New details have emerged regarding the arrest of WWE star Ludwig Kaiser (Marcel Barthel).
It was first reported on Wednesday night that Kaiser had been arrested in Orange County, Florida on May 20 on charges of battery. According to arrest records, the incident took place on April 24 at the Orlando apartment complex Kaiser lives at. The alleged victim is identified as a fellow male resident, who accuses Kaiser of attacking him outside of an elevator. The attack is said to have happened after Kaiser and a female were acting “uncontrollably intimate” by aggressively kissing in the elevator. The victim says he told them to “please have some manners,” leading to the attack.
The affidavit says:
[The victim] stated he was battered by an unknown white male just outside the elevator on the 12th floor. [The victim] advised that at approximately 1830 hours, he entered the elevator and was followed by an unknown white male and an unknown white female. [The victim] stated that as the elevator ascended, the male and female began acting in an ‘uncontrollably intimate’ manner, which he described as aggressively kissing.
[The victim] stated that once the elevator reached the 12th floor, he exited the elevator and told the couple to ‘please have some manners.’ [The victim] advised that immediately after making the statement, the unknown male began attacking him. [The victim] described the attack as the male punching him multiple times and pushing him to the ground. [The victim] further stated the male made threats of additional violence toward him.
A responding officer observed a “large, fresh scratch” on the victim’s head and redness in the same area. Security footage was obtained showing a white male punching and pushing the victim outside of the elevator. Kaiser was identified as a possible suspect, and the victim immediately pointed to him as the attacker when presented with a photographic lineup of six individuals.
Per the terms of his bond, Kaiser cannot have any contact with the victim and cannot possess a firearm, consume alcohol to intoxication, or possess drug paraphernalia/controlled substances unless they are prescribed. He must also maintain separate residences from the victim.
Motion to continue traveling for WWE —
Kaiser became aware of the warrant on May 19 while in Mexico for WWE/AAA. He made plans to return to Orlando the next day and turn himself in. He was released on $1,000 bond and maintains his innocence in the case, submitting a written plea of not guilty. With that, he has filed a motion requesting that he be allowed to continue traveling both domestically and internationally:
Mr. Barthel is an international performer who is required to travel throughout the United States and around the world to remain employed. His primary residence is the apartment complex in downtown Orlando where the alleged incident occurred.
Mr. Barthel has no prior criminal history anywhere in the world and is not a danger to others. He maintains his innocence and has retained undersigned counsel to assist him in this matter. He has every intention of appearing at all required court appearances related to these allegations.
Wherefore, for the foregoing reasons, the Defendant respectfully requests this Honorable Court to enter an Order allowing him to travel out of the State of Florida and internationally.
The 35-year-old Kaiser, who is originally from Germany, has a highly anticipated mask vs. mask match scheduled for AAA Noche de los Grandes on May 30. It will be El Grande Americano (Kaiser) facing off against Original El Grande Americano (Chad Gable).
Soon after the news emerged, fans started speculating about the reasons behind the arrest, with some even suggesting domestic battery charges. However, the rumors were soon dismissed by Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful. It was reported that the arrest was made after an altercation with another male.
“The arrest is accurate. We’re told the battery charge was against a male after an altercation. Not a domestic situation as some are speculating,” Sean Ross Sapp wrote on social media.
As of this writing, no more information is available on this, but we shall update the story as more details emerge.
Gunther and Marcel Barthel, along with Raquel Gonzalez, made their debut on tonight’s SmackDown.
Barthel, now going under the name Ludwig Kaiser, introduced Gunther, now wearing red attire. After showing a video of Gunther attacking people on NXT, he quickly defeated local talent Joe Alonso. After their debut, Raquel Gonzalez was interviewed, now going under the name Raquel Rodriguez.
It had been reported that Gunther and Barthel, along with Gonzalez, were among the names being considered to be called up to the main roster. On this past Tuesday’s NXT, Fabian Aichner, also of Imperium, abandoned Barthel during a match against The Creed Brothers, allowing the brothers to score the win. Aichner is not expected to be called up to the main roster with Gunther and Barthel.
Gonzalez was being interviewed when Los Lotharios walked up to her and said they wanted to give her a kiss. Gonzalez rejected them, saying there was no chance. Gonzalez, along with Dakota Kai, dropped the NXT Women’s Tag Team titles on Tuesday back to Toxic Attraction (Gigi Dolin and Jacey Jayne) after winning them this past Saturday at NXT Stand & Deliver.
Lacey Evans is expected back in WWE shortly and there are several names from NXT who could be called up to the main roster in the near future.
According to a report from PW Insider, Evans is slated to attend Friday’s SmackDown in Milwaukee. She has been away from the company since announcing her pregnancy during the February 15, 2021 edition of WWE Raw. At the time, she was involved in a storyline where she was aligned with Ric Flair and feuding with Charlotte Flair.
Evans announced the birth of her second daughter on October 16, 2021.
