimmy a powerslam but Reigns had tagged himself in and hit a superman punch.
Ford broke up the cover and took out Jey with a dive. Jimmy knocked down Ford with a suicide dive before Dawkins tackled the Usos into the barricade. Reigns then drove Dawkins into the steel steps.
The crowd popped for Riddle who gave Reigns a draping DDT. However, Reigns blocked an RKO and hit a spear for the pinfall win.
— Seth Rollins entered after the match as the Bloodline was leaving. Rollins and Reigns exchanged looks before Rollins attacked Riddle. He hit Riddle with the steel steps and stomped him. Rollins hit one more stomp onto the steel steps.
Roman Reigns has been added to WWE’s return to Madison Square Garden this summer.
Madison Square Garden in New York City announced today that Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Reigns will be appearing when Raw takes place at Madison Square Garden on Monday, July 25. Reigns originally wasn’t advertised for the event.
Reigns has also been added to the Friday, July 22 episode of SmackDown at TD Garden in Boston.
As part of a new contract he’s signed with WWE, Reigns will be working a reduced schedule going forward. Dave Meltzer spoke about Reigns’ new schedule on an episode of Wrestling Observer Radio last week:
Basically, Roman Reigns is not gonna be on every pay-per-view. He’s off the Chicago show [Hell in a Cell], [which is] the next pay-per-view on June 5. He will be doing pay-per-views this summer. Even though he was removed from all the advertising after June 24 I believe it is — yeah, June 24 in Austin. He’s been removed from all advertising from house shows, TVs, everything except for the two stadium shows [Money in the Bank and SummerSlam], but he will do TVs to build up those shows. So it’s not like he’s not gonna be on TV, but he’s not gonna be doing a lot of dates. And from what I understand, the shows he will be on, eventually — probably sooner than later — they’ll start advertising him. So the dates will be known, it’s not like it’s gonna be like they’re gonna put him on TV without advertising him. But that’s the basic situation.
As part of my series looking at the history of pro wrestling at “The World’s Most Famous Arena,” I conclude with all the wrestling events held at the first Madison Square Garden (Gilmour’s Garden) which featured the biggest act of the time in William Muldoon.
It’s so amazing looking back on the New York wrestling scene during this era and how it was so obviously worked and manipulated. Crowds were pretty impressive during these three years and Muldoon used every opportunity to work the press about his matches.
Enjoy this look at the last shows of MSG I from 1880 through 1883.
Bryan Alvarez and MIke Sempervive are back with tons to talk about including the fallout from AEW Revolution, all the matches and angles, contrasting it to WWE at MSG, WWE Raw tonight, WrestleMania and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
After Brock Lesnar retained his Universal Championship against Austin Theory in the main event of the house show, he was attacked by Roman Reigns. Lesnar was able to fight off Reigns and then fight off The Usos. But as Lesnar had Paul Heyman cornered, Reigns hit Lesnar in the back with a steel chair.
Reigns attacked Lesnar with the chair and the ring steps. With Lesnar bloody from the attack, Reigns gave him a Rock Bottom on the steps. The show ended with Reigns standing over Lesnar while holding both the WWE Championship and Universal Championship title belts. Reigns told Lesnar to acknowledge him.
Reigns also had a title defense at Madison Square Garden, retaining against Seth Rollins.
The Madison Square Garden house show had been mentioned on Raw and SmackDown leading into last night. Theory wasn’t revealed as Lesnar’s opponent until their match was about to start.
A winner-take-all title unification match between Lesnar and Reigns will headline WrestleMania 38 night two on Sunday, April 3. The show is being held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
WWE returned to Madison Square Garden tonight for a house show event featuring wrestlers from both SmackDown and Raw. The main event, which originally was set to be Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley, instead had a mystery challenger as Lashley in storyline was “under concussion protocol”.
Alpha Academy (Chad Gable and Otis) defeated RK-Bro (Randy Orton and Riddle) to retain the Raw Tag Team titles. Otis pinned Riddle with a Vader bomb. Orton and Riddle laid out Alpha Academy with RKOs after the match.
Finn Balor defeated Damian Priest by disqualification to retain the WWE United States Championship. Priest low blowed Balor after avoiding the coup de grace for the DQ.
The Usos defeated Big E and Kofi Kingston to retain the SmackDown Tag Team titles.
Becky Lynch defeated Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley to retain the Raw Women’s Championship. Belair planted Ripley with the KOD, but Lynch threw Belair out of the ring and covered Ripley to win.
Roman Reigns defeated Seth Rollins. Reigns submitted Rollins with the guillotine choke.
