At yesterday’s non-televised live event in Lowell, Massachusetts, Samoa Joe defeated Finn Balor to capture the NXT title. It is very rare that a title change happens at a regular house show but it happened before, most notably when Bret Hart defeated Ric Flair for the then WWF title in the early 90s.
Joe secured the pin after hitting the Muscle Buster, a move which he had been trying to execute several times during the match only to get blocked every time. The fans exploded when the three count hit, obviously not expecting a title change.
During the match the referee threw up the X hand sign when Finn Balor looked like he injured himself. Following the match, WWE’s medical team checked on Balor who was in the ring with his boot unlaced. It is still not clear if the injury was legit or he was just doing a pretty good job at selling.
Balor is the longest reigning NXT champion, surpassing Neville’s record earlier this week. This is Samoa Joe’s first title in NXT.
A WWE camera captured the title switch which you can see below.
