10:56
(bright music) (bright music continues) (upbeat rock music) (crowd cheers) (upbeat rock music continues) It is time. It is our main event. It is arguably already one of the most iconic matchups we may ever see here on NXT. A dream match. For the first time on NXT, Finn Balor gets set to square off against the King of Strong Style.
This is a dream match in every sense of the word. People all over the globe are watching this right now. This is two of the biggest superstars in the world colliding for the first time in NXT. Historic doesn't even cut it. I've got goosebumps right now. Finn Balor asks the NXT universe, "What is next?" "What is next for Finn Balor?" His question was answered in a way that it captured the NXT universe. You remember the feeling here at Full Sail University.
Every last person was on their feet. They couldn't wait to see what happened between Finn and Shinsuke. It was electric. It was two of the biggest stars coming together in a ring and it was magical. We compared to the AJ style John CEna atmosphere where you never thought it was going to happen and it's happening before your very eyes. (upbeat rock music) This could very well be one of those matches years from now that you can pinpoint the time and place when you saw it.
Balor, Nakamura and NXT, this is going to be a big one for a long time. (crowd cheers) Nakamura, Nakamura. (crowd applauding) Nakamura, Nakamura, Nakamura, Nakamura. (crowd cheers) (bright music) (bright music continues)
It's so loud in hear, I can barely hear myself think (indistinct) The dream match is about to go down. Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura on NXT. The dream match comes true. Coming up next, don't go anywhere. (bright music) This is awesome. This is awesome, this is awesome, this is awesome. (bell rings) The following contest is scheduled for one fall. Introducing first. From Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland, weighing it at 190 pounds, Finn Balor.
(crowd cheers) And his opponent from Kyoto, Japan, weighing in at 220 pounds, Shinsuke Nakamura. (crowd cheers) Nakamura Shinsuke. Nakamura Shinsuke, Nakamura Shinsuke, Nakamura Shinsuke. (bell rings) It is a matchup that is worthy of headlining TakeOver. And tonight we get it here on NXT.
Finn Balor versus Shinsuke Nakamura. Finn Balor, of course, former NXT champion, had a long successful career in Japan. Shinsuke Nakamura, so charismatic, unique, possibly taken the WWE universe by storm in a shorter order than anybody. He arrived here WrestleMania weekend at TakeOver in Dallas and in short order he's become, he's a mega star. He was a star in Japan before. This is two of the biggest global stars colliding for the first time in NXT, which is why it is worth the headlines. We all know about the King of Strong Style, Shinsuke Nakamura.
Those strikes, he is the most devastating striker, perhaps, we've ever seen here on NXT. Meanwhile, how does Finn Balor counter that kind of stuff? is an incredibly proficient grappler and his advantage in this match may be his aerial ability. Nakamura is not known to fly, Finn Balor can take to the skies and get it done when he needs to. That said, Balor's not afraid to strike. (crowd cheers)
Nakamura Shinsuke. Nakamura Shinsuke, Nakamura Shinsuke, Nakamura Shinsuke. (crowd cheers) This is such an important match. The winner could be in line for a title opportunity. That's up to our general management to decide. But right now Finn Balor, the early stages here of this matchup against Shinsuke Nakamura,
what is Finn looking for against Nakamura? Honestly, I've watched a lot of Nakamura's stuff, the guy almost never makes mistakes. He is as close to a perfect competitor as I have ever seen. The same can be said for Finn. Both of these guys have to be watching, waiting for the most minimal opportunity to exploit it. Shoulders down here on Finn and a kick out at one for a pin fall attempt.
Break the hold, Finn. The ropes, rope break, let's go. One, two, three. Come on, Shinsuke. A little classic Nakamura. Finn Balor won't have it. (crowd swoons) What? A little too sweet right in his face. Too sweet, too sweet. And a little knee to the abdomen for your troubles. I don't think Nakamura found that funny. Oh. Finn (indistinct) the drop kick now popping into a counter here, Nakamura to kick out at one. That could be what Finn Balor needs to do.
