1.16.16 - WWE NXT Chicago Matinee LIVE Report & Results

1/16/15
WWE NXT
Chicago, IL
1 PM (scheduled start time)

- The line for NXT Chicago's matinee show began forming well before 10:30AM, when our party arrived for the show

- Eventually the line was filled with thousands and stretched more than 6 city blocks

- Temperatures were in the low 20s & dipping into the teens, not including wind chill

- Stretches of the line were in the shade, which made waiting all the more awful & induced hallucinations of summer wrestling shows

- NXT Champion Finn Balor made his way through the entire line to shake hands and inform the public that the show had been delayed due to a failure of the heating system. He promised that the show would begin shortly and that everyone in line would make it in before the start of the show. He also promised that they would put on one hell of a show for the fans.

- Eventually the doors did open (90 minutes after the scheduled time); but, the venue was too small to host the number of people in attendance. The seats were so tight together that some people gave up getting to their seat altogether and simply stood during the entire show. No one was directing people to their seats and nothing was labeled clearly. The heating never came on, so people were huddled in the cold, even after waiting hours outside in the freezing temperatures. It is doubtful that the WWE would ever choose the Portage Theater again, as it provided minor league quality for a major wrestling promotion. Cheers to the fans because lesser fans could have made this experience much worse; but, Chicago fans made it an overall wonderful experience, despite the lackluster effort by the venue.

RESULTS:

- The 1st NXT match in Chicago, IL History: Big Cass & Enzo Amore defeated NXT Tag Team Champions by disqualification

- Tommaso Ciampa defeated Bull Dempsey via submission

- Elias "the Drifter" Samson defeated Tye Dillinger via pinfall. The crowd loved Dillinger; but, as far as Samson goes, it appears he has a major identity crisis. Some were mumbling that he looked like Randy Savage. Others compared him to the Honky Tonk Man (with his guitar); but, it is up to Samson to let us know exactly who he is.

 

- NXT Women's Champion Bayley defeated Alexa Bliss via pinfall. The crowd was super over for Bayley.

- Apollo Crews defeated Baron Corbin via pinfall

- Eva Marie & Nia Jaxx defeated Carmella & Peyton Royce, after Nia Jaxx pinned Peyton Royce. Eva Marie was over with the crowd as a heel. She received one of the biggest reactions of the evening with most chanting, "you can't wrestle," but many others chanting, "yes you can."

- NXT Champion Finn Balor defeated Sami Zayn via pinfall in what was a five star back and forth match. After the match the two took to the microphone to thank the fans for waiting outside and being part of the NXT revolution. Zayn went further to praise Balor for being a true champion by braving the cold weather to shake hands & talk with fans during the delay. Interestingly enough, Sami Zayn mentioned the name of his good friend, "Colt Cabana" during his speech, something that won't likely go over well with the powers that be at WWE.