The Beast in the East was a professional wrestling event produced by WWE. It took place on July 4, 2015 at Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Sumida, Tokyo, Japan. It aired live on the WWE Network and live on J Sports in Japan. Replays aired on J Sports 4 in Japan. Additionally, it will be available on demand on both the WWE Network and J Sports. It was the first WWE event to be broadcast live from Japan. The Beast in the East was available for free to new subscribers on WWE's monthly subscription service, the WWE Network in over 140 countries.
Background
The Beast in the East featured professional wrestling matches that involved wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds, plots, and storylines that played out on WWE's primary television programs, Raw, SmackDown and NXT. Wrestlers portrayed heroes or villains as they follow a series of events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches.
On May 28, 2015, it was revealed that Brock Lesnar was scheduled to appear at the July 4 live event in Japan. 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. 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. 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, will no longer take place due to Tyson Kidd suffering an injury, which is expected to take him out for over a year. It was later announced that The New Day would face The Lucha Dragons. On the June 3rd edition of NXT, William Regal announced that NXT Champion Kevin Owens will defend his title against Finn Bálor at the event.
Hideo Itami and Tatsumi Fujinami were advertised to appear at the event.
Recap
For the first time in history, WWE Network broadcasted live from Japan inside the sold-out Ryougoku Sumo Hall at Brock Lesnar: The Beast in the East Live from Tokyo!
Neville kicked things off as part of The Beast in the East, returning to Japan to go head-to-head with a Superstar who first spent time competing in Japan in the 1990s, Chris Jericho. In an extremely hard-fought match that ended in a standing ovation, Y2J overcame a very game Man That Gravity Forgot, countering his opponent's third Red Arrow attempt to make Neville tap out with the Walls of Jericho!
In a fast-paced Divas Championship clash between three of WWE's toughest battling beauties, Nikki Bella avoided Tamina's splash off the top rope to successfully retain the butterfly-emblazoned Divas Title.
Gearing up to face WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins at WWE Battleground on July 19, Brock Lesnar returned to action LIVE in Tokyo to battle Kofi Kingston in The Beast Incarnate's first match since WrestleMania.
In a display of absolute dominance, The Anomaly dismantled Kingston, taking him to Suplex City and finishing him off with a crippling F-5. The Beast in the East then continued his assault on his fallen opponent after the bell, laying waste to Big E and Xavier Woods of The New Day as well.
In a monumental event on WWE Network, Finn Bálor returned the land that made him famous, bringing every bit of his awesome painted splendor to battled Kevin Owens for the NXT Championship in Japan. And in the height of an absolutely brutal battle, Bálor brought out his inner demon to hit the Coup de Grace to capture NXT gold!
It was a tremendous honor that brought WWE Hall of Famer Tatsumi Fujinami to the ring to raise the hand of the victor. And despite the fact that Owens would not show his opponent any post-match respect, it would not diminish the incredible milestone in Bálor's life.
In a grueling tag team showdown, 15-time World Champion John Cena joined forces with Dolph Ziggler to take on WWE Director of Operations Kane & King Barrett. And after battling back from incredible adversaries, two of WWE's most resilient Superstars again found a way to win – when The Champ rocked the Land of the Rising Sun with an earth-shattering Attitude Adjustment on Barrett for the victory.
Matches
- Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.
- (c) refers to the champion(s) heading into the match.
- Dark match: Cesaro defeated Diego by submission (8:13)
- Dark match: The Lucha Dragons defeated The New Day (Big E and Xavier Woods) (6:31)
- Chris Jericho defeated Neville by submission (16:21)
- Nikki Bella (c) defeated Paige and Tamina in a Triple Threat Match to retain the WWE Divas Championship (7:03)
- Brock Lesnar defeated Kofi Kingston (2:38)
- Finn Bálor defeated Kevin Owens (c) to win the NXT Championship (19:20)
- John Cena and Dolph Ziggler defeated Kane and King Barrett (24:06)
External links
| 2015 World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-views |
|---|
|
Royal Rumble • Takeover IV • Fastlane • WrestleMania • Extreme Rules • Payback • Takeover V • Elimination Chamber • Money in the Bank • The Beast in the East • Battleground • Takeover VI • SummerSlam • Night of Champions • Live from Madison Square Garden • Takeover VII • Hell in a Cell • Survivor Series • TLC: Tables, Ladders, & Chairs • Takeover VIII |