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.
Episode 21 (taped November 24, 2018 at the Liverpool Olympia in Liverpool, England)
Quick recap:
Travis Banks quickly defeated Jamie Ahmed but was called out by Jordan Devlin afterwards. The new team of Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner beat Kenny Williams & Jordan Devlin, and Jinny defeated Candyfloss.
In the main event, Moustache Mountain advanced to the NXT UK Tag Team Championship tournament finals by beating Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang). Both Pete Dunne and Joe Coffey got involved in the finish. The two teams brawled as the show went off the air, but not before Dunne accepted Joe Coffey’s challenge for a WWE UK Championship match at NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool.
Travis Banks defeated Jamie Ahmed in 1:40 with Slice of Heaven
Banks took him down early until Ahmed escaped. Banks tried to get a submission, but Ahmed made the ropes. Banks hit a dropkick to the back of Ahmed’s head and followed with a German suplex. He then hit a shotgun dropkick, a double foot stomp off the middle ropes, and Slice of Heaven for the quick win.
Jordan Devlin came out after the match to trash talk Banks. He talked about how Banks left his native New Zealand to wrestle and, while Devlin cashes his check and goes home to his family after the matches, he wondered if Banks’ mum even remembered his voice. He dared Banks to shut him up.
– Nigel McGuinness and Vic Joseph talked about the NXT UK Tag Team title tournament and recapped the history between Moustache Mountain and Gallus, leading into tonight’s main event. A graphic plugged the next match with the debuting team of Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner.
– A recap of the recent Dave Mastiff and Eddie Dennis angles aired, and a rematch between the two monsters was announced for the next episode.
Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner defeated Amir Jordan & Kenny Williams in 7:31 with a powerbomb/Saito suplex combination
Williams wouldn’t dance with Jordan as they came out. Williams and Barthel traded arm locks early on. Jordan received a thrust to the throat for his dancing antics by Barthel, who tagged out to Aichner. Aichner dominated Jordan until he escaped to hit a body block but got caught and then destroyed by both heels, who proceeded to beat the heck out of him and quickly tagged in and out.
Williams made the save after a spine buster/running kick combo. Barthel then hit a butterfly suplex and transitioned into a chinlock. Jordan finally made the hot tag to Williams — who ran wild.
Williams hit a plancha to the outside and even saved Jordan from certain defeat by Barthel’s Landungsbrücken. Aichner and Barthel put an end to that tomfoolery by hitting a powerbomb/Saito suplex combo on Jordan for the win.
– A segment from earlier today aired, where Radzi Chinyanganya caught Toni Storm and Deonna Purrazzo agreeing to a match for Storm’s title shot at NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool. A graphic promised Jinny would be in action next
– Sid Scala and Johnny Saint were talking about TakeOver when Joe Coffey interrupted and demanded a title match against Pete Dunne at that event. Scala said they’d take it under consideration. Saint dismissed him and told Scala they would talk.
Jinny defeated Candyfloss in 4:23 with A Touch of Couture
To her dismay, Candyfloss hugged Jinny early. They traded submissions until Candyfloss mocked Jinny by lying down next to her. Jinny locked in a double wristlock and rammed Candyfloss’ head into the corner. Candyfloss hit two dropkicks but couldn’t capitalize as Jinny hit a Japanese arm drag into the corner, followed by A Touch of Couture for the victory.
– Gallus were shown backstage preparing for their match.
NXT UK Tag Team title tournament semifinal match: Moustache Mountain defeated Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) in 14:37 after a springboard lariat/dragon suplex combo on Coffey
Coffey and Bate started, with Bate hitting a big dropkick right away. Bate also hit a somersault splash off Seven’s shoulders for a quick cover shortly after. The heels took over after a distraction by Wolfgang. They worked Bate over for a while — until he managed to hit a hurricanrana and make the hot tag.
Seven hit a DDT and a Falcon Arrow for a near fall on Coffey. Some more cheating led to the heels back on offense as Wolfgang hit a number of sentons on Seven. Coffey hit a stiff forearm on Seven that almost knocked him out, and he kept being the face in peril for a few more minutes. After a lengthy bear hug, Wolfgang threw Seven to the outside — where Coffey preyed on him but ate a suplex for his troubles.
Seven finally managed to tag in Bate, who immediately hit a dive to the outside and ran wild on Wolfgang, then hit another dive to the outside. Bate hit an impressive exploder, followed by a running Shooting Star Press on Wolfgang for a near fall. Bate did the airplane spin on Wolfgang, then turned around to repeat it in the other direction. A deadlift suplex attempt went awry and Wolfgang managed to tag out.
