NXT UK’s first TakeOver special also featured the crowning of the brand’s inaugural Tag Team Champions.
Zack Gibson & James Drake defeated Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) in the opener of UK TakeOver: Blackpool to become the first NXT UK Tag Team Champions. Gibson and Drake won with their Ticket to Mayhem double-team finisher (Drake lifting Seven in position for a tombstone and Gibson then hitting a codebreaker).
There was a spot leading into the finish where Bate was on Gibson’s shoulders on the outside and Drake took Bate out with a spear after ducking a lariat from Seven and diving through the ropes.
On-screen authority figures Johnny Saint and Sid Scala came out to the stage after the match to applaud and raise Gibson and Drake’s hands.
Moustache Mountain wore British Bulldogs-inspired gear during the match. In an homage to Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid, Seven hit a running powerslam and Bate then hit a diving headbutt for a near fall at one point.
Gibson & Drake defeated Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews to advance to the finals of the Tag Team tournament, while Moustache Mountain defeated Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang). Gibson & Drake had already been a team before tagging together in NXT UK, with them known as the Grizzled Young Veterans outside of WWE.
WWE’s first-ever NXT UK TakeOver special takes place at 2 p.m. Eastern time (7 p.m. GMT/8 p.m. CET for those in Europe) in Blackpool, England today.
In the main event, Pete Dunne is looking to defend his WWE UK Championship and carry on his 603-day reign against Joe Coffey. The feud between these two has been brewing for months now, with both men’s respective groups, British Strong Style and Gallus, getting involved.
Dunne snapped Coffey’s fingers during a contract signing a few weeks ago and got powerbombed through a table for his troubles. Most recently, Gallus were victorious over British Strong Style in a six-man tag team match during the go-home show for this TakeOver special. This should be a hard-hitting match with both men wanting to prove they can carry the main event of the brand.
On the undercard, Dunne’s BSS brethren, Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven), are facing Zack Gibson & James Drake in the finals of a tournament for the NXT UK Tag Team Championship in what should be a strong match. Bate and Seven beat Gallus in the semifinals, while Gibson & Drake defeated Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster.
In a rematch of the finals from another tournament, NXT UK Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley will defend her title against Toni Storm. These two had a great match back in August, when Ripley first won the title and Storm legitimately injured her back during the match and was out of action for about a month. Both women have looked strong in recent matches on NXT UK, so I expect another good match between them.
Dave Mastiff will take on fellow monster Eddie Dennis in a no DQ match. Mastiff initially beat Dennis a few months ago in their first match and the feud has been brewing ever since, with both men attacking the other and a second match ending in a double disqualification. This is a modern take on an unstoppable force meeting an unmovable object and will be a proper mean guy match.
Jordan Devlin also will face Travis Banks in what will be a great platform for both men to showcase their in-ring prowess. The story here is a simple one, in that the patriotic Irishman is blaming his opponent from New Zealand of not loving his home country as much as Devlin loves his.
There will also be a pre-show on the WWE Network starting at 1:30 p.m. Eastern (6.30 GMT/7.30 CET).
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Pre-show:
Vic Joseph and Nigel McGuinness opened the show with shots of the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool and ran down the card. A number of recap videos summarized the stories behind the individual matches.
A video on the new WWE UK Performance Center aired, with highlights of Paul Levesque’s speech and sound bits by Charlotte Flair, Finn Balor and Pete Dunne.
Radzi Chinyanganya had breaking news from backstage and they showed a video of Travis Banks the arena and getting attacked by Jordan Devlin, throwing him into a stack of backstage ramps and a wall, looking to injure Banks’ left knee. Radzi stated that Banks had been medically cleared for his match with Devlin though.
Main show:
A video recapped the history of NXT UK talent, starting with the original UK Championship tournament from Blackpool in January of 2017 leading to this first NXT UK TakeOver.
1. NXT UK Tag Team Championship tournament finals: James Drake & Zack Gibson beat Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) in 23:46 after hitting Ticket to Mayhem on Seven
This was a great opener, showcasing the strengths of all four men. Story of the match was Seven first injuring his left arm on a dive, then also getting his knee attacked and eventually succumbing to the heels.
Bate and Seven were wearing red and black tights, in a tribute to the British Bulldogs. Johnny Saint presented the NXT UK tag team titles in the ring.
The fans were crazy right from the get-go, cheering on Tyler Bate and taking off their shoes to show their disdain for Gibson. Early story was Bate countering Gibson’s offense, including impressively flipping backwards through a bridge on his neck on a pinning attempt. Moustache Mountain were on offense in the first few minutes, including Bate cat and mousing his way around Drake in a way that I’m sure made Johnny Saint proud.The heels finally took over around the 7 minute mark by outsmarting Seven outside the ring, and Gibson nailing him in the throat.
Gibson and Drake hit their move where Gibson picked up Seven for a backbreaker on the outside and Drake dove over the top rope onto him. Seven bled from the back of the head, courtesy of a stiff elbow by Drake. Seven was in trouble for a few minutes until he finally managed a hot tag to Bate, who managed to pick up first Drake and eventually both Drake and Gibson for an airplane spin to massive “Big Strong Boi” chants. He also gave Drake and exploder from the apron onto Gibson on the outside, following by a running shooting star from the apron on both on the outside. In another hommage to the Bulldogs, Seven hit a running power slam, followed by a diving headbutt by Bate.
Gibson foiled a snap dragon/lariat combo by hitting a Ticket to Ride on Seven, then Helter Skelter, followed by a 450 by Drake for a close near fall. Gibson then locked in Shankly Gates on Seven and Drake managed to lock in the same move to Bate as he tried to make the save, until Bate managed to pick Drake up and slam him into Gibson as we entered the home stretch of the match. Moustache Mountain finalls hit the snbapdragon/lariat, but Seven’s arm was injured so the move didn’t it with full force and Drake kicked out. Gibson pulled Bate off the apron on his shoulders and Drake speared him on a dive in a “holy shit” kind of moment. Gibson and Drake finally hit Ticket to Mayhem on Seven to become the NXT UK tag team champions.
Johnny Saint and Sid Scala were out to congratulate the new champs.
“The Irish Ace” Jordan Devlin vs. “The Kiwi Buzzsaw” Travis Banks never took place
The scene of Devlin attacking Banks as he arrived at the building aired again before the match. Banks came out slightly limping, wincing as he crouched down during his entrance, slapping his knee repeatedly. Banks immediately attacked Devlin before the bell as he came down the ramp. Devlin threw Banks into the steps knee first before they kept brawling around ringside. Devlin repeatedly attacked Banks’ knee, kicking it on the steel steps. NXT UK Assistant GM Sid Scala came out with a number of referees to break things up. They eventually took Banks backstage as Devlin cut a promo in the ring. Johnny Saint came out and talked to Scala, and stated they had a backup plan as they were afraid Devlin might try something like that.
Finn Balor then came out as a replacement and the place exploded. Balor of course, is Devlin’s original trainer.
2. Finn Balor beat “The Irish Ace” Jordan Devlin in 11:45 after hitting Coup de Grâces
The gist of the match here was Devlin taking his former trainer to the limit, thwarting Coup de Grâces three times before finally succumbing to the move. They had a fast-paced, technical match with lots of hard hits and often countering or mirroring each other’s offense.
They went face to face when Devlin slapped Balor, who responded with a striking combination. He went for Coupe de Grâces right away, but Devlin rolled out of the ring, thwarted Balor’s comeback and worked him over around ringside, before mocking Balor’s pose in the ring. Balor eventually took back over and went to the top for Coup de Grâces again but Devlin dropkicked him off the rope and to the outside, where he almost was counted out.