According to a report from Fightful Select, numerous NXT talents have been pitched for potential call-ups to the main roster. Gunther and Marcel Barthel from Imperium have been discussed as possibly heading to Smackdown. Fabian Aichner, who walked out on Barthel in a match against the Creed Brothers this week, is not expected to be called up along with them.
Raquel Gonzalez is also believed to be heading to the main roster. Her and Dakota Kai dropped the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships to Toxic Attraction on Tuesday’s show.
LA Knight’s name has been discussed as possibly being called up to Raw or SmackDown as well, although his situation is said to be less certain than the others. There has also been talk of him being used as a manager.
Kyle O’Reilly & Von Wagner are getting a Tag Team title shot at NXT WarGames.
NXT Tag Team Champions Imperium (Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) will defend their titles against O’Reilly & Wagner at WarGames this Sunday. The title bout was confirmed when O’Reilly & Wagner defeated Legado del Fantasma’s Raul Mendoza & Joaquin Wilde in a number one contender’s match on NXT tonight.
This will be Imperium’s first title defense since becoming NXT Tag Team Champions. They won the titles from MSK in a Lumberjack-O’-Lantern match at Halloween Havoc last month.
Though O’Reilly was initially hesitant to form another tag team after the way that Undisputed Era broke up, his partnership with Wagner began to form following the premiere episode of NXT 2.0 this September. Wagner made his debut on that show and saved O’Reilly from an attack by Pete Dunne and Ridge Holland.
Here’s the updated card for NXT WarGames:
WarGames match: Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, Pete Dunne & LA Knight vs. Bron Breakker, Carmelo Hayes, Grayson Waller & Tony D’Angelo
WarGames match: Io Shirai, Raquel Gonzalez, Cora Jade & Kay Lee Ray vs. Mandy Rose, Gigi Dolin, Jacy Jayne & Dakota Kai
Hair vs. hair match: Cameron Grimes vs. Duke Hudson
NXT Cruiserweight Champion Roderick Strong defends against Joe Gacy
NXT Tag Team Champions Imperium (Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) defend against Kyle O’Reilly & Von Wagner
Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel are the new champions, defeating MSK (Nash Carter and Wes Lee) at tonight’s NXT Halloween Havoc event. After a back-and-forth competitive match, Aichner pinned Lee after he hit a brainbuster on Lee and after both he and Barthel laid out Lee with an Imperium bomb.
MSK held the NXT Tag Team titles for over 200 days, winning them in a three-way tag team match back at TakeOver: Stand and Deliver on April 7 of this year. This is Imperium’s second reign with the titles, winning them for the first time back in April of last year.
Two other titles changed hands on tonight’s NXT. Mandy Rose pinned Raquel Gonzalez to win the NXT Women’s Championship, and her Toxic Attraction stablemates Gigi Dolan and Jacey Jayne defeated Io Shirai & Zoey Stark and Persia Pirotta & Indi Hartwell in a three-way ladder ladder match to win the NXT Women’s Tag Team titles.
A new title match has been added to the lineup for NXT Halloween Havoc.
MSK will put their NXT Tag Team titles on the line against Imperium’s Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner at Halloween Havoc next Tuesday. The match will be a Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal match.
On NXT two weeks ago, MSK retained their titles in a fatal four-way elimination match against The Grizzled Young Veterans, Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen, and Carmelo Hayes & Trick Williams. Barthel & Aichner then attacked MSK after the match was over.
Barthel & Aichner were in action on NXT tonight, defeating The Creed Brothers. MSK attacked Barthel & Aichner after the match and told them that they’d see them at Halloween Havoc.
Tonight’s NXT also featured a match to determine the host for Halloween Havoc. LA Knight defeated Grayson Waller to be confirmed as the host of the show.
The updated card for Halloween Havoc is listed below:
NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa defends against Bron Breakker
Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal match: NXT Women’s Champion Raquel Gonzalez defends against Mandy Rose
Scareway to Hell ladder match: NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Io Shirai & Zoey Stark defend against Indi Hartwell & Persia Pirotta and Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne
Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal match: NXT Tag Team Champions MSK defend against Imperium’s Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner
A video highlighting Scott aired on NXT last week. He pointed out that he’s the only person to defeat Santos Escobar in WWE and said he’ll win the NXT Cruiserweight Championship from Escobar the next time they face off.
This will be the first time Imperium have wrestled since retaining their titles against Breezango on the June 17 episode of NXT. Indus Sher came out to ringside during that match, then Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch appeared and brawled with them as Imperium vs. Breezango was going on.
Tonight’s NXT will also feature Finn Balor vs. Timothy Thatcher vs. Dexter Lumis to determine the next participant to qualify for the ladder match for the vacant NXT North American Championship at TakeOver XXX. NXT Champion Keith Lee will respond to Karrion Kross tonight, Johnny Gargano will face Roderick Strong, and new Robert Stone Brand member Mercedes Martinez will take on Shotzi Blackheart.
