12/26 WWE in New York City, N.Y. at MSG: Reigns defends IC Title against Cena, Braun vs. Kane, Jordan & Seth vs. Cesaro & Sheamus for tag titles, Woken Matt vs. Bray

WWE LIVE EVENT REPORT
DECEMBER 26, 2017
NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. AT MSG
REPORT BY MIKE OMANSKY, PWTORCH CORRESPONDENT

Attendance was maybe 1,000 or so shy of a sellout. Big crowd. And a very strong, polished show overall. They announced a return date of March 16 for a “Road to WrestleMania” event. Brock Lesnar was advertised for it. The code for pre-sale at box office tonight and Ticketmaster: WWE2018. Jimmy Fallon was at ringside most of show as spectator.

(1) Matt Hardy pinned Bray Wyatt in the opener after a Twist of Fate. Pretty hot opener. Good back and forth action.

(2) Absolution beat Mickie James & Bayley & Sasha Banks when Paige pinned James with a Rampaige. Bayley took a beating for most of the match before making a hot tag. Decent.

Elias came out with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. Elias sang “Freebird” with some anti-MSG lyrics.

(3) Rhyno & Heath Slater & Titus O’Neal & Goldust beat Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas & Revival when Rhyno pinned Axel after a Gore.

(4) Enzo Amore beat Kalisto with his finisher to retain the Cruiserweight Title. Good match. Kalisto had some good flashy moves.

(5) Samoa Joe beat Finn Balor via submission. Excellent give and take before Joe dominated at the end on way to victory.

(6) Asuka & Dana Brooke beat Alexa Bliss & Nia Jax when Asuka pinned Bliss after an armbar submission. Good tag match.

(7) Braun Strowman beat Kane via DQ in merely two minutes. Kane hit Strowman with a chair to get DQ’d. Afterward, Strowman put Kane through a table. This was really nothing. A dud of a match.

(8) Jason Jordan & Seth Rollins beat Cesaro & Sheamus to retain their newly won Raw Tag Team Titles in a cage match. Sloppy cage, but good match. In the end, Jordan escaped and Cesaro escaped, and then as Rollins and Sheamus were each climbing over the top, Jordan held onto Sheamus’s leg to let Rollins hit the floor first.

(9) Roman Reigns beat John Cena after a spear and a pin to retain the Intercontinental Championship in 17:00. Mixed reaction for Cena when he came out. For Reigns’s entrance, it was all boos. Each kicked out of pins. The match built well. In the end, Cea went for a second AA, but Reigns bounced into the ropes and came off with a spear. The crowd was more into Cena throughout the match.

NOW CHECK OUT THIS RECENT REPORT: 12/10 WWE in Louisville, Ky.: Styles vs. Corbin headlines, plus Usos vs. Benjamin & Gable, Orton vs. Rusev, Breezango, Charlotte, Nakamura, more

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