Exclusive WWE At The Arnold Festival Coverage: Day 2 NXT Matches, Exclusive NXT Tour Info, More
The WWE Experience and the Arnold Sports Festival both reached their conclusion Sunday, and one has to think both were pleased with the results. The festival saw record attendance and the debut of the WWE experience, which was easily the largest attraction of the festival.
Corey Graves, JoJo Offerman and Greg Hamilton were run to death as hosts, and were all over the place both Saturday and Sunday. The three seemed like naturals in the gig, and there were no really awkward spots as they kept the flow of events going, even during the dead periods between scheduled segments.
Speaking of scheduled segments, the events rarely began when they were scheduled to. Given the unpredictable nature of a live show, especially one that ran between 5-8 hours, that is to be expected. All in all, WWE did an amazing job with their first appearance at the Arnold. Given the response from fans, it seems like a return would be in their best interests.
For Day 1 coverage, click here.
Matches
Tyler Breeze defeated Finn Balor
This was the lone match before the Divas Q&A. Breeze got the win off of a distraction by Kevin Owens. William Regal made an appearance and set up a big tag team match for later. Breeze ended up working six matches over a four day period.
Simon Gotch (w/ Aiden English) defeated Colin Cassady
Big Cass has been all over these shows the past two days, as he's had several matches. He was really good at feeling the crowd and seeing when things should be done. There was a funny spot where Enzo and Cass encouraged Gotch to run the ropes repeatedly, while English screamed at him now to do it.
Simon Gotch set for action at #Asf2015 #NXT
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Dana Brooke defeated Carmella
Dana Brooke picked up the win here, and it seems like NXT has something planned for her after victories over Bayley and Carmella. I think they thought Brooke would have a big following in the area because of her experience at the Arnold, but it didn't seem to happen that way. Carmella is hilarious in the ring, and her verbal skills and facial expressions are excellent. Dana Brooke won with a nice looking Cradle Shock.
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Finn Balor and Adrian Neville defeated Kevin Owens & Tyler Breeze
The crowd has been into Balor and Neville every single time they've shown up, but Owens captivated this crowd like none other. He's such a good natural heel in this scenario, and played a much different character than he does on TV. Owens took a selie with Breeze and argued with him all the way up the ramp after the loss. Balor won with a sick looking flying double foot stomp.
So, this team happened in Columbus at #NXT #Asf2015
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Baron Corbin defeated Kalisto
Baron Corbin worked as the heel in this match and controlled the majority of it. He beat Kalisto with the End of Days, and looked to sell better than he had in his previous matches. Ring technicians came by before the match and tightened up the ropes for Kalisto. Corbin was a busy man in Ohio this week.
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Wesley Blake (w/ Buddy Murphy) defeated Colin Cassady (w/ Enzo Amore)
This was Big Cass' fourth match in 30 hours, and many in the audience were speculating that Enzo Amore was injured since he was there and didn't work. It seems like he's fine because there were a couple of spots that required him to sprint around the ring. Wesley Blake won even after eating Cass' big elbow drop. Also, Murphy sat on interviewer Greg Hamilton's lap at one point.
Cass was a busy man this weekend. Six matches since Thursday #NXT #Asf2015
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Carmella defeated Alexa Bliss
Poor Alexa Bliss couldn't get a win in her hometown. There was a lot more of Carmella's aforementioned verbal hilarity, as she worked really well with a crowd. Bliss got the crowd into it halfway through when she gave Carmella a stiff shot to the body. Carmella won with her submission hold.
Alexa Bliss in front of her hometown crowd at #ASF2015 #NXT
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Sasha Banks defeated Bayley
Both of these girls were over big time. Sasha Banks was called ratchet by a couple of kids in the front row, rolled out and started to whip her hair in their faces, which was funny. The two mocked each other's poses and brawled up the ramp all the way to the announce desk, which wasn't being used. Sasha Banks rolled Bayley up for the win.
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Kevin Owens defeated Hideo Itami
This was promoted as the main event of the WWE Experience, and it delivered. Kevin Owens wasn't holding back anything as he busted out a moonsault and a swanton bomb. Itami had the crowd behind, but Tyler Breeze ran out and caused a distraction win for Owens. Itami staved off a belt shot by Owens and took him out to send the crowd home happy. Also, Owens walked into the video board.
