The Beast in the East

The Beast in the East was a professional wrestling event produced by WWE, an American-based promotion, that aired live on the WWE Network. It took place on July 4, 2015, at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Sumida, Tokyo, Japan. It aired live internationally on the WWE Network and live on J Sports in Japan. The replays of the event aired on J Sports 4 in Japan. Additionally, it would be available on demand on both the WWE Network and J Sports.[2] To date, the show is the only time in WWE's history that an event was broadcast live from Japan.[3] It was available to subscribers of the WWE Network, in over 140 countries.[4][5]

The Beast in the East
Promotional poster featuring Brock Lesnar
PromotionWWE
DateJuly 4, 2015
CitySumida, Tokyo, Japan
VenueRyōgoku Kokugikan
Attendance8,646[1]
WWE Network event chronology
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Seven matches were contested at the event, with two of the matches shown exclusively on J Sports. The main event saw John Cena and Dolph Ziggler defeat Kane and King Barrett. In other matches, Chris Jericho wrestled his first televised match since Night of Champions, defeating Neville, Finn Bálor defeated Kevin Owens to win the NXT Championship, and Brock Lesnar defeated Kofi Kingston.

Storylines

The card consisted of five matches, that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches, with results predetermined by WWE's writers.[6][7] Storylines played out on WWE's primary television programs, Raw, SmackDown and NXT.

On May 28, 2015, it was revealed that Brock Lesnar was scheduled to appear at the July 4 live event in Japan.[8] This would mark Lesnar's first non-PPV match for WWE since 2004. Lesnar reportedly requested a spot on the show so he and Brad Rheingans could go to Tokyo to visit Masa Saito, who was in bad health.[9] WWE then released a promotional video announcing that the show would no longer be a house show, and would be broadcast live on the WWE Network.[10] One day later, WWE revealed the entire match card for the show. One of the matches scheduled for the event, The New Day vs. Tyson Kidd and Cesaro, could no longer take place due to Tyson Kidd suffering an injury, which was expected to take him out for over a year.[11][12] Kidd & Cesaro were replaced by The Lucha Dragons.

Kevin Owens defended his NXT Championship against Finn Bálor at the event. At NXT TakeOver: Rival in February 2015, Owens had captured the NXT Championship while Bálor won a tournament to become number one contender.[13] On the March 25 episode of NXT, Owens prevailed over Bálor, who had dispensed with his 'Demon' facepaint, saying that he didn't need the 'Demon' to beat the champion; in the match Owens took advantage of a (kayfabe) leg injury.[14] However, Bálor earned another title shot at NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable in May when he beat Tyler Breeze.[15] Bálor vowed that at Beast in the East Owens would 'meet the Demon'.[16]

Hideo Itami and Tatsumi Fujinami were also advertised to appear.[17][18]

Event
Other on-screen personnel
Role Name
Commentators Byron Saxton
Michael Cole
Ring announcer Eden Stiles

Preliminary matches

Dark matches were held, where Cesaro defeated Diego by submission and The Lucha Dragons (Kalisto and Sin Cara) defeated The New Day (Big E and Xavier Woods).

The first match was Chris Jericho facing Neville. Neville kicked out of a mid-air Codebreaker. However, after Jericho countered a Red Arrow attempt, Jericho forced Neville to submit to the Liontamer for the victory.

Next, Nikki Bella defended the Divas Championship against Tamina and Paige. In the middle of the match, Paige executed the Rampaige on Nikki, only to get a near-fall. Tamina superkicked Paige, which was the last of Paige for the match. Nikki pinned Tamina after a forearm smash for the victory to retain the title.

After that, Brock Lesnar faced Kofi Kingston. Lesnar dominated though being dropkicked to the turnbuckles twice, but it didn't stop him from executing three German suplexes. In the end, Lesnar pinned Kingston after a F-5 for the victory. After the match, Lesnar would deliver more German suplexes and another F-5 on Kingston. Big E and Xavier Woods appeared, but Lesnar ultimately executed F5s on both Big E and Woods.

Finn Bálor celebrating his victory after defeating Kevin Owens for the NXT Championship.

In the fourth match, Kevin Owens defended the NXT Championship against Finn Bálor. Owens mocked John Cena, with whom he had a running feud, with Cena's trademark shoulder tackles, spin-out powerbomb, and Five Knuckle Shuffle. However, Owens became one of the very few people to kick out of the Coup de Grâce. Balor pinned Owens after a second Coup de Grâce for the victory to win the title.

Main event

The main event was WWE United States Champion John Cena and Dolph Ziggler facing Kane and King Barrett. Barrett and Kane pretty much dominated throughout the match. In the end, Ziggler performed a superkick on Barrett and Cena performed an Attitude Adjustment on Kane for the pin.

