Tag: nxt uk results

NXT UK results: Toni Storm vs. Rhea Ripley Women’s title rematch

Posted on by Markus Gronemann

Taped January 25-27 at Royal Rumble Axxess at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona

Quick rundown —

The Coffey Brothers (competing for the first time as a tag team on NXT UK television) defeated Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster, NXT UK Tag Team Champions The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) addressed the crowd in Phoenix, and Trent Seven beat NXT regular Shane Thorne.

In the main event, Toni Storm successfully defended her NXT UK Women’s Championship against former champion Rhea Ripley.

Full results —

– The show opened with a recap looking back at Toni Storm winning the NXT UK Women’s Championship at UK TakeOver: Blackpool and how her rematch with Rhea Ripley was set up.

The Coffey Brothers (Joe & Mark Coffey) defeated Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews in 8:28 after Joe hit Andrews with All the Best for the Bells

Mark Coffey and Webster started off, with Webster getting thrown around quite a bit. Joe tagged in and Webster got to show off some of his athletic ability. Andrews tagged in but quickly got hit with a double-team pop-up European uppercut and was then isolated and thoroughly worked over by the heels.

Joe locked in a full nelson and had Andrews at the brink of defeat. He spun Andrews around while still locked in the hold, then hit an overhead suplex.

Andrews finally managed to flip over on a powerbomb attempt and tagged in Webster, who ran wild on both heels, including hitting a beautiful springboard moonsault on Mark Coffey and swinging around the ring post on the outside into a hurricanrana on Joe. The faces then hit stereo somersault planchas to the outside. Andrews managed to hit the Stunt Dog Millionaire on Joe but got too cocky on a dive and was wiped out by Mark Coffey.

After disposing of Webster, Mark Coffey hit Andrews with a forearm and Joe hit All the Best for the Bells, allowing Mark to pin Andrews for the victory.

– We saw Trent Seven getting ready for his upcoming match.

– A hype video for Nina Samuels aired.

– Jordan Devlin appeared via a cell phone video on the beach in Ireland, talking about the Worlds Collide tournament and saying he isn’t finished with Travis Banks.

– A video on Kay Lee Ray aired. She said she had time to scout the other women on the brand and it didn’t matter who she faced, all that mattered was that Kay Lee Ray was here.

Trent Seven defeated Shane Thorne in 8:59 after hitting the Seven Star Lariat

Seven quickly backed Thorne into the corner. He started working over Thorne’s arm and shoulder, which was taped up. The Australian briefly came back but was wiped out with a body press and a stiff clothesline in the corner. He managed to get to ringside and stretched Seven’s shoulder and neck over the ring post.

Nigel McGuinness briefly mentioned that when he was in Japan, “he was with the same company that Thorne was with,” meaning Pro Wrestling NOAH.

Seven came back with a DDT at that point and hit a number of suplexes even though his shoulder was banged up. He locked in a figure four, but Thorne turned it around and Seven made the ropes. Neither man would release the hold, and they rolled under the bottom rope and out of the ring.

Thorne was able to suplex Seven onto the apron and went to the top, but Seven stopped him and hit a big superplex for a near fall. They traded punches, slaps, and uppercuts until Thorne hit a Rainmaker-style knee and a backdrop driver for a near fall of his own. Seven then hit the Seven Star Lariat for the win.

– Jack Gallagher was interviewed backstage and discussed sitting down with Johnny Saint for a cup of tea and talking about things, as they both trained under Billy Robinson.

– Joseph Conners was interviewed in the UK Performance Center and said that Ligero caught him on an off day when he beat him. Conners said that he always was and always will be better than Ligero.

NXT UK Tag Team Champions The Grizzled Young Veterans addressed the crowd

Zack Gibson introduced the team and talked about how they are the first NXT UK Tag Team Champions. They traveled the world for 13 years to show people what they knew all along — that they are the best tag team anywhere around the world.