In a super impressive spot, Bate hit a German suplex on Wolfgang while Coffey was piggybacking on his back. Seven took out Wolfgang with a dive as Bate went for the Tyler Driver ’97. Coffey back body dropped Bate, Bate flipped over and went for his springboard lariat, and he got caught with Coffey’s forearm as both men were stunned.
Gallus called for help by Joe Coffey. He came out, but Pete Dunne was at his heels and the two brawled around ringside. In the ring, Bate and Seven hit their combined springboard lariat/dragon suplex on Mark Coffey for the win.
As the faces celebrated, Joe Coffey attacked Pete Dunne once more and Gallus proceeded to beat down British Strong Style until the faces made their own comeback to dispose of their mortal enemies.
Dunne grabbed the mic and accepted Joe Coffey’s challenge for a WWE UK Championship match at NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool. Gallus then hit the ring and the two teams brawled once more as the show faded to black.
Next episode:
Toni Storm faces Deonna Purrazzo with Storm’s NXT UK Women’s Championship shot at TakeOver: Blackpool on the line. Eddie Dennis also faces Dave Mastiff in a rematch from a few weeks ago.
Episode 17 (taped October 14 at Plymouth Pavilions in Plymouth, England)
Quick recap:
Jordan Devlin defeated “Wild Boar” Mike Hitchman in the opener. Fabian Aichner took the first step on his road to redemption after his loss to Flash Morgan Webster last week, disposing of Eddie Ryan.
Moustache Mountain defeated Tyson T-Bone & Saxon Huxley in their quest to qualify for the NXT UK Tag Team Championship tournament. In the main event, Rhea Ripley successfully defended her NXT UK Women’s Championship for the first time, defeating Isla Dawn.
Full rundown:
– The show opened up with a video hyping Rhea Ripley defending her title against Isla Dawn
Jordan Devlin defeated “Wild Boar” Mike Hitchman in 4:57 after Ireland’s Call
The “Wild Boar” started out aggressive, going for Devlin’s arm right away and even hitting a short-arm suplex. Devlin came back with forearms to the back and some ground and pound and transitioned into a chinlock, which Hitchman eventually powered out of.
Devlin hit his uranage/moonsault combo, but Hitchman was the first man to roll out of the way and hit a senton on Devlin and a uranage of his own. He followed with a spear into the corner. Hitchman tried for a package powerbomb, but Devlin got out and hit a spinning Pele kick for a two count.
Devlin went to the top for a moonsault, but Hitchman moved and Devlin landed on his feet. Hitchman immediately hit a pop-up powerbomb — but missed an inverted cannonball. Devlin hit the pull-up backdrop driver, followed by Ireland’s Call for the victory.
Post-match, Devlin cut a promo in the ring. He asked when the fans would learn not to support guys like Hitchman anymore. He closed with a message to the NXT UK roster — saying that the Ace trumped all.
– Moustache Mountain were interviewed outside the arena. Trent Seven said that NXT UK kicked off in a big way. Tyler Bate said that British Strong Style are focused on Gallus, but once they deal with them, they have their eyes set on the NXT UK Tag Team titles.
– Radzi Chinyanganya was backstage with Flash Morgan Webster and Mark Andrews. Webster said that they also had their eyes set on the NXT UK Tag Team titles. Andrews added that NXT UK was the most exciting brand in WWE and they were the most exciting team. They said that the sky was the limit for them.
Fabian Aichner defeated Eddie Ryan in 5:04 after a spinning sit-out powerbomb
Ryan is a local wrestler from Plymouth and actually works as an analyst at a building and loan association. He started in 2008 and mostly worked for 4 Front Wrestling and other smaller promotions. He is a former two-time 4FW Heavyweight Champion and also a former two-time Tag Team Champion for that promotion.
Ryan was ready to go, but Aichner stopped and offered his hand — only to pull it away when Ryan went to shake it. Aichner then escaped into the ropes. They locked up and Aichner pushed him into the corner, then teased a punch and Ryan flinched. The fans were behind Ryan, who hit a dropkick and clotheslined Aichner to the outside.
Ryan tried for a dive, but Aichner got back into the ring and hit a tilt-a-whirl-backbreaker. Ryan came back with a few chops until Aichner hit him with a back suplex, then locked in a sitting abdominal stretch and worked over Ryan’s ribs. Ryan got out and eventually hit an enzuigiri and a forearm into the corner and a back elbow.
