– Baron Corbin beat Dolph Ziggler with the End of Days.
– Titus O’Neil beat Curtis Axel after three backbreakers and the Clash of The Titus.
– WWE Tag Team Champons The New Day beat The Vaudevillians to retain the tag titles after a foot stomp from the top rope.
– NXT Women’s Champion Asuka submitted Becky Lynch with the Asuka lock to retain.
– John Cena & Usos beat The Club (AJ Styles/Gallows/Anderson). Cena got the pin. Post match, Cena cut a promo and allowed the Club to stay in the ring so they could get some recognition for their time in Japan.
– WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte submitted Natalya with the Figure 8 to retain.
– Shinsuka Nakamura pinned Kevin Owens after hitting the Kinshasa
– WWE Champion Dean Ambrose won a three way over Chris Jericho and Seth Rollins, pinning Jericho after hitting Dirty Deeds.
– WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day (Big E & Kofi Kingston) beat The Vaudevillains, Usos, and Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson to retain
This was an elimination match. Jimmy Uso pinned Gotch with a superkick in the first elimination, Anderson pinned Jimmy after the Magic Killer in the second elimination, and Kingston pinned Anderson to win the match.
– Dolph Ziggler pinned Curtis Axel after a superkick
– Baron Corbin pinned Titus O’Neil with the End of Days
– A.J. Styles did an interview and vowed to destroy John Cena in their match.
– NXT Women’s Champion Asuka beat Natalya to retain after submitting her with the Asuka lock.
– A.J. Styles pinned John Cena in 17:47
Styles went for a Pele kick but hit the refeee. Cena put Styles in the STF and he tapped out. Anderson & Gallows ran in and Cena beat them both down. Styles then hit Cena with the Styles clash. Anderson & Gallows & Styles were beating on Cena when the Usos came in for the save.
– WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte submitted Becky Lynch with the Figure Eight to retain
– Shinsuke Nakamura beat Chris Jericho with the Kinshasa
– WWE Champion Dean Ambrose beat Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins when he pinned Owens after hitting Dirty Deeds in a three-way to retain
– Show opens with KA and Gallows video, bashing the Usos.
Curtis Axel vs Titus O Neil
Axel bails from ring twice. Axel runs wild for a bit, Titus counters does his power spot. Titus wins via pop up power bomb.
Baron Corbin vs Dolph Ziggler
Crowd really into Ziggler. Corbin rolls out. After about 3 minutes of this, Ziggler attacks Corbin on the outside and rolls him in to get the match going. Corbin knees Ziggler for him to get the advantage for now. Ziggler counters Corbin does his comeback and neckbrealer into a 2 count. Ziggler tries for a clothesline and gets countered, Corbin for a 2 count. Ziggler hits famouser for a near fall. Corbin tries for End of Days, Ziggler hits super kick, crowd popped for that. Ziggler goes to the top, Corbin hits the ropes and End of Days for the win.
Gallows & Karl Anderson vs The Usos
As expected heavy Polynesian crowd, so the Usos got a very big pop. Usos get on offense, clothesline both KA and Gallows outside. Gallows hits one of the Usos against the ring post, almost gets counted out. The other Uso gets the hot tag, runs wild on KA. Usos win via a splash on Anderson.
NXT Women’s Champion Asuka vs. Natalya
Starting off with Nattie and Asuka doing Mat wrestling. Very shoots style match so far, crowd seems confused. Asuka does the hip thingy twice, Nattie gets on the outside does a Suplex on the floor. Nattie with the surfboard. Asuka hits a dropkick and they are both down. Nattie went for the sharpshooter, Asuka counters into Anklelock. Asuka hits her Asuka combination then gets Nattie into the Asuka lock for the win. After working a MMA hybrid match for the first few minutes, crowd got back into it when they went back into the wrestling,
WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day vs The Vaudevillians
Aiden English playing heel to start off. Woods cuts him off, hurricanrana for a near fall. English gets the tag in, Big E gets in as well. Big E does some dancing, crowd is into that. English gets a tag in beats down on woods. Big E gets the hit tag and starts belly to belly suplexing both guys. Vaudevillains hit the whirling dervish for a 2 count. Big E gets in and him and Xavier hit an assisted Big Ending for the win.