Finn Balor could be playing mind games. Get Shinsuke off his game that way. Nobody has attempted to hang when it comes to mind games like Shinsuke and Nakamura. Finn Balor may need to take that route. But at the same time, these are two superstars that know each other for basically a decade. 10 years. Nakamura was an up and coming star in Japan when Finn Balor arrived. Shinsuke, Shinsuke, Shinsuke, Shinsuke. It's actually a similar situation to what we have here in NXT.
Nakamura is the new kid on the block. Finn Balor's been the established star. Going back to mind games, Nakamura's in the ring with a guy who's a demon. Who knows mind games better than Finn Balor right now? Oh, blocked the kick there. Oh, didn't block that one. Now Nakamura gets Balor back into the ring, whips him into the corner. Now Nakamura in control. There you go, Tom. It's your favorite thing.
Good vibrations to Finn Balor. (crowd cheers) (Finn groaning) Once again, the NXT universe calling for it. Nakamura happy to oblige and now slides outside the ring. Uh-oh, this is not somewhere Finn Balor wants to be. Oh my God, he got all of it. Knock it off. (Shinsuke screams) Oh and again right to the back of the neck. Those knees of Nakamura should be registered weapons. And they pay dividends. Balor and Nakamura in an all out fight.
Nakamura looks to continue the onslaught, drops the knee, cover on Finn and a kick out. And for the last few moments, it's been all Shinsuke. Finn Balor is stunned early and look at how relaxed Nakamura is. This is always his game plan. He said in the past, if you're in control, you can stay relaxed. It's the hardest thing to do in a fight, but it's the key. Oh. Took out the left knee of Nakamura. Look at Nakamura clutching at his knee.
He could be hurt. That knee hyper extended all of Finn Balor's body weight shotgunned into the top of that kneecap. Wham, out of nowhere. Finn Balor turns the tide with that dropkick to the knee. That is something that could completely debilitate the game of Shinsuke Nakamura. And how smart is this by Finn? This is genius, this is brilliant, this is experience. Finn Balor and Nakamura, these two have trained together, they know each other so well.
They know each other's game plan and Finn is trying to take away Nakamura's most dangerous weapon. (crowd applauding) Hear the rumbling of the NXT universe, Shinsuke Nakamura stuck here middle of the ring. Now Finn Balor adjusts his positioning here against Nakamura. Nakamura Shinsuke,
Nakamura Shinsuke. Nakamura, hold on a second. Looking for a cover there. Finn popped up and got a drop kick. Now into the cover. One, two. Cover on Nakamura and he kicked out. We've been talking about a big fight feel. Every movement, every offensive maneuver from Balor and Nakamura, the crowd is completely invested in it. Any move can end this match. Now, Balor getting Nakamura back up to his feet here, whipped into the corner. Finn Balor again, back to the left knee.
It's a great strategy by Balor. Oh. Oh, what a shot. We know Nakamura is proficient with both legs in terms of striking. There's no real weak spot for him, but how does that affect you if you lose your plant leg, for instance? your kick leg has a lot less power, significantly less power, if any power at all. Again, oh, into the corner and Balor is starting to feel it. Let's go, man, come on. Out of the corner. Oh, and Balor, caught the left leg and shot to the knee. And look at Finn Balor going.
Oh my God, what a move by Balor. That will destroy a man's knee. Balor driving his knee into the back of Nakamura's knee, sticking to his brilliant strategy of taking away Nakamura's legs. Shinsuke, Balor. Looks like Balor's going for a surfboard type maneuver, if he can get the arms of Nakamura, the shots to the midsection generally.
