Post by Susie Q on Jul 14, 2016 11:00:38 GMT -5
Two of the best wrestlers in the world took to the squared circle for a dream match on Wednesday night as Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura squared off in the main event of this week's NXT on WWE Network.
The match was the culmination of weeks of anticipation and hype.
Balor has been the franchise star of NXT for a year, a demon rising from the shadows to shine under the brightest lights and on the biggest stages as the face of the brand. His accomplishments are many and his equals few.
Nakamura rode a wave of momentum into Wednesday's match, with high-profile victories over Sami Zayn and Austin Aries establishing him as one of the top contenders to Samoa Joe's NXT Championship.
For him to have that opportunity, he had to supplant the MVP of NXT.
Was he successful?
Find out now with this look back at the epic encounter that went down on the July 13 broadcast.
The battle for NXT superiority took over Full Sail University as Balor and Nakamura competed in singles competition, the allure of NXT gold and the unquenchable thirst for respect fueling them.
After a stellar video package set the stage for the marquee bout, the bell rang and the action was underway.
Nakamura took the early advantage, delivering Good Vibrations in the corner with some knee strikes added in for effect. Balor, a cerebral and focused wrestler, took out his opponent's knee with a dropkick. That momentarily took away the Japanese star's greatest weapon and earned The Demon the upper hand.
Like his NXT mentor Triple H, Balor targeted the injured joint of his opponent and worked it over for the majority of the bout, displaying a ruthlessness and precision fans had never seen from him.
ate in the battle, Nakamura overcame the knee pain to mount a comeback. He applied a triangle choke at one point, but Balor escaped. The former NXT champion delivered an inverted 1916 for a count of two, then followed it up moments later with an attempt at the traditional maneuver.
Nakamura broke free and delivered a kick only to have that answered by the Sling Blade from Balor. With his legacy in NXT on the line, The Demon climbed the ropes and prepared to put his opponent away with the Coup de Grace, but Nakamura dodged it.
Moments later, he exploded with the Kinshasa for the pinfall victory.
Grade: A-
Analysis:
NXT did a masterful job of making Balor vs. Nakamura feel like the enormous main event that it wound up being. Preceding the match was a chill-inducing video package that played up the importance of the contest, particularly in Balor's case.
The entrances were outstanding, as per usual, and the main event introductions only helped add to the moment.
Once the bell rang, the supremely talented professional wrestlers delivered a bout every bit as good as one would have hoped from them.
Balor targeting the knee of his opponent was a great bit of storytelling, especially after Nakamura was so eager to explode out of the gate with the knee strikes. The lack of selling on the part of The King of Strong Style may have kept the match from achieving a solid "A" grade, but it wasn't enough to hurt the enthusiasm surrounding the match.
The late drama, with the near-falls and slugfest, culminated in an outstanding finish in which the right man went over.
If this was Balor's final dance in an NXT ring, he went out with one of his best and most complete performances to date. The intensity and aggression he demonstrated on Wednesday night were the stuff of a main-roster star, someone waiting to explode onto the scene on Raw or SmackDown and take those shows by storm.
Nakamura is now firmly in position to challenge for the NXT Championship, perhaps as soon as in Brooklyn in August.
With Balor almost certainly gone, NXT is his show now.
bleacherreport.com/articles/2652003-wwe-nxt-results-winners-grades-and-reaction-from-balor-vs-nakamura