Ryan came off the middle ropes with a flying European uppercut. He tried for an Alabama slam, but Aichner grabbed the top rope and escaped, then suplexed Ryan onto the top rope and threw him to the outside,. He rammed Ryan into the steel steps and followed up with a running knee, the same tactic he successfully used against Mark Andrews a few episodes ago and also tried against Flash Morgan Webster.
Back in the ring, Aichner hit a spinning sit-out powerbomb for the win.
– A graphic for Rhea Ripley vs. Isla Dawn aired and we saw Dawn meditating backstage.
– Another graphic hyped up Moustache Mountain vs. Tyson T-Bone & Saxon Huxley.
– A Travis Banks video aired. He talked about Joe Coffey and said he was the Kiwi Buzzsaw and nobody squashed him. He talked about Gallus taking him out backstage but said they didn’t get the job done. He said he took out Wolfgang. Banks has his eyes set on the WWE United Kingdom title. He said Gallus’ oversight would be their downfall and Joe Coffey was the first on his list.
Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven & Tyler Bate) defeated Saxon Huxley & Tyson T-Bone in 7:02 when Seven pinned Huxley after a lariat/snap dragon suplex combo
In a WWE.com exclusive video, Radzi interviewed T-Bone and Huxley. He said that many people believed that Moustache Mountain were the favorites. T-Bone asked if Radzi believed that too. T-Bone said that favorites are only good to disappoint, and Huxley said that they would send their opponents to the seventh circle of hell.
Bate and T-Bone started, with the big guy landing with body shots right away. He backed Bate into the corner, but Bate came back with shots of his own. T-Bone tagged Huxley, who worked Bate over, including a backbreaker over the shoulder. Bate came back with a spinning European uppercut from the second turnbuckle and tagged out.
Seven hit a number of chops in the corner but got distracted by T-Bone, allowing Huxley to hit a Thesz press. Seven hit T-Bone, who had tagged back in with a few chops to no effect, so he kicked him and hit a quick DDT. Seven tried for a Figure Four, but T-Bone kicked him into Huxley and then hit a hard right that briefly had Seven out cold on the mat.
The heels continued to work Seven over, isolating him in their corner and quickly tagging in and out. T-Bone got a near fall after two face-wash kicks into the corner. Huxley hit a body press into Seven while he was in the ropes. T-Bone kept working him over, but Seven eventually managed to hit a snap dragon suplex before being stopped by Huxley.
Seven managed to hit an enzuigiri and make the hot tag. Bate came in like a house of fire and took out both guys. He caught Huxley on a running forearm into the corner, carried him over, and hit an exploder, followed by a running Shooting Star Press. T-Bone accidentally hit an elbow drop on Huxley while trying to make the save and got sent outside courtesy of a hard left by Bate, followed by a suicide dive. Bate went for the Tyler Driver ’97, but Huxley escaped.
Bate managed to tag in Seven, who locked Huxley in a full-nelson. Bate hit the ropes for his springboard launched lariat into a snap dragon suplex by Seven for the victory.
– Radzi was backstage with “Bomber” Dave Mastiff, talking about his victory over Eddie Dennis last week, making him the still-undefeated monster of NXT UK. Mastiff talked about wanting to go for the UK Championship, but he was then brutally attacked by Dennis from behind.
Dennis repeatedly rammed Mastiff into a steel door. He screamed that it was far from over between them.
– Ripley walked towards the ring backstage. A graphic announced her match was next.
– A video aired, promoting the “Bruiserweight” Pete Dunne and his UK title win against Tyler Bate as well as his current title reign. Vic Joseph and Nigel McGuinness talked about who might be able to stop the champ.
– Another video promoted Toni Storm’s return to the ring next episode, as well as Zack Gibson & James Drake vs. Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews and Travis Banks vs. Joe Coffey.
NXT UK Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley defeated Isla Dawn to retain her title in 9:01 after hitting the Riptide
They locked up and Ripley backed her into the corner, but Dawn turned it around and they ended up back in the middle in the ring, still jockeying for position. Dawn locked her in a side headlock. Ripley whipped her way out of it, but Dawn tripped her and hit a double foot stomp for a quick two count.
Dawn went back to a headlock on the mat. Ripley finally managed to get up and back Dawn into the corner, then hit a running dropkick right to Dawn’s jaw. Ripley took over with kicks and punches, wearing the “White Witch” of NXT UK down, then hit a vertical suplex for a two count. She tried to follow it up with her modified cloverleaf, but Dawn managed to kick her off. Ripley took Dawn down with a snapmare and locked in a chinlock, rag-dolling her smaller opponent. She then took out Dawn with a stiff lariat.