Reception

The Beast in the East received generally positive reviews from critics. The Owens-Bálor match was highly praised. PWInsider.com's Mike Johnson called it "a great main event level" match.[19] PWTorch.com's James Caldwell gave the match a four-and-a-half-star rating, the highest rating of the night.[20] 411Mania.com's Larry Csonka praised the look of the show, saying it was far away from "the usual and sanitized WWE TV event".[21]

Results
No. Results Stipulations Times[22]
1D Cesaro defeated Diego by submission Singles match[Note 1][23] 8:13
2D The Lucha Dragons (Kalisto and Sin Cara) defeated The New Day (Big E and Xavier Woods) Tag team match[Note 1][23] 6:31
3 Chris Jericho defeated Neville by submission Singles match[24] 16:20
4 Nikki Bella (c) defeated Tamina and Paige Triple threat match for the WWE Divas Championship[24] 7:03
5 Brock Lesnar defeated Kofi Kingston Singles match[24] 2:36
6 Finn Bálor defeated Kevin Owens (c) Singles match for the NXT Championship[25] 19:25
7 Dolph Ziggler and John Cena defeated Kane and King Barrett Tag team match[24] 23:50
  • (c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
  • D – indicates the match was a dark match

Aftermath

At the 2015's San Diego Comic-Con International on July 9, a Bálor-Owens rematch for the NXT Championship was scheduled for the next NXT TakeOver show in August 2015.[26] Owens later requested for the stipulation of a ladder match, saying that he did not want to suffer NXT General Manager William Regal costing him the title in a situation alike the Montreal Screwjob. Though Bálor never had competed in a ladder match before, he accepted the stipulation[27][28] and defeated Owens.[29]

Footnotes
  1. This match was only broadcast in Japan as part of the J Sports broadcast.

References
  1. Namako, Jason. "WWE Attendance (7/3-7/6, Japan Tour, Beast In The East)". wrestleview.com. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  2. "Brock Lesnar's historic return to Tokyo to air live on the award-winning WWE Network". WWE. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  3. Puckering, Dean. "Tokyo, Japan House Show To Air Live on WWE Network". thewrestlingmania.com. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  4. Namako, Jason. "WWE Network free to new subscribers again in July". wrestleview.com. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  5. "New Subscribers Get May Free Including Battleground". Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  6. Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 18, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  7. "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on February 26, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  8. Killam, Mike. "Brock Lesnar Returning to Sumo Hall in Japan For the First Time Since Dropping the IWGP Title to Kurt Angle". wrestlezone.com. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  9. Meltzer, Dave (June 8, 2015). "June 8, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Tommy Rogers bio, Austin-Lesnar notes, WWE signs Samoa Joe full-time, more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California: 44. ISSN 1083-9593.
  10. "Brock Lesnar: The Beast in the East Live from Tokyo will air live on the award-winning WWE Network o". WWE. June 22, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  11. Paglino, Nick. "Big Backstage Update on Erick Rowan & Tyson Kidd Injuries; What Type of Surgery is Kidd Having?, Timeline for Kidd & Rowan Returns". wrestlezone.com. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  12. Fisher, Jon. "WWE News: Tyson Kidd To Be Out Of Action For 14 Months With Neck Injury". inquisitr.com. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  13. Caldwell, James. "NXT News: Big title changes on "Takeover" special, tournament finals, pre-show dark match, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  14. "WWE NXT TV report 3-25-15". f4wonline.com. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  15. Trionfo, Richard (21 May 2015). "'NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable' Recap – Samoa Joe Saves the Day". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  16. James, Justin. "WWE NXT report 6/3 - Week 164: Balor vs. Rhyno main event, hype for Owens vs. Balor in Japan, Vaudevillians return, Sami Zayn update, more; Overall Reax". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  17. "WWE Live Tokyo July 4". WWE. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  18. Sapp, Sean Ross. "WWE Japan PPV News: Special Guest, Why Card Was Shuffled, Original Plans For Chris Jericho". wrestlinginc.com. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  19. Johnson, Mike. "Brock Returns, Balor Vs. Owens, Cena teams with Cena & more: Complete The Beast in the East Coverage". Pro Wrestling Insider.
  20. Caldwell, James (July 4, 2015). "CALDWELL'S WWE NETWORK SPECIAL REPORT 7/4: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of "Beast in the East" - Lesnar's in-ring return, Owens vs. Balor for NXT Title, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  21. "Csonkas' WWE Beast in the East Review 7-04-15". 411Mania. July 4, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  22. Caldwell, James. "CALDWELL'S WWE NETWORK SPECIAL REPORT 7/4: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of "Beast in the East" - Lesnar's in-ring return, Owens vs. Balor for NXT Title, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  23. "WWE Live From Tokyo: The Beast In The East" (in English and German). Cagematch. July 4, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  24. Sapp, Sean Ross. "WWE Announces Full Card For WWE Special From Tokyo On July 4: NXT Title, Brock Lesnar, Chris Jericho". Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  25. Melok, Bobby. "NXT Champion Kevin Owens vs. Finn Bálor - live from Tokyo on Network Saturday, July 4". WWE. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  26. Pruett, Will. "WWE Panel at San Diego Comic Con 2015 Live Coverage". prowrestling.net. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
  27. Zimmerman, Zack (August 5, 2015). "8/5 Zim's WWE NXT Coverage". prowrestling.net. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
  28. Oster, Aaron. "Finn Balor: The Demon Comes to Brooklyn". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
  29. Tylwalk, Nick. "Balor, Owens thrill packed Barclays Center at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn". Canoe.ca. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
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