Thanks to reader Ethan for sending in the following:
WWE Live Event Results
7/10/14
Tokyo, Japan
I attended WWE Live @ Tokyo (Ryogoku), Japan last night, 7/10, and was excited for Hulk Hogan was at Japan. But he was not at the show. Disappointing but still great show.
Before I entered the stadium, I took a picture with 8 Japanese guys who were dressed up as superstars. There was Rock, Cena, Wyatt, Rowan, Ryder, Torito, CM Punk, and Harper. They’ve been there all three times I’ve attended and before the how, fake Rock walked around the arena and was saying catchphrases and stuff.
The night began with Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz. They both got good reactions, although, everyone does because in Japan, you’re just happy to see recognizable people. The Miz used some heel tactics to get some boos. He teased throwing his shirt to the crowd only to throw it to the ground. They started off pretty evenly. At one point the Miz ducked a punch and scurried to the corner and said “not the face, put the fist down”. It was sorta a comedy segment. There were “Lets go Ziggler” chants and slow to fast clapping, the Miz tried to use the figure four but Ziggler hit the zig zag for the win. The Miz ran off into the back like a um… little girl.
The second match was a tag team, Big E and Kofi Kingston vs. Luke Harper and Eric Rowan. All got okay reactions. Kofi was more over than Big E. The crowd (myself included) held up our camera lights during the entrance which looks awesome live. Match was mostly even. Big E and Eric Rowan traded shoulder knockdowns until one knocked down the other. The Wyatts lost from a rollup by Kofi, then attacked Kofi and Big E after the match and left.
Sami Zayn vs Adrian Neville for the NXT Championship was next. I’ll be honest, I hadn’t heard a lot about either besides that Zayn was El Generico and Neville has that sick moon-corkscrew-dive thingy. Zayn cut a promo before the match saying how he loves wrestling in Japan and has had some of his best memories there. He bowed and stuff. Zayn and Neville shook hands and proceeded with the match. Lots of top rope, high flying moves that got some really good pops from the crowd. Speaking of the crowd, there were tons of “ole oleoleole ole” chants. Neville was sort of the bad guy in this match, hard to tell. There was a great spot where Zayn got caught into a powerbomb but reversed into a hurricanrana-type pin, and got a really close near fall. That got the first, and only, “This is awesome” chant. Neville eventually won with his finisher and raised Zayn’s hand in respect after the match. That was one of the most entertaining matches and I have a lot of respect for both wrestlers now and will take a lot more interest in NXT.
The next match was another tag team, Kane and Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose. Rollins got a ton of heat, but Kane did not. I think he was cheered out of respect and since he is such an iconic wrestler. Ambrose and Reigns got good reactions, Ambrose the louder of the 2. A “you sold out” chant towards Rollins before the match broke out, causing Rollins to yell and cover his ears. The match was normal. Rollins would constantly use the ropes or leave the ring like a heel. Kane and Reigns traded shoulder bumps, almost exactly like Big E and Rowan. Things got hectic and Reigns had Kane setup for a spear, then Rollins hit him from behind with his MITB briefcase causing a DQ. The heels beat down the faces until they made a comeback when Reigns hit a spear to Kane.
Next was intermission where we were told to vote for the stipulation for Paige and Alicia Fox, dance off or match. Also a 5 minute Hogan video was showed even though he wasn’t at the show.
Back from intermission we had Alicia Fox and Paige come out, both getting decent reactions. A match won out (thank god) and was over quick with Paige making Alicia Fox tapout. During the match some people chants “lets go paige” but they pronounce it as “pay-jay” so I thought they were chanting for AJ but it was just their accents.
Cesaro vs RVD was next. Paul Heyman came out, to my surprise, he wasn’t scheduled to be there but maybe he took the place of Bad News Barrett cause of his injury. Heyman came out, talked about Brock Lesnar and introduced Ceasaro. Heyman got a very loud, mixed reaction, Ceasaro got a mixed one as well. RVD came out to a very nice reception and there were loud “Rob Van Dam” chants. During the match, after a close pinfall, Paul Heyamn would slap the mat three times as if to say “that should’ve been a three count” but it backfired for the crowd thought he was starting a “R V D” chant. Heyman did it twice and the second time he was like “you guys stink”. Ceasaro hit the swing on RVD 10 times, went for neutralizer but RVD countered adios hit the 5-Star for the win.
The main event was next, for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship between John Cena and Bray Wyatt. Wyatt got mixed reactions, a ton of cellphone lights during his entrance. Cena by far got the loudest reaction of the night, by a huge margin. The place exploded and it was pretty much all cheers. He was by far the most popular wrestler. Lots of “lets go cena, cena sucks” chants, although not too many “cena sucks” mainly claps instead. Bry Wyatt dominated most of the match. At one point Wyatt reversed an AA attempt into a sister Abigail for a close 2-count. Wyatt then grabbed a chair but the ref took it, Wyatt turned around and Cena hit the AA. But Wyatt kicked out. The ref got knocked out and the rest of the Wyatt family came out and beatdown Cena. Bray went to hit Cena with a chair but accidentally hit Eric Rowan, Cena clotheslined Harper, then hit Bray with the AA and won it. He cut a promo afterwards about how it was an honor fighting in Japan as champion and he bowed and thanked the crowd.
Overall it was a fantastic show. I would’ve liked to have gone Friday to see Hogan but still, I can live without it. Plus theres a storm watch so the weather wouldnt be ideal. Anyways, fun night, always a good time, and the fans were so well organized and respectful, and it was a good experience.
Most over:
1. Cena
2. RVD
3. Ambrose
Most Heat:
1. Rollins
2. Wyatt
3. Heyman
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.
