Credit: WWE.com
The prince returned to the NXT stage on Sunday to defend his world title, while Finn Balor faced off in the most anticipated main event with biggest rival “The Bruiserweight” Pete Dunne.
Early struggles made way for each contestant to focus on a purposeful part of his opponent’s anatomy. Balor focuses on the knee and neck, while Dunne focuses on the jaw, fingers and shoulder of the NXT champion.
Balor trapped Dunne in an STF in search of a victory, when the challenger grabbed his fingers and stuck them in the mat. His knee still sounds from the focused attack by Balor and Dunne falls over the ring, but still manages to pick up Balor with a sit-out power bomb for a close double.
Thin bumps the shoulder and then the fingers before Balor responds with a shot to the knee. Balor delivered a gun delivery and scaled down the ropes for a Coup de Grace. Dunne catches The Prince coming off the ropes with a triangular cord.
He struck the fight out of Balor with the hold, but the champion was still able to reach the ropes and force the rest. If he does not respond, Dunne tries to put his opponent away with the Bitter End. Balor attempted in 1916. Dunne provided more joint manipulation and then used Balor’s own arm to give a low blow.
The Bruiser weight delivered a bitter end, but Balor kicked out two-and-three quarters. A frustrated Dunne tried to get a power bomb, but Balor opposed a DDT. The champion removed Dunne’s mouthpiece, shook him with a low drop kick to the mouth and added the Coup de Grace. The 1916 finishes him off and Balor retains.
After the game, Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch attacked, leading to a three-on-one knockout of the champion. Undisputed era struck the ring, which made the rescue. Kyle O’Reilly assured Balor he was cool with him, only for Adam Cole to shock them both with super kicks.
The former champion walked away, seemingly in disgust, leaving Roderick Strong wondering what he had just seen and what it meant for the most dominant faction in company history.
Outcome
Balor defeated Dunne to retain
Grade
A +
Analysis
It was an exercise in psychology and storytelling. Every place has a purpose; every counter, turn, strike and hold meant something. The artists used logic, focused on body parts and worked the story around them.
It was a physical battle, a punitive war and a reminder of how great a wrestler Dunne is at just 27 years old and how extraordinary a talent Balor is. The excellence that The Prince has shown since returning to NXT, educated and better than ever before, is a testament to his drive and how important a change of scenery from the main roster to talent can be.
The aftermath of the match, which included the start of the end for the undisputed era by way of Cole’s actions, drives their story forward and will force the individual members to promise their marriage. This is exactly what that faction needs and gives Balor even more challengers on his throne.
An excellent match, an early contender for the match of the year, has put an exclamation mark on a phenomenal broadcast in which all the talent and management should be involved. Hopefully the brand can build on this momentum because it has a ton on its side coming from Sunday’s performance.