NXT St. Paul, MN, live results: Bobby Roode vs. Roderick Strong
Submitted by a reader
– Johnny Gargano defeated Killian Dain
Gargano got a huge response and people seemed to be impressed by Dain’s size. They had a very good, physical big man vs. little man match that the crowd was into the entire time, with Gargano getting the win after a surprise crucifix pin.
– Ruby Riot & Liv Morgan defeated Sonya Deville & Bianca Belair
The crowd really liked Riot and Morgan got a decent pop, though neither of the heels got much of a reaction when they came out. They had a decent match, with the crowd reacting big to Belair’s hair whip spot. They chanted for Riot for most of it and she got the pin after hitting her up-kick.
– Hideo Itami defeated Kassius Ohno
Both got a really good response from the crowd at the start, though Ohno’s reaction quieted down for a bit after the initial pop. The crowd was cheering for Itami more than Ohno throughout much of the match. Ohno pointed at Itami and asked the crowd if he was their guy at one point and the crowd cheered in confirmation.
Ohno had won most of the crowd over by the end of the match. It was really good, with Itami winning with the GTS after Ohno hit an exposed turnbuckle with his elbow. Ohno got up and the crowd gave him an ovation after.
– Drew McIntyre & Aleister Black defeated Andrade “Cien” Almas & Velveteen Dream
Almas didn’t get much of a reaction, but the other three got good pops, especially McIntyre. The crowd was split on Velveteen Dream, probably because of his Prince gimmick and the show being in Minnesota. There was a brief “you’re not Prince” chant directed at him at one point.
They had a typical house show tag match. Everyone looked good and McIntyre hit the Claymore Kick on Velveteen Dream to get the pin.
– Ember Moon defeated Mandy Rose
The crowd loved Moon and got really into this match. It was pretty good and Rose looked way better than she ever has on TV. Moon hit The Eclipse to get the victory.
– SAnitY (Eric Young & Alexander Wolfe) defeated Heavy Machinery
Most of the match was bear hugs, and that isn’t an exaggeration. The first five to 10 minutes were entirely bear hug spots from Heavy Machinery, with them applying another one whenever SAnitY would get out of one. The crowd really liked Heavy Machinery here.
It turned into a typical tag match after the bear hugs. Killian Dain ran in to distract the ref, which allowed Wolfe to pull Otis Dozovic off the turnbuckle for a roll-up pin. The audience applauded Heavy Machinery after.
– NXT Champion Bobby Roode defeated Roderick Strong to retain his title
Strong got a mediocre reception when he first came out, but Roode may have been the most over wrestler of the night. They had a lot of time and got the crowd invested in the match, which ended up being great.
Strong got a better reaction once the match started. There was a ref bump at one point and Strong hit his finisher, but Roode was able to kick out by the time the second ref got there. Roode then won with two Glorious DDTs after a low blow.
McIntyre came back out after the match to a big pop and cut a promo on Roode, who cowered away from him and ran backstage. The promo was very similar to the one he cut on NXT TV last week.