00:00The following contest is scheduled for
00:07Woodfall, introducing first, from Bulgaria,
00:11weighing 305 pounds, Alexander Rusev.
00:18Welcome back to NXT.
00:20Tom Phillips ringside with Alex Riley and Alex Rusev,
00:24the Bulgarian superstar.
00:27Alex, this guy's got a Muay Thai background
00:30with some sumo training.
00:32And this guy's a powerhouse.
00:35Yeah, any time you got a 300 pounder with a Muay Thai
00:38background, not a guy you want to take lightly.
00:42Not to mention this piece of wood he's brought to the ring.
00:57And his supporter from Hollywood, Florida, weighing 213 pounds,
01:02the show of Dolph Ziggler.
01:06And his supporter from Hollywood, Florida,
01:11weighing 213 pounds, the show of Dolph Ziggler.
01:18The NXT Universe in full throw for the show off.
01:23The NXT Universe in full throw for the show off.
01:33The NXT Universe in full throw for the show off.
01:37The NXT Universe in full throw for the show off.
01:39The NXT Universe in full throw for the show off.
01:43Doing it only the way that Dolph Ziggler can,
01:48Doing it only the way that Dolph Ziggler can.
02:01The former world champion, the former intercontinental and U.S. champion, former Mr. Money in the Bank.
02:10He'd ask you if he was here, can you pull this off?
02:14Not many people can like Dolph Ziggler.
02:18The great part about this for Russo is he has everything to gain in this match.
02:40He's got nothing to lose here.
02:41He can only go up.
02:43This guy is a two-time world champion in the WWE.
02:47And Rusev may have brought that two-by-four to the ring with Ziggler's name on it, but Dolph's pretty much done it all here in WWE, and I don't think he's scared one bit.
02:59Yeah, I will say that about the NXT rookies, though.
03:02They're not scared.
03:03You know, Zayn, Rusev, they go after people.
03:07Looking for the quick cover here.
03:17Rusev is down.
03:18No.
03:20And Dolph is getting warmed up.
03:21You can see Rusev, that Muay Thai background with his hands up, and Dolph's just not having anything of it, really.
03:33Yeah, he's got a Muay Thai background, but let's call this thing what it is.
03:37This is a wrestling match, and Dolph Ziggler's 200 pounds, and this guy's 305.
03:42So, yeah, Dolph Ziggler is an unbelievably accomplished athlete in the WWE, but don't take this guy lightly because of the fun.
03:51Ziggler.
03:53And again.
03:57You know, it started out really obnoxious, and now it's kind of getting endearing.
04:02Ziggler's seen it all.
04:03He's been to WrestleManias.
04:05He's been a world champion.
04:06And this is just what he does.
04:13Finally, a lockup between these two superstars and Ziggler.
04:19Well, it would appear that Rusev has a little bit of the power advantage here early on.
04:24Yeah, and I tell you what, it takes three seconds to beat somebody, and I don't know if I'm Dolph Ziggler.
04:29I'm locking up with this guy.
04:30I mean, the weight advantage here is incredible.
04:33And again, with the hands up in the air, I mean, you may not think that's a big deal,
04:39but it will throw you off if you're a technical wrestler.
04:43Ziggler.
04:43Oh, wow, right on the kisser.
04:49Ziggler.
04:50Uh-oh.
04:52The Bulgarian looking to pick things up here.
04:55And again, oh, Ziggler gets dumped.
05:07Tell you what, this is a strong showing for Rusev.
05:10I mean, if you're going to make a name for yourself, this is one of the guys to do it on,
05:14and he doesn't look scared at all.
05:16Ziggler just taking a moment to breathe here outside the ring,
05:21and Rusev absolutely relentless.
05:24Yeah.
05:25One.
05:28I wouldn't give this guy an ounce to breathe.
05:31I'd be all over him if I was Rusev.
05:34I would.
05:35Heads up.
05:35There you go.
05:39Rusev, he might put away the world champion right here.
05:42Former world champion, rather.
05:43Two count on Dolph Ziggler.
05:45Wow.
05:46Not many men have done that.
05:49Impressive.
05:54And Rusev, all that strength, all that brute force just trying to break Ziggler from the inside out.
06:01That now cutting off his wind, making it hard for him to breathe,
06:05putting pressure on the lower back.
06:07It's 300 pounds on your lower back.
06:10And one count away from beating him.
06:12Boom!
06:13Riley, are you impressed with Rusev this far?
06:15I'm incredibly impressed.
06:16I mean, he doesn't look scared.
06:18He's in there with an ex-world champion.
06:21And it's a great showing.
06:24Ziggler looking to turn the tide here.
06:25Oh!
06:31Another big dropkick.
06:33Hook to the leg.
06:34This could do it right here.
06:35No, Rusev stays alive.
06:37Ziggler looking for the cover here again, and Ziggler kicking out.
06:53Massive power right there.
06:55It's just something that you can't fight against when the guy outweighs you by 100 pounds.
07:01The man's one second away from pinning a former world heavyweight champion.
07:04You know, I'm happy for this guy.
07:05I'm a part of the development assistant myself, but it's great to see this stuff.
07:09You know, the opportunity to get in the ring with these guys and test your might.
07:15So many different things you have to prepare for when you go up against Alexander Rusev.
07:20We mentioned his different combative styles and his strength, and here's Ziggler.
07:25Oh, with the Famouser.
07:27Hook to the leg.
07:27This could put away.
07:28Rusev.
07:29Rusev kicks out again.
07:30He's hanging in there with a champ.
07:34Wow.
07:36Bulgarian powerhouse continuing to stay in this matchup with the show-off.
07:40Yeah, and, you know, I was thinking, why did I come down here right now?
07:44What am I doing?
07:45This is a little more pit-off, a little more than I can chew.
07:47Looking for the sleeper hold there, perhaps.
07:50Now, Ziggler, whoa!
07:52Don't see that from any 300-pounders.
07:54Rusev looking for another cover here on Ziggler.
07:57Ziggler shoulder up.
07:58There's guys you go up against that are big, and that's okay.
08:01That's one thing.
08:01And there's guys you go up against that are small and can move.
08:04But when you've got a combination of the two, those guys are very tough to deal with.
08:09And the frustration, now Rusev just boiling over.
08:13Day on him.
08:14I still can't get over that huge spinning kick that took out Dolph Ziggler completely for the time being.
08:28Wait, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
08:36Are you kidding me?
08:37Please not.
08:37Come on.
08:41This guy's 300 pounds.
08:44He won.
08:45Oh!
08:45Ziggler.
08:49Ziggler.
08:49Ziggler.
08:49That's it.
08:50One, two, three.
08:52Show off.
08:54Here's your winner.
08:58Tom Ziggler.
09:01The former world champion proving why he does that, and you cannot.
09:11And there's rookies, and then there's pros, and rookies perform sometimes, sometimes not,
09:20but pros always produce.
09:22And Dolph Ziggler is a pro, proved it here, but what a showing by Rusev.
09:27He was awesome.
09:29He's incredible.
09:31Rusev going high risk.
09:33We saw him go for the splash.
09:34We saw the 300-pounder attempt a spinning heel kick.
09:37I mean, you guys got a wall.
09:38The most important thing that we saw is that this guy can do it all, and do everything
09:43in a wrestling ring, which makes it incredibly hard to plan for.
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