From The Network – WWE Beast in the East

WWE Beast in the East
7-4-15
Tokyo, Japan

Your hosts are Michael Cole and Byron Saxton.

Chris Jericho vs. Neville
Feeling out process and Neville catches Jericho with a dropkick, forcing Jericho to bail. Back in, Jericho grabs the Bow and Arrow and we reach a stalemate. Jericho clotheslines Neville to the floor and back in, Neville connects with a dropkick forcing Jericho to the floor. Springboard dropkick knocks Neville off the apron and back in, Jericho goes up. Crossbody off the top by Jericho gets 2 and he goes to the chin lock. Neville fights out and rolls Jericho up for 2. Enzuigiri by Jericho gets 2. Back elbow by Jericho and he goes back to the chin lock. Neville begins to fight out so Jericho fires away with chops. Neville returns the favor with kicks and Jericho goes up. Double axe handle off the top by Jericho and he hits the bulldog. Neville blocks the Walls of Jericho and he kicks away at Jericho in the corner. Neville goes up but Jericho crotches him and follows up. Neville blocks the superplex and goes for the SSP but Jericho moves. Jericho counters the hurricanrana into the Walls of Jericho!!!! Neville makes the ropes to break!!!! Neville dumps Jericho and hits the corkscrew plancha to the floor!!!!! Back in, Neville hits a springboard dropkick. Standing SSP by Neville gets 2. Forearms by Jericho and Neville misses the dropkick. Lionsault by Jericho gets 2!!! NEVILLE SPRINGBOARDS INTO THE CODEBREAKEER FROM JERICHO!!!! Jericho covers for 2!!! Release German suplex by Neville and he hits a super kick. Basement super kick by Neville and he goes up. Red Arrow by Neville eats knees!!! LIONTAMER BY JERICHO and Neville taps!!!
Winner- Chris Jericho **** (Excellent contest, as you can tell Jericho was having a personal flashback to his Japanese days here. This was unique as it wasn’t as competitive as you would think but yet they had a compelling story of Jericho outsmarting Neville the entire but Neville showed tons of heart despite things no going his way. Best Jericho match I have seen in some time and want to see Jericho continue to work with the young guys going forward. )

WWE Diva’s Championship- Nikki Bella © vs. Paige vs. Tamina
Everyone with roll-up attempts until Tamina lays both out with clotheslines. Rapid knee lifts by Paige to Tamina but Tamina trips up Paige on the apron to end that. Flying Chuck by Bella to Tamina gets 2. Suplex by Tamina but Paige throws rapid head butts at her to come back. Double suplex followed by a double dropkick by Paige and Nikki before they go after each other. Paige rolls Nikki up for 2 but Nikki comes back with a spinebuster for 2. Running knee strike by Paige gets 2. Corner knees by Paige but Nikki throws some shoulders to the midsection to come back. They go up and Tamina catches them in the TOWER OF DOOM~!!!! Tamina stacks them up in the corner but misses the Avalanche. Face buster by Nikki into a super kick from Paige. Alabama Slam by Nikki to Paige gets 2. Cradle DDT by Paige gets 2. PTO by Paige but Tamina breaks it up with a super kick. Samoan Drop by Tamina to Nikki and she goes up. Superfly Splash misses and Nikki hits a hard forearm for 3.
Winner and Still WWE Diva’s Champion- Nikki Bella **1/4 (Man it was looking rough in the early going but once they dumped Tamina, the Nikki/Paige exchanges were decent. It astounds me Tamina hasn’t gotten better in the ring. )

Video package for Brock Lesnar airs.

Kofi Kingston vs. Brock Lesnar
Lesnar gets a MONSTER pop from the crowd!!! Lesnar chases Kingston on the floor to start and back in, Lesnar throws some knees. Dropkick to the back by Kingston but Lesnar justs picks Kingston up like a toy. Kingston comes back with a springboard dropkick but Lesnar comes back with the release German suplex. Two more by Lesnar and he hits the F-5 for 3.
Winner- Brock Lesnar *1/2 (RIP Kofi Kingston. This was exactly what it should have been. Kingston connected with two shots otherwise Lesnar beat him into next week. This was as fun a squash as you will ever see. )

After the match, Lesnar hits another release German suplex and F-5 to Kingston. New Day comes out and Lesnar lays the out as well.

Video package for Owens/Balor airs.