They traded chops until Devlin quickly hit his uranage/standing moonsault combo for a two count. Both men traded abdominal stretches and the story was that neither could get a real advantage over the other, as they knew each other’s moves so well. Devlin eventually hit a head butt and his pull up high angle back drop driver for a near fall.
Balor hit a penalty kick from the apron on Devlin and went up for Coup de Grâces a third time but again got thwarted. Devlin hit a beautiful moonsault but Balor got his knees up. Fourth time was the charm, as Balor finally hit Coup de Grâces for the win.
– Luke Menzies, a rugby player from 2007-2017, was shown in the crowd. Menzies signed in May of 2018 and has been on NXT but not NXT UK television yet.
3. No Disqualification: “Bomber” Dave Mastiff beat Eddie Dennis in 10:43 after hitting a rolling cannonball senton through a propped up table
This was the hard-hitting weapons match most people expected. Dennis was dominant throughout the match, using a cane, chair and table to beat down Mastiff and also exposed the floor on the outside. Mastiff fought back throughout the match and eventually managed to smash Dennis through a table for the win.
They started trading strikes, ending with Mastiff hitting a running cross body. They ended up outside and Dennis ended up being thrown in the steps. Mastiff waisted little time and pushed the steps into the ring, but Dennis got a Singapore cane from under the ring and clanked Mastiff in the skull with it, then hit a Russian leg sweep with the aid of his newly found weapon.
Mastiff took a number of licks with welts visibly building up, until he got hold of the weapon and used is against his nemesis. Dennis finally caught Mastiff off another cross body and hit a Black Hole Slam onto the steel steps for a near fall. After a chair got introduced, Dennis used a mistake by Mastiff and picked him off the ropes for the Severn Bridge, which looked impressive. Dennis got a table, which prompted a loud “tables, tables, tables” song by the fans, to the tune of “No Limit”, the 1990’s Eurodance hit.
Mastiff hit a rolling fireman’s carry on the exposed arena floor, followed by a senton. Dennis came back with the Next Stop Driver, which also was an impressive feat of strength. He tried another Severn Bridge, looking to smash Mastiff into a table propped up in the corner but he managed to escape, hit a release German and his rolling cannonball senton through the table for the victory.
– they showed Kay Lee Ray from Scotland and “Alpha Female” Jazzy Gabert from Germany in the audience. Both were in the 2017 Mae Young Classic. Ray was reported to be signing with WWE in recent weeks while Gabert was offered a deal back in 2017 but didn’t clear medicals due to herniated discs. She had surgery to fix that problem and was part of the recent WWE tryouts in Cologne, Germany as a spectator.
4. NXT UK Women’s Championship: Toni Storm beat Rhea Ripley (c) in 14:49 with Storm Zero to win the title
This was a hard-hitting strong style match with both women looking good. Toni was in trouble for most of the match as Rhea was dominating her for minutes at a time. This was a redemption story for Toni who won the Mae Young Classic before challenging for this title and eventually overcoming the odds against her bigger and stronger opponent.
They circled each other for a while, then Rhea attacked but neither woman could get an early advantage. Rhea fled from Toni but got wiped out by a dive from the challenger. Rhea started working over Toni’s back, trying to capitalize off her old injury and locked in some body scissors to put pressure on her lower back and hips. Rhea kept being the dominant force of the match with repeated suplexes, slams and legdrops, then rag dolled Toni around the ring.
Storm finally came back with a big head butt of a whip that put both women down. They traded strikes and transitioned into the Frye-Takayama spot. Storm got the better of it and hit tow Germans, but couldn’t get Storm Zero. Rhea tried for Riptide as well, but Toni thwarted that attempt as well. They traded submission holds with Ripley’s inverted clover leaf and Storm going for an ankle lock, then hitting a hip attack and a German suplex hold for a near fall.
Ripley hit Riptide around the 12 minute mark for a very close near fall. Ripley continued to beat her down with short arm clotheslines, but Toni escaped on the third attempt and hit Storm Zero for a near fall of her own. Storm then escaped another Riptide attempt and hit Storm Zero to win the NXT UK Championship for the first time. Toni went and celebrated with the fans in the crowd.
– Charlotte Flair was shown watching the show in the crowd.
5. WWE UK Championship: “The Bruiserweight” Pete Dunne (c) beat “The Iron King” Joe Coffey in 34:15 by submission from a sitting triangle and joint manipulation
This was a tremendous, highly dramatic match with both guys giving everything they had, taking a few brutal bumps and a number of near falls. Both were exhausted by the end and both hit thier finishers numerous times to no avail until Dunne finally managed to make The Iron King submit.
Coffey came out with the rest of Gallus. but they did not accompany him down the ramp while Dunne came out on his own. Coffey stood with his arms folded in the ring while Dunne looked on disgusted.
They traded arm and wrist locks early until Dunne briefly took over with some of his sadistic joint manipulation and submission attempts. Coffey tried for his discus lariat early but Dunne avoided it. Dunne kept going for moves that would weaken Coffey’s arms and hands. Coffey impressively transitioned a double wrist lock into a deadlift vertical suplex, but Dunne managed to swing back down and lock the move in again until Coffey finally hit a suplex to escape.
Dunne took a nasty spill on his face on a throw to the outside but quickly hit a back flip over Coffey off the steps and an enzuigiri to stun his challenger, but found himself on the receiving end of a high angle slam onto the rampway. Coffey took over the match at that point, primarily working over Dunne’s back until the Bruiserweight managed to stage a comeback with a number of hard strikes and hitting a moonsault quebrada to the outside and an X-Plex back in the ring but it was obvious his back was hurt. This led to Coffey hitting a big powerbomb for a close near fall, then locked in a Boston crab. It briefly looked like Dunne actually had passed out but he finally managed to make the ropes in dramatic fashion.
In a unique spot, they traded head butts to the shoulders and eventually, went both down. Dunne avoided the lariat, then hit an STO and locked in the Koji Clutch. Dunne then transitioned into an ankle lock off a deadlift into a tombstone by Coffey. Both men went for their finishers but neither could hit it, until Dunne finally managed to hit the Bitter End but Coffey kicked out at 2.9. They fought on the apron and Coffey hit a sit-down powerbomb onto the apron as both men fell to ringside and just made it back inside by 10.
Coffey rained down blows and stomps on the champion but the champ got his second win and came back with stomps of his own. In the melee that followed, Coffey hit the lariat, but Dunne again kicked out just barely as the crowd started going crazy. Dunne locked in an armbar which he managed to keep on even when Coffey lifted him onto the top rope and finally managed to slam him down with one arm.
Both men looked exhausted as the match went into what appeared to be its home stretch. They traded blows once more and Dunne had Coffey in the ropes but Coffey managed a come back with a Mount Everest German suplex for another near fall. Coffey then went for the Bitter End, but Dunne escaped and hit a Bitter End of his own but couldn’t get the pin as Coffey rolled out of the way. Coffey finally hit the discus lariat from the apron but it looked like he didn’t catch Dunne with full force.
They battled on the top rope and both fell down, with Coffey taking a nasty spill to the outside, then a few minutes later the same spot led to both tumbling to the outside and into the barrier but somehow made it back into the ring. Dunne hit a discus lariat and Bitter End but still couldn’t get the win. Dunne then locked in an arm bar and bent the fingers to finally make Coffey tap out.
– As it looked like the show was about to go off the air, the familiar tune of “Aus der Neuen Welt”, Antonín Dvořáks’ 9th symphony hit and The Ring General WALTER made his way down to the ring as Pete Dunne looked shocked. He entered the ring and stared down the champ. Joe Coffey tried to get back in the ring but the Austrian powerhouse nonchalantly kicked him in the head and hit the Ringkampf pose while Dunne stood there with the WWE UK Championship dangling from his mouth. WALTER then left and slowly walked down the ramp again, having made his intentions clear to dethroned the Bruiserweight after more than 600 days.
