1/16 WWE in New Delhi, India – Reigns vs. Rusev, big six-man tag, more

WWE wrapped up a two-show tour of India on Saturday with WWE World Hvt. champion Roman Reigns facing Rusev in the main event…

WWE Live Results
January 16, 2016
New Delhi, India
Report by Tarun Vishal, PWTorch reader

It seemed like more people came today due to the weekend. People were allowed to enter two hours before the starting time which was 5 p.m. Most of the people sported a variety of John Cena t-shirts that have graced the clothing industry. Roman Reigns posters and t-shirts were the only other ones which were largely present. Unlike yesterday, I was not able to spot Matt Bloom (Tensai) or John Laurinaitis. There were lot of chants before the event started including “Let’s Go Cena/Cena Sucks” and “C.M. Punk.” Punk chants were also present during the event.

The same Triple H promo from the day before was played, asking: “New Delhi, Are you ready?”

Big Show’s music hit to a loud ovation. He walked straight down the ramp without playing to the crowd reaction. Kane’s music hit to another strong pop. The crowd was hot for both of them.

(1) Kane beat Big Show. After the bell rang, they stared each other for a face-off. The crowd bought into it and popped loud. They started trading punches for a while before Big Show started to take control. He beat up Kane for a while and applied a shoulder submission. Kane made a comeback and went for clothesline, but ate a Spear. Later in the match, Kane went for Chokeslam and grabbed Show’s throat. Show did the same and successfully planted a Chokeslam of his own for a nearfall. Show then went for the top rope. Kane got up and punched him before delivering a Top-Rope Chokeslam for the win.

After Kane left, Big Show was still lying in the ring. He slowly stood up to applause and some “Thank You” chants but then suddenly dropped dead again. Then referee abruptly covered him up for a pin, but Big Show kicked out at two while throwing the referee away. The referee exited the ring and ran backstage. Big Show then finally played to the crowd and exited the ring. Really funny moment.

Though it’s a dreaded match-up for TV, the crowd was pretty hot for Kane vs. Show considering their star power and rarity of live event exposure.

Chad Gable made his entrance to an initial indifferent reaction. Then he cut a heel promo in which he said that yesterday Kishan Raftar (Lovepreet) beat his tag partner Jason Jordan by cheating. This led to “India” chants. Cue in Raftar’s music who entered the ring for a match.

(2) Chad Gable vs. Kishan Raftar ended in a Disqualification. Seconds into the match, Jason Jordan interfered and both him & Gable beat up Raftar for a disqualification. Jeet Rama (Satender) came for the save and rescued Raftar. Raftar took the mic and called Jordan & Gable cowards and asked for a Tag Match while playing up the crowd. Gable & Jordan hesitated at first, but then accepted.

(2b) Kishan Raftar & Jeet Rama beat American Alphas (Chad Gable & Jason Jordan) via submission. Early in the match both teams brawled and Gable & Jordan were thrown out of the ring with Raftar & Rama posing. Gable came back in the ring and started working down Raftar. The Alphas cornered Raftar numerous times and beat him down continuously by simultaneously tagging in & out. Finally, Raftar made a comeback and hot tagged in Rama. Rama started beating up Gable. They then applied simultaneous Boston Crabs to both Jordan & Gable for the submission victory.

After the match both led Indian chants like “Bharat Mata ki Jai,” which translates to “Victory for Mother India.” Decent wrestling by both Rama and Raftar, who held their own against the highly skilled tag team of Jordan and Gable.

The ring announcer thanked the crowd for our reception. He said the locker room is buzzing and all the wrestlers are very excited. He then called for the Divas match of the night. Summer Rae’s music hit and she made her entrance. Charlotte’s music hit next and she came out with a heelish look.

(3) Divas champion Charlotte beat Summer Rae to retain the Divas Championship. Charlotte continued last night’s heel tactic of leaving the ring continuously. Summer Rae’s ring work is average at best and does not have the fluidity that other women possess. Charlotte won via Figure-Eight Leglock again. This was a rehash of yesterday’s match with Charlotte winning via submission.

Ryback’s music hit to a very loud ovation and deafening “Feed Me More” chants. He came to the ring and held up the leather belt he wears during his entrance like he was holding a championship belt and posed for all four side. Funny. Bray Wyatt’s “New Delhi, I’m here” video aired and he made his entrance. Still, it is surreal to watch his entrance. He entered the ring and posed in all four corners.

(4) Ryback beat Bray Wyatt via pinfall. They locked up and Ryback went for an early Shellshock, but Wyatt reversed to a clothesline. They traded blows and wrestled for a while before Ryback threw Wyatt outside the ring. Wyatt came back and hit Ryback but he threw him in the corner. Wyatt ran towards Ryback from the corner and ate an impressive kick to the head. They worked each other to the point both of them ended up lying on the mat. The referee went for the ten count. At nine, Wyatt struck the spider pose and then got up. Ryback charged towards him but Wyatt grabbed him for Sister Abigail. Ryback reversed it for The Shellshock and won via pinfall. The crowd erupted with “Feed me more” chants.

After the match, Ryback Namaste’d all four sides and left the ring. A really good match between these two to close out first half of the show.