NXT Championship- Kevin Owens © vs. Finn Balor
Hideo Itami is in the front row for this one. They do a tradition Japanese wrestling ceremony prior to the match and Owens tosses the flowers presented to him because he’s the best. The sight of streamers being thrown in a WWE ring for Balor is surreal. Shotgun dropkick by Balor and he goes up but Owens quickly bails. Balor dives off the top onto the floor onto Owens!!! Back in, Balor misses a dropkick and Owens bails so Balor connects with a baseball slide. Shotgun dropkick into the barricade by Balor. Back in, Owens swings Balor into the Air Raid Crash for 2. Owens works over Balor and catches him with a back elbow for 2. Chin lock by Owens but Balor fights out. Balor looks to springboard but Owens nails him to block. Owens tosses Balor into the steps and Balor makes it back in before the 10 count. Back senton by Owens gets 2 and he tosses Balor back to the floor. Back in, Owens goes back to the chin lock after faking some sort of running strike. Balor fights out again and he rolls through the sunset flip into the basement dropkick. Second rope forearm smash by Balor gets 2. They trade blows and Owens begins to clean house Cena style!!! Blue Thunder Driver by Owens and he hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle!!! Balor trips Owens up into the double stomp. Pele kick by Balor and both men are down!!!! Balor low bridges Owens and he hits a summersault plancha to the floor!!! Back in, Balor goes up and hits a double stomp to the back of Owens. Paroxysm by Balor gets 2!!! Coup De Grace misses and Owens hits a Release German suplex. Cannonball in the corner by Owens gets 2. Package Powerbomb by Owens gets 2!!!! Slingblade by Balor and he goes up. Owens stops him and knocks Balor to the apron. Enzuigiri from the apron by Balor and he goes up. Coup De Grace by Balor gets 2!!!! Balor fires away on Owens in the corner and they go up. Balor catches Owens with an enzuigiri and OWENS CATCHES HIM WITH THE ROLLING SENTON FOR 2!!!! Owens goes up for the Swanton bomb but eats knees. BLOODY SUNDAY BY BALOR gets 2!!!!! Super kick by Owens and he hits the Sleeper Suplex for 2!!! Owens tells Balor he can’t beat him and Balor catches Owens with a lariat. Shotgun dropkick by Balor and he hits a hesitation dropkick in the corner. Balor goes up and hits Coup De Grace for 3!!!! Tatsumi Fujanami raises Balor’s hand post match and Owens refuses a handshake.
Winner and NEW NXT Champion- Finn Balor ****3/4 (My only major complaint is that Balor was a tad too overzealous early and was messed a few things up but once Balor toned down and got into a groove, this match was almost perfect. This was an incredible contest that felt similar to major Japanese main events held in the same build. Tons of drama, Owens mocking of Balor and simultaneously mocking Cena was incredible storytelling, and Balor was officially cemented as the man at NXT while getting to achieve a dream in his second home. I loved almost every second of this. )

King Barrett and Kane vs. Dolph Ziggler and John Cena
Barrett and Ziggler start. They grapple on the mat to start and Ziggler gets the O’Connor roll for 2. Dropkick by Ziggler and Kane tags in along with Cena. Cena tries to overpower Kane but Kane knocks him down to end that. Tag to Barrett and he stomps away on Cena in the corner. Chin lock by Barrett but Cena rams him into the corner to break. Kane tags in and works over Cena. Kane blocks a slam attempt for 2 and he hits a slam of his own. Tag to Barrett and he toys with Cena. Cena fights back and Barrett punts Cena in the midsection for 2 to end that. Barrett goes back to the chin lock but Cena powers him up into the AA to break!!! Kane tags in and goes for the Chokeslam but Cena escapes. Kane blocks the AA attempt for 2 and he hits a short arm clothesline. Kane goes up and hits a flying clothesline for 2. Chinlock by Kane but Cena fights out. Kane catches Cena with a sidewalk slam for 2 and Barrett tags in. Second rope elbow drop by Barrett gets 2. Barrett misses a second one and Ziggler tags in. He cleans house and connects with a neck breaker on Barrett. Elbow drop by Ziggler gets 2 and he walks into a big boot from Barrett. Tag to Kane and he stomps Ziggler to the floor. Back in, Kane covers for 2 and he hits a delayed suplex for 2. Tag to Barrett and he clubs the back of Ziggler. Running knee lift to the midsection by Barrett gets 2 and he goes to the surfboard. Ziggler fights out and he counters Winds of Change into the crucifix for 2. Lariat by Barrett and Kane tags in. Corner clothesline by Kane gets 2. Chin lock by Kane but Ziggler fights out. Kane counters the Fameasser into the powerbomb for 2. Tag to Barret and he chokes Ziggler in the ropes. Barrett throws some knees and hits a big boot knocking Ziggler to the floor. Back in, Barrett covers for 2 and he grabs a sitting chin lock. Ziggler fights out so Barrett catches him with Winds of Change for 2. Tag to Kane and he works over Ziggler. He goes to jump on Ziggler’s back but he lands onto the knees of Ziggler. Big boot by Kane and Barrett tags in. He hammers away on Ziggler and Kane tags in. Double back elbow to Ziggler gets 2 and Ziggler leaps off the second rope. Kane tries the Chokeslam but Ziggler counters into a DDT. Tag to Cena and he cleans house. Blue Thunder Driver by Cena and he hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Cena catches Kane with the AA and Ziggler super kicks Barrett into the AA from Cena for 3.
Winners- Dolph Ziggler and John Cena **1/2 (Man after that last match, they had a really tough fight with this match. The heel team bored me to tears at times, as Kane and Barrett resorted to chin locks way too often and they both really can’t put together something compelling for over twenty minutes. The match had it’s moments and the work was solid but there were too many dull spots and it looked like they wanted to rush to the finish and go home.)

8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

This is up there with some of the better NXT Takeover specials in terms of match quality and presentation. This was just a really all around fun card. Balor/Owens is probably my WWE Match of the Year so far, Jericho had his best match in a long time, and the Brock Lesnar squash was exactly what we wanted out of it. It was a nice and easy show to get through and despite a dull main event, there really isn't all that much to complain about. The show had such a unique vibe to it with the lights on in the building and the Japanese crowd acting like a typical domestic WWE crowd. I hope this show is a big enough of a success that WWE will air more "House Show" type specials going forward. This is well worth a watch and is probably going to be one of WWE's better in ring shows this year.