Source: PWInsider.com
Your hosts for the evening are Alex Reyes and Tom Phillips.
– Rich Swann def. Chris Girard. I believe this is the official in ring debut for the former Biff Busick. This was a really fun match. This is my first chance seeing Girard perform and I was impressed. Every move he makes looks like it has bad intentions behind it. He meshed well with Swann’s flying. It made for a better opening match than you get at a lot of house shows.
– Elias Samson def. Steve Cutler. Okay enough match. Cutler is solid, but not all that spectacular. At least the crowd reacted to Samson here, because it didn’t happen at Full Sail and that’s a concern. The match itself wasn’t special, but not bad by any means.
– Eva Marie, Emma (w/Dana Brooke), and Billie Kay (w/Sylvester Lefort) def. Liv Morgan, Adrienne Reese, and Carmella. Fun match. I was pleasantly surprised by Eva’s performance. She’s getting more comfortable showing her personality and being in these tag matches works to her strengths. Match itself was fine. Reese looked good in there and is so fast. Liv Morgan was the face in peril for most of the bout and looked ok.
– Tom Phillips came out to talk about an upcoming show in Crystal River, FL when he was interrupted by Noah Kekoa. Noah mentioned that the last time he was in Citrus Springs he wanted to be friends. He was angry that no one took him up on it and no one wished him Happy Holidays or Happy New Year. Bull Dempsey came out and offered to be his friend. Noah accepted at first, but started acting weird by petting Bull’s hand and kissing it. Yes this really happened. Bull told him to slow down, Noah freaked and started calling Bull fat. He went to attack Bull, but Bull got the upper hand and laid him out with the Top Rope Sit Down splash. It was a very weird segment, especially considering most of the audience had no idea who Noah is.
– Tye Dillinger def. Levis Valenzuela. Another fun match. I can never overstate how good Tye is. He’s so fluid in his movements and makes every little detail important. Levis definitely held his own, though.
– Triple Threat Match: The Hype Bros def. Blake and Murphy (w/Alexa Bliss) and Tucker Knight & Hugo Knox. This was another fun match with Blake and Murphy bumping all over the place until using dirty tactics to get the upper hand. Hugo and Tucker looked okay. They’ve been working as a team more frequently and I’m curious if this is just something they’re testing or if they’re going to be a more permanent unit. We shall see.
– Apollo Crews def. Alexander Riley. Decent match, but not spectacular. Riley looked ok, especially for a guy who’s missed a lot of time and is just getting back in the ring.
– NXT Women’s Championship Match: Bayley (c) def. Peyton Royce. A good solid match. Bayley is way over with the crowd. Royce looks better every time I see her. They had a solid bout that went for a while.
Main Event:
– Finn Balor, Enzo Amore, and Colin Cassady def. Scott Dawson, Dash Wilder, and Tino Sabbatelli. This was a good long match with the heels working over Enzo first and then Cass for a while. I was really impressed with Tino. Dawson and Wilder always look good, but Tino stepped up. He looked aggressive and comfortable in the ring. It’s the first time I’ve seen him and thought “Okay, this guy is putting the pieces together and belongs in the ring”.
Notes
– Meet and Greet before the show was: Levis Valenzuela, Steve Cutler, and Bayley.
– Bayley is way over with the kids. I was amazed at how excited a lot of kids were to see her at the meet and greet.
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.