A Tag Team title match, Finn Balor in action, an appearance by Rhea Ripley, and a major announcement are set for tonight’s episode of NXT.
Matt Riddle and his temporary partner Timothy Thatcher are defending their NXT Tag Team titles against Imperium’s Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner tonight. After being attacked by them two weeks ago, Riddle & Thatcher accepted a challenge from Barthel & Aichner last week.
Balor is facing Cameron Grimes on tonight’s show. Last week, Balor issued a warning to whoever it was that attacked him in the NXT locker room. He also got into it with Grimes and dropped him with a slingblade and a double foot stomp after Grimes threatened to slap the taste out of his mouth.
We’ll hear from Ripley after she returned for the first time since WrestleMania 36 last week. WWE looks to be building an NXT Women’s Championship feud between Charlotte Flair, Ripley, and Io Shirai.
Plus, WWE has promised that there will be “a major announcement on tonight’s show regarding NXT.” The announcement will be made by Triple H and Shawn Michaels.
Our coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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Third week in a row for the commentary team of Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix and Tom Phillips on the call. Safe to say this could be a permanent team
The show is opening with a tag team title match. They did more typical WWE-style ring introductions instead of dimming the lights like they tend to do for title match intros on NXT.
Imperium (Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) defeated NXT Tag Team Champions Matt Riddle & Timothy Thatcher to win the titles
Barthel pinned Riddle to win the tag team titles after Thatcher walked out on Riddle during the match.
Thatcher and Barthel started the match with some slick grappling. Aichner tagged in, and Barthel began brawling with Riddle at ringside. That drew Riddle away from the corner when Thatcher was trying to make a tag, and Thatcher seemed annoyed Riddle wasn’t there for him.
Riddle eventually tagged in moments later. Barthel got his knees up when Riddle went for a senton, and Riddle looked in trouble as the show went to a commercial break. Imperium was working over Riddle when the show returned from break.
Riddle was trying to create separation when he gave Barthel a monkey flip that sent Barthel crashing into Thatcher, and Thatcher took a bump off the apron. Thatcher grew angry with the second miscommunication of the match. Thatcher walked out on Riddle, and the match became an impromptu handicap match.
Riddle was fighting off a double team, but he was outnumbered. Imperium executed the European Bomb (uppercut Doomsday Device), and Barthel covered Riddle to win the titles.
In a post-match interview backstage, Mckenzie Mitchell asked Thatcher about him walking out. Thatcher was cuting a heel promo on Riddle when Riddle confronted him. They got into a pull-apart brawl. The new has apparently worn off for the Newly-Bros.
Tegan Nox defeated Indi Hartwell
Nox pinned Hartwell after delivering the Shiniest Wizard.
Hartwell gained an early advantage with an aggressive start. Hartwell went for a springboard, but Nox caught her with a gozzle. Nox gave her a chokeslam, and Ranallo called her “Lady Kane”.
Nox with a cannonball in the corner, and she followed with a flying crossbody off the top. Nox delivered the Shiniest Wizard, and covered Hartwell for the pinfall.
After a recap of the angle from last week in the women’s title match, Rhea Ripley in a pre-tape promo said WrestleMania didn’t quite grow her way. She said Charlotte Flair winning the title sickened her. She mentioned Io Shirai not being able to get the job done in defeating Flair, and Ripley said she would be the person to bring the title back to NXT. If Ripley has to beat that into Shirai, then she said so be it.
Ripley warned Flair she isn’t finished with her. As a “stupid old man used to say,” Ripley said talking about Ric Flair, “we’ve only just begun.” Ripley said the NXT Women’s Championship belonged to her.
Riddle was backstage video chatting with Regal, and he said Regal had booked a match with Thatcher for later in the show. Thatcher burst into the room to attack Riddle. He grabbed a monitor and nailed Riddle in the back with it. Riddle was down selling as the scene ended.
Jake Atlas defeated Tony Nese in a Group A match in the Interim Cruiserweight Championship Tournament
Atlas pinned Nese after a cartwheel DDT. Atlas improved to 2-1 in the tournament, and Nese dropped to a winless record of 0-3.
Nese was playing spoiler as he came into the match with a losing record of 0-2. Byron Saxton interviewed Atlas before the match. Atlas said he hoped Drake Maverick wins to force a tie bewteen them, but Atlas then said he had to focus on his match. Atlas had to “take care of businees” in his match with Nese.
Atlas countered Nese with some flips and a cartwheel. Nese cut him off when Atlas began grandstanding. They traded strikes as Atlas fired up on Nese, and then Atlas hit a step-up enzuigiri for a near fall. Atlas bled slighty from a cut above his eyebrow.
Nese tripped up Atlas when he went climbed the turnbuckles. Nese was talking trash and paid for it was as Atlas knocked him off the turnbuckles. Atlas stood on the top buckle, and he did a cartwheel on the rope into a DDT. Atlas then covered Nese for the pinfall.