[Intermission]

Tyler Breeze’s music hit and he made his entrance to a lackluster pop despite having the best match of the night yesterday. Breeze entered the ring and rested on the top rope while posing with his selfie stick. Prime Time Players’s music hit and Darren Young made his entrance, which also failed to entice the audience.

(5) Darren Young beat Tyler Breeze via pinfall. Breeze attacked Young as he was entering the ring for heel heat. The bell rang after some time. Both of them worked a while for only about three to four minutes. Still, there were some audible “boring” chants. Darren Young then rolled up Breeze for the win.

Breeze then asked for the mic and gave a heel promo about not leaving India as a loser. This drew loud “loser” chants. He challenged anyone backstage to come out for a fight. Again, PTP’s music hit and Titus O’Neil made his entrance. Breeze again attacked Titus as he was entering the ring.

(6) Titus O’Neil beat Tyler Breeze via pinfall. They traded blows for a minute and then Breeze went for a clothesline, which was reversed by Titus for a sit-down Spinebuster. He covered for the win.

Really disappointing show of Tyler Breeze who was squashed twice in a row. Any legitimacy he garnered yesterday by having a tremendous match against Dolph Ziggler was washed away. Even the crowd was not hot for any of the Prime Time Players.

A pre-taped promo from Rusev aired in which he said he will crush Roman Reigns tonight and become the new World Heavyweight Champion.

The ring announcer announced the next contest as a Six-Man Tag match, which drew a shockingly loud pop for whatever reason. Only in India. Big E.’s voice was heard and he recited his monologue to a huge pop. Then the New Day made their entrance and danced on the stage. The crowd was really into them. Xavier Woods played his trombone while walking down the ramp for deafening “New Day Sucks” chant. Big E. ran into the ring and did his Snow Angel thing. They really excited the crowd this time around. Then, The Usos made their entrance to a very loud reaction. They did not enter the ring and waited for the third man, which was revealed as Dolph Ziggler. He also got an awesome reaction. All six men were really over here.

(7) The Usos & Dolph Ziggler beat WWE tag champions New Day (Xavier Woods & Big E. & Kofi Kingston) in a Six-Man tag match via pinfall. As the bell rang, Wood played the trombone and Kofi shook to the tune. Kofi and one of the Usos started the match. The crowd was electric during this match and chanted everything from “New Day Sucks” and “UU SOO” to “We want Ziggler.” The Usos complied and gave the tag to Dolph, who then wrestled for a while before tagging himself out. Then, New Day started dominating the match and cornered one of the Usos. This then led to a hot tag. In the latter part of the match, the Usos dove outside the ring onto the New Day. Finally, Usos and Dolph triple-superkicked Xavier for the pinfall victory.

Post-match, Dolph and Usos celebrated with the crowd. Dolph took a camera from one of the cameraman and apparently took pictures of a knocked out Xavier before leaving the ring and clapping hands with fans all around. A fun match, enhanced particularly by the raucous crowd involvement.

The ring announcer called for the Main Event of the night. Rusev made his entrance to some boos. He was wearing white tape around his leg probably because of the knee injury he suffered in a house show in America. Although, he was not wearing any tape yesterday. Then, Roman Reigns’s music hit for again the loudest pop of the night and he came to the ring from stage only. He posed in all four corners with the Championship. Ring introductions for the match took place. Roman was the absolute fan favourite here.

(8) WWE World Hvt. champion Roman Reigns beat Rusev via pinfall to retain WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Roman and Rusev locked up for a test of strength. They traded blows for a while, but then Roman threw Rusev in the corner. There, he went for his ten clothesline routine and the crowd counted along with each strike. Later in the match, as Rusev did a leap frog, he clutched his knee and faked an injury. The referee checked on him while Roman stood along. Then when Roman came close, he struck him and no-sold the injury. He even jumped up and down on the single taped up leg for a while. I guess his house show injury healed up pretty fast. Roman then made a fired-up comeback and threw punches at Rusev, who was taken down near the bottom rope. Roman quickly exited the ring and performed his Apron Dropkick. Roman then went for the Superman Punch and connected for a nearfall. He again went for the punch, but Rusev kicked him in the head for a nearfall. Roman then lifted up Rusev, who grabbed the ropes. The referee tried to interject, but took a bump from Rusev’s legs. Roman then performed a Samoa Drop and covered, but there was no count. Rusev got up and took down Reigns. He went outside and grabbed a chair. Reigns followed and took chair shots to abdomen and back. Rusev threw him inside and covered for a nearfall. Finally, Reigns got up and speared Rusev for the pinfall win.

Post-match, Roman took the mic and said he was not originally scheduled to be here in India (since he replaced the injured John Cena), but everything happens for a reason and he would not want to defend the championship anywhere else but here. He thanked us for the hospitality and praised the people. Brief and effective promo.

Overall, the crowd was comparatively hotter today and we had a lot of fun. No future events were announced. There was no highly competitive match like last night’s Ziggler vs. Breeze match, but it seemed both crowd and wrestlers had more fun today. Today’s event like last night was babyface-centric which is understandable. Except for Darren Young vs. Breeze, people were highly excited for everything. Even the shenanigans like ref bump were well received and crowd was on the edge of the seat.

Best Pops

(1) Roman Reigns
(2) Ziggler/Ryback
(3) New Day/Usos
(4) Big Show/Wyatt

Most Boos

(1) Tyler Breeze
(2) Chad Gable