Oh, man. Oh. (Shinsuke screams) Another cover. Another cover hooked to the injured leg and a kick out by Nakamura. Balor was looking for the surfboard, but he might've done just as much damage with that double stomp to the backs of the knees. (ring thumps) And right back on the attack refusing any sort of leeway here for Nakamura. Oh my God. Heel hook in. Balor looks like. I can't see, it looks like Balor's got a heel hook on Nakamura. He does, he's got that heel hook in deep. That will tear your knee apart.
I wouldn't be surprised if Nakamura tapped out right now. Yeah, Nakamura's going to have to find a way out of this thing. Perhaps use those long arms and try and drag himself to the bottom rope here, but all tied up right now with Finn Balor. How much longer is Nakamura's knee going to hold up? I get that he might not submit, but the human body can only take so much. And using those long arms and grabbing the bottom rope, breaking the hold on Finn Balor.
You have to acknowledge the surgical precision with which Finn Balor has attacked that left knee of Nakamura to this point. (Shinsuke grunts) (Shinsuke screams) Oh, and using the injured knee. Oh, and once again. (crowd applauding) Nakamura out of nowhere able to land that kick, but how much damage did it do to Nakamura's knee just to throw the strikes? It's reactive, it's instinctive, but is it the smart move there, Graves? I don't think it's a matter of smart. I think it's a matter of heart.
Nakamura knows what's at stake here, his pride. He asked for this match. Four. If Nakamura does not defeat Finn Balor, it could throw his entire career off course. (Shinsuke screams) Oh, and Shinsuke dropping Balor. Let's not forget, Shinsuke's got wicked arms and hands too. Oh God, what a kick. The outcome of this match, one man is propelled the new heights, the other has to reevaluate everything in their career. And Shinsuke Nakamura, not letting an injury get in the way of this match. That left leg seems to be working pretty fine right now.
Oh, here we go. It's not where Balor wants to be. Set up Finn. He got all of it right in the abdomen. Now the cover on Finn Balor to put away Finn and Finn got his shoulder off the mat. Unbelievable effort by both these superstars. Shinsuke, Shinsuke, Shinsuke, Shinsuke, Shinsuke, Shinsuke. Nakamura looking for that reverse exploder. Balor able to battle out. What a chop by Finn. Again, striking out with those legs, keeping Finn Balor at bay. Oh, man. Dropping Shinsuke outside the ring.
Uh-oh, what's Balor got in mind? Finn Balor right to the midsection of Nakamura. (crowd cheers) Finn. Right underneath the chin. Nakamura may be out cold. Finn Balor continues to roll, history will continue to be made. (crowd swoons) Balor got that double stump to the back of the neck. Back of the head and Nakamura kicked out. You gotta wonder if Nakamura is running on pure instinct right now. Finn Balor throwing everything in his arsenal at Shinsuke, but Nakamura is somehow able to kick out. That shot right to the back of the neck
will put out a lot of opponents here. And now Finn Balor, he'll be thinking about 1916, but Shinsuke saw it coming. (Shinsuke screams) Oh, and back to the knee. What a maneuver by Balor. What a submission. Right back to the injured knee, the left knee here. Shinsuke Nakamura, screaming out in pain. Finn Balor's got him exactly where he wants him. It's almost like a short arm scissors, but to the knee. I don't know that I've ever seen this before.
Now Shinsuke trying to crawl to the bottom rope here. Can he break this hold from Finn Balor? He reached out to the bottom rope. The referee asking Shinsuke Nakamura. Do you want to stick around here in this match? And he grabs a bottom rope. Listen to the screams of Nakamura. Pure agony.
You got to wonder if Nakamura's going to be able to stand. (Finn grunts) You can never forget about how resilient Nakamura is and how dangerous all of his moves are. Oh, he's got the arm bar. He's got it out of nowhere. Caught Finn. Balor hanging on. Finn caught by the arm bar. Into the triangle. Nakamura's got the triangle. Triangle here on Finn Balor. Finn Balor, a long way to go to the bottom rope here. He's got it locked in tight.