Episode 23 (taped November 25, 2018 at the Liverpool Olympia in Liverpool, England)
Quick results —
Amir Jordan & Kenny Williams defeated Dan Moloney & Jamie Ahmed, and Isla Dawn defeated Xia Brookside in an even match. Jordan Devlin beat Damien Weir in an impressive squash. Travis Banks then came out — and Devlin fled to the back instead of facing off.
James Drake & Zack Gibson defeated Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews in a great, fast-paced match and will face Moustache Mountain for the NXT UK Tag Team titles at NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool this Saturday.
Full rundown —
The episode started with Nigel McGuinness and Vic Joseph talking about NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool, saying that the show would feature three title matches — and the final participants in the Tag Team title match would be decided in our main event on this show.
Amir Jordan & Kenny Williams defeated Dan Moloney & Jamie Ahmed in 3:59 when Jordan pinned Ahmed after a Swanton Bomb
Jordan and Ahmed started out. Williams quickly tagged in and worked Ahmed’s arm over. Things turned around when Moloney distracted Jordan on the top rope and Ahmed took him down.
Moloney did a Three Amigos spot, using butterfly suplexes. Jordan got worked over until he finally made the hot tag. Williams took over and ran wild, hitting a suicide dive, two springboard back elbows, and his spot where he dives feet-first through the ropes and hits one guy, then skinned the cat back into the ring.
Jordan hit a Swanton Bomb on Ahmed for the win.
– A recap video of last week’s contract signing between Pete Dunne and Joe Coffey aired, ending in Coffey powerbombing Dunne through a table. A graphic plugged that Gallus would state their mind next.
– Gallus came out and entered the ring. Coffey responded to the fans booing by stating that no one liked them and they didn’t care. He talked about Gallus vs. British Strong Style on the next episode, stating that they would get what was coming to them. And at TakeOver, Dunne would be lucky to walk out of the ring alive. Coffey will be the UK champion and the Iron King.
– McGuinness and Joseph talked about that match and the NXT UK Women’s Championship match at TakeOver.
– A press conference with Rhea Ripley, Toni Storm, Johnny Saint, and Sid Scala aired next. Storm channeled her inner Session Moth Martina, wearing a leopard coat, while Ripley had her feet up on the table. Ripley wouldn’t give away her strategy when asked. Storm talked about all the women she defeated in the Mae Young Classic, but Ripley said she didn’t beat her.
As Ripley laughed at her, Storm said she would take the title. Ripley got all aggravated when someone implied that she was just a Toni Storm ripoff. Ripley told Storm she had no chance and started shoving her, but Saint got between them and quickly broke them up. Ripley left and the press conference was over.
– A video with statements and highlights from Joseph Conners and Ligero aired. They will face each other on the next episode of NXT UK.
Isla Dawn defeated Xia Brookside in 5:06 after countering a victory roll into a pin
They shook hands at the start of the match. Brookside escaped some of Dawn’s submission attempts early on and eventually took her down with a headscissors. Dawn escaped and started working over her legs. Dawn locked in a straight jacket hold and they countered in and out of the hold a number of times until Dawn finally managed to back Brookside into the corner.
They transitioned into a number of pinning combinations until Brookside went for a victory roll and Dawn sat down on the move (just like in the Bret Hart/Owen Hart match at WrestleMania X) for the pin. The two shook hands after the match once more.
– McGuinness and Joseph talked some more about TakeOver, this time focusing on the no disqualification match between Dave Mastiff and Eddie Dennis. A highlight video recapping their feud aired. A hipster-looking Dennis talked about being the killer, despite Mastiff thinking he was one.
– Isla Dawn was shown being attacked by Jinny backstage during the break. Jinny told her this was the difference between a witch and a queen
Jordan Devlin defeated Damien Weir in 4:50 after Ireland’s Call
Devlin toyed with Weir early on, working over his arm. He hit the uranage/standing moonsault combo, then bent Weir backwards over his knee. When Weir briefly started fighting back, Devlin picked him up for an over-the-shoulder-backbreaker.
Weir briefly managed to turn an Ireland’s Call attempt into a victory roll, but he got kicked in the head on a suicide dive attempt. Devlin then hit a cutter, his pull-up snap belly.to-back suplex, and Ireland’s Call for the victory.
After the match, Devlin grabbed the mic for a promo, but Travis Banks hit the ring and scared Devlin off. He challenged Devlin for a match right there, but Devlin backed off.
– A video recapped the previous match between Zack Gibson & James Drake vs. Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster, which was won by the heels after interference by Fabian Aichner. This week, Aichner and Marcel Barthel are banned from ringside
– Radzi Chinyanganya talked to Moustache Mountain backstage. They vowed to win the Tag Team titles at TakeOver.
NXT UK Tag Team Championship Tournament semifinals: James Drake & Zack Gibson defeated Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews in 9:19 after hitting Ticket to Ride on Webster
Andrews and Drake started out. The heels quickly attacked both men and started working over Andrews, quickly tagging in and out and almost getting the victory just 45 seconds in. They hit their backbreaker/elbow drop to the outside of the ring spot on Andrews, who was the face in peril for a few more minutes.
Andrews finally made the hot tag to Webster, who quickly hit a quebrada on both opponents and hit a number of high spots, including a somersault plancha to the outside and a Baba O’Riley Buster. Andrews was in and hit a somersault plancha into a hurricanrana to the outside of his own.
Andrews escaped the Shankly Gates but ate a Ticket to Ride for a near fall. He then managed to turn a Doomsday Device attempt into a top rope hurricanrana on Drake, then hit a reverse rana/superkick combo on Gibson. Gibson finally managed to catch Andrews on a dive and turned it into Helter Skelter onto the ramp.
Gibson and Drake hit another double-team Ticket to Ride on Webster for the victory.
Next episode —
British Strong Style meet Gallus in a six-man tag team match leading up to NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool.
Episode 20 (taped November 24, 2018 at the Liverpool Olympia in Liverpool, England)
Quick recap —
James Drake & Zack Gibson beat beat “Wild Boar” Mike Hitchman & Primate in a fun opener. Eddie Dennis destroyed Dave mastiff’s opponent before the match could start, sending a message to his rival. Marcel Barthel made his NXT UK debut and looked tremendous against Mark Andrews. Rhea Ripley defended her NXT UK Women’s Championship against Deonna Purrazzo in an excellent main event; when she attacked Purrazzo after the bell, Toni Storm came out for the save.
Full rundown —
We kicked the show off with a split screen, showing Rhea Ripley and Deonna Purrazzo preparing for their match backstage
James Drake & Zack Gibson beat “Wild Boar” Mike Hitchman & Primate in 4:55 after hitting Ticket to Ride on Hitchman
Primate, who also wrestles as Jason Prime is a former six year veteran of the British Army, and served in the household cavalry for the Royal Family. He chose his ring name because his father, who passed on since, used to say that wrestlers in the ring looked like gorillas. He started in 2014 and was trained by Rampage Brown. He wrestled mostly for Defiant/WCPW, but also other groups such as ICW and PROGRESS among others. He is a former Defaint/WCPW Hardcore and tag team champion.
Gibson and Hitchman started out. There were light Gibson chants. Hitchman escaped from a wrist lock and took over with an arm lock but got thrown on his head. Drake came in but was hit by a senton by Hitchman, who tagged in Primate. Primate hit a clothesline in the corner. Gibson blind-tagged Drake and threw Primate to the outside, then picked him up and Drake launched himself onto Primate over the top to the outside. Gibson locked in his sitting cobra clutch, then tagged Drake who struck him down with a forearm.