Kyle O’Reilly returned the show in the form of a Zoom call with the rest of his Undisputed Era stablemates. Thay joked around, and all four agreed that Roderick Strong should be the one to face Dexter Lumis.
A cool vignette with Karrion Kross & Scarlett hyped their characters. This was tremendous. They looked maniacal as heavy metal music played. They signaled out Tommaso Ciampa so that looks to be their first program.
Another good vignette profiled Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez.
Isaiah “Swerve” Scott in an interview cut a cocky promo. Scott said if he can’t win a match in the tournament then you should quit wrestling altogether. That was a shot at his opponent’s losing record.
DX — Triple H & Shawn Michaels — were backstage at the Gorilla Position cutting a promo when Road Dogg popped up from behind the monitor. Michaels was wearing a bandana over his face, and Road Dogg was also wearing a face mask — but he took his off. That could be a first for WWE television with the face coverings during the pandemic. They were reminiscing about the anniversary of the first In Your House.
Road Dogg made a joke about pig crap that referenced the Arkansas Hog Pen Match that HHH had with Henry Godwin at an In Your House PPV in 1995. Anyway, since everyone is basically having to stay “in your house”, Triple H said on June 7th that NXT with present TakeOver: In Your House live on WWE Network.
And that was the big announcement.
Cameron Grimes defeated Finn Balor
Grimes pinned Balor after Damian Priest interfered using an expandable baton on Balor. Priest revealed himself as the attacker that had jumped Balor in a previous angle.
Grimes went for the Cave In double stomp at the outset, but Balor sidestepped. Balor was in control for a few moments until Grimes cut him off before a commercial break. Grimes had Balor grounded as the show returned from break.
Grimes dashed a hope spot with a lariat for a near fall. Grimes began to taunt Balor, and Balor fired up on him. Balor with a penalty kick running down the apron as Damien Priest walked onto the set. Balor hit Priest with a forearm smash as Priest climbed over the guardrail.
Balor used a slingblade on the floor, and he rolled Grimes back into the ring. As Balor was getting back into the ring, Priest broke out the expandable baton and hit Balor in the knee with it.
Grimes gave Balor the Cave In, and he covered him for the pinfall.
Priest after the match gave Balor his Reckoning finisher on a steal chair. He choked Balor with the legs of the chair as he indenified himself as the attacker from the angle a few weeks ago.
Editor’s Note: Due to a power outage, the rest of the live coverage is from Josh Nason.
Jack Gallagher (1-2) defeated Isaiah “Swerve” Scott (1-2) in a Group B match in the Interim Cruiserweight Championship Tournament
Before the match, Scott was hit from behind by Nese and injuring his ribs as Scott was about to enter the ring, getting even for his earlier verbal jabs at Nese’s expense.
Gallagher immediately went on the attack, but could only muster two counts. Scott regained the momentum by ducking a Gallagher haymaker and landing some body shots. Gallagher later ran and flew in the air at Scott while his opponent was in the corner, taking a nasty bump on his head when Scott moved out of the way. Scott hit a beautiful House Call kick, but that could only garner two.
Gallagher caught Scott in a guillotine choke attempt as Scott charged him off the ropes, but Scott powered out of it temporarily, only to be caught by a Gallagher counter knee strike to a suplex attempt. Gallagher followed with a Judas Effect-style spinning elbow strike to pick up the pin and win.
With his first win in the tourney, Gallagher also eliminated Scott from contention in advancing to the finals. This was a fun, short match which sets up Scott vs. Nese in upcoming weeks.
Kayden Carter submitted Aliyah
Carter was working over Aliyah’s lags early looking for submissions. A shoving match led to Carter hitting a nice looking bottom rope dropkick, but her advantage didn’t last long as an aggressive Aliyah took control. As Aliyah was dominating, Robert Stone came out to get a closer look but that eventually led to her downfall.
As she was distracted in trying to impress Scott and adjusted herself on the top rople, Carter brought her down and started laying in chops. Carter eventually locked in her good looking spinning deathlock submission for the tap in a short, but entertaining, match.
Afterward, Aliyah tried to make things good with an unimpressed Stone who removed her hand from his arm and walked away.
Dinner With The Garganos
This was filmed at the Gargano’s dinner table as the two ate dinner and regaled over their recent achievements. The two would talk normally and then, the camera effects would change to a split personality deal to illustrate that they are heels. Gargano did get in a “five stars” reference for Candice LeRae. LeRae talked down Mia Yim and Kacy Catanzaro while Gargano had words for Keith Lee and what happens when fans suddenly don’t like you anymore. There was also the cup used in the Gargano-Ciampa “Final Heartbeat” match under glass on the table. This was ok, but the camera effects didn’t really work.
Matt Riddle pinned Timothy Thatcher
This was obviously set up from Thatcher walking away from Riddle at the top of the show, causing him to lose the NXT tag titles to Imperium.
