WWE Beast in the East 2015: Winners, Grades and Reaction from Tokyo Event
It may have been July 4 in the United States, but in Tokyo, Japan, it was a day of reckoning for NXT champion Kevin Owens.
After months spent dominating NXT as the biggest and baddest bully on the block, injuring Sami Zayn, Neville and Alex Riley with devastating powerbombs to the ring apron, he was forced to enter hostile territory on Saturday, as he defended his title against Finn Balor, the Ireland-born Superstar who cut his teeth in the Orient.
A classic match between the two unfolded in front of the passionate Japanese fans, and when the referee's hand slapped the mat for the third time, Owens' reign atop WWE's developmental brand come to an end at the hands of the Demon.
It was a changing of the guard that was but a part of a spectacular production by WWE Network.
Brock Lesnar prepared for his upcoming WWE World Heavyweight Championship match with Seth Rollins by pummeling and punishing Kofi Kingston before proving positivity is a pipe dream with his dismantling of the rest of New Day.
John Cena and Dolph Ziggler sent the fans home happy with a victory over King Barrett and Kane in the night's main event, Nikki Bella continued her historic Divas title reign and Chris Jericho and Neville thrilled the audience right out of the gate with a brilliant wrestling match.
It was a history-making event in Japan, and now you can relive it with this look back at the winners, grades, highlights and analysis from Beast in the East!
Chris Jericho vs. Neville
1 of 5
"Y2J" chants were strong early on, but respect was shown to both competitors.
Chain wrestling dominated the beginning of the bout, with Neville flipping out of harm's way and delivering a dropkick to the face, sending Jericho scurrying to ringside.
Some mat work saw Jericho apply a headlock, but the resilient Neville fought back. Chops to the chest halted the comeback, and Y2J broke out his vintage arrogant pinfall for two.
Neville fired off some kicks but Jericho again cut him off, this time with a double axe handle. He crotched the Brit on the top rope moments later and tried a superplex. Neville reversed with a front suplex of his own, sending Jericho crashing to the mat below.
A shooting star press attempt followed, but Jericho rolled out of the way and applied the Walls of Jericho. Neville's dive to the outside left both men lying as chants of "this is awesome" broke out. A springboard dropkick from Neville and a standing shooting star press put Y2J down for two.
Two straight superkicks to the face led to the Red Arrow but Jericho got the knees up. Moments later, Jericho applied the Liontamer (called so by Michael Cole) for the submission victory.
Result
Chris Jericho defeated Neville by submission.
Grade
B+
Analysis
This was a phenomenal way to kick off the show.
Jericho is still highly respected by the fans in Japan and was the clear favorite here. Neville, on the other hand, continued to demonstrate exactly why he is one of the breakout stars of 2015, delivering a stellar performance and even outshining Y2J on the night.
The commentary work by Michael Cole and Byron Saxton was strong, as they dipped into the history books to explain both Superstars' histories in Japan, including a Dragon Gate reference that did not go unnoticed.
The finish was spectacular, with Jercho pulling out the old school Liontamer for the submission win.
This sort of loss does nothing to hurt Neville. He was clearly on the level of one of the greatest competitors in wrestling history, and fans can both see and understand that.
Simply put: It was a phenomenal, exciting and energetic start to the show.
Paige vs. Nikki Bella vs. Tamina Snuka
2 of 5
Paige entered the arena to a nice pop from the crowd for her latest opportunity to take the Divas Championship from Nikki Bella. Tamina would have something to say about that, though, in a special Triple Threat match.
Tamina took Nikki out of the equation early, then countered Paige's knees to the face by dropping her on the ring apron.
A springboard kick to the face from Nikki downed Tamina, but a headbutt from the second-generation Diva put her back in control. Paige reentered the squared circle and a double suplex to Tamina followed. With their larger, more physically superior opponent out of the scene, they turned the match into a more one-on-one scenario.
Paige and Nikki again worked together to put Tamina down before turning their attention back to each other. The British Diva applied the PTO but Tamina broke it up, delivering the Samoan Drop to the top contender.
A Superfly Splash from Tamina missed and Nikki scored the win with a forearm to the face.
Result
Nikki Bella defeated Tamina and Paige when she pinned Tamina.
Grade
C
Analysis
This was actually a nice little match from the Divas despite not having much time to develop.
The story told actually helped to sell Tamina as an unstoppable competitor, a dominant force both Nikki and Paige felt was their biggest threat to a victory, so they eliminated her before focusing on each other. The action was crisp, not nearly as sloppy as some of the recent Triple Threat matches that have featured Naomi in place of Tamina, and it really delivered a nice change of pace following the opener.
The only complaint was the finish.
A forearm? Really? In 2015?
Brock Lesnar vs. Kofi Kingston
3 of 5The Beast made his return to the East as Brock Lesnar squared off with his latest victim—erm, opponent—Kofi Kingston.
Lesnar drew the biggest response of the night to this point, an industry giant whose mere presence enhanced the importance of the night's proceedings.
Lesnar delivered numerous suplexes to Kingston, tossing him around the squared circle like a rag doll.
An F5 ended things moments later.
Kingston began moving on the mat and that was all the motivation Lesnar needed to toss Kingston back across the squared circle with another German suplex. A second F5 left the decorated star lying in the center of the squared circle.
The other members of New Day tried to make the save but Lesnar ended both Xavier Woods and Big E's night with an F5 to a roar of approval by the Japanese fans.