Dawn managed to block a few suplex attempts, but Ripley caught her on a roll-through attempt and locked in her modified cloverleaf. Dawn slowly crawled her way to the edge of the mat and eventually reached the ropes, not without Ripley kicking her hard in the back.
Ripley missed a big boot, a dropkick, and eventually a shoulder block into the corner, where Ripley launched herself right into the post. Dawn took over with a series of kicks and a backdrop driver, followed by a head kick. She hit her float-over gutwrench powerslam, but Ripley managed to kick out at 2.9.
Ripley held onto the top rope as Dawn tried to whip her, then ducked a high kick and transitioned into hitting the Riptide for her first successful title defense.
Ripley celebrated with her title as the show went off the air.
Next episode:
Joe Coffey faces Travis Banks, Zack Gibson & James Drake take on Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster, and Toni Storm returns to the ring.
Episode twelve (taped October 13 at Plymouth Pavilions in Plymouth, England)
Quick recap
Fabian Aichner made his NXT UK debut, defeating Mark Andrews and looking good in the process. Isla Dawn beat Nina Samuels in a quick match, while Edie Dennis basically squashed Tucker. Jordan Devlin beat Flash Morgan Webster in a good main event match.
Also, Travis Banks returned from injury to confront Gallus, the new official name for the group of Wolfgang and the Coffey Brothers. In other news, Sid Scala officially was appointed assistant to NXT UK General Manager Johnny Saint.
Full rundown
The show opened with a graphic about Tom “Dynamite Kid” Billington passing away. A scrolling message at the bottom of the screen also wished his family, friends and fans the best.
This was the first show from the third set of NXT UK tapings and saw a number of debuts and returns, the first of which happened in the first segment. Joe Coffey, Mark Coffey and Wolfgang came out and Joe Coffey cut a promo in the ring. He said people had been calling them “ruthless”, then asked his brother for what other word they had been called. “Devious”, was the answer.
He asked Wolfgang for another term. “Underhanded”, was what Wolfgang told him. He said that this was absolutely right, he said that this was their kingdom and that they would be known as Gallus, which, according to Wikipedia means is a Lowland Scottish word for self-confident, daring, cheeky or stylish, impressive,
He said that this was their kingdom now and that there was no such thing as Big Strong Bois anymore. At that point, Travis banks came out and stood in the aisle. Joe Coffey asked him how he felt and that they had put him on the shelf. he dared Banks to get in the ring, noting that there were three of them and just one of him.
He then told him they could go one on one. Banks stormed the ring, but as he took Joe down, the rest of Gallus interfered and beat him down. Moustache Mountain ran out to make the save, sending the heels packing.
Nigel and Vic were in studio, talking about the last segment and then threw it to a backstage interview where Radzi Chinyanganya interviewed Fabian Aichner, who made his debut here. He said that there were some of the best competitors in the world here and he was looking forward to mix it up with them, just as he had done in NXT.
A graphic informed us that Aichner would do battle with Mark Andrews next.
A TLC promo aired.
Radzi was back with Jordan Devlin. Devlin asked if he had seen how far he had pushed Pete Dunne in his own home town and that he was confident another title opportunity would not be too far away for him.
He said that he was the Irish Ace and he looked at the NXT UK roster like a deck of cards and when he shuffles that deck and pulls out Flash Morgan Webster, he sees the Joker. He threatened to rip off Webster’s anorak, throw his helmet in the fifth row and said that the Ace always trumps the Heart. (which makes basically no sense in any kind of card game, but I digress)
Fabian Aichner beat Mark Andrews in 9:19 after a spinning sit-out power bomb
Aichner of course is the current EVOLVE world champion. He hails from South Tyrol which is a German speaking autonomous province in northern Italy, which originally belonged to the Austrian-Hungarian empire (there, you learned something). He started in 2011 and trained in Germany with former WCW “Wunderkind” Alex Wright and his English father, Steve Wright.
Aichner and Andrews shook hands for the start of the match. After some back and forth, Aichner showed his power by easily gorilla pressing Andrews, but Andrews reversed out of the move. He tried his somersault over the top rope from the apron, but Aichner once more caught him in mid-move, even though Andrews managed to turn the move into a lucha arm drag and followed with a huracanrana. Andrews followed this up with a topé.