The early part was a grappling fan’s dream as the two basically had a sparring session of sorts that also included strikes. Both men countered each other repeatedly until Riddle caught Thatcher with a kick that sent Thatcher to the outside which took us to break.
After the break, Thatcher had the advantage with an ankle lock as we were showing that Riddle got his foot stomped on while trying a gut wrench suplex, leading to Thatcher hitting a sweet belly to belly suplex off the ropes. We would later see the foot stomp happen again as Thatcher cut off Riddle’s mid-match surge of momentum.
Thatcher continued to work Riddle on the ground with a knee to the side followed by a chinlock. More grappling, slaps, and submissions attempts followed in this absoutely grueling match.
Thatcher hit a kick gear, but Riddle rallied back to hit a Bro To Sleep. Riddle followed with a Floating Bro that Thatcher reversed into a Fujiwa armbar that Riddle reversed into a powerbomb. Thatcher turned a Riddle taunt into an armbar and eventually a kneebar attempt that looked to be the end. But, while locked in the kneebar, Riddle worked to a position where he was able to pin Thatcher, using his weight against him.
Afterward, Thatcher attacked and repeatedly locked on the armbar again. Riddle kept tapping as Thatcher maniacally looked into the camera so, as Bryan Alvarez says, this feud must continue.
This was an excellent match. If you’re a fan of the Bloodsport events, and even if you like this style in general, you will love this match.
Next Week:
Rhea Ripley vs. Io Shirai
Roderick Strong vs. Dexter Lumis
Interim NXT Cruiserweight Championship Tourney: Kushida vs. Drake Maverick
Interim NXT Cruiserweight Championship Tourney: El Hijo del Fantasma vs. Akira Tozawa
Matt Riddle and his temporary partner Timothy Thatcher are set to defend their NXT Tag Team titles next week.
It was announced on tonight’s NXT that Imperium’s Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner will challenge for Riddle & Thatcher’s titles on NXT next Wednesday. The match was set up by Barthel & Aichner attacking Riddle & Thatcher during their Newly-Bros Show segment last week.
A promo where Barthel & Aichner issued a challenge to Riddle & Thatcher then aired on NXT tonight. Later in the show, Riddle & Thatcher did an interview accepting the challenge.
Thatcher made his NXT debut three weeks ago and was introduced as Riddle’s temporary partner. In their first title defense, Riddle & Thatcher retained against Undisputed Era’s Roderick Strong & Bobby Fish.
Riddle & Pete Dunne are the NXT Tag Team Champions, but Dunne is currently unable to travel and defend the titles due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Finn Balor vs. Cameron Grimes has also been announced for next week’s episode of NXT.
Balor appeared on tonight’s show and sent a warning to whoever it was that attacked him in the locker room two weeks ago. Grimes then defeated Denzel Dejournette with his Cave In double foot stomp. Grimes got on the microphone after and said he deserves more than he has now. He brought up Balor and said someone must have beat him to it by going after Balor first.
As Grimes was saying that he was going to slap the taste out of Balor’s mouth, Balor came back down and slid into the ring. He challenged Grimes to slap him. Grimes tried to back off at first, then went to attack him. Balor avoided it, gave Grimes a double foot stomp, and hit a slingblade.
Balor then looked into the camera and said there’s a snake hiding in the long grass backstage. Balor promised that he’ll find them and said the best way to kill a snake is to chop off its head.
Miles, who is an Army veteran and former University of Maryland football player, was making his NXT debut here and cut a promo before the match. Grimes won quickly with a double stomp.
– Bronson Reed defeated Austin Theory
This was also Theory’s NXT debut. He took the mic before the match and ran down the previous match and Miles for not getting the job done.
They had a good back-and-forth match with some impressive moments by both. Theory hit a great dropkick and standing moonsault. Reed hit his big splash from the top to win it.
– The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) defeated The Outliers (Dorian Mak & Riddick Moss) w/ Robert Stone
– Matt Riddle defeated Jeet Rama
They threw each other around until Riddle hit the Bro Derek to win it.
– Kassius Ohno defeated Danny Burch in a British Rounds match
This was the first British Rounds match in NXT US history.
Ohno explained the rules and they had the basketball scoreboard active for this. We had six rounds that were three minutes each. There was a 30-second break between each round. To win the match, a wrestler must earn two pinfalls or two submissions (or one of each) or win via knockout. If none of that happens after six rounds, the wrestler with the most falls is the winner.
It went to the sixth round before Ohno scored the win. A very unique match for the Florida loop that did have a lot of action along with the suspense.
– Io Shirai defeated Mia Yim
Physical match that will translate well to TV when these two go at it again. They each escaped the other’s finishers, then Shirai was able to score a pin deep in the match.
