SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
WWE NXT Live Results
December 14, 2015
Nottingham, England at Capital FM Arena
Report by Stewart Brookes, PWTorch reader
It looked about as full as the last WWE house show I saw here in 2013, so I would guess around 3,500-4,000 people. It wasn’t a sell out, however as some of the upper areas were curtained off.
(1) Enzo & Big Cass beat Blake & Murphy. Neither duo bought their valet with them, as they would be out later. Enzo & Cass were extremely popular and were a great way to get the crowd going. A good comedy match which ended with Air Enzo.
(2) Bull Dempsey beat Tye Dillinger. Both men got babyface reactions on the way out, but Dillinger slowly began to play heel throughout the bout, despite the crowd being into the ‘10’ routine. Another well-received comedy bout based around the ‘Bullfit’ gimmick. Dempsey won with a seated senton.
(3) Samoa Joe pinned Apollo Crews clean with the Muscle Buster. Possibly the most serious match of the evening. The crowd was probably a little bit more into Joe than Crews, but there were a fair few ‘Uhaa’ chants throughout.
(4) NXT Women’s champion Bayley & Asuka beat Nia Jax & Emma (w/Dana Brooke). A good tag team match with Bayley & Nia kept apart for much of the bout. Dana interfered several times from the outside. I’m convinced that Asuka-Nia will be the next big Women’s match that NXT spends the next six months building to, and their interactions here were good. Bayley and Asuka bowed down to each other after the match.
Intermission, followed by William Regal coming out to a standing ovation to thank the fans for helping NXT grow.
(5) NXT tag champions Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder beat Jason Jordan & Chad Gable to retain the NXT Tag Team Titles, utilising the Warrior-Rude WM5 finish. Jordan and Gable were BY FAR the most over act of the night, more so than Finn Balor, Sami Zayn, or Bayley. The crowd went absolutely nuts for them, chanting their name to the tune of 2 Unlimited’s “No Limits,” which I’m sure will be repeated during their match taped at “Takeover.” Jordan especially seemed appreciative of the crowd love.
(6) Carmella beat Alexa Bliss via submission. This was perhaps the deadest bout of the night, leading to one fan near ringside shouting something rather obscene at the two women which caused a shocked gasp from the crowd. There’s always one. Some others attempted a ‘Super Dragon’ chant. Obviously not on the level of what we’ve seen from the NXT women on the specials so far this year, but definitely better than your average main roster Divas match.
(7) NXT champion Finn Balor beat Sami Zayn and Baron Corbin in a Triple Threat match to retain the NXT Title. Sami and Finn were both extremely popular in terms of crowd noise and the number of shirts on display. Corbin got decent heat, but had a few fans in the crowd. A pretty decent main event that included the Sami/Finn ‘putting on each others’s jacket’ spot that they’ve been doing the last few nights. The crowd absolutely loved it. Finn won with the Coup De Grace on Corbin.
Overall, a really enjoyable show that the crowd was into for the most part. Interestingly the babyfaces were over and the heels got heat, with Joe as the notable exception. The crowd was mostly older fans, but there were some families there also. A fair selection of merchandise available, with Finn Balor, Sami Zayn, and Bayley the most represented.
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