The Miz hosted Miz TV with special guest Kevin Owens. During their conversation, Owens brought up what happened with Logan Paul at last year’s WrestleMania. Miz asked for a reminder, and Owens responded with a stunner to Miz. As Owens made his way to the back, he came across Sami Zayn. The two hugged, but Zayn seemed reluctant in doing so.
Drew McIntyre defeated Sami Zayn.
Ronda Rousey and Naomi defeated Charlotte Flair and Sony Deville. Rousey submitted Flair with an armbar.
Brock Lesnar defeated Austin Theory to retain the WWE Championship.
After Lesnar defended the title, Roman Reigns and The Usos attacked Lesnar. Initially, Lesnar got the better of them, but the Bloodline were eventually able to take him out. The show ended with Reigns standing over Lesnar on top of steel steps holding both world titles.
In recent weeks, WWE had been pushing tonight’s house show, with both Paul Heyman and Reigns saying that Lesnar may not even make it to WrestleMania. Lesnar is scheduled to face Reigns in the main event of the second night of WrestleMania on April 3, where both the WWE and Universal titles will be on the line in a title unification match.
Bobby Lashley is no longer being advertised for WWE’s upcoming Madison Square Garden event.
WWE Live: Road to WrestleMania is set for Madison Square Garden on Saturday, March 5, a show that was originally advertised as being headlined by Brock Lesnar defending the WWE Championship against Lashley. The advertising has been changed to simply state that Lesnar will defend the WWE title on the show, with all references to Lashley removed.
Lashley, 45, suffered a shoulder injury in his Royal Rumble match against Lesnar on January 29. His only match since was at Elimination Chamber on February 19, where an angle was shot to quickly take him out of the match. In storyline, it was explained as “concussion protocol.”
Dave Meltzer reported on Monday that Lashley was visiting Birmingham, Alabama to have the shoulder injury examined, likely at the world-renowned Andrews Sports Medicine & Orthopedic Center. If the injury required surgery, Lashley would be expected to miss months of action.
The Road to WrestleMania show at MSG is a dual-branded house show. The current advertised lineup:
Brock Lesnar will defend the WWE Championship
Roman Reigns will defend the WWE Universal Championship
Raw Women’s Championship: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Bianca Belair vs. Rhea Ripley
Ronda Rousey & Naomi vs. Charlotte Flair & Sonya Deville
SmackDown Tag Team Championship: The Usos (c) vs. Big E & Kofi Kingston
On this week’s DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show, we travel back in time to the pioneer era of wrestling — 1877 — to see the first actual non-tournament pro wrestling cards at New York City’s Madison Square Garden.
At this point, MSG was still known as Gilmore’s Garden but these shows were drawing sizable crowds for the day. James Owens, Charles Murphy, William Miller and Prof. Thiebaud Bauer all competed there. There was even a championship belt at stake.
Ronda Rousey will be in action when WWE returns to Madison Square Garden this March.
Madison Square Garden has announced that Rousey has been added to WWE’s house show in New York City on Saturday, March 5. The MSG event is part of WWE’s Road to WrestleMania house show tour.
Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Bobby Lashley, Charlotte Flair, Bianca Belair, Randy Orton, Riddle, AJ Styles, Damian Priest, and The Street Profits are also advertised for the MSG house show. There haven’t been any matches announced yet.
Rousey will also be wrestling at WWE’s house show at Place Bell in Laval, Quebec, Canada on Sunday, March 6. It’s been advertised that she’ll team with Sasha Banks against Charlotte & Shayna Baszler.
Rousey wrestled at Madison Square Garden twice in 2018, defeating Nia Jax at two house shows.
At the Royal Rumble last Saturday, Rousey made her return to WWE and won the women’s Royal Rumble match. It was the first time Rousey has appeared for WWE since WrestleMania 35 in 2019.
WWE has announced that Rousey will reveal which championship she’s going to challenge for at WrestleMania 38 on tonight’s episode of SmackDown. It’s expected that Rousey will face Charlotte for the SmackDown Women’s Championship at WrestleMania.
On this week’s DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show, it’s the debut of a new series looking at the history of pro wrestling at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Perhaps the most famous arena in the world, MSG has changed quite a bit over the years and we will talk about the venue’s different owners and locations as well.
We begin by going back to the original Gilmour’s Gardens (soon to be MSG) and the first wrestling star there: Andre Christol and the great tournament of 1875.
The effects of the rapidly spreading Omicron variant of COVID-19 led to a number of major changes and precautions in WWE.
