WWE’s first-ever Superstar Spectacle event aired today on the WWE Network, and in India on local TV to celebrate Republic Day in the country.
The event featured Jinder Mahal returning to the ring after being out of action with a knee injury since May 2020. WWE Champion Drew McIntyre also wrestled his first match since being out for two weeks with a positive COVID-19 diagnosis.
WWE Superstar Spectacle also featured several Indian talents in action. The goal of Superstar Spectacle was to drum up enough buzz for there to be a weekly WWE show in India, perhaps something like a WWE NXT India brand. The Superstar Spectacle tapings, held last Friday at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, featured Jinder hyping the ThunderDome crowd to encourage them to cheer and tweet their support for a potential weekly show in India.
NXT Superstar Kavita Devi was originally announced for the show but she did not appear. WWE aired a video package on Devi and Cole noted that she was back in India dealing with family, but would be with us in the near future. Devi signed with WWE in 2017 and is the first Indian female pro wrestler to work for the company.
English commentary for Superstar Spectacle was done by Michael Cole, Corey Graves and Sharoz Ali. There was also commentary done in Hindi. The broadcast opened up with Triple H narrating a video package that talked about the WWE Universe in India, WWE’s past and present connections to India, and the importance of the country to WWE.
WWE did a good job of promoting the Indian talents who worked Superstar Spectacle. A video package on each Superstar aired before their match, and generally they were booked for strong in-ring performances.
Cole did mention on commentary that WWE has a goal of launching a Performance Center in India some time in the next few years.
Below are full results from Superstar Spectacle, along with clips from the show:
* NXT Champion Finn Balor defeated Guru Raaj with Coup de Grace and 1916. The story was that Raaj was the underdog challenging the veteran, Balor, who was too much for him in the end. Balor shook Raaj’s hand after the match in a show of respect
* Rey Mysterio, Ricochet, Giant Zanjeer and Dilsher Shanky defeated Cesaro, Shinsuke Nakamura, King Baron Corbin and SmackDown Tag Team Champion Dolph Ziggler. Shanky and Zanjeer are both proteges of former World Heavyweight Champion The Great Khali, and were booked as strong big men. The match ended with Rey hitting a splash from Shanky’s shoulders, onto Cesaro for the pin
* AJ Styles defeated Jeet Rama. The 40 year old Rama has been with NXT since 2015 and his success in India was played up during this match, billing him as a veteran who could hang with AJ. The match ended after Omos saved AJ from a superplex. Rama fell to the mat and AJ followed up with the Phenomenal Forearm for the pin. There was a show of respect from AJ to Rama after the match
* The New Day’s Xavier Woods and WWE Intercontinental Champion Big E came to the ring for a Bhangra dance segment with The Street Profits. A “Spinning Canvas” group of dancers joined them
* A video from The Great Khali aired with the former World Heavyweight Champion wishing everyone a Happy Republic Day
* Sareena Sandhu and WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Charlotte Flair defeated Bayley and Natalya. It was noted on commentary that Sandhu trained with one of Bayley’s original trainers. Sandhu was not as experienced as the other Indian talents, but she got the pin on Natalya after Flair hit Natalya with Natural Selection as Natalya had the Sharpshooter on Sandhu. This was billed as a big upset win for Sandhu. Charlotte and Sandhu did the Flair strut after the match
* A video package on NXT’s Kavita Devi aired. She has been with WWE since 2017 and is the first Indian female pro wrestler to wrestle for the company. Devi was previously announced for Superstar Spectacle but Cole said she was in India tonight dealing with family, and would be with us in the near future
* WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair came to the ring and talked about how it was an honor to be here and to be in front of so many fans from India. Flair wished everyone a Happy Republic Day and introduced the main event
* Indus Sher and WWE Champion Drew McIntyre defeated Jinder Mahal and The Bollywood Boyz in the main event. Jinder interrupted Flair, but Drew’s entrance interrupted Jinder’s promo. Drew ran his former 3MB partner down on the mic and said this was about the fans in India, not Jinder. Drew then introduced Indus Sher, saying he’s created his own Three Man Band (3MB) of Destruction for tonight. Saurav Gurjar and Rinku Singh of NXT’s Indus Sher were booked as a strong, dominant tag team. The finish saw Indus Sher put The Bollywood Boyz away after Drew and Jinder went at it
Superstar Spectacle then went off the air with the Indian talents in the ring celebrating with McIntyre and Triple H as pyro went off and music played. The replay can be viewed now on the WWE Network.
Below are several photos and clips from Superstar Spectacle:
(Photo Credit: WWE)
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