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WWE NEWS: Network Special News - NXT Title match result, Brock returns to the ring, Cena in main event, Divas Title match, Japanese wrestling acknowledged, more details

Jul 4, 2015 - 6:33:53 AM
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By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

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WWE Network Special News & Notes 7/4

-- Finn Balor captured the NXT Title from Kevin Owens in the semi-main event of the Network special from Tokyo, Japan, airing at 5:30 a.m. EST on WWE Network.

Balor, the former Prince Devitt wrestling for New Japan, received a hero's welcome capturing the title in his homecoming match. Afterward, 2015 WWE Hall of Famer Tatsumi Fujinami congratulated Balor on the win. But, Owens stuck to his heel character blowing off a post-match handshake with Balor.

Also, Hideo Itami, who is recovering from shoulder surgery, was shown in the crowd awaiting the winner of the NXT Title match.

-- Brock Lesnar, who the Network special was marketed around, returned to the ring for the first time since WrestleMania. Lesnar dismantled Kofi Kingston in two-and-a-half minutes, then took out New Day members Big E. and Xavier Woods to complete his work. Lesnar's match was positioned third on the six-match show.

-- The actual main event was U.S. champion John Cena & Dolph Ziggler defeating Kane & King Barrett in a house show-style tag match. Cena and Ziggler took a victory lap to close the special, without a post-match attack from Kevin Owens, who challenges Cena for the U.S. Title at the Battleground PPV in two weeks.

-- The other title match of the show was Nikki Bella retaining the Divas Title against Paige and Tamina in a three-way match.

-- The announcers for the special were Michael Cole and Byron Saxton, who were not shown on-camera. The live ring announcer was Eden Stiles. During the broadcast, Cole and Saxton talked about wrestling history in Japan, brought up WWE wrestlers's various backgrounds in Japan, and overall acknowledged a wrestling world outside of WWE.

-- Overall, the special was presented like a combination of a WWE PPV, NXT: Takeover event, and televised house show in a completely new setting of Tokyo, Japan. It would be like the first or second game of the MLB Season occurring at the Tokyo Dome where U.S. viewers know the game counts for the regular season standings (like Balor winning the NXT Title), but feels like an exhibition game in a cool, different environment.

[Torch art credit Travis Beaven (c) PWTorch.com]


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