WWE CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
SUBMISSION MATCH
NEVILLE (c) vs. AUSTIN ARIES
It’s all Aries as the match gets underway, as the challenger wins the opening exchange and poses on the top turnbuckle, not suffering the champion at all. Neville goes after him but Aries takes him down and goes for the Last Chancery, forcing him to roll outside of the ring, but Aries immediately follows up and throws him hard into the barricade. The challenger stalks him around the ring, then comes off the top rope with a huge diving lariat, but the damage was done to his knee in the process. Rolling back into the ring Neville realizes his opening and chops out the exposed injury, connecting with a Dragon Screw and and going to work. Aries tried to fight back with a Dragon Screw of his own, but got caught with a dropkick to the legs that send him crashing hard to the floor, landing square on his left knee.
From there it’s a slow burn, as Neville stalks his opponent around the ring, taking complete control with stiff kicks and a never-ending assault on both the knee and Aries’ taped up shoulder. The methodical beating continues for several minutes until the champion flies off the top rope, A-Double catching him out of the air and transitioning into a Figure Four. Neville pulled himself to the ropes, but got caught with a neckbreaker hard over the second rope. Aries climbed the turnbuckles and tried for a huge missile dropkick, but Neville rolled out of the way sending him crashing and burning, and immediately locked in the Rings of Saturn! They teased a tap out with the challenger writhing in pain, but Aries barely gets his bottom foot on the ropes to break the hold.
Totally frustrated, Neville goes after the referee asking him what he has to do to get the win here. He turns around and gets caught, as Aries rolls him into a variation on his own submission! Neville screams out in pain, grabbing the referee’s shirt and Aries is forced the break the hold, begging the ref not to thrown out the match for disqualification. He turns around in a brutal superkick, but this one can’t end by pinfall. The two slowly battle their way to the top turnbuckle, looking for sleeper holds to put each other out cold. Aries reverses a hold and connects with a sunset flip powerbomb destroying the champion, then locks in the Last Chancery! Neville rolls to the outside but the challenger maintains control of the hold; Neville is tapping out, but they’re out on the floor and the referee can’t do anything about it!
Aries is broken and exhausted, rolling back into the ring, and looks for the Last Chancery yet again. Neville escapes but gets caught with the Discus Five-Arm on the apron, but falls to the floor to escape another submission. The challenger throws caution to the wind and tries for a suicide dive, but comes up completely empty and crashes his knees into the floor. Neville rolls him back into the ring, ascends the turnbuckles, and connects with the Red Arrow to his opponent’s back. He immediately transitions into the Rings of Saturn, and Austin Aries has no choice but to tap out.
WINNER AND STILL CHAMPION: NEVILLE