Could this happen? #NXT #Asf2015
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Q&A's
The Ric Flair Q&a was particularly a big success, getting the biggest crowd of day 2. There were also NXT divas and championship Q&A's, with Kevin Owens once agains stealing the show on the microphone. The championship Q&A was four heels, so it turned in to one hilarious trolling session.
Here are some highlights:
* Someone asked Ric Flair if he'd face Triple H at WrestleMania. He said he'd love to and everyone should email Vince McMahon right now.
* He considers Arn Anderson one of the most underrated wrestlers of all time, and more deserving of accolades.
* Flair says his favorite Randy Savage moment was when Savage showed up at Charlotte's primary school to hang out with her and her classmates. Savage had been in town to help Flair open a Gold's Gym.
* Flair said while he never quite got the HBK moonsault down, he told Michaels that his daughter can do a better one than he did now.
* Flair says he doesn't know if John Cena will beat his chamionship record, but will be happy for him if he does because of how hard Cena works.
* A guy says he gave his girlfriend a "hall pass to ride Space Mountain." Disgusting.
* Kevin Owens kept stealing Greg Hamilton's mic, to the tune of three. Every time he'd take one, he'd give it to Murphy, Blake or Sasha, who were also out for the Q&A.
* Owens made fun of a fan ringside for dressing up like Finn Balor and coming to the Arnold Sports Festival.
* Owens is asked what wrestlers he looked up to when he was getting in the business and mentioned Steve Corino.
* Owens says his son doesn't have to ask "Why don't you work for WWE now?" and says that's the best part of his job.
* Kevin Owens says that he can't wait to beat John Cena.
The champs didnt look happy with me. #NXT #Asf2015
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Tryouts
Day 2's tryouts featured the same hopefuls as yesterday, with some coming from Chicago and Ontario. The drills were more intense today, with a lot of rope running and bumping. There were some really good bumpers, and some really bad ones, but most everyone fell in the middle. Also, they had a couple of bohemeths trying out.
After bumps, it was time for promos. This wasn't too hot, and Corey Graves got all over their cases during their attempts. Each hopeful had 30 seconds to "entertain" and "make Columbus care." There were a lot of "I want to be the best" or "I can do this," but not a lot of entertainment. Not a single member of the tryouts tried to heel the crowd, which was kind of being hinted at my Graves saying "make this crowd cheer or boo you."
One of the trainees used only twelve seconds of her alotted promo time, which prompted a stern response from William Regal. He said that if she's asked to do a 30-second promo, she'd better fill that time by doing cartwheels or something else entertaining while she has the opportunity.
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Autograph Lines
The autograph lines were another big success today, and Bayley was as personable as she was yesterday. The lines were unbelievably long, exceeding nearly any other autograph line in the entire facility. Dylan Miley, Bayley, Finn Balor, Blake & Murphy, Baron Corbin, Kalisto, Mark Henry, Charlotte, Sami Zayn, Tyler Breeze and Adrian Neville were all signing autographs today.
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Other Notes
I spoke briefly with Senior Director of Talent Development for NXT Canyon Ceman, who had just had a look at the members of NXT's open tryouts. Canyon said that Louisville may be getting an NXT event in about 6 months, which could fuel speculation that the show could be hitting the road on a more regular basis in the near future.
He was also asking about personal highs and lows for the WWE Experience event, obviously interested in what people thought of the event, and how it could be made better. Kevin Owens was particularly put over, with Ceman talking about how quick witted and intelligent Owens is. After four successful days in a row in Ohio, he seemed really optimistic.
Sami Zayn was in the building and addressed the crowd saying he wasn't medically cleared to compete. He said that he couldn't wait to wrestle at the Arnold Sports Festival.
There were a ton of Bullet Shirts in the crowd throughout the entire weekend, even for little kids. Mark Henry looked to be in much better shape than the last time we saw him, and seemed really happy to partake in the event. Michael Cole was also there again today, although he didn't appear in an official role on the program.
It's always cool to see how proud Ric Flair is of his daughter. He brought her up repeatedly in his Q&A, and went over to greet her while she signed autographs immediately after.
Kaitlyn was still at the event Sunday, and it appears her new clothing line is doing great. TNA wrestlers Robbie E and Jessie Godderz, as well as former WWE talent Gene Snitsky were all at the event as well.
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