You could see Balor's head turning purple. Great positioning here from Shinsuke Nakamura. Finn Balor looks like he's- Balor is fading fast. His body's going limp. You can see the veins in his skull bulging out. Finn, Finn. Finn coming back to consciousness and his left leg, get the bottom rope. A last ditch effort by Balor may have prevented him from going unconscious, but now he is at the mercy of the King of Strong Style.
(Shinsuke grunts) Driving those knees into the side of the head. It's amazing to me how Nakamura can fight through the pain, the damage that's been inflicted on his left leg. (Shinsuke grunts) Oh, and face first goes thin. Could we be seeing what's he got left? Oh. Balor able to escape just in time. Shinsuke went to the turnbuckle and got caught by Balor.
What's he got? Over that reverse, reverse 1916. He got it. Got it on Nakamura. Cover, cover to put away Shinsuke. No. You got to be kidding me. Finn Balor is stunned. Absolute disbelief. Let's look at this again. The reverse. Oh, right there spiking Nakamura into the mat. One, two. This is awesome, this is awesome, this is awesome. Now Shinsuke Nakamura just trying to gather himself. Finn Balor is trying to figure out what he's got to do, but look at Finn.
Look at the intensity in the eyes of Finn Balor. I think the back of Shinsuke's head went into the hip of Finn Balor. Nakamura doesn't seem to know where he's at right now. Oh, he got the kick. Landed that right on the jaw of Finn Balor perhaps. Kinshasa. That's it. Back of the head. Cover up. Cover. Cover on Finn Balor. One, two. Nakamura to put him away, no. For the first time in NXT, someone, Finn Balor, has kicked out of the Kinshasa.
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. How in the world did Finn Balor kick out of this? One, two. Both men willing themselves back up. Here we go, Nakamura. Nakamura looking for the kill shot here. No. Oh, double stomp. Double stomp to the chest. Finn Balor to put away Nakamura. One, two. Nearly had him. Oh my God. God, that was close. Disbelief on the face of Finn Balor. Disbelief across the world right now.
I don't know how Nakamura kicked out of that. What is Balor going to have to do to finish the King of Strong Style? Oh, Finn, once again setting him up for the proper 1916 here. Can he get him? Looking for it here on Shinsuke. Nakamura hooked that leg of Balor. Just trying to out muscle Finn Balor here for a moment and stay grounded, but shots from the midsection. Oh. (wrestlers grunt) (crowd cheers) Look at the guts of these two men.
Just combat in its rarest form, back and forth, right hands. (crowd cheers) Oh my God, that was gross. He might have blown Nakamura's knee. Nakamura coming back on the opposite knee. There's a sling blade. (crowd applauding) You could see the wheels in Balor's head turning. He's got something in mind. Oh, into the corner. Drop kick into the corner has leveled Nakamura.
Nakamura is in perfect position for Finn to deliver the final blow. Finn going up to the top rope. Coupe de Grace missed. Nakamura from the second rope delivered the knee. Guys, over 20 minutes in, here it comes. Kinshasa. One, two, three. (bell rings) Shinsuke Nakamura has defeated Finn Balor. Here is your winner, Shinsuke Nakamura. (bright music)
(bright music continues) We knew this was going to be an iconic match in the history of NXT. You said it. You remember where you were when you saw Sami Zayn and Cesaro, two out of three falls. Sasha and Bayley in Brooklyn. But tonight, Shinsuke Nakamura defeats Finn Balor. It was a battle for pride, a battle for honor. Combat in its purest form just for the right to be called the better man. What a performance by these two competitors. Hats off to Finn Balor. And what more can be said about Shinsuke Nakamura?
(bright music) (bright music continues) Shinsuke, Shinsuke, Shinsuke, Shinsuke, Shinsuke, Shinsuke, Shinsuke, Shinsuke. (crowd applauding) The ultimate sign of respect from these two warriors. (crowd applauding and cheering)
(bright music) (bright music continues)