Back in the ring, Aichner stopped Andrews, threw him high into the air and caught him for a backbreaker, which looked impressive. Nigel talked about Aichner’s trainer Steve Wright once wrestling Tiger Mask, in a similar display of strength and technique versus high flying. Andrews hit a standing corkscrew senton for a near-fall and turned a power bomb attempt into a huracanrana.
He once more tried his somersault over the roped but this time it ended in a hard face slam for him. Aichner turned him inside out with a clothesline and went for a brain buster which got turned into the Stunt Dog Millionaire. Andrews went up top but Aichner caught him mid-air and gave him a brain buster for a near fall.
Aichner then showed his athleticism with a spring board moonsault which missed. Andrews went for a moonsault of his own which got caught, but managed to turn it into a tornado DDT for a near fall of his own. He tried for a shooting star press but impressively managed to land on his feet as Aichner rolled to ringside.
Aichner pulled Andrews out and drove him into the steps, then followed with a running knee into the steel for good measure. This was a turning point, as Aichner supposedly embraced the dark side here. Andrews managed to get back in at 9 but got caught in a spinning sit-out power bomb for the pin.
This was a very good match and a great NXT UK debut for Aichner.
Vic and Nigel talked about the NXT UK Women’s championship tournament, which concluded last week.
A promo looked at Isla Dawn, the White Witch of NXT UK. She went by some ancient buildings and talked about her powers. A graphic announced Isla Dawn would meet Nina Samuels next.
A commercial for the AJ Styles WE 365 documentary aired.
Radzi was with Johnny Saint, asking him how he handled all the chaos going on in NXT UK right now. Johnny said that he knew he needed some help, so he had appointed Sid Scala as his assistant. At that point, Rhea Ripley walked up to them and towered over Scala.
She said they should be talking about her and find her some competition. Scala assured her that they were looking into it. Rhea at that point pinched him in the cheeks and mockingly stated tha the little assistant would be finding her an opponent. She walked off and told Johnny that she didn’t think much of his hired help.
Isla Dawn beat Nina Samuels in 3:20 after a gutwrench powerslam
They locked up and Isla managed to pull out of a head lock. Samuels took over with a chin lock and we were told that she had run the London marathon four times, so she had stamina. That was of little use, as Isla moved out of the way of a charging Samuels and hit some kickboxing kicks, a back drop driver and eventually her gut-wrench power slam for the quick win.
Some Eddie Dennis highlights aired and we were told that he would be in action against Tucker next
A WWE Shop commercial featuring the New Day aired; apparently there is a Book of Booty-Os. Sounds thrilling!
We saw highlights from last week’s tournament final between Rhea Ripley and Toni Storm. Toni talked about the crucial moment when her back got hurt off a spot of being thrown onto the edge of the apron (originally there was fear she would be out for a while with a back injury). She said that while Rhea was the first NXT UK Women’s champion, she herself would be the best champion and the the injury just made her stronger.
Eddie Dennis beat Tucker with the Next Stop Driver in 2:27
Denis was in control from the start with punches and hard whips. He hit his Black Hole Slam into a backbreaker on his knee, then locked Tucker in a cravat. Tucker briefly managed to come back with a back elbow from the second turnbuckle and a clothesline in the corner, but Dennis took his head off with a hard clothesline.
He hit the Severed Bridge into the corner and ended the match with the Next Stop Driver.
We were informed that Jordan Devlin would be in action next
A WWE Network promo aired
Johnny Saint announced via Twitter that Travis Banks would have a chance for retaliation against Gallus next week when he gets to face Wolfgang
Jordan Devlin beat Flash Morgan Webster in 12:04 after Ireland’s Call
Webster early on flipped out of some arm locks and they traded counters back and forth. Devlin eventually took over and kicked Webster into the corner. He hit his uranage/standing moonsault combination and taunted Webster. He picked the smaller man up and hit a backbreaker on his own shoulder, which looked impressive.
After a near fall, he locked in a sitting abdominal stretch. He threw Webster to ringside and smashed him into the apron before rolling him back inside. He taunted Webster some more and answered Webster’s comeback with a face rake. he screamed that Webster didn’t belong on his level nor into his ring.
Webster his the Modern Knee and consecutive dropkicks, followed by an enzuigiri into the corner and followed up with a huracanrana off the top rope. Devlin then did his pull-up by the arms into a backdrop driver spot, which always looks cool. Webster came back with a head-butt that sent Devlin to the outside. Webster followed him with a baseball slide and managed to avoid getting rammed into the steps and hit the Rude Boy Block off the steps on the outside.
He went for a somersault senton but Devlin got his kneed up and eventually landed Ireland’s Call for the victory.