WWE Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs Charlotte
Crowd kinda split to start off, or that they like to woo… Starting off slow. Charlotte does the flair bump over the ropes and takes a powder to the outside. Charlotte kicks on the inside to take control. Charlotte in control for a while, Becky nits a electric chair counter into the turnbuckle. Becky firing back up, T bone Suplex for a near fall. Becky tries the Disarmer, Charlotte counters with the armbar power bomb spot. Charlotte misses a moonsault, Becky gets the Disarmer Charlotte has the rope break. Charlotte gets the figure 8 for the win.
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Kevin Owens
Owens beats down Nakamura right from the beginning. About half the crowd knows who Nakamura is. Owens mocks Nakamura’s corner stomp thingy. Crowd starts doing dueling Nakamura/Kevin Owens chants. Owens going to chinlock city. Owens taking the majority of the match until Shinsuke hits a counter wheel kick. Nakamura gets his corner kick in followed by the top of the rope knees. Owens hits a super kick for the near fall. Owens does a superplex from the top rope and crowd finally wakes up. Owens tries for a Senton, Shinsuke gets his knees up and hits a counter Knee for a near fall. Owens tries for the powerbomb, Shinsuke hits the Tiger Suplex and Kinshasa for the win.
WWE Champion Dean Ambrose vs. AJ Styles vs Chris Jericho vs Seth Rollins
Jericho cuts promo on the crowd. Crowd calls Jericho a mahu, he thinks it’s great. Rollins gets a nice pop, Ambrose got a great pop. Crowd wants Jericho to take scarf off, but he refuses. Crowd chants Mahu at him. AJ and Ambrose start off the match, AJ takes a powder, Jericho comes in. Kinda standard 4 way layout. Everyone starts ganging up on Ambrose. Jericho tried to steal pin, Ambrose goes out. Other 3 are fighting, then Rollins and Styles take out Jericho. AJ takes out Rollins and Jericho gets back in, tries for the walls of Jericho and missed. AJ cuts him off, AJ hits forearm to Jericho, Rollins hits suicide dive, Ambrose gets a top rope Elbow to all of them.
They all go for the super-duper plex. Crowd starts chanting “this is awesome” Jericho misses codebreaker, Ambrose tries for the Nigel clothesline, Jericho connects with the Codebreaker for a nearfall. Rollins comes back in hits AJ for falcon arrow for a two count. AJ gets the calf crusher on Seth and Jericho gets walls onto Dean for a double submission spot. Rollins hits Pedigree on Jericho, Ambrose hits the Nigel clothesline on Seth and Ambrose does dirty deeds on AJ for the clean pin.
I’m here at the Amway Center in Orlando, FL, for a WWE house show featuring some of NXT’s top talents.
– The Usos beat Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson
Superfly splash on Karl Anderson for the win.
– Pre taped promo by Samoa Joe and Austin Aries to hype the tag match vs Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura later in the night.
– Baron Corbin beat Zack Ryder
End of Days by Corbin for the win.
– Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura beat Austin Aries and NXT Champion Samoa Joe
Very good action as one would expect. Also, great reactions for Shinsuke and Finn.The finish saw everything break down and Finn hit the coup de grace on Aries for the win. Post match Too Sweets and stereo “YeaOh!”s to celebrate.
– Jack Swagger beat Viktor
Crowd was very into Swagger tonight with USA chants. They got excited for the Patriot Lock when he picked up the win.
– Pre-taped promo with Seth Rollins hyping his title match for later tonight.
– Cesaro beat Alberto Del Rio
Physical match that went outside of the ring to brawl. Plenty of uppercuts by Cesaro and even a short swing. Del Rio tried to set up for his corner stomp but missed, and Cesaro was able to hit The Neutralizer for the win.
– Sasha Banks, Summer Rae & Bayley beat Eva Marie, Dana Brooke & Natalya
Huge ovation for Bayley as the surprise third woman. Plenty of “We Want Sasha” chants, “Hey, We Want Some Bayley”, and big heat on Eva Marie as well. Bank Statement on Eva for the submission win.