– Imperium (WWE United Kingdom Champion WALTER, Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) defeated The Forgotten Sons (Wesley Blake, Steve Cutler & Jackson Ryker)
Great physical and violent action here, with it building to WALTER facing off with Ryker. It was teased early but didn’t happen until the end when they exchanged big strikes and moves. WALTER destroyed Blake with a powerbomb to get the pin. This was a special one.
Taped April 20, 2019 at the Braehead Arena in Glasgow, Scotland
Quick results —
Jazzy Gabert & Jinny defeated Xia Brookside & Isla Dawn, then Ilja Dragunov answered Joseph Conners’ challenge and quickly was victorious in an intense match.
In a tremendous main event, Imperium (WALTER, Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) defeated British Strong Style (Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) when Alexander Wolfe made his NXT UK debut, joining his colleagues from the European mainland and helping them gain the victory in this important bout.
Full rundown —
The show opened with a great video montage, analyzing the formation of Imperium and their budding feud against British Strong Style. The two teams will clash in our main event tonight.
Jazzy Gabert & Jinny defeated Isla Dawn & Xia Brookside with Jinny pinning Dawn after a Dominator by Gabert (4:15)
Jinny and Dawn started out, with Dawn gaining the upper hand off an arm lock. The babyface team worked well together early on, causing Jinny some trouble until she finally tagged Gabert.
The Alpha Female didn’t mess around, immediately locking a standing armbar on Brookside and ragdolling her around from one side of the ring to the other. Brookside tagged Dawn and she went to town on Gabert, but also quickly got caught with some strikes by the former MMA fighter.
Gabert hit a Dominator on Dawn, then tagged Jinny so she could get the pinfall victory for her team. Jinny and Gabert posed on the apron after the match.
– A very good video on Ligero aired. He talked about his childhood, telling a story on how he was born with one eye closed and only had surgery to correct the issue when he was eight years old. Ligero discussed how he was ridiculed at school for his look. He chose to wrestle under a mask, as it gave him more confidence and it made him more memorable and made him stand out more than anyone else to the fans.
– Kenny Williams was interviewed and asked about Noam Dar. He said Dar always was a cheater, but it didn’t concern him. He said he faces Kassius Ohno next week and only needs his luck.
Ilja Dragunov defeated Joseph Conners after hitting the Torpedo Moscow (4:48)
They started out with an intense lockup with neither man being able to get an advantage. Dragunov chopped Conners down and hit a standing senton, then applied a brutal neck crank, following up with some strikes. Dragunov hit an Inoki-style jumping head kick.
Conners briefly took over with a few strikes of his own, then locked in an armlock, but Dragunov powered out, much to Conners’ disbelief. Dragunov hit a running lariat into the corner, but Conners countered his second attempt at the move, then hit a sunset bomb into the corner.
Dragunov quickly recovered, caught a springboard attack by Conners, and hit a Death Valley Bomb into the turnbuckle. He hit a huge overhead back suplex, then did his UN-BE-SIEG-BAR chant in the corner and hit the Torpedo Moscow for the victory.
– Toni Storm was being interviewed about Kay Lee Ray. She said everyone was looking for the “shiny-shiny” but it was staying “home sweet home.”
– A graphic announced a women’s battle royal for next week to determine the number one contender for Storm’s NXT UK Women’s Championship.
– A video feature on Travis banks aired. He talked about being very relaxed out of the ring, in a stark contrast to his intense in-ring persona. Banks said he’s very goal-oriented and wanted to be the first Kiwi wrestler in Royal Albert Hall “in about 50 years,” but lost in the UK number one contender’s tournament to Zack Gibson.
Banks said his shoulder injury got him focused and set things into perspective. He said it was frustrating not being able to wrestle at NXT UK TakeOver in Blackpool, when Jordan Devlin attacked him before the match.
Banks said winning the fatal four-way was what he was working towards, and now he has a shot at WALTER. he said it would take more than a chop or a powerbomb to beat him. He said it would be great to win the WWE United Kingdom Championship — and it would be even cooler to win it from WALTER.
– The Hunt were shown bursting out of the locker room, uttering animalistic noises. They screamed that next week, the hunt would be on for Gallus.
Imperium (WWE United Kingdom Champion WALTER, Fabian Aichner & Marcel Barthel) defeated British Strong Style (Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate & Trent Seven)
Moustache Mountain came out to their music, then Pete Dunne’s music played and he came out and joined them on the stage. While Bate and Seven interacted with the fans, Dunne entered the ring and was all business.
Imperium came out, doing the Ringkampf pose (which I probably should start calling the Imperium pose) to a blank, white Titantron that eventually turned black to read “Imperium – WALTER – Barthel – Aichner.”
Dunne and Aichner started and Dunne immediately started beating up Aichner, but the man from South Tyrol came back with a lariat from out of the corner and knocked Dunne down. Dunne took back over, working over Aichner’s arm, then tagged in Bate and they attacked Aichner’s arms together.