Among the names advertised who didn’t appear on shows this week were Roman Reigns, Big E, Becky Lynch, Seth Rollins, Bianca Belair, Bobby Lashley, Queen Zelina, Shinsuke Nakamura, and King Woods.
Omos worked on 12/26 in Madison Square Garden but didn’t work Raw where he was scheduled, advertised on the show, plugged during the show (although he had gone home), and pulled from the house show the next night. Omos was scheduled on Raw in a match with A.J. Styles which was awkward in the way it was handled since the match was advertised all night even though Omos wasn’t there. Liv Morgan, who is in the women’s title match on Saturday’s PPV show, meaning one would think she’d be on TV with a skeleton crew, was not on either show, although she was never advertised for MSG and wasn’t on the Raw house shows either.
With COVID-related changes disrupting the card for Sunday night’s house show at Madison Square Garden, WWE brought Edge to New York City for a first-time match.
Edge defeated Kevin Owens in a steel cage match in the main event of the Madison Square Garden house show. WWE Champion Big E was originally supposed to defend his title against Owens and Seth Rollins in a triple threat steel cage match, but Big E and Rollins weren’t at the show. Rollins indicated on Twitter that he had tested positive for COVID-19.
On Instagram, Edge wrote about wrestling Owens for the first time. Edge noted that facing Owens was on his short list of things to do when he was told that he’d be able to wrestle again:
Funny thing happened on my way to Detroit. I ended up in Madison Square Garden in a cage match against Kevin Owens. When I first got word I could wrestle again, this match was on my short list of things to do before I retire(for the last time). Have a feelin we’ll see each other again.
An NXT Championship match with Tommaso Ciampa retaining against Pete Dunne was also added to the Madison Square Garden house show.
Edge will be in Detroit for tonight’s Raw, which is set to feature a segment where The Miz and Maryse will “renew their wedding vows.” Edge vs. Miz is set for this Saturday’s WWE Day 1 pay-per-view.
WWE returned to Madison Square Garden tonight for a house show featuring Raw talent.
The card had to be changed due to some wrestlers being unable to appear. The original main events had Big E defending the WWE Championship against Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins in a Triple Threat match and Becky Lynch defending the Raw Women’s Championship against Bianca Belair, both inside steel cages. Only Owens ended up appearing on tonight’s show.
The results are as follows.
It was announced prior to the show starting that some talent would be unable to appear due to COVID reasons. It wasn’t specified who.
Edge opened the show saying he got a call on Christmas Eve to make tonight’s show. Kevin Owens then came out, setting the stage for the main event.
Finn Balor defeated T-BAR with the coup de grace.
Alpha Academy defeated The Dirty Dawgs after Otis pinned Roode with a splash off the ropes.
Tommaso Ciampa defeated Pete Dunne to retain the NXT Championship
Natalya defeated Nikki A.S.H. Prior to the match, Natalya had said she would make history by defeating two superstars back-to-back in the fastest time possible.
Rhea Ripley defeated Natalya by submission.
Randy Orton and Riddle defeated The Mysterios and The Street Profits to retain the Raw Tag Team titles. Orton won the match after hitting an RKO on Mysterio.
Damian Priest defeated The Miz to retain the WWE United States title.
AJ Styles defeated Omos by DQ. Styles had attempted to use a chair on Omos as the referee was repairing a turnbuckle. Omos grabbed the chair, and Styles pretended that he had been hit, leading to the DQ in his favor.
Edge defeated Kevin Owens in a Steel Cage match. The finish had Miz entering the cage and attacking Edge. Damian Priest came out for the save. Edge then hit the spear on Owens for the win.
A new NXT Championship match has been added to tonight’s WWE house show event in Madison Square Garden.
It was announced on Madison Square Garden’s Twitter that Tommaso Ciampa will defend the NXT Championship against Pete Dunne.
“JUST ANNOUNCED: @NXTCiampa defends his #WWENXT Championship against @PeteDunneYxB TONIGHT at #WWEMSG!,” they wrote.
Already scheduled for tonight’s show are two cage matches. Becky Lynch will defend the Raw Women’s Championship against Bianca Belair, while Big E will defend the WWE Championship against Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens in a triple threat match.
Ciampa in recent weeks has been feuding with Bron Breakker, rekindling their initial feud over the NXT Championship. The two will meet again in another title match at New Year’s Evil, a special edition of NXT that will take place on January 4. Pete Dunne, meanwhile, was laid out at the end of last Tuesday’s NXT, where Tony D’Angelo assaulted Dunne after Dunne defeated him.
