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NXT Live Event
Concord, N.C. at Cabarrus Arena & Events Center
Report by Dot Net reader Richard M.
I had been to the Cabarrus Arena & Events Center earlier in the year for the ROH TV Tapings, but those were held in the much smaller Events Center part of the campus. NXT was in the arena, which holds about 1,000-2,000 people in the stands and, with the floor seats, adds an extra 900 or so. The floor seats were full and the arena seats were about 75 percent full on each side, so a rough estimate of 1,800-2,000 people in the arena.
I arrived at the arena when the doors opened at 6:30. The line for the merch stand was long, but shoutout to the WWE Staff for making the lines move smoothly. I was able to get a poster of the event dubbed “The Conflict in Concord” for $10 and it was very popular among my section as it had the entire card listed. I was also able to meet several people who had traveled to Dallas for Takeover and WrestleMania, and they convinced me that I may have to take a ride down to Orlando next year.
Interesting note, during our intermission and before the show, the jumbotron would show commercials for various WWE Network programs and items such as TapOut and every time Roman Reigns was shown on the screen, he was booed loudly. Usually the Charlotte area loves babyfaces and boos heels, with the exception of Ric Flair, but they hated Roman Reigns. With that aside, on to the show.
1. No Way Josè defeated Riddick Moss. No Way Josè was an instant hit in Concord. From what I could tell, this was his first appearance in NXT other than the Takeover promo. The fans were into his theme song and chanted his name to the tune of his music all match long. Josè won with a series of punches that were made to simulate baseball swings. Don’t know why, but I liked this finisher.
2. Elias Samson defeated John Skyler. Samson came out to the ring and tried to sing a song but the boos he recieved were so loud, that you could hardly hear anything he sang, other than Concord sucks. Skyler came out to a huge pop as he is from Concord and wrestles in the local PWX promotion. This was mostly a glorified squash match with Skyler getting some offense in but being put away by Samson’s elbow.
3. Alex Reily defeated Blake. Apparently Wesley Blake is going by just Blake now. The crowd was super against him, chanting “Where’s Alexa?” and “We want Murphy.” A-RY got some cheers, but several fans were heckling him about his association with The Miz. Reily would win with a spine buster.
4. Eva Marie defeated Carmella. Carmella is even more beautiful in person. She came out to the ring and asked if she could be the Queen of Concord and all of us testosterone filled males said yes of course. Eva Marie came out to a chorus of boos, but surprisingly received a mixed reaction with dueling chants of “You can’t wrestle” and “Yes she can.” Eva Marie won after pushing the ref in the way of Carmella and getting the pin via rollup.
5. American Alpha defeated The Revival to retain the NXT Tag Team Championship. American Alpha received a huge reaction. The people love Chad Gable. This match was similar to their match at Takeover, with a lot of repeated spots. Alpha would win after Gable would suplex Dawson into a rollup pin, sending us to intermission.
6. Austin Aries defeated Manny Andade. This may have been the match of the night by my standards. Aries received a loud pop when he came out, but he would play the heel most of the match. I personally don’t care for Aries and, just like the Concord crowd, pulled for Andade as the match went on, especially after he hit a crazy reverse moonsault. Aries won, but he let Andade have the ring to himself and the crowd gave him a standing ovation and chanted his name.
7. Asuka defeated Peyton Royce. Royce received little reaction from the crowd, but Asuka had a huge pop. Before the match, Eva Marie came back out to announce she had stolen the Women’s Title Belt. She said that if Asuka wanted it back, she would have to take it from her in Columbia, SC. This match was mostly Royce putting on armbars, but Asuka was able to lock in her submission maneuver and win the match. Afterwards, she grabbed the microphone and said “Eva Marie, tomorrow night, I will kick your ass.”
8. Shinsuke Nakumara and Finn Bálor defeated Baron Corbin and Tye Dillinger. Dillinger came out to a decent pop and a few “10” chants, but was booed after he told the crowd that Concord was a 4 on the Dillinger scale. Corbin was booed immensely, and wouldn’t take his shirt off during the match. When the crowd chanted “take your shirt off,” Corbin replied with “If I give it to you guys, then I lose $30” which received some laughs. Nakumara had the loudest pop of the night and Bálor was probably second loudest. In the match, a funny moment between Bálor and Dillinger happened where Balor would perform the Ric Flair chops drawing woos from the crowd, leading to Balor performing the strut and wooing around the ring and Dillinger falling on the ground like Flair to a huge pop. Balor and Nakumara won after Balor hit the Bloody Sunday on Dillinger. After the match, Balor thanked the fans for coming out. He grabbed a fans sign that read, “Where are Gallows and Anderson? #BulletClub4Life” before throwing up the Too Sweet.
Overall, a great show. NXT finally came to the Carolinas and did not disappoint. Hopefully they will return soon.
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