5/12 WWE NXT in Seattle – Second Detailed Report on Balor vs. Joe, Bayley & Nakamura top reactions, audience demos, more

WWE NXT Live Results
May 12, 2016
Seattle, Wash. at Paramount Theatre
Report by PWTorch subscriber Jared MacMullan

There were Finn Balor and Bayley t-shirts everywhere. The smart fans were out Thursday night – probably 90 percent males in their 20s-40s, and 10 percent girlfriends and kids.

(1) No Way Jose beat Murphy with his finish. Jose came out with a Russell Wilson jersey to cheers, then led a “Sea-Hawks” chant. Great energy.

(2) Tino Sabatelli beat Tucker Knight via pinfall. Never seen him before but he’s a good athlete for sure.

(3) Bayley beat Alexa Bliss. Bayley is so adorable it hurts. The crowd went with every move she made. Bayley picked up the win with the Belly to Bayley.

(4) Austin Aries beat Mojo Rawley. Aries was the solid favorite, but Mojo had his fans. The crowd began a “Mojo’s butt” chant, which gave me a good laugh. Aries won with a submission after a fun match.

(5) NXT tag champions American Alpha (Jason Jordan & Chad Gable) beat The Revival (Dash & Dawson). Match of the night. So many great sequences that felt organic. AA hit a duel anklelock spot that got a standing ovation. Gable got another standing ovation when he hit a series of moves on Dawson that I can’t begin to describe. Awesome match.

[Intermission]

NXT GM William Regal addressed the crowd. That was a pleasant surprise.

(6) Shinsuke Nakamura beat Elias Sampson. The Paramount exploded when Nakamura did that taunt he does on the rope during his entrance. Shinsuke won with Kinsasha in a basic, short match.

(7) NXT Women’s champion Asuka beat Nia Jax via DQ. Asuka had Jax in a submission when Alexa Bliss ran in to break it up. Both Alexa and Nia attacked Asuka until Bayley ran in for the save.

(8) NXT champion Samoa Joe beat Finn Balor. Finn Balor entered with many Clique and Bullet Club taunts. After a good back and forth match, Samoa Joe won with the Musclebuster.

Biggest Pops: Nakamura/Bayley. Great live experience; I can’t wait until NXT comes through again. Better than any main roster live event I’ve been to in years.