– The Shining Stars beat The Prime Time Players
The PTP are reunited! Long match but both teams were over with the live crowd and did some cool spots which included Titus throwing the stars around. Primo rolled up Darren Young and had the tights to steal the win.
– WWE World Heavyweight Champion Dean Ambrose beat Seth Rollins
Great match as they delivered in the main event. Two attempted Pedigrees, trash talk, and heel stalling tactics from Rollins who took the title and proclaimed himself the rightful world heavyweight champion. This match got great reactions and the crowd was into every nearfall and double down. Towards the finish, Seth missed a frog splash and both slowly made their way to their feet, trading punches for the boo / yay reaction.
Seth went for the Pedigree, yet Dean countered and hit the Dirty Deeds to get the win. Place erupted and Ambrose celebrated his hard fought victory. Match of the night.
Knox was pretty over, really green but athletic. He won with a split-legged moonsault.
– Alexander Wolfe b Angelo Dawkins
Fulton was ejected for interference, but came back down for the finish. He distracted the ref, allowing Wolfe to rake the eyes and score the pinfall. More D’Lo chants for Dawkins, but he took it with good humour and did the old D’Lo head shake as he left the ring.
– Bayley and Carmella b Alexa Bliss and Peyton Royce
Good match that got better as it went on and Bayley was involved more. Baymella win after Bayley to Belly.
– Bobby Roode b No Way Jose
Roode wins with a spinebuster. Good pop for him after the fans realised who it was. Jose was pretty over, but the fans much preferred Roode. Big near fall towards the end with Jose hitting Roode with the discus punch for a believable near fall.
– Andrade Almas b Tye Dillinger
Dillinger got a huge reaction from the crowd with sustained “10” chants. There seemed to be more signs and talk about him than anyone else. He cut a promo to turn the crowd against him, but the people were so into his gimmick they continued to cheer. Not much of a reaction for Andrade (although he did get some “Cien” chants towards the end). Very solid match. Crowd loved the moonsault spot to end the match.
– American Alpha b NXT Champions The Revival by DQ
These teams are just great and work so well with each other – an abridged version of the latest TakeOver match, so naturally very good. Both teams have impeccable timing. Crowd really bought the titles changing hands after Alpha hit the Grand Amplitude, but the ref was pulled out for the DQ. Alpha really know how to work the crowd.
– NXT Women’s Champion Asuka b Nia Jax to retain
Jax had decent heat for her entrance, and Asuka was really over. Asuka hit the buzzsaw kick to the win in a decent match that was almost identical to their TakeOver encounter. Asuka got a decent reaction, quite a few “Asuka’s gonna kill you chants”. Very similar to the Takeover match – they did a fantastic spot with Asuka putting a standing guillotine on Jax who turned it into a stalling suplex for a near fall.
– Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura b Austin Aries and NXT Champion Samoa Joe
A fantastic main event with the crowd completely into it. Chants for all four men who seemed to relish the atmosphere. Joe responded to crowd taunts brilliantly. Finn got the hot tag before Nakamura hit the Kinshasha on Aries and Finn hit the Coup de Grace for the win. Balor thanked the fans, calling them the heart of the NXT universe.
Brilliant event overall – a crowd that was clearly incredibly happy to get NXT action.
A lot of the upper section was empty. Pre-show, Dasha interviewed some fans asking who they wanted to see tonight. Also, there was a pre-show vote to see a past NXT match: Rollins vs. Mahal, Neville vs. Zayn or Bayley vs. Banks. The latter won the vote so they showed highlights of the match.
Hugo Knox vs Wesley Blake
Fairly basic match. Crowd started chanting in the middle of the match but wasn’t into either superstar much. Knox won with a split leg moonsault on the second attempt after messing up the first one.
Alexander Wolfe & Sawyer Fulton vs. American Alpha
Loud pop when American Alpha’s music hit and a loud chant for American Alpha before the match had even started. Crowd chanted “Jordan give us a wave”. Crowd booed him when he didn’t but when Gable did a takedown in the ring, he waved to a big pop. After early back and forth action, Gable is worked on until he makes the hot tag to Jordan to a loud pop.