They worked over Primate for a while until he managed to throw Gibson over the top and suplex Drake to make the quick tag. “Wild Boar” ran wild for a bit, including a senton on Drake and a pop-up power bomb. Hitchman missed a senton into the corner when Gibson pulled Drake out of the way. They hit Ticket to Ride, their finish where Drake throws the opponent into Gibson’s codebreaker for the win.
Afterwards, Gibson cut a promo in the ring to a mix of boos and light chants. He said the NXT UK tag team titles were right around the corner and he knew a thing or two about winning tournaments. He said he loved his city but he absolutely hated the people of Liverpool. He said not to blame this on him, as the fans turned on him as soon as he got some success. He was the only one to represent Liverpool as no body else in the arena could. He said they were the top tag team in the world, soon to be recognized as the NXT UK Tag Team champions.
A graphic announced Marcel Barthel vs. Mark Andrews; this was followed by a WrestleMania commercial
Moustache Mountain were interviewed backstage about their match with Gallus next week and NXT TakeOver in Blackpool. They said they would become the first-ever NXT UK Tag Team champions.
Dave Mastiff vs. Josh Morrell never got started
Morrell is also known as “Turbo” Josh Terry and previously wrestled Lio Rush on 205 Live. He was trained by current NXT assistant coach Johnny Moss and made his debut at just 16 years old and wrestled for Discovery Wrestling and target Wrestling among others.
Mastiff came out first, followed by Morrell, who immediately got attacked by Eddie Dennis and slammed into the lights on the entrance ramp. mastiff was furious in the ring but the referee held him back. Dennis smiled and went backstage.
Joseph Conners was in a video segment, talking about how there was a mod, a time traveler and a luchador in NXT UK and how they were all just new, shiny toys. He knew how that felt like, because two years ago, he was just one of these news toys as well before he got bad, scratched and discarded. So if he can’t be any of these toys, he’d make sure they would be as bad and scratched as he was.
Marcel Barthel beat Mark Andrews in 9:48 after hitting the Landungsbrücken
Marcel Barthel, 28, is a second-generation wrestler from Germany and the son of legendary German wrestler Axel Dieter, who wrestled all over Europe from 1955 to 1987 and passed away in 2015 at the age of 81. He joined NXT in mid-2017 and has been a regular on their Florida house show loop and also appeared a few times on NXT television.
They locked up and Barthel took him down immediately with a wrist lock. Barthel continued to school Andrews on the mat, locking in a hammerlock. Andrews from the bottom got Barthel into a headlock while still in the move, but Barthel did a head stand into a neck bridge to escape. Andrews eventually managed to escape and hit a few arm drags and a hurricanrana. Barthel came back with a punch to the gut and showed his striking prowess, being a former boxer.
Barthel caught Andrews on a whip, picked him up on an roundabout slam onto his face, then followed up with a knee to the face for a two-count. Barthel locked in a head lock on the mat, transitioning into a chin lock. Andrews escaped, but got his head slammed into the mat for his troubles. Barthel hung Andrews face-down off the second rope then hit a baseball slide right to Andrews’ face, then stopped for a Ringkampf pose on the second rope. Andrews hit a few strikes, but ate a running European uppercut into the corner in return. Barthel locked in a head-and-arm submission and screamed “Nein!” as Andrews tried to escape. Andrews eventually tried to roll through for a two-count.
Andrews followed up with a few chops, slid under a clothesline and hit an enzuigiri that put Barthel down. He followed with double knees into the corner, a roll through and Stomp 182, then tried for a standing moonsault, but Barthel again screamed “Nein!” and rolled out of the ring. Barthel avoided a plancha but Andrews finally hit a somersault body block off the ring steps. As Andrews rolled Barthel back into the ring, Fabian Aichner came out and distracted him, leading to Barthel cradling Andrews once he was back inside for a near-fall.
Barthel went for another European uppercut in the corner but Andrews got up for an enzuigiri. Barthel then hit a slam for another near-fall. Barthel went for a suplex but Andrews turned it into Stunt Dog Millionaire. Andrews went up for the shooting star press, but Barthel rolled out of the way and Andrews landed on his knees. As Andrews hit another enzuigiri from the apron and went for a springboard, Barthel pushed him off the rope to the outside. Aichner at the point hit a running knee on Andrews against the barricade.
Barthel then hit a modified “Landungsbrücken” (fisherman release belly-to-back suplex; the original ends with him bridging) for the victory. Aichner got into the ring after the match and he and Barthel shook hands.
In a WWE.com exclusive, Mark Andrews said that he didn’t lose to Marcel Barthel but to Barthel and Fabian Aichner and is sick and tired of Aichner constantly interfering in his matches
A video on Toni Storm aired, focusing on her Mae Young Classic victory and her then demanding an NXT UK Women’s title match during the last episode; she talked about moving to the UK to get better opportunities and the UK meant everything to her
WWE NXT UK Women’s Title: Rhea Ripley (c) defeats Deonna Purrazzo in 11:22 after Riptide
Deonna Purrazzo started out in 2013 and was trained by Rip Rogers and the D2W Wrestling Academy. She appeared on NXT TV as early as 2015 and was part of the 2018 Mae Young Classic. She also wrestled for Ring of Honor, Stardom, Impact, SHIMMER, WSU, RISE, RevPro, GCW and numerous others and held some indy women’s titles.
Rhea Ripley’s previous theme song Final Straw seems to have been replaced by a new one called Brutality, which can’t hold a candle to the old one.
Purrazzo started ff string with a running boot to the head and a head scissors take down, then began to work over Ripley’s arm. Rhea came back with hard forearm strikes, but Deonna got a two-count with a poor woman’s version of a La Magistral cradle. She followed this up with a dropkick to the hip of Ripley which sent the champ to the outside. As she followed, she ended up on Ripley’s shoulders and got her face planted on the apron, then got thrown into the barricade.
Ripley got her opponent down to the match with strikes and kicks, then posed with on foot on top of her fallen opponent, before picking her up for a vertical delayed suplex and another two-count. She locked on body scissors and continued to taunt Purrazzo. Deonna briefly managed to transition into a pin but only got a one-count, before eventually managing to pry Rhea’s legs apart and escape the hold. Rhea followed that with some ground and pound. Purrazzo went for a sunset flip but Rhea rolled through, stomped her in the chest and locked in her reverse Clover Leaf.
Deonna eventually reached the ropes, then managed to evade a clothesline into the corner and pull Rhea’s leg out for a quick pin. Ripley came back with a drop kick to the head and Purrazzo rolled gto ringside while Ripley posed in the ring. Ripley went for a suplex but Purrazzo escaped to the apron mid-move, then hit a kick and a somersault plancha. Purrazzo hit an STO and transitioned into a Koji clutch right away. Ripley tried to escape and managed to turn the hold into a pin, forcing Purrazzo to release the hold.
They traded strikes and chops until Ripley managed to throw Purrazzo on her face off a whip-in. Ripley put her up on the top for a superplex but Purrazzo held on and tried going for a sunset bomb, but this time Ripley held on to the rop ropes. She tried punching down onto Deonna who moved and used Rhea hurting her hand and releasing her grip into a German suplex off the middle turnbuckle, leading to both women being down. Purrazzo kept hitting strikes, then followed with a takeover STO for a near-fall. Purrazzo went crazy on Ripley in the corner, but her aggression was out of control as Ripley managed to pull her head-first into the turnbuckle. She followed up with Riptide for the win.
As Purrazzo got up, Ripley hit her with a kick to the face, then managed to beat her down in the corner until Toni Storm came out to make the safe, sending Rhea packing. Rhea posed with her title on the ramp as Toni stared her down from the ring. Toni and Deonna bumped fists as the show went off the air.
