Source: PWInsider.com
William Regal came out to a big pop, but said tonight wasn’t about him, but the NXT superstars.
Tyler Breeze started off the event, saying Philly deserves a champion, since the Eagles won’t give us one and that all Philly was good for was crap sports teams, a fictional boxer, and sandwiches, which brought out Enzo Amore, Big Cass, and Carmella with cheesesteaks. After their signature spiel, Breeze offered to grab a friend and have a match, but none of his friends were available. But Bull Dempsey came out to even the sides. After Cass offered Bull his cheesesteak multiple times, Enzo pinned Bull after a lengthy match with a bunch of comedy. Tye Dillinger came out and gave it a 3.
Dana Brooke beat Alexa Bliss. Dillinger gave it a 9, but actually meant to give it a 6.
Baron Corbin came out to address his ECW original challenge last night. But we couldn’t hear him over the boos. Joey Styles came out and offered THE ECW original, the heart and soul, the Innovator of Violence, Tommy Dreamer. But Corbin beat Dreamer after End of Days. Dillinger came out and gave Tommy a 0, but Tye ate a DDT for his troubles.
Sasha Banks defended the NXT Womens Championship, pinning Becky Lynch after a Belly to Bayley. Charlotte was also involved. The ladies got a “This is Awesome” chant and a huge show of respect after the match. Fantastic end to the first half.
Blake and Murphy successfully defended the NXT Tag Titles against the bizarre duo of Solomon Crowe and Jason Jordan after Blake pinned Crowe with the frog splash. Blake had his hair in pigtails for some reason. Crowe got a good welcome home response. Jordan looked good.
Finn Balor defeated Kevin Owens by disqualification when Owens introduced a chair to Balor’s gut. This began a pull apart brawl on the floor, which emptied out the locker rooms and ended it with Balor diving on everyone. Balor dragged Owens back to the ring and hit the drop kick and double stomp to send the crowd home happy. Owens stalled and held a headlock a lot during the match, which brought a bunch of the bad kinds of heat.
Notes: It was not a sellout. I bought the cheapest seats possible in the balcony, but got upgraded to floor seats after they blocked out the top of the balcony. Of course, the Philly crowd didn’t stay within the limits of PG, directing some of ECW fans’ favorite chants to the early divas match and Blake and Murphy, who garnered a Brokeback Mountain chant. Super fun show overall. They promised a return, but of course, no dates announced.
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
