WWE returned to the iconic Madison Square Garden tonight as part of its Holiday Tour. Unfortunately, the company was forced to make several last-minute changes to the previously announced card.
As reported earlier, multiple stars, including WWE Champion Big E, Seth Rollins, RAW Women's Champion Becky Lynch, and Bianca Belair, were pulled from the card. It was officially announced before the show that some superstars will miss out due to the effects of COVID-19.
Scoop: EDGE is at WWE MSG pic.twitter.com/Xu7ofK5k6X
— thrawnsquatch (@Thrawnsquatch) December 27, 2021
The first match of the night saw Finn Balor defeat T-Bar. Next, Alpha Academy defeated the babyfaces Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode after Otis hit Roode with a top-rope splash and pinned him.
Next up was the hard-hitting NXT Championship match between Tommaso Ciampa and Pete Dunne. The crowd broke into "NXT" chants multiple times during the match. Ciampa retained his title by pinning Dunne.
Natalya then came out to the ring and claimed that she wanted to make history tonight by defeating two stars back-to-back in record time. Former WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Nikki A.S.H. and Rhea Ripley made their way to the ring.
The Queen of Harts pinned Nikki with her feet on the rope. However, she was not able to do the same in her immediate next match with Ripley. The Nightmare made Natalya tap, shattering her dreams of making history.
The first steel cage match of the night saw RAW Tag Team Champions Randy Orton and Riddle defend their titles in a triple threat against The Street Profits and The Mysterios. RK-Bro retained their titles after Orton hit an RKO on Rey Mysterio out of nowhere.
Homecoming complete!! @ArcherOfInfamy wins his first career match at @TheGarden! #WWEMSG @nyknicks pic.twitter.com/JxszxDL2ql
— WWE (@WWE) December 27, 2021
In the next match, United States Champion Damian Priest retained his title against The Miz. AJ Styles then faced his former tag team partner Omos. The Phenomenal One defeated him by DQ. Styles used a chair on the giant when the referee was not looking.
Omos grabbed the chair, but the referee saw and disqualified him. After the match, he chokeslammed AJ Styles.
The main event of the night saw Edge face Kevin Owens in a first-time-ever steel cage match. The Miz came out to the ring and stopped The Rated-R Superstar from exiting the cage on multiple occasions, including slamming the cage door on his face.
Edge kicked out of a stunner from Owens. The A-Lister then entered the cage and started attacking the former, but Damian Priest made the save. The Hall of Famer finally hit a spear on KO to pick up a pinfall victory.
What a way to cap off #WWEMSG! @EdgeRatedR & @FightOwensFight in a Steel Cage! pic.twitter.com/UxapK3hgnf
— WWE (@WWE) December 27, 2021
Complete WWE Live Event results from Madison Square Garden, New York
Here are the complete results for last night's WWE Live Holiday Tour at the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York (courtesy of PWInsider).
- Finn Balor def. T-Bar
- Otis and Chad Gable (Alpha Academy) def. Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode
- NXT Championship match: Tommaso Ciampa (c) def. Pete Dunne
- Natalya def. Nikki A.S.H.
- Rhea Ripley def. Natalya
- RAW Tag Team Championship match: RK-Bro (c) def. The Mysterios and The Street Profits in a steel cage bout
- United States Championship match: Damian Priest (c) def. The Miz
- AJ Styles def. Omos by DQ
- Edge def. Kevin Owens in a steel cage match