In a WWE.com exclusive interview, Radzi asked Rhea Ripley is she was concerned about Toni Storm. She said he should ask Toni is she was concerned about her, then asked “How dare you?” and sprayed water in his face
Next week:
Moustache Mountain face Gallus in the semi-finals of the NXT UK Tag Team Championship tournament.
Episode 17 (taped October 14 at Plymouth Pavilions in Plymouth, England)
Quick recap:
Toni Storm made her return to NXT UK after being injured in her title match with Rhea Ripley and beat Charlie Morgan. James Drake & Zack Gibson managed to beat Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews with some outside assistance by Fabian Aichner in an attempt to qualify for the NXT UK Tag Team Championship tournament.
In another women’s match, Nina Samuels beat Killer Kelly. Joe Coffey managed to beat Travis Banks, further cementing his status as a legitimate contender for Pete Dunne’s WWE UK Championship. For some reason, the sound mix was off for this episode, with the music too loud and the commentary too silent on any segments involving the announcers and background music.
Full rundown:
Toni Storm defeated Charlie Morgan in 3:56 after Storm Zero
They briefly shook hands, then locked up but neither woman could get the advantage. Morgan slapped Toni, but she came back with slaps of her own, followed by a big boot and a low dropkick for a one count. Toni got on a cross between an Indian Deathlock and STF, but Morgan made the ropes. Morgan managed to fend off Toni’s attack in the corner and hit a step-up enzuigiri for a quick cover.
She kept being on offense, working over Toni with kicks and locked in a camel clutch in an attempt to break Toni’s back and make her humble. Toni managed to escape and flip Morgan over, then followed up with forearm strikes and a release German suplex. Toni hit the hip attack in the corner, then followed up with Storm Zero for the win.
In the studio, Vic and Nigel talked about Toni being back and threw it to a music video about Gallus. The sound mix was off here and it was hard to understand them.
A video hyping up Gallus aired, with highlights of the destruction they caused over the past few weeks.
Joe Coffey and Travis Banks were shows warming up backstage in a split screen; this was followed up by a WrestleMania hype video.
James Drake & Zack Gibson defeated Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews in 8:49 when Gibson submitted Andrews with the Shankly Gates
The sound mix still was off during the entrances, making it nearly impossible to understand the announcers while the music was playing.
Gibson and Andrews started, with Gibson using his size advantage early on but Andrews being the quicker man and countering most of his offense. Andrews tagged out and they hit a double hip toss combined moonsault/reverse shooting star onto Gibson. Morgan locked in a guillotine but Gibson backed him into his own corner and Drake tagged in.
Drake briefly took over but Webster hit the Rude Boy Block off the second turnbuckle. As he went to the top again, Gibson took off his wrist tape and threw it at Webster, distracting him enough for Drake to attack and send him to the outside. Gibson picked him up for a backbreaker to the outside and Drake jumped over the ropes and hit a knee onto Webster.
The heels continued working over Webster in and outside the ring. The fans were livid at this point with “shoes off if you hate Gibson” chants and virtually everyone waving their shoes into the air, prompting Nigel to complain about the smell in the arena. Drake hit a forearm for a near-fall and applied a chin lock. Webster finally managed to push Drake into Gibson and reach for the hot tag. Andrews came in with a springboard huracanrana on Gibson right away, then slid under a double clothesline and hit a double Pelé kick on both heels.
Andrews got caught on a moonsault attempt, but managed to turn it into a swinging DDT. Gibson finally managed to thwart another aerial attack by Andrews, kicking his legs off the ropes and following with a forearm, leading into a missile dropkick by Drake and Grit Your Teeth (a running Codebreaker) by Gibson for a near-fall.
Andrews managed to escape a Doomsday Device attempt, make the tag to Webster who sent Gibson to the outside, hit Drake with an enzuigiri from the apron and followed up with an inverted huracanrana from the second turnbuckle, but Gibson managed to make the save. Webster manged to hit a head-butt, sending Gibson staggering, but Gibson managed to pick up Webster and throw him into Andrews who was on the top rope.
The heels tossed Webster out of the ring and grabbed Andrews, but he managed to turn a double suplex attempt into a double Stunt Dog Millionaire. Andrews went to the top to hit the Shooting Star Press on Drake but Fabian Aichner ran out and threw Webster into the steel steps, prompting Andrews to hit a plancha onto him. Meanwhile, Drake tagged out to Gibson without Andrews noticing, so when Andrews finally hit the Shooting Star Press, Drake wasn’t the legal man anymore. Gibson slid into the ring and locked in the Shankly Gates.
After the match, Aichner got back into the ring and attacked Andrews, picking him up for his spinning power bomb but Webster pulled Andrews down at the last second and they managed to send Aichner packing.
A highlight video hyped up Killer Kelly and Nina Samuels, who we were told would be competing next; this was followed by a WWE Custom Tees commercial.
Nina Samuels defeated Killer Kelly in 4:30 after Hell to the Knee-na
Problems with the sound mix continued. Samuels managed to avoid Kelly a few times, before slapping her and getting caught in a wrist lock, but managed to escape to the ropes. Samuels kept teasing Kelly, but only drew the ire of Kelly, who hit a series of forearms and a big boot for a two-count.
Samuels ducked a right hand by Kelly on the apron and snapped the her neck on the top rope. Samuels locked in a sitting full nelson on the mat. Kelly briefly powered out but Samuels locked it back in and hit a snap mare and a a somersault neck snap for another near fall. Kelly was tied up in the ropes and Samuels hit a running dropkick to Kelly’s back for yet another two count.
Samuels locked in another full nelson, but Kelly managed to slide out of the move and roll Nina up. Kelly suplex her into the corner and hit a running basement dropkick for a close near-fall. Kelly tried for a fisherman’s buster but Samuels grabbed one of her pigtails and rammed her into the corner. She followed up with Hell to the Knee-na for the win.
A graphic for our main event was shown followed by a commercial for the AJ Styles 365 special.
Radzi interviewed Fabian Aichner backstage, talking about Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster getting the last laugh. Aichner said that if they thought they could mess with him, they got another thing coming. Webster and Andrews won’t win the NXT tag team titles because Aichner would find himself a partner and win the titles himself.
Joe Coffey defeated “The Kiwi Buzzsaw” Travis Banks in 11:13 after a discuss lariat.
Coffey came out on his own, without his Gallus brethren. Both guys charged each other but Banks started out with strikes and kicks. They had a striking battle early, until Banks hit a shotgun dropkick followed by a swinging kick on the apron. They battled on the outside until Coffey rolled Banks back into the ring, but Banks came flying right back with a topé to the back of Coffey.
Coffey then hit a slingshot on Banks, sending him into the barricades shoulder-first to take the lead. Back in the ring, Coffey started working over Banks’ still injured right shoulder, including locking in a full nelson, which he kept on despite some brief attempts of Banks to escape.Coffey continuously attacked the shoulder with a number of strikes, yanks, and submission holds.
Banks finally hit a few kicks, but Coffey wouldn’t let go of Banks’ arm, until a big knee strike that sent something from Coffey’s mouth flying. He evaded a corner attack by Coffey and hit a dropkick to the back of his head, followed by a Shining Wizard for a near-fall. After a failed attempt at a fisherman’s buster, Coffey took over again with more attacks of the shoulder and a big power slam. Coffey caught him in a spinning bear-hug and hit an overhead belly-to-belly for another near-fall.
They battled on the top rope until Banks hit a head-butt to send Coffey to the mat, followed by a double foot stop to Coffey’s neck and then another double stomp in the corner from the second turnbuckle. Banks hit a fisherman’s buster for a near-fall, hit a hard elbow on Coffey on the apron, sending him to the floor.