Match then ends quickly after two belly to belly suplexes and two German suplexes. AA wins with the double ankle lock spot and a double tap out. Post match, The Revival come out and cut a promo putting over the TakeOver title match from last week. They offer AA a tag title match, then change their mind and walk off before running to the ring to attack. AA then hit Grand Amplitude on Dash and count to 3 for a good pop.
Bobby Roode vs. No Way Jose
Roode comes out to generic music which confused the crowd until he walked out and the crowd popped for him. Good reaction for Jose. Crowd was into him. Comedy spots early in the match then mid match, Jose’s music plays and they both dance before Roode attacks Jose. Jose in control for a short while until Roode makes a comeback and wins with the Double A spinebuster.
Nikki Glencross & Peyton Royce vs. Carmella and Bayley
Good reaction for Carmella who cut her usual pre match promo. Bayley came out to loud pop, loudest so far. Crowd sang to her then sang Happy Birthday to her. Peyton and Nikki work over Bayley until she makes the hot tag to Carmella. Peyton tries to kick Carmella but hits Nikki instead. Carmella tags in Bayley who pins nikki with the Bayley to Belly for the win.
Tye Dillinger vs. Andrade Almas
Dillinger out to a loud pop and loud 10 chant. He cut a pre-match promo and revealed he was wearing a football shirt belonging to a rival team to a loud chorus of boos. Early part of the match saw the 2 of them play the crowd with the football shirt with Almas making Dillinger stamp on it. Fairly basic match with the odd high spot. Almas wins with the running double knees to Dillinger in the corner.
NXT Women’s Champion Asuka vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Nia Jax
Good reaction for Asuka, but little reaction for Alexa & Nia. Good back and forth action. Alexa was impressive in the match. Asuka makes a comeback after a few near falls and hits Alexa with a jumping knee and makes her submit to the Asuka Lock for the win.
Finn Balor & Shinuke Nakamura vs. Austin Aries & NXT Champion Samoa Joe
Good pop for Balor but really loud for Nakamura with the crowd singing his theme song during his entrance and after his music had stopped. Another good reaction for Joe as well. Good back and forth action with Balor getting the hot tag to Nakamura. The finish comes when Balor kicks Aries as he attempts a suicide dive followed by Nakamura hitting Aries with the Kinshasa followed by Balor hitting him with the Coup de Gras for the 3.
Post match, Balor cuts a promo on Liverpool and puts over Robbie Brookside, saying how he welcomed him to the Performance Centre and helped so many NXT stars and helped NXT as a whole. Balor and Nakamura then pose for the crowd to complete a good show.
Local crowd promo before match. Great reaction to Tye. Mid promo, it turned into cheap heel ‘your sports team sucks’ promo, but crowd still loved him. Knox wins with split legged moonsault. Knox looked very green, but is massive with a great look and moves incredibly well.
– Wesley Blake v Andrade Cien Almas
Blake’s ring gear is a weird combination of Bayley and Ultimate Warrior. Crowd more into mocking Blake than the actual match, though liked Andrade’s flashy offence. Andrade wins with double knees in the corner.
– Goldberg video game ad plays on the screen. Fans notice that Drake Younger is the referee.
– Sawyer Fulton & Alexander Wolfe v American Alpha
Mad Max style gimmick for the former. Couldn’t believe it was actually Fulton. Alpha are massively over, with the ‘no limit’ & ‘angle theme’ chants before the bell. Chad Gable may be the best pro wrestler I have ever seen. Just so quick, so smooth in his movements. Seemed even quicker on this house show than he did on television. USA Chant for Alpha in Dublin. That’s how over they were. Alpha win with Grand Amplitude.
The Revival run in afterwards, cut a promo, tease a title match then go to leave. Dash Wilder tries to ambush Alpha, is caught, get him in double ankle lock (each man had an ankle). Heels run to the back.
– No Way Jose v Austin Aries
Aries; ribs still taped. Crowd split on who to like. Aries was as good as he has been in the last few years, seems to have settled into NXT finally. Brief dance off spot to Jose’s music, Aries interrupts & ambushes Jose but gets massive cheers and ‘Thank you Aries’ chants. Any attempts to turn the crowd fail. Aries in control most of the match. Jose does his closing sequence (baseball swings, bulldog etc) for a near fall. No Way Jose wins with schoolboy roll up after Aries missed his discus elbow finish.
