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WWE Beast in the East *SPOILERS*


Daaaaaad!

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So WWE's live Network show from Japan just got finished about half an hour ago and, with what transpired, it feels to me like it could do with its own thread.

 

Really enjoyed this, it was a great two hour special. It's no coincidence that the time seems to fly by compared to Raw. Neville/Jericho was good, although I figure Y2J pulled a political move since he really shouldn't be getting the win over Neville when he's only an occasional guest. That said, Neville looked pretty good in defeat.

 

Lesnar/Kingston was a masterclass in squashing. Two and a half minutes of Lesnar beating the fuck out of someone. THAT'S what Brock should be. Not selling for Kane and the New Stooges. Kofi was the perfect foil and the several F-5s to the rest of The New Day was glorious.

 

Balor/Owens started a bit sloppy but by the end it was incredibly engaging. It's interesting to me that the guys who are being brought up in NXT come across as superstars a lot more than the people they're trying to bring up on Raw and SmackDown. Balor hasn't even been on main WWE television yet and even though he's a bit wooden he's already far more interesting. Between this show and the documentary special, there's no reason for him to kick about in NXT much longer. I also wonder if Owens will leave or if he'll face Joe once more before he goes.

 

The final match just goes to show why Raw and SmackDown feel so flat these days. Three of the four people in the main event were total no-marks and whilst the Japanese crowd was clearly pretty into the match, there's no way they would get away with putting Barrett and Ziggler in the main event of Raw, never mind on a PPV. Cena is still such a big star and they could be in serious bother if he's going to be gone in a couple of years.

 

Anyway, now that I've force fed you all my diatribe - thoughts?

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I was surprised how over Jericho was with the Japanese crowd, considering Neville had spent time in Japan and more recently. I don't mind Jericho going over, he is the veteran after all.

 

Brock vs. Kofi was going to nothing more than a squash. Brock looked visibly peeved at the lack of pyro during his ring entrance, though.

Owens and Balor was a fine match, but I find Owens’ matches have too many near falls. I get they're supposed to build suspend and anticipation, but when there's so many of them it just starts to get tiring and sucks that anticipation out of you.

Tag match again was another fine match. Went a nice length and was nicely paced. Did any one else get a couple of seconds of a random Russian-looking advert during the broadcast, though?

It's really something when the best programming WWE is putting out isn't their flagship broadcasts. The likes of NXT and these Network specials are just great. It's really revitalised my interest in wrestling as before the Network, I would catch results online just to keep an eye on what was going on, but didn't really watch any actual wrestling.

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This was a very enjoyable Saturday morning watch, they hooked me in by promising Brock Lesnar (the only man I will make a special effort to see these days) but there was a lot more to this show than just that. 

 

Balor and Owens had a storming match, loved all the nods to the Japanese customs like the flowers and streamers (Owens heeling it up by throwing his bouquet away and refusing to shake Finns hand was great too) and the action was sparkling, Owens is done in NXT now - he's too good for 'developmental' even if the product is actually better.

 

The opener was sound, although Jericho going over and now presumably disappearing for another few months didn't do a whole lot for me. He also looked really tired with bags under his eyes for some reason.

 

Lesnar squashing New Day was great and while this doesn't do anything to make his Battleground match more interesting I'm still intrigued as to how they'll set up the Summerslam main event which one assumes will involved the title.

 

Didn't bother with the women's match and the tag match I wasn't too keen on, Lister mentioned on Twitter that Ken has been in WWE for 18 years - it feels like it.

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Great way of killing two hours in work. Really fun show to watch

 

When the some people or person in the crowd shouted for the Bloody Sunday I thought that would be the finish and totally bought it as the match ender.

 

Lesnar squash and Jericho / Nevilke were good to watch. Poor Kofi. That first german looked evil.

 

More specials like this would be great even if the main event wasn't that engaging.

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I enjoyed it a lot. Great atmosphere and I thought Cole and Saxton were very good on commentary, a lot better than usual.

 

Main event stunk, expected either Brock or Balor/Owens to go on last.

 

Loved the visual of the streamers, something I never thought Id see in a WWE ring

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Just got done watching it.

- I know that it's just a house show and doesn't mean a massive amount but Chris Jericho, who looked rather portly which is sad to see as I always thought he looked in great shape in his heyday, should not be beating your up & coming Neville. Having them both wearing purple made them look like a tag team in the middle of a breakup angle. As for Jericho's "patented submission move", when did he last beat someone with the Walls of Jericho?

Is there a reason why they don't mention Neville's Japan run? When they're so open about Balor's past, it just seems a little odd.

The match itself was fine, but no way should Jericho have won it.

 

- Tamina is fucking rotten. Typical Divas fare in this one with tonnes of roll-up moves, Paige bellowing spot calls and the usual triple threat routine of one person just staying outside until needed when they then swap with someone. Nothing match.

 

- suprised that Brock v Kofi went on as early as it did. Since re-signing earlier in the year, Brock has piled on some serious muscle mass. Obviously he's always been massive, but he definitely lives up to being billed as the beast incarnate.

The match? Exactly what we thought it would be, and it was fucking great. There is no-one more believable than Brock Lesnar

 

- how strange is it to see streamers being thrown into the ring on a WWE show?

Absolute blistering pace to start, but the crowd was with them all the way. Great match from start to finish and nice to Balor come away with the title, even if I can't stand that dam double stomp as a finish. KO had three absolute blinders this year, if he isn't part of the MOTY at the end, he'll have done something majorly wrong.

 

- oh, it's main event time. We don't have to suffer Diego v Cesaro after all.

Why are Barrett and Kane teaming again? And for that matter why are Cena & Ziggler teaming up? Because house show I assume.

Ziggler still looks a prize pillock in his knockoff Steel Panther gear. Three cut off jackets no less. Dick.

A bit plodding in places, but otherwise an inoffensive way to end the show.

 

Overall, well worth two hours of your time. I wish they'd been doing this kind of thing on the network since day one, just every now & again just show a random house show to break up the TV a little bit. So much more enjoyable not hearing JBL whitering on too, if there are any talent cuts coming anytime soon, he's top of the list.

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- I know that it's just a house show and doesn't mean a massive amount but Chris Jericho, who looked rather portly which is sad to see as I always thought he looked in great shape in his heyday, should not be beating your up & coming Neville. Having them both wearing purple made them look like a tag team in the middle of a breakup angle. As for Jericho's "patented submission move", when did he last beat someone with the Walls of Jericho?

Is there a reason why they don't mention Neville's Japan run? When they're so open about Balor's past, it just seems a little odd.

The match itself was fine, but no way should Jericho have won it.

 

Well, I suppose he's still got to win sometimes or beating him won't mean anything any more.

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Every one’s pointed out that Michael Cole touched on Neville’s history in Dragon Gate, so…

 

As for Jericho's "patented submission move", when did he last beat someone with the Walls of Jericho?

 

This morning.

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It was just a house show remember. Yes it was on the network but the majority of fans will never see it. And at house shows the stars win. Jericho is a star. Neville isn't. If it was a PPV match then sure, Neville should win. But it's just a happy endings house show and more fans cheered Jericho than Neville (because non dickhead fans cheer stars) so more fans were happy when he won.

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Every one’s pointed out that Michael Cole touched on Neville’s history in Dragon Gate, so…

 

 

As for Jericho's "patented submission move", when did he last beat someone with the Walls of Jericho?

This morning.

I must have missed the DragonGate mention.

Also he won with the Lion Tamer, Walls Of Jericho is just a Boston Crab

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