Banks followed that one with a suicide dive and rolled Coffey back inside. Banks hit yet another double foot stomp onto Coffey’s back for a close two-count. As Banks missed an aerial attack and rolled through, Coffey hit him with a spear (although it was more a flying shove) into the corner and went for his discuss lariat. Banks blocked it, but Coffey spun around again and successfully hit the discuss lariat for the win.
Next episode:
They didn’t announce anything, but we are heading into the November set of tapings next week, including the start of the NXT UK Tag Team Championship tournament and the debut of a few new faces in NXT UK.
Episode 16 (taped October 14 at Plymouth Pavilions in Plymouth, England)
Quick recap:
The two undefeated monsters of NXT UK clashed, as Dave Mastiff met Eddie Dennis in the main event, with the Bomber reigning victorious in a fun hoss fight. Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) were victorious over Ashton Smith & Ligero in a quest to qualify for the NXT UK Tag Team Championship Tournament. Jinny managed to beat Xia Brookside, while Joseph Conners squashed Jack Starz in a quick match. Rhe Ripley will make her first NXT UK Women’s Championship defense next week, facing the “White Witch of NXT UK”, Isla Dawn.
Full rundown:
– The show opened up with a split screen of Dave Mastiff and Eddie Dennis warming up for their match backstage, while Vic and Nigel talked about the main event
Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) beat Ashton Smith & Ligero in 5:37 when Coffey pinned Smith after an enzuigiri
Ligero and Wolfgang started out, and the Leeds Luchador frustrated the bigger man with a spin kick and a drop kick but got caught on a body press attempt. He quickly tagged out to Smith and both men hit a double drop kick on Wolfgang. Ligero got himself caught on a spinning DDT attempt but managed to escape until Mark Coffey distracted him and a forearm to the back of the head sent him to ringside.
The heels worked Ligero over until he managed to throw Wolfgang out of the ring and made the hot tag to Smith. Smith ran wild for a bit and hit a springboard back elbow on Coffey, but Wolfgang eventually pulled him out of the ring. Ligero then hit a somersault senton to the outside onto Wolfgang, jumping over Smith who was hanging in the ropes.
Back in the ring, Smith tried and O’Connor Roll on Coffey but he managed to kick out, hit a double hammer to the chest followed by an enzuigiri for the win.
– We took a look back at Isla Dawn challenging Rhea Ripley last episode. Both women were backstage with Johnny Saint and Sid Scala, who announced the match for next week. The women had a stare down, with Rhea saying “See you next week” and walked off
– A graphic announced Joseph Conners to be in action next, followed by a TLC promo.
– Radzi was backstage with Gallus after their match. They said that they set a standard and were the team to beat. Joe Coffey said that he was concerned with Pete Dunne and was going to rip the WWE UK Championship from his mouth. But first, he would meet Travis Banks and squash him like a bug.
Joseph Conners beat Jack Starz in 2:16 with Don’t Look Down
This was basically a squash. Starz refers to him as the Self Made Machine, but Conners wasn’t impressed, grabbed his ear and yanked him down to the mat. He sent Starz into the ropes and hit a backbreaker as Starz came bouncing back. Conners worked him over, went to ringside and pounded on Starz who was on the apron.
Starz got a brief hope spot in and hit some European uppercuts, but that was ended quickly. Conners then hit a sunset bomb into the corner and followed up with Don’t Look Down fpr the quick win.
– Radzi was backstage with Xia Brookside, who said while she may not be the most experienced wrestler in NXT UK, Jinny better get read to “fly with Brookside”. Jinny then turned up, looked at Xia, turned away with a disgusted look on her face and walked off.
– There was a commercial for the Royal Rumble Axxess shows; no word on if any NXT or NXT UK talent would be on those events.
– A video package for Saxon Huxley and Tyson T-Bone aired, where Huxley said that T-Bone was violent, destructive and almost as twisted as he was. He also talked about his shadow being rooted in hell, channeling his best inner Undertaker from the 1990s. T-Bone and Huxley concluded that they would be the NXT UK tag team champions.
Jinny beat Xia Brookside in 4:13 after hitting her with A Touch of Couture
Xia wanted to shake Jinny’s hand, but she kicked it away. Xia went for a headlock and took her down, but Jinny quickly locked on a head vice with her legs, from which Xia escaped via head stand. Jinny kept working Xia’s arm, but Xia came back and eventually hit a huracanrana from the corner, followed by a dropkick and a cross body from the second turnbuckle.
Jinny came back with the Fashion Disaster, which is her STO into the corner. Jinny went to bend Xia’s arms backwards, working over her back until Xia managed to roll through on the move and escape. She hit a chin breaker, followed by a bulldog and a head scissors takedown.
As Jinny was propped up in the corner, Xia hit a running double knee to the back of the head and went for a surfboard variant, but her back gave out and Jinny rolled through on the move, sending Xia into the ropes. As she got back up, Jinny hit A Touch of Couture, her rolling kick, for the win.
– A Dave Mastiff video package aired, and a graphic announced Mastiff vs. Eddie Dennis next, followed by a WWE Custom Tees ad.
– Zack Gibson and James Drake came out for a short in-ring promo. Gibson said that people got a tiny glimpse of what they could do when they beat Jordan and Williams and that they would soon be recognized as the NXT UK tag team champions.
– An Eddie Dennis video package aired, where he said that NXT UK meant everything to him as he could apply his trade here; this was followed by a WWE Network commercial.
– A graphic announced Rhea Ripley defending against Isla Dawn next week.
“Bomber” Dave Mastiff beat Eddie Dennis in 11:47 after a cannonball into the corner
Mastiff pushed him into the corner early. Dennis tried for some shoulder blocks, but Mastiff wouldn’t budge. Dennis tried some striking but was stopped by a drop kick by the big man. Mastiff trapped Dennis’ arms and rained down some elbows on his jaw. Dennis was back on offense a little later but got mowed down by a running cross body block by Mastiff.
Mastiff missed a senton, allowing Dennis to recover, hot a running boot, followed by a kick to the jaw that sent “the Bomber” to ringside. Dennis kicked him off the apron as he tried to re-enter the ring, but a second kick showed no effect, so Dennis slid out of the ring and pulled Mastiff off the ring.
When they came back to the ring, Dennis applied a cravat but Mastiff eventually powered out, hit a head butt and eventually a big superplex. After exchanging some more strikes, Mastiff hit a Finlay roll and a senton for a near fall. Mastiff stepped things up with a bridging German suplex for another close two count.
Mastiff tried to hit the cannonball into the corner, but Dennis got up, caught him in mid-air and hit a black hole slam for a near fall. He tried to get the big guy up for his Severed Bridge into the corner, but Mastiff back body dropped out of it. Dennis was on the apron and put his upper body through the ropes, but Mastiff pulled him back into the ring and into the ropes.
Mastiff set Dennis up for another superplex attempt, but he escaped and got Mastiff up for the Severed Bridge. Mastiff escaped the move. A hard clothesline by Dennis led to another near-fall. Mastiff cut him off, hit a snap mare followed by a head butt, a release German suplex and eventually the cannonball senton into the corner to end Eddie Dennis’ undefeated streak and pick up the win.
Next week:
Rhea Ripley will defend the NXT UK Women’s championship against Isla Dawn and more tag teams will be in action.
Episode twelve (taped August 26 at the NEC Arena in Birmingham, England)
Quick recap
Rhea Ripley was crowned the inaugural NXT UK Women’s champion, beating Toni Storm in a hard-fought battle. Story of the match was Toni injuring her back early on, so she couldn’t hit Storm Zero and fell victim to Rhea’s Riptide in the end. In other matches, Tyler Bate (replacing Sid Scala) beat Joe Coffey by DQ when Mark Coffey and Wolfgang interfered, leading to a brawl between Gallus (the new name for Wolfgang & the Coffey Brothers) and British Strong Style. Ligero beat Dan Maloney in a fun match and Zack Gibson & James Drake beat Amir Jordan & Kenny Williams.
