The most anticipated match of the night pitted Finn Balor against Kevin Owens for the NXT Championship in what was essentially a homecoming for the No. 1 contender.
Balor returned to the site of some of his finest battles, complete with his special ring entrance and body paint, promising that the Demon would slay Owens. The NXT champion looked completely unfazed as he stepped into the arena.
Streamers greeted the introduction of Balor while Owens bucked tradition and respect, tossing a bouquet of flowers out of the ring.
Hideo Itami was seated at ringside, watching intently as the ring crew removed the streamers.
Balor caught Owens with the corner dropkick early and tried for Coup de Grace. The champion bailed and Balor dove from the top rope, wiping him out at ringside. A frustrated Owens tried to escape once again but Balor delivered a baseball slide. A dropkick at ringside continued Owens' awful start to the bout.
Owens mocked John Cena's signature offense, even delivering the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Balor countered the Attitude Adjustment and delivered a double stomp to the chest. Owens caught Balor in midair and tried for the AA again, but Balor slipped out the back door and delivered the Pele Kick.
Owens talked trash and sent Balor into the ropes for the Pop-Up Powerbomb but Balor reversed and landed Sling Blade. The Coup de Grace, though, only resulted in a two count, much to the dismay and surprise of the fans.
"You can't beat me," Owens exclaimed, slapping Balor in the face. The Pop-Up Powerbomb was countered and a lariat left the champion grounded. Two straight dropkicks followed before a Coup de Grace ended Owens' NXT Championship reign.
Owens watched in disbelief as Balor celebrated his championship victory.
Itami watched on from ringside, a look of almost dismay on his face as he nonchalantly clapped his hands.
Tatsumi Fujinami congratulated Balor on his victory, much to the delight of the fans. The new champion extended his hand to Owens, who walked out to a chorus of boos, despite chants of "NXT" filling the arena.
Finn Balor pinned Kevin Owens.
This was the night's most anticipated match, and it delivered in every way imaginable.
From Balor's entrance to the shower of streamers that greeted him during introductions, to the big match call from Cole and Saxton, this felt very much like a match that could headline a WWE pay-per-view in the future.
The action was phenomenal and kept the fans on the edges of their seats for its duration.
Owens was the classic heel, someone so cocky and arrogant and confident in his abilities that he was clearly looking past Balor and onto his match with John Cena at Battleground. That wound up being his demise, as all of of the mocking of the current U.S. champion allowed Balor to stay in the match and ultimately finish off the unfocused Owens.
The post-match celebration was stellar and really put Balor over as the new face of NXT and one of the brightest stars of WWE's future, which is exactly what the intention was.
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