– Ad for Mania 33 on the big screen. Described Orlando as a “magical place where anything can happen”. Seemed weird they would play that promo so close to the shooting.
– NXT Women’s Champion Asuka v Peyton Royce
Asuka’s gonna kill you chant. Back and forth match. Asuka does her hip attack then pose sequence early. Peyton still a little rough but has improved immensely. Asuka is much better against someone her own size. Asuka wins with crossface chicken wing.
– Bobby Roode v Shinsuke Nakamura
Roode had generic theme & Titantron still. Great reaction for Roode, and there’s no other way to put this, lose their sh*t for Nakamura. ‘Holy sh*t’ and ‘this is awesome’ chants for the entrance alone. F*ck TNA chants. Crowd behind Roode as well, but Nakamura clearly the favourite. Beer Money chants throughout the match. Near fall with the spinebuster from Roode. Dublin crowd are normally appreciative but dead, but not here. Red hot throughout. Nakamura wins with the Kinshasa.
– Alexa Bliss & Nia Jax v Bayley & Carmella
I never have seen grown men fight so fiercely over pink wristbands in my life. Great chicken fight spot to start off. Great heel facials from Alexa. Same headlock & guillotine spots on Nia as in all of her matches. Bayley wins with Bayley-to-Bayley on Jax.
– NXT Champion Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor
Crowd red hot with chants for Finn. Joe hated with a passion. Back and forth match, everything looked great. Muscle Buster blocked, 1916/Bloody Sunday blocked. Joe gets Balor in his choke finish, Finn powers out. Balor closing sequence (sling blade, dropkick etc). Misses the double footstomp, and as he rolls through Joe grabs him & rolls him up for the win. Finn thanked the crowd for all their support.
Notes:
– Nakamura sold out almost immediately. Balor merch sold second to him, though they obviously had a lot of stock.
– Nakamura had the biggest reaction of the night. Some people around me were in tears during his entrance. Balor had a massive reaction as well, and it was more sustained than Shinsukes, but Nakamura had the better reaction out of the gate.
Knox is a former soccer player from England who looked decent but needs work. Tremendous body. Crowd chanted for Bailey during the match – didn’t care much about the in-ring action here.
– No Way Jose b Wesley Blake
Jose is super over. He got the crowd to do a Mexican wave after he won, and danced with the referee.
– Bayley & Carmella b Nikki Storm & Peyton Royce
Sloppy match. Bit disappointing from the NXT women. Lots of botched spots. Bayley was the best in-ring trying to cope with three girls who need a lot of work.
– Bobby Roode b Angelo Dawkins
Bobby played the heel, lots of stalling & running away from Angelo. Crowd did the stupid spot where they chant a different number than the referee. Longest match on the show so far. Roode won with a spinebuster — a finish that came out of nowhere.
– NXT Tag Champions The Revival b American Alpha to retain
The Revival worked over Gable for a long time. When Jordan finally tagged in, it was easily the biggest reaction for a hot tag I’ve seen live. All four of these guys have so much talent. Dawson got the pin after knocking Gable into an exposed turnbuckle.
Intermission
– Andrade Almas b Tye Dillinger
Great, fast paced match. Great showing for the former La Sombra.
– NXT Women’s Champion Asuka b Nia Jax & Alexa Bliss to retain
This felt like this had the potential to be great but it was sloppy at times. Seems like they weren’t on the same page. Asuka made Alexa tap with the Asuka lock.
– Shinsuke Nakamura & Finn Balor b NXT Champion Samoa Joe & Austin Aries
This was quite the spectacle to see so much talent in the ring at once, especially at a house show in Ireland. Match of the night. Balor got worked over for a while until the hot tag to Shinsuke. Place went nuts. Shinsuke pinned Aries with the Kinshasa. After the match, Finn and Nakamura did each other’s poses.
Overall, this was an excellent show with great wrestling and a good environment. Arena was taped off – around half the attendance of a WWE show.
