WWE Christchurch, New Zealand, live results: Reigns vs. Strowman
Submitted by reader Paul Marin
Kurt Angle opened the show to a great reaction and loud “you suck” chants. Welcomed everybody and announced a battle royal for a shot at the Intercontinental title later in the show.
– Jason Jordan won a Battle Royal
Featured Titus O’Neil, Apollo Crews, Goldust, Jason Jordan, Curtis Axel, Bo Dallas, R-Truth, a couple of other low card guys and Dean Ambrose, who got by far the biggest reaction. Typical Battle Royal. Last four was Axel, Dallas, Jordan and Ambrose. Jordan got knocked down and slid under the rope to the outside. The Miztourage eliminated Ambrose and Jordan came back in, snuck up behind and eliminated both guys. Jordan got a good reaction when he won.
– WWE Cruiserweight champion Neville defeated Enzo Amore and Akira Tozawa in a triple threat match to retain his title
Enzo got a superstar reaction. He cut his generic promo which the crowd followed along with. Neville and Tozawa did some cool stuff early on. As much as Enzo gets criticised a lot for his in-ring ability he was the star of the show here. The crowd reacted to all of his moves. He hit a ddt for a great near fall which the crowd seemed to buy as a potential title change. Finally Enzo was thrown outside and Neville pinned Tozawa
– Rhyno and Heath Slater defeated Cesaro and Sheamus
This was disappointing, especially giving Cesaro is usually one of my favorite performers to see live. Felt like four jet-lagged guys just trying to get through a match. Nobody in the match did any of their signature moves. Rhyno pinned Cesaro after a spinebuster.
– Finn Balor defeated Bray Wyatt
A good match, a lot better than they have had on TV and PPV. No apparent jet lag here as both guys worked harder than anyone else on the show except Jordan. Balor won with the coup de grâce.
– WWE Raw Women’s champion Alexa Bliss defeated Sasha Banks, Nia Jax, Emma and Mickie James in a fatal five way to retain her title
Bliss pinned Mickie James after a DDT.
Jason Jordan defeated WWE Intercontinental champion The Miz by disqualification
Miz did a lot of stalling outside the ring which led to one guy in the crowd doing the scared chicken routine. Jordan did some nice suplexes which got a good reaction. Axel and Dallas kept interfering and eventually got sent to the back by the referee. However they came back at the end, attacking Jordan for the Jordan DQ win.
They continued beating him down after the match. R-Truth and later Dean Ambrose made the save. Angle came out to make it a 3-on-3 match.
– Jason Jordan, Dean Ambrose and R-Truth defeated The Miz and the Miztourage
Miztourage continued some of their heat-getting tricks. Jordan was still working hard and full of energy in his third match of the night after coming of a long flight. Ambrose hit Dirty Deeds for the pin.
– Roman Reigns defeated Braun Strowman in a Street Fight
Both guys got mixed reactions, Roman had less heat than on tv but not many cheers for him either. Weapons used included kendo sticks, stairs and two tables. Braun dominated most of the match but Roman hit a samoan drop through the first table for a near fall. Finally Roman won after a spear through the second table. Was fun, but nowhere near the level of their PPV matches.
A fun show overall, a more naive crowd than the typical WWE crowd these days which led to a pretty hot crowd (such as buying near falls more knowledgeable fans wouldn’t buy), most of whom were at their first ever live WWE show.