Full rundown
The show opened with a recap of the NXT UK Women’s Championship tournament, leading down to the two final participants. Nigel and Vic talked some more about the tournament in the studio, as we saw Rhea Ripley and Ton Storm warm up for their match backstage.
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Tyler Bate (replacing Sid Scala) beat Joe Coffey by DQ in 9:47 due to outside interference
Coffey was supposed to face Sid Scala, who came out in a suit and with a microphone and said he had not been medically cleared to compete. He said Johnny Saint had given him permission to introduce his replacement, who was Tyler Bate.
Bate got right down to business, attacking Coffey with strikes and a punching battle ensued. A dropkick by Bate sent Coffey to the outside and Tyler followed up with a tope and after some back and forth on the outside, hit a flying European uppercut off the ring steps. At that point, Mark Coffey and Wolfgang came back out which distracted Bate and he got smashed into the ringside barriers.
He couldn’t lift up Coffey for the airplane spin and Coffey took over, hitting a butterfly swing into a butterfly suplex, before applying a double arm stretcher submission. Bate eventually reversed out of it, but got backed into the corner and ate a high belly-to-belly overhead suplex for his troubles.
A striking battle was won by Bate, as he hit a huracanrana and a standing shooting star press for a two-count, Mark Coffey got on the apron, which distracted Tyler Bate and Joe went for a pop-up power slam. Trent Seven came to the ring at that point to even the odds somewhat. Coffey missed a reverse body press off the top and Bate hit his neck-and-shoulders springboard lariat and managed to pick up Coffey for an airplane spin, even doing a squat in the middle of it, before spinning him some more in the other direction.
Coffey briefly got a few more shots in, but was wiped out with a rolling kappa kick. Bate set up the Tyler Driver ’97 but Wolfgang and Mark Coffey interfered for the DQ.
Trent Seven got in the ring to help out his mate, but the heels took over, until Pete Dunne’s music hit and he stormed out to a big pop and evened the odds. The heels were sent to ringside, briefly tried to come back into the ring but were finally driven off by British Strong Style.
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A graphic announced Dan Maloney facing Ligero next
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Ligero beat Dan Maloney after a springboard swinging DDT in 5:13
Maloney slapped Ligero right away and received a leg kick in return. He then picked up Ligero for a suplex and put him down on the apron, but Ligero flipped back into the ring and hit a dropkick for a quick cover. He went for a huracanrana but Maloney caught him and held him in position, but before he could capitalize, Ligero escaped and hit a flying huracanrana off the middle rope for a near fall.
A spine buster briefly stopped Ligero and a submission slowed the match down. Maloney briefly took over but missed a leg drop off the second turnbuckle. Ligero came back with a Rey Mysterio style seated senton off the top, followed by an enzuigiri. Ligero hit an assisted Sliced Bread, bouncing off the top rope and Maloney rolled ot the outside.
Ligero kept pushing, hitting a somersault senton on the bigger man and finally back in the ring, hit a springboard swinging DDT for the win.
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A graphic announced the upcoming tag team match, pitting Zack Gibson and James Drake against Amir Jordan and Kenny Williams. This was followed by a WWE Shop commercial
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Zack Gibson & James Drake beat Amir Jordan & Kenny Williams in 8:26 when Gibson pinned Williams after hitting Ticket to Ride
“Shoes off, if you hate Gibson” chants could be heard immediately, as the fans held their shoes into the air. Gibson and Williams started out and Gibson locked in a cravat and a side headlock right away and tagged his partner in crime. Williams rolled up Drake and hit a springboard back elbow before tagging out himself. Jordan hit a high hip toss and a drop kick and did his dance.
After being hit by a cross body and a drop kick, Drake was blind tagged by Gibson on a whip-in and the Grizzled Young Veterans hit a double chop to Amir’s throat.
Gibson locked in his seated cobra clutch variant and Drake tagged back in, while Amir was still in the hold. Amir played face in peril for a while, as the heels tagged in and out in quick succession. Gibson slammed Drake on top of Jordan for a two count. After some taunting and more beat downs, Drake finally missed a running dropkick into the corner and Amir managed the hot tag to Williams, as Drake tagged in Gibson.
Williams ran wild for a bit, hitting a dropkick on Gibson and taking out Drake on the apron. He hit a lucha-style roll-through into a face buster on Gibson for a near fall.
Gibson managed to tag back out and the heels went for a double back suplex on Williams, but Jordan pulled him down and hit a dropkick on Gibson as Williams hit a superkick on Drake, which sent both men to the outside. Williams hit a running dropkick through the ropes, but held on to the top rope and skinned the cat back inside, before hitting a double topés with Jordan.
Williams went to the to rope, but Gibson rammed Amir into the steps on the outside, distracting Williams and giving Drake a chance to push him off. With Amir being take out, the heels hit Ticket to Ride, a throw from a tombstone position by Drake into a codebreaker by Williams for the win.
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A split screen saw Rhea Ripley and Toni Storm walk to ringside for the main event.
Johnny Saint’s music hit and he came out carrying the NXT UK Women’s championship, followed by a WrestleMania ticket commercial.
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NXT UK Women’s Championship: Rhea Ripley pinned Toni Storm in 9:28 after hitting Riptide to become the inaugural champion
This really was the battle of music styles, as the 80’s rocker, Toni Storm faced the Mosh Pit Kid, Rhea Ripley.
Ripley shoved Storm right away and hit her double arm sign of the horns pose. Toni retaliated with a firearm, slap, spin kick and running boot, sending Rhea crashing into to corner, where she promptly got hit with a hip attack by Toni and rolled to ringside. Toni followed up with a plancha between the middle and lowest rope.
Rhea recovered quickly and whipped Storm into the barriers back first, then briefly rolled back into the ring and stomped hard into Toni’s back on her way back out. This started telling the story of the match, which was Toni not being able to hit some of her signature moves due to her lower back being injured.
Toni came back with some knee strikes and forearm smashed and went for Strong Zero on the apron, but couldn’t lift Ripley up and got back body dropped on the apron. Toni barely made it back into the ring at 8 and Ripley was onto her right away with some ground and pound. Toni came back into the match, but quickly got stopped again with a knee breaker off a headlock attempt.
Ripley locked in her modified clover leaf, putting further pressure on Toni’s knees and lower back. Storm eventually made the ropes for a break, but Ripley kicked her left wrist hard, which still was clutching to the ropes.
Storm came back with some right hand slaps and went for the German suplex, but couldn’t lift Ripley due to her back problems. Ripley went for a back suplex, but Toni escaped and finally hit a snap German and picked Ripley up for a second one. Ripley eventually countered an attempt for a third one, but Toni hit a head butt and finally hit the third German suplex into a bridge for a near fall. She followed up with a running kick, a hip attack into the corner and flying double knees into the corner for another two count.
Ripley briefly took over but missed a corner charge and crashed into the post. Toni tried a bridging pin, but her momentum actually helped Ripley kicking out. Toni went for the Storm Zero, but got back body dropped over the top to the outside. where Ripley threw into the barriers a few more times and managed to get another two count back in the ring. She went for Riptide but Toni managed to escape the move and went for Storm Zero, but again, couldn’t get Ripley up due to her injured back.
Ripley tried for Riptide again, finally hit the move and pinned Toni Storm for the win and the championship.
Johnny Saint and Triple H entered the ring to congratulate Ripley and hand her the title. Rhea hugged both men and they celebrated in the ring together as the whole NXT UK roster came out on the stage to applaud the new champion as the show went off the air.