Barthel tagged in and quickly took over, pounding Bate into the mat. Seven tagged in and they hit a double-team fireman’s carry slam/somersault senton on Barthel. Barthel took back over, then tagged in the champion.
WALTER immediately took over, but Seven ducked a chop and hit a number of chops of his own. After a quick intermezzo by Aichner, WALTER finally hit a chop that flung Seven to the mat as if he was struck by lightning.
Aichner was in next, working over the weakened Seven, including hitting a high-angle Saito suplex. WALTER was back in and after a quick retaliation by Seven, the Austrian giant hit a hard boot, then beat up Bate in the corner just for good measure. Dunne ducked his attack, but couldn’t do any damage to WALTER from the apron.
Imperium did a good job of isolating Seven and methodically picking him apart. Barthel was back in and aggressively asked Seven “Was ist los mit dir?” (“What’s up with you?”). Aichner was back in, locking a body scissors on Seven and trying to get a choke in, but Seven managed to turn it into a pinfall attempt.
Seven finally hit an enzuigiri and managed to tag out to Dunne while Aichner tagged WALTER. Dunne took over, but WALTER held his own. Dunne did his back flip from the top, but WALTER had him scouted well and hit a hard chop to the back. Dunne and WALTER traded high German suplexes, after which both men were down.
They both managed to tag out and it was Bate and Aichner next. Bate hit a jumping European uppercut on Aichner, then caught Barthel in an exploder and suplexed him onto Aichner. He got the airplane spin on Aichner and then Barthel and was looking to do the same to WALTER, but he was saved by Aichner. Bate briefly held his own against all three members of Imperium.
Aichner hit a backstabber on Bate, while Barthel came off the second turnbuckle with a double foot stomp as Aichner held Bate in position. Bate managed to hit both Aichner and Barthel with his springboard double lariat, then managed to tag out to Seven, even though WALTER tried to hinder him from doing so.
Dunne hit the Bitter End on WALTER, followed by a corkscrew plancha by Bate, but Barthel made the save for WALTER.
A man dressed in black with a hoodie and a face mask slowly walked out as Seven accidentally hit the referee, sending him out of the ring. The masked man got into the ring and unmasked as Alexander Wolfe, then hit a Liger Bomb on Bate as WALTER rolled the referee back into the ring. Barthel covered Bate for the victorious fall.
After a brief pause, Wolfe joined his new Imperium brethren in the ring and they did their pose as the show went off the air. Of course, Wolfe as Axel Tischer/Axeman was an integral part of wXw in Germany from 2009 to 2015 and also is a part of the Ringkampf stable/brand, alongside WALTER, Barthel, Veit Müller, and formerly(?) Timothy Thatcher.
Next week —
A battle royal to determine the next contender for Toni Storm’s NXT UK Women’s Championship will take place and Kenny Williams faces Kassius Ohno. Both matches, along with a number of others, are probably being taped over the weekend at Download Festival in Donington Park in Leicestershire.
Taped April 20, 2019 at the Braehead Arena in Glasgow, Scotland
Quick results —
WALTER, Marcel Barthel, and Fabian Aichner declared that they would be known as Imperium henceforth. Pete Dunne and British Strong Style attacked them, which led to a wild brawl.
Gallus beat Team WhiteWolf in a quick squash that really didn’t allow the two Spaniards to show what they can do in the ring. Kassius Ohno defeated Jack Gallagher in controversial fashion in a clinic of the British style.
In the main event, Toni Storm defended her NXT UK Women’s Championship against Nina Samuels.
Full rundown —
The show opened with a highlight video of last week’s WALTER vs. Pete Dunne main event, including scenes of Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel helping WALTER retain the WWE United Kingdom Championship.
After the opening, Antonín Dvorák’s Symphony No. 9 played and WALTER, Barthel, and Aichner made their way to the ring. As they got ready to address the crowd, the fans started chanting “We want Dunne.”
Barthel, who has some of the best facials in the business right now, took his sweet time before beginning to talk: “We are here to lead you to a better NXT UK. We are here to raise our flag and restore the honor and professionalism of our sport. We are the ones to lead. And we are the ones who hold true power.”
Aichner continued: “Pete Dunne can only get you so far. And British Strong Style has expired. Because none of them had the ability to lead NXT UK in the right direction. And now, the responsibility lays in our hands.”
WALTER concluded: “To us, this mat is sacred. And from this day forth we shall be known as Imperium. And soon, NXT…”
At that point, Dunne’s music interrupted the Ring General and he walked out, backed up by Moustache Mountain. The two teams began brawling, eventually crashing into a cameraman and taking out the feed.
Vic Joseph and Nigel McGuinness were on screen next, throwing it to Radzi Chinyanganya interviewing Sid Scala. He announced that Johnny Saint and himself had decided that Imperium would face off with British Strong Style in two weeks.
Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) beat Team WhiteWolf (A-Kid & Carlos Romo) when Wolfgang pinned Romo after a power slam/kick combo (3:27)
A-Kid at just 22 has had two highly talked about matches, against Zack Sabre Jr. and Will Ospreay. He started wrestling in 2012 in his native Spain, where he primarily competed for White Wolf Wrestling, an upstart indie with a rabid fan base.
A-Kid recently started wrestling full-time in the UK, working primarily for RevPro, but also Defiant, PROGRESS, and ATTACK Pro, as well as GWF and wXw in Germany. His partner, Romo, actually was partially trained by A-Kid, starting out in 2014. He also has been more active in the UK scene lately, working for RevPro, Attack Pro, Fight Club: PRO, and Defiant, among others. Both were also part of some shows over WrestleMania weekend this year and have been working as a team in the UK since last fall.
Wolfgang attacked Romo right away, and Gallus quickly took turns working the young Spaniard over. A-Kid was tagged in, but bounced off Coffey and received a choke slam for his troubles. Mark locked in a full nelson and started throwing the smaller man around a few times, concluding with a big slam.
A-Kid evaded a knee drop and managed the hot tag, but Romo got his head separated from his shoulders. Wolfgang finished him off with a power slam, assisted by a kick from Coffey for the win.
Hopefully Team WhiteWolf will be back at a future taping — they’d have great matches with the likes of Moustache Mountain, Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster, and Kenny Williams & Amir Jordan.
– Radzi interviewed Xia Brookside and asked about Jinny and Jazzy Gabert attacking her. Isla Dawn walked up and offered to team up with Brookside against Jinny & Gabert.
– Joseph Conners cut a backstage promo, challenging Ilja Dragunov for a future match. It seems like Conners’ health is not one of his primary concerns.
– A video recapped the qualifying matches for the fatal four-way to establish the new number one contender for WALTER’s WWE UK Championship.
– We saw Toni Storm getting ready for her championship match in tonight’s main event
Kassius Ohno pinned Jack Gallagher after the roaring elbow (12:35)
McGuinness analyzed both competitors and predicted it would be a clash of technical wrestling and submissions vs. striking ability. Ohno took Gallagher down with a hip throw and locked in an armbar, but Gallagher made the ropes. They transitioned into mat wrestling, with Gallagher showing his technical prowess.
Ohno used his size to his advantage, leveraging Gallagher into another armbar, which eventually got countered into a headscissors. They traded unique submission attempts and chain wrestling moves with neither man being able to get a clear advantage over the other.
Gallagher did a headstand in the corner, then flipped over a charging Ohno and rolled into a ball. Instead of trying to gain some hold on Gallagher, Ohno just stomped him. Gallagher at that point started bleeding from the nose from a stiff shot by Ohno. Ohno hit a big boot on Gallagher for a near fall.
As Ohno was looking for the rolling elbow, Gallagher headbutted his wrist and followed up with body shots, targeting Ohno’s arm and eventually locking in an armbar and transitioning into another one. Gallagher hit another headbutt, but Ohno managed to hit a senton before falling down.
As Gallagher went for a forearm off the ropes, Ohno hit the roaring elbow, knocking Gallagher out for the pin, even though Gallagher’s foot was under the ropes, which the referee missed.
– Piper Niven was interviewed by some reporters, who asked about Rhea Ripley stating that Niven couldn’t stop talking about her. Niven said she came here to fight, not to talk and she would face Ripley if she was up for it.
– A recap video of Imperium and British Strong Style brawling earlier tonight aired, including a graphic of the two teams facing off in two weeks.
– Next week will feature the number one contender’s fatal four-way between Travis Banks, Joe Coffey, Dave Mastiff, and Jordan Devlin.
NXT UK Women’s Championship match: Toni Storm retained against Nina Samuels after Storm Zero (9:45)
Samuels started out showing some athleticism, but the champion hit a boot that sent Samuels to ringside, then followed up with a dropkick and a number of uppercuts. Samuels came back with a kick as the referee broke them up in the corner. Samuels took over, bending Storm backwards over the top rope.
Samuels proceeded to work over Storm’s previously injured back, which seemed to be successful for a while. Storm came back with a release German suplex, then locked in a modified STF, but Samuels made the ropes.
They traded offense on the apron. Samuels eventually got the upper hand with a head kick over the top rope, then launched herself back into the ring with a corkscrew splash. Storm hit a headbutt into Samuels as she was charging at her and got a near fall off it, but it was obvious she also hurt her own head from the move.
Storm followed up with a bridging German suplex for another near fall. Samuels came back with a cradle for another two count and a butterfly into a backbreaker for a pinfall attempt, then a top rope dropkick for another one.
Storm finally came back with another headbutt, then hit two flow-over suplexes and finally Storm Zero to retain her title.
Next week —
Joe Coffey, Jordan Devlin, Travis Banks, and Dave Mastiff battle it out in a fatal four-way match to determine the number one contender for the WWE United Kingdom Championship.
