January 26, 2015
The New Age Outlaws, a.k.a The Road Dogg and Billy Gunn, opened Sunday night’s pay-per-view event against The Ascension, after the two teams mixed it up on Raw last Monday night.
Wearing Phillie Phanatic hats as they entered the ring, it was no shock that the old-school duo was the crowd favorite at the Wells Fargo Center. Hell, they would’ve still been the favorites even if their much younger opponents had been wearing the ridiculous green lids.
Billy Gunn got the Outlaws, who’ve won six tag team titles in their time, off to a good start against Viktor. He didn’t waste too much before tagging in Road Dogg, who got escaped a couple of pins before Konnor put him in a chokehold. He was able to escape and make it to his corner to tag in Billy Gunn, who came out firing, throwing Konnor out of the ring and landing a tilt-a-whirl slam on Viktor. But after a failed Fame-asser, and a tag by Viktor, the match was all but over.
The young guns scored their first major victory, as they used the Fall of Man to take down Billy Gunn, with Konnor getting the final pin.
The real story here - since there was no title on the line - is the statement made by The Ascension. Less than a week after being embarrassed by the New Age Outlaws and other N.W.O. members, Konnor and Viktor wasted no time finishing this match to win their first Royal Rumble event. Clearly, this was WWE trying to use the legendary Outlaws, now well past their prime, to put the new kids on the block over. The fight was too one-sided and the Outlaws too far over the hill to successfully do that, at least for some fans.
Paige, the first women’s NXT champ, is a newcomer to WWE, but she got her team off to a good start against Nikki Bella before tagging in Natalya, who took a beating from both Bellas.
Once she was able to get across to her own corner and tag in Paige, however, it was the Bella Twins who were forced to go on the defensive.
Brie put in some work on both Natalya and Paige, but once they got Natalya in the ring, they seemed intent on keeping her there. For a moment, it looked like Natalya was going to make it, as she lifted Nikki over her shoulders from a dead squat and slammed her into the mat. But once she got close to the corner, it was Brie who shuck up behind page, knocking her back and preventing the tag. Nikki then finished the job with a running forearm to Natalya’s face and a 3-count pin.
They may have been dressed like some of the Wingettes who will be flooding the Wells Fargo Center for Friday’s Wing Bowl, but these Divas are seem 10 times more badass. And they put on a hell of a fight.