Result
Brock Lesnar defeated Kofi Kingston.
Grade
B-
Analysis
This was exactly what it needed to be, and that was a brutal, unapologetic beating from Lesnar to Kingston. It was short, sweet and to the point.
Lesnar alone helped elevate the importance of the show, giving it a real pay-per-view feel. And best of all, he looked happy to be there.
Or as happy as the Beast Incarnate ever looks.
The beatdown of New Day at the end continued their downward spiral following their tag title loss at Money in the Bank, but at the same time, it allowed them to share the screen with the biggest box-office draw in the industry, so it was not all bad.
NXT Championship Match: Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens
4 of 5The most anticipated match of the night pitted Finn Balor against Kevin Owens for the NXT Championship in what was essentially a homecoming for the No. 1 contender.
Balor returned to the site of some of his finest battles, complete with his special ring entrance and body paint, promising that the Demon would slay Owens. The NXT champion looked completely unfazed as he stepped into the arena.
Streamers greeted the introduction of Balor while Owens bucked tradition and respect, tossing a bouquet of flowers out of the ring.
Hideo Itami was seated at ringside, watching intently as the ring crew removed the streamers.
Balor caught Owens with the corner dropkick early and tried for Coup de Grace. The champion bailed and Balor dove from the top rope, wiping him out at ringside. A frustrated Owens tried to escape once again but Balor delivered a baseball slide. A dropkick at ringside continued Owens' awful start to the bout.
Owens mocked John Cena's signature offense, even delivering the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Balor countered the Attitude Adjustment and delivered a double stomp to the chest. Owens caught Balor in midair and tried for the AA again, but Balor slipped out the back door and delivered the Pele Kick.
Owens talked trash and sent Balor into the ropes for the Pop-Up Powerbomb but Balor reversed and landed Sling Blade. The Coup de Grace, though, only resulted in a two count, much to the dismay and surprise of the fans.
"You can't beat me," Owens exclaimed, slapping Balor in the face. The Pop-Up Powerbomb was countered and a lariat left the champion grounded. Two straight dropkicks followed before a Coup de Grace ended Owens' NXT Championship reign.
Owens watched in disbelief as Balor celebrated his championship victory.
Itami watched on from ringside, a look of almost dismay on his face as he nonchalantly clapped his hands.
Tatsumi Fujinami congratulated Balor on his victory, much to the delight of the fans. The new champion extended his hand to Owens, who walked out to a chorus of boos, despite chants of "NXT" filling the arena.
Result
Finn Balor pinned Kevin Owens.
Grade
A
Analysis
This was the night's most anticipated match, and it delivered in every way imaginable.
From Balor's entrance to the shower of streamers that greeted him during introductions, to the big match call from Cole and Saxton, this felt very much like a match that could headline a WWE pay-per-view in the future.
The action was phenomenal and kept the fans on the edges of their seats for its duration.
Owens was the classic heel, someone so cocky and arrogant and confident in his abilities that he was clearly looking past Balor and onto his match with John Cena at Battleground. That wound up being his demise, as all of of the mocking of the current U.S. champion allowed Balor to stay in the match and ultimately finish off the unfocused Owens.
The post-match celebration was stellar and really put Balor over as the new face of NXT and one of the brightest stars of WWE's future, which is exactly what the intention was.
John Cena and Dolph Ziggler vs. Kane and King Barrett
5 of 5
The 2015 King of the Ring, King Barrett, made his way to the ring for the night's main event. His partner, director of operations Kane, followed, completing what was undeniably the most random tandem in WWE history.
Dolph Ziggler drew a big pop for his entrance, as did the franchise player of WWE, John Cena.
Kane and Cena worked a heavyweight-style match, the former dominating the action. Cena tried for a bodyslam but could not get his opponent over. Barrett re-entered the squared circle and continued the work on Cena.
Cena tried an Attitude Adjustment to Kane but the weight on the back of the United States champion again proved to much. Kane followed up with the top-rope clothesline and netted a two count. A big elbow drop from the middle rope by Barrett nearly put Cena away.
A second missed, though, leading to a hot tag to Ziggler, who exploded into the ring. A neckbreaker earned him a two count but a distraction from Kane and big boot from Barrett returned control to the heels.
Kane worked one of the worst chinlocks in recent memory while grounding Ziggler, who fought out and delivered a jawbreaker moments before having his Fameasser countered into a powerbomb.
His escape of a chokeslam attempt and DDT to Kane allowed him to make the hot tag to Cena, who erupted with his trademark offense on Barrett.
A superkick from Ziggler into the AA from Cena to Kane, then Barrett, earned the babyfaces the win.
Result
John Cena and Dolph Ziggler defeated King Barrett and Kane.
Grade
C+
Analysis
This was actually a quality match with some extremely impressive tag team psychology from Kane and Barrett, but it was hard to invest anything in it coming off of what was a phenomenal bout between Balor and Owens.
The selling by both Cena and Ziggler only served to enhance what was a really strong performance from the heel team. They made the frequent tags and worked over both opponents without the match ever really suffering from it.
With that sad, it was ungodly long, lasting over 20 minutes.
Yes, we get that Cena is the franchise guy, but this should have been on the undercard and should have been at least five minutes shorter.
The finish also felt rushed, undoing all of the dominance established by the heels in the preceding moments.
The babyfaces stood tall and celebrated to close out the show, but this should have been Balor's moment to shine in the night's marquee match, not another excuse to put Cena on last.
