Philadelphia fans brave cold to witness WWE NXT Live

For the third year in a row, WWE presented NXT Live from the Tower Theater in Upper Darby before a room full of fans that braved the low temperatures that swept through the area Thursday night.

It was so cold that the Tower Theater enlisted the help of NXT stars Tye Dillinger, Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford to give fans standing in line outside of the venue cups of hot chocolate free of charge.

There was still hot chocolate inside the venue for fans that arrived after the lines had dwindled down.

Once the fans got warm and cozy in their respective seats, they witnessed eight matches that showcased NXT's top stars, familiar faces and even some unfamiliar names to those that watch the product on the WWE Network.

Here is a match-by-match recap of what fans saw:

Kassius Ohno def. Patrick Clark

The festivities started off with a bang, as Ohno, better known to independent wrestling fans as Chris Hero, was the first man to the ring with a new theme song playing in the background. I personally liked the song.

The fans did not like Clark, as he went to the ring in a Tom Brady jersey in an effort to draw the ire of the Eagles-loving crowd.

Clark may have been in the ring with a wrestler with a lot more experience in Ohno, but still held his own. Clark is clearly still developing in the ring, but part of what is going to help him improve is being in the ring with someone as experienced as Ohno.

As expected, Ohno won the match with one of his devastating elbow strikes.

Daria Berenato def. Mandy Rose

Unlike the first contest where fans saw someone lacking experience going against a seasoned vet, Berenato and Rose was a matchup between two wrestlers that are very much in the infancy stages of their respective careers.

The match was not anywhere near flawless, but still good when you take into account how new Berenato and Rose are to the business of professional wrestling.

I think Berenato has a lot of potential as a wrestler with a mixed martial arts mentality and background. However, I think it would behoove her to not cater to the fans so much.

I understand that she is probably doing it just to learn how to do it, but I feel like that is the wrong tone to take with her persona.

If Berenato was simply a no-nonsense fighter that did not smile or pander to the fans, I think fans would be more into her than they already are.

Oney Lorcan def. Steve Cutler

Cutler, a Rutherford, N.J. native and Monster Factory alumnus, returned to his old stomping grounds Thursday for a match against a man that is also very familiar with the area in Oney Lorcan.

Lorcan once wrestled for Combat Zone Wrestling as Biff Busick and even won the promotion's world championship on one occasion.

He has yet to win a championship in NXT, but he did defeat Cutler Thursday night in a good match.

Aleister Black def. Andrade "Cien" Almas

For those unfamiliar, Black was formerly known to wrestling fans as Tommy End and he had a very good showing Thursday against Almas.

NXT Women's championship – Asuka def. Nikki Cross & Ember Moon

Asuka, Cross and Moon put on a fantastic triple threat match right before intermission.

All three women were over with the fans and I like the way they linked some of their moves together. They all looked seamless and they definitely left the fans in awe.

I must say, though, that Cross seemed even more unstable in person than she does on television.

Sanity (Alexander Wolfe & Killian Dain) def. Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford

Something I did not see coming was Philadelphia falling head over heels for Dawkins and Ford.

Dawkins and Ford have been paired up recently as a tag team and came out looking like they were ready to go straight to the nightclub after the match.

Ford, who was formerly known as Kenneth Crawford, was even drinking out of a plastic red cup on his way into the ring.

Once in the ring, Dawkins and Ford showcased some solid teamwork. Most notably, Ford got to show off his athleticism and charisma, which I think will give him a promising future in NXT.

But what really made the fans at the Tower Theater fall in love with the duo were their shoes. Dawkins wore all white sneakers while Ford wore all red ones.

Since Ford's shoes were red, fans began calling him "red shoes," just like what fans do to New Japan Pro Wrestling referee Hiroyuki Unno.

The chants grew louder and louder as the match went on, especially when Sanity had the upper hand on Ford.

When Ford finally managed to tag in Dawkins, the crowd came unglued and called him "white shoes."

Despite the impeccable shoe game, it was not enough to defeat Sanity. However, that did not stop the fans from chanting "red shoes" and "white shoes" the rest of the night.

Tye Dillinger def. Eric Young

This match was set up when Young began talking trash on the microphone after the prior contest.

Dillinger interrupted him, but was overwhelmed by the rest of Sanity. That was until Dawkins and Ford took care of Wolfe and Dain to even the odds.

It was also pretty cool to see Dillinger get such a good reaction from the fans Thursday night. He is essentially the No. 2 babyface in NXT right now behind Shinsuke Nakamura and the reactions he receives reflect that.

Shinsuke Nakamura & #DIY def. Bobby Roode & Authors of Pain

Speaking of Nakamura, he and Roode received arguably the two loudest receptions of the night for their fantastic entrances.

The Authors of Pain entered the ring without manager Paul Ellering, but were sporting new shirts that said, "War is our peace."

The match probably wasn't the best of the night (I would probably go with the women's title match), but was still a fine way to cap off an exciting show.