-

Samoa Joe wins NXT title at non-televised live event

At yesterday’s non-televised live event in Lowell, Massachusetts, Samoa Joe defeated Finn Balor to capture the NXT title. It is very rare that a title change happens at a regular house show but it happened before, most notably when Bret Hart defeated Ric Flair for the then WWF title in the early 90s.

Joe secured the pin after hitting the Muscle Buster, a move which he had been trying to execute several times during the match only to get blocked every time. The fans exploded when the three count hit, obviously not expecting a title change.

During the match the referee threw up the X hand sign when Finn Balor looked like he injured himself. Following the match, WWE’s medical team checked on Balor who was in the ring with his boot unlaced. It is still not clear if the injury was legit or he was just doing a pretty good job at selling.

Balor is the longest reigning NXT champion, surpassing Neville’s record earlier this week. This is Samoa Joe’s first title in NXT.

A WWE camera captured the title switch which you can see below.

 

Colin Vassallo
Colin Vassallohttps://www.wrestling-online.com
Colin Vassallo has been editor of Wrestling-Online since 1996. He is born and raised in Malta, follows professional wrestling and MMA, loves to travel, and is a big Apple fan!

Stories you might also likeRELATED
Recommended to you

LATEST NEWS

CM Punk to join Ariel Helwani on Monday for “no holds barred” live interview

CM Punk will be on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani next Monday live in studio for his first...

NXT rating for 03/26/2024

NXT this week drew 601,000 viewers, up 32,000 viewers from the prior week. The show had a 0.17 rating...

WWE Speed to debut on X on April 3

The WWE Speed weekly show which will air exclusively on X will start next week on Tuesday, April 3. Speed...

Discover more from Wrestling-Online.com

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading