WWE Beast in the East Review: Brock Lesnar Crushes, Finn Balor Wins NXT Championship

Rob Wolkenbrod

WWE.com

Follow along with review of the WWE Beast in the East live special.

WWE broadcasted for the first time from Tokyo, Japan with their “Beast in the East” special.

The show will feature a former WWE World Heavyweight Champion, an NXT Championship match and Divas Championship match. 99.9 percent of the time, title bouts at live events don’t result in a change. However, this morning may be an exception with a win by either Finn Balor or Paige.

Despite the title matches, WWE billed this show as “The Beast in the East” special, referring to Brock Lesnar. It was his first non-pay-per-view match in over a decade. He took on Kofi Kingston.

NXT Championship Match
Kevin Owens (c) vs. Finn Balor

WWE Divas Championship Match
Nikki Bella (c) vs. Paige vs. Tamina

Brock Lesnar vs. Kofi Kingston

John Cena and Dolph Ziggler vs. King Barrett and Kane

Chris Jericho vs. Neville

New Day vs. The Lucha Dragons

Cesaro vs. Diego

Follow along with our WWE Beast in the East review by clicking “next.”

WWE.com

Chris Jericho vs. Neville

Result: Chris Jericho defeats Neville via submission.

Rating: 3.4 out of 5 stars

This crowd was all for Jericho from the moment he stepped out.

Neville got Jericho out of the ring early on with a kick. When he returned, he got Neville into a hold.
After Neville attempted to dive onto Jericho, he countered with a big springboard dropkick.
Jericho would nearly get a pinfall from a cross-body.
Things would pick up after an attempted schoolboy, to which Jericho hit an inseguri.
After a few chops from Jericho, Neville hit a few kicks. Jericho then went to the top rope, hit an elbow and a running bulldog.
Jericho would get Neville to the top rope and attempt a superplex but the former got knocked off. This set up Red Arrow but Jericho rolled out.
After missing, Jericho got Neville into the Wall of Jericho and barely crawled his way to the rope.
Neville hit a big dive over the ropes. Back in the ring he hit a standing shooting star press and nearly got a pinfall.
Jericho finally worked his way back with a forearm and Lionsault to nearly win.
After Neville attempted a move off the top rope, Jericho caught him with Codebreaker in mid-air!
Neville hit 2 superkicks on Jericho and went for Red Arrow but Jericho countered and put him into the Lion Tamer! Neville tapped out moments later.

WWE.com

WWE Divas Championship Match
Nikki Bella (c) vs. Paige vs. Tamina

Result: Nikki Bella defeats Paige and Tamina to retain the WWE Divas Championship.

Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars

Things got chaotic fast with multiple attempted pins until Tamina and Nikki were alone in the ring.
Paige and Nikki would momentarily work togethering, hitting a suplex on Tamina until they started battling.
After an attempted pinfall from Nikki, Paige connected with a knee to the face for a near-pin. They would kick out Tamina as she tried to return.
As Nikki and Paige fought on the top rope, Tamina came in and threw both women off! Tower of Doom!
Nikki and Paige would go at it again. The British Diva hit a RamPaige but Nikki kicked out of the pin.
Paige locked in a PTO but Tamina hit a huge superkick to break it up. She hit a Samoan Drop
After a dive from the top rope, Nikki hit a big forearm for the win.

WWE.com

Brock Lesnar vs. Kofi Kingston

Result: Brock Lesnar defeats Kof Kingston via pinfall.

Rating: Greatness.

Kingston immediately ran out of the ring and attempted to hit Lesnar once they got into the ring.
Kofi tried a plethora of dropkicks but couldn’t get him down. Lesnar responded with two non-nonchalant German suplexes.
Make that three.
Kofi would slowly get up and be hit with an F-5 for the win.

After the match, Lesnar hit another suplex. He followed this up with a second F-5. Xavier Woods and Big E would run down to try to make the save but get F-5’d.

WWE.com

NXT Championship Match
Kevin Owens (c) vs. Finn Balor

Result: Finn Balor defeats Kevin Owens to win the NXT Championship.

Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars

Balor began things quick with an attempted Coup de Grace but turned it into a dive onto Owens outside the ring.
They would go back out of the ring with Finn hitting a big dropkick.
After a slam, Owens would take control. He hit a few hard chops and began stomping away.
Owens would get Balor into a hold. After he tried to counter, Owens knocked him down and got him out of the ring. He threw him into the steel steps. Balor would barely get back into the ring.
Owens would continue to control in the ring for awhile until Balor finally created some separation.
After a brief comeback, Owens began hitting shoulder tackles and the five knuckle shuffle.
Balor would then counter two attempted AA’s. He connected with a big Pele Kick.
Balor would hit a huge flip over the ropes. He sent Owens back into the ring and hit a double foot stomp to the back of the head. He followed up with an inverse DDT.
After an attempted Coup de Grace, Owens got away from it. He hit a big suplex for a near-fall.
Balor would hit slingblade and go to the top rope but Owens hung onto his feet. He headbutted him off the rope but got hit with a big kick to the head.
Balor hit Coup de Grace but Owens kicked out!
Balor would get frustrated, punching and kicking away. The two would go to the top rope but Owens hit a huge rolling senton!
After coming off the top rope, Balor countered with the knees. He hit another inverted DDT for a near-fall.
Owens would get back up and connect with a big superkick but get taken down shortly after.
Balor would go to the top rope and connect with Coup de Grace to win the NXT Championship!

After the match, Tatsumi Fujinami came out to congratulate Balor.

Owens would come back in the ring and Balor looked to shake his hand but he walked out disgusted.

Rob’s Note: That was incredible. The showcase for it, the match and everything else. Congratulations to Finn Balor on becoming the new NXT Champion! Well-deserved.

WWE.com

John Cena and Dolph Ziggler vs. Kane and King Barrett

Result: John Cena and Dolph Ziggler defeat Kane and King Barrett via pinfall.

Rating: 2.6 out of 5 stars

Barrett and Ziggler began things, which the former taking initial control.
Ziggler would get in some offense but eventually get attacked by both Barrett and Kane.
Cena would tag in and try getting Kane down but couldn’t. He would knock down Mr. HLR and tag in Barrett.
Kane came back in and continued to work on Cena. After Barrett came back in, Cena tried getting some offense until he was hit in the gut with a big kick.
After working against Barrett for awhile longer, Cena powered him up into an AA but couldn’t make the tag to Ziggler.
Kane came in and went for a choke slam but was countered. He hit a move off the top rope for a near-fall.
Barrett came back in but got hit by Cena. Ziggler would finally come in for the hot tag.
Ziggler would go back and forth with Kane and Barrett for awhile until he got taken out with a big clothesline.
Ziggler continued to be attacked by both men in and out of the ring. He would get locked into a hold from Barrett and hit with Winds of Change.
After Kane came in, Ziggler briefly separated himself but the attack from the heels continued.
Cena finally got the hot tag to come in and went to work on Barrett. He hit a five knuckle shuffle on him and an AA on Kane.
Cena then hit an AA on Barrett for the win.

WWE.com

Final Thoughts

This was an excellent idea and well-executed by WWE in their first live broadcast on the WWE Network outside the USA.

Throughout the USA, fans had to get up anywhere from 2:30-5:30 am if they wanted to watch the show. Despite that, it was well worth it.

The match of the night was Finn Balor winning the NXT Championship from Kevin Owens. It was an awesome spectacle with the pre-match ritual, the Demon returning and, of course, the match. Balor got his moment where he made a name for himself and defeated one of the hottest wrestling stars in the business.

The only question with the match was why it did not main event. John Cena and Dolph Ziggler vs. Kane and King Barrett had been advertised for awhile but putting this title bout on last would have made plenty more sense. It did nothing to change, the moment, though, which was incredible.

So what did you think of WWE’s Beast in the East special?

You can follow Rob Wolkenbrod on Twitter @RealRobWolkey. If you would like to send a report from a live event, email us at trebor5227@yahoo.com.

Next: Finn Balor's Connection to Japan

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Rob Wolkenbrod

Robert is an editor, writer, and video editor. He covers the San Antonio Spurs for Forbes and the Toronto Raptors for Hoops Habit.