In a WWE.com exclusive video, Radzi Chinyanganya interviewed Rhea Ripley in the ring. She said that this was so unreal and that she really wished she could catch her breath, but she couldn’t. She said Toni, you are a legend and I love you so much. She thanked everyone for coming out and said that it meant the world to her. The fans chanted “you deserve it” and she smiled and said, she was not going to lie, she might.
She thanked all the women who fought so hard for this and said that they were finally making history. This prompted chants of “British Wrestling”. She said she sould continue to rip everyone apart and then went to the top of the stage to pose with Johnny Saint, Triple H and the whole NXT UK roster.
Episode seven (taped August 25 at the NEC Arena in Birmingham, England)
Quick recap
Triple H and Johnny Saint announced the NXT UK Women’s championship tournament, which begins next week. Wolfgang beat Ashton Smith in the main event, further establishing himself and the Coffey Brothers as a force to be reckoned with. Tyler Bate beat James Drake in the match of the show, while Jordan Devlin looked good in beating Sid Scala and we had Saxon Huxley & Joseph Connors beat Amir Jordan & Kenny Williams. A fun show, especially the Bate match, but really not a must-see episode.
Full rundown
Triple H and all the women of NXT UK – Dakota Kai, Nina Samuels, Toni Storm, Isla Dawn, Rhea Ripley, Xia Brookside, Jinny and Millie McKenzie – were out on the stage to open the show. The way this was shot, Ripley, who really only is 5’7″ looked huge compared to the other women, both in height and massiveness. Triple H called out Johnny Saint, who unveiled the new NXT UK Women’s championship. The tournament for this new title will begin on the next episode.
There was a look back to when Wolfgang and the Coffey Bros. attacked Ashton Smith a few weeks back. A graphic announced that Smith and Wolfgang would face off in tonight’s main event. Also announced was Tyler Bate vs. James Drake. After a promo announcing WrestleMania 35 tickets going on sale, we went to our first match.
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Jordan Devlin beat Sid Scala in 3:13 with the Island’s Call
Devlin locked up right away and backed Scala into a corner, screaming “you don’t belong here” at him. Scala briefly fired back, but was hit with Devlin’s uranage/standing moonsault combination. Devlin kept working Scala over and launched himself over the ropes from the apron with a beautiful somersault cutter. He went for the Island’s Call, but Scala turned it into a sunset flip. Devlin kicked out but Scala hit a jumping neck breaker and went for a body press off the top. He jumped into a dropkick by Devlin, which looked to have missed by a mile. This set up a successful Island’s Call for the victory for the Irishman.
Radzi Chinyanganya interviewed Devlin in the ring post-match, telling him that this was a dominant performance and if we had seen the real Jordan Devlin yet. Devlin fired back to not make him laugh and that the last thing concerning him was having those people here know who he was. Whenever he’s backstage, he’s asking himself who all the people back there think they are, especially the guy running around as a luchador, even though he is from Leeds, so who does Ligero think he is? I have a feeling these two will square up in the coming weeks.
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After a look at Moustache Mountain’s promo from a few weeks back, Nigel and Vic talked about the upcoming NXT UK tag team titles and how we’d be seeing some teams form. In fact, two of those teams would have a match next, when Amir Jordan & Kenny Williams face Saxon Huxley & Joseph Connors.
After a WWE Network promo, we got a video introducing us to Tyson T-Bone, who said he’d been traveling up and down the country, beating people and that he was the biggest, baddest and meanest WWE UK (he didn’t say NXT UK) wrestler. He’ll debut next week.
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Saxon Huxley & Joseph Conners beat Amir Jordan & Kenny Williams in 4:46 when Connors hit Don’t Look Down on Williams for the pin
We saw everyone but Conners on NXT UK before, because he got injured in a match with Kenny Williams during the first day of the July tapings and the match was stopped, never making air. He started out in 2006 and was trained by Robbie Brookside, among others. He’s a mainstay at Southside Entertainment Wrestling and competes for other promotions such as Defiant, PROGRESS, ICW, IPW:UK and Preston City Wrestling. He’s a 3-time former SWE Heavyweight champion and three-time SWE tag-team champion and also was Defiant champion, back when it was WCPW.
Williams came out wearing old-school red and blue 3D glasses and we were told that Jordan chose wrestling over an arranged marriage by his mother. Oh well, good for him I guess. Huxley and Amir started out and Amir escaped some take down by flipping out, kipping up and doing his funny foreign man dance, because stereotypes. He tagged in Williams who quickly got distracted for the heel advantage. Conners tagged in and we were told that he lost part of his left ear in a bar fight years ago, where he was “left for dead”.
Amir was face in peril for a while, until he managed to hit an enzuigiri and made the hot tag. Williams hit a cool spot where he hit a shotgun dropkick onto Conners on the outside, then skinned the cat back into the ring and hit a suicide dive on Huxley on the other side of the ring. He missed a DDT from the top rope and was hit by a brutal sunset bomb by Conners into the corner, followed by Don’t Look Down for the victory for the heel team.
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After another graphic for Bate vs. Drake and a promo for the NXT UK tapings in ten days we were shown the brackets for the NXT UK Women’s championship tournament and got nice graphics for everybody, including when they made their WWE/NXT debuts.
This was followed by an interview with Trent Seven by what looked like a number of journalists. He was asked his opinion on Zack Gibson and said that while it was impressive how Gibson won the UK tournament at Royal Albert Hall, he couldn’t get the job done against Pete Dunne and had been calling out the other members or British Strong Style ever since. When asked if he was challenging Gibson, he said that he was a pro wrestler and a sports entertainer and told Gibson to have a go. Those two will face off on the next episode.
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Tyler Bate beat James Drake in 8:30 with the Tyler Driver ’97
Drake has a picture of his face on his trunks, so he received the “he’s got his own face on his arse” chant from the UK crowd here. They traded arm twisters early, which Bate flipped out of, followed by a dropkick and a suplex escape over the top rope onto the apron and hit a big chop. Drake punched Bate off the turnbuckle to the outside. Bate escaped a lengthy chin-lock sequence by backing Drake into the corner and hit a beautiful standing huracanrana, followed by a spinning elbow off the second turnbuckle.
Drake charged into Bate in the corner, but got caught and received an overhead suplex for his troubles, followed by a running Shooting Star Press. Drake flipped over the ropes onto the apron but when Bate teased a suicide dive, Drake jumped to ringside, and Bate launched himself back into the ring with the top rope between his neck and shoulders spot, before hitting an actual dive.
Back in the ring, Bate hit a backdrop driver for a near fall. The first attempt at the Tyler Driver ’97 got turned into a back body drop and Drake hit a running dropkick into the corner for a near fall. A second attempt at a dropkick failed though, as Tyler moved, hit his springboard lariat off the ropes and finished his night with a Tyler Driver ’97 for the victory.
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After a WWE Shop commercial, we had another look at all the women in the tournament, which will start next week.
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Wolfgang (w/ Joe & Mark Coffey) defeated Ashton Smith
Wolfgang won in 5:29 after a modified fisherman’s suplex. The crowd was behind Smith all the way, chanting to his entrance and generally being very cheerful. Smith hit things off with a cravat, but ate some punches from “The Last King of Scotland” for his troubles. He came back with a nice dropkick, head scissors and a springboard tomahawk chop, but then jumped right into a gut buster as he went for a body press off the top. Wolfgang dominated the back and forth exchange that developed from there and stopped Smith in his tracks with a bear hug.
Smith eventually fought out, hit a clothesline, then leapfrogged Wolfgang as he charged out of the corner, landed on the second turnbuckle and hit a reverse enzuigiri for some momentum. This didn’t last long, as Wolfgang launched Smith into the air, then launched himself at a stunned, seated Smith with a running senton and finally hit a modified fisherman’s suplex into a slam for the victory.
Wolfgang and the Coffeys posed in the ring as the show went off the air.
