12/2 WWE in Salt Lake City, Utah: The Shield vs. Joe & The Bar, Braun-Kane, Elias says he’d like to punch the kids in the crowd in the face, plus Asuka, Enzo, Broken Matt

WWE LIVE EVENT RESULTS
DECEMBER 2, 2017
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH
REPORT BY DERRICK HUBBARD, PWTORCH CORRESPONDENT

I would estimate between 3,000 and 4,000 fans. The majority of the crowd appeared to be families with elementary age children;

(1) Bray Wyatt beat Matt Hardy. Short, basic match that concluded with a Sister Abigail. Hardy transformed into the broken character after the conclusion of the match. The fans were on board with the delete chants.

(2) Rhyno, Heath Slater and Apollo Crews v. Curtis Axel, Dash, and Curtis Hawkins. Fun six man tag that climaxed with a shotgun sequence and concluded with a Rhyno spine buster for the finish. Axel worked the neck injury in a comical fashion.

(3) Asuka beat Alisha Fox. Short match that ended with a flying arm bar finish. The match felt like it was over as soon as it got started.

(4) Elias pinned Jason Jordan. Elias serenaded the crowd in his normal fashion. His song concluded with a verse that claimed he wanted to punch the kids in the crowd in the face. I won’t lie, I thought it was funny. Mild cheers for Jordan with a notable absence of boos. Jordan sold his knee late, which allowed Elias to finish him off with the Drift Away.

(5) Finn Balor beat Karl Anderson (w/Luke Gallows). Mechanically, this was the best match of the evening. Crisp action with a basic story. After thwarting off interference from Gallows, Balor finished of Anderson with his trademark finishing sequence.

Kane-Braun Strowman segment. Following Balor’s victory, Kane made his way to the ring and softly chokeslammed Balor. Kane retrieved a table to put Balor through. Before he could execute the deed, Strowman made his way to the ring. Strowman and Kane brawled briefly and Strowman ended up powerslamming Kane through the table. Crowd-pleasing segment heading into intermission.

(6) Bayley & Sasha Banks beat Alexa Bliss & Nia Jax. Mickie James served as the special guest ref. Both Bayley and Sasha received favorable reactions. After a dispute with James, Bayley put Bliss away with the Bayley to Belly.

(7) Enzo Amore beat Kalisto to retain the Cruiserweight Title. Enzo received a large pop when he entered the ring. He turned the crowd on him by insulting Utah and John Stockton. Match was rough in spots. Amore defended the title with his Eat Defeat finish.

(8) The Shield (Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins Dean Ambrose) beat Samoa Joe & The Bar (Sheamus & Cesaro). Big reaction for The Shield. Only a scatter of boos for Reigns. The match was fun. Of note, Rollins runs faster, bumps more, and works harder than anybody on a house show. Climatic finish with The Shield putting away Cesaro with the Triple Powerbomb.

BIGGEST POPS: The Shield received the biggest positive reaction of the night. They were followed by Balor, who also received a strong reception.

MOST HEEL HEAT: Elias earned the most heat with his weekly musical tactics. Enzo was a close second with his anti Salt Lake ramblings.

NOW CHECK OUT THIS RECENT REPORT: 11/27 WWE in Charleston, W.Va.: Styles vs. Mahal, Usos in four-way tag title defense, Corbin vs. Nakamkura vs. Sin Cara, Orton vs. Rusev, Bludgeon Brothers