Gibson said he’d rather be home in Liverpool on his couch with some biscuits but instead had to fly to Phoenix to educate a bunch of Yanks on why they were the best. Johnny Saint told them to travel to the United Sates to find the best competition. He said competition should travel to Liverpool to seek them out.

Gibson told Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch to find them when they were ready and that soon their titles would be the most important in WWE.

Burch and Lorcan came out — and Burch told Gibson to shut up. Burch said he was a proud Brit, but he’s also proud to represent NXT and have Lorcan as his partner. He said they were supposed to wrestle next week — but why wait. Lorcan and Burch went to the ring, but the Veterans bailed on them and went to the back.

– A graphic announced Jack Gallagher vs. Tyler Bate for next week.

– They hyped the NXT UK tapings this Friday and Saturday in Coventry.

– Next week, WALTER faces Kassius Ohno. The Grizzled Young Veterans also defend their titles against Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch.

– Storm and Ripley were shown preparing backstage.

NXT UK Women’s Champion Toni Storm retained her title against Rhea Ripley in 11:00 after hitting Storm Zero

Ripley attacked Storm before the bell as she was still posing with her title. Ripley beat her down, and the referee separated them and started the match as Storm staggered to her feet.

Ripley continued beating Storm down with vicious attacks until Storm came back with a low-level dropkick out of the corner and started pummeling Ripley. Ripley managed to slide out of the ring and pulled Storm outside by the feet, with Storm smashing her face into the mat on the fall.

Ripley mounted Storm and threw down some ground and pound, then locked in a bodyscissors which she turned into various pinning attempts. Storm finally escaped, but Ripley wiped her out again with a dropkick and then repeatedly threw her to the mat.

Ripley locked in the inverted cloverleaf — and it took Storm some time to escape the hold. Storm then hit a suicide dive to the outside, followed by a German suplex back inside. She followed that up with a running hip attack and a German suplex hold for a two count.

Storm went for Storm Zero, but Ripley escaped and hit a number of clotheslines. Storm eventually hit a backstabber, but both women were down and neither could mount any meaningful offense.

Ripley hit a stiff kick, but Storm came back with a headbutt to the jaw for another near fall. Storm went up to the top but got knocked dizzy from a running enzuigiri and then had to suffer through a superplex by Ripley and a cover which she only barely kicked out of.

Storm then managed to evade a spear into the corner and floated over to hit Storm Zero for the win.

Next week —

WALTER vs. Kassius Ohno, Jack Gallagher vs. Tyler Bate, and the Grizzled Young Veterans defend their NXT UK Tag Team titles against Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch.

NXT UK results: First matches from Royal Rumble Axxess

Posted on by Markus Gronemann

Taped January 25-27 at Royal Rumble Axxess at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona

Quick rundown —

Toni Storm and Rhea Ripley had a confrontation in the ring, with Storm getting the better of it leading into their NXT UK Women’s Championship match next week.

205 Live’s Noam Dar beat Jordan Devlin with some help from Travis Banks, while Jinny defeated NXT’s Mia Yim. In the main event, WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne beat Wolfgang in a non-title match.

Full results —

– Toni Storm came out with the NXT UK Women’s Championship and talked about how she beat Rhea Ripley at NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool and would kick her ass again.

This brought out a very angry Ripley, who said that Storm had merely gotten lucky. Ripley brought up that she was the first-ever NXT UK Women’s Champion. She was sick and tired of being compared to Storm — people should compare Storm to her.

Ripley said she hated Storm’s stupid hair, face, and — most of all — that Storm has her championship. Storm asked if they had talked enough, took Ripley down, and started beating on her. Ripley quickly retreated to ringside.

– A graphic announced Noam Dar vs. Jordan Devlin was next.

Noam Dar pinned Jordan Devlin in 10:17 with a roll-up

They traded offense early on until Dar took over with a takedown and a headbutt. Devlin came back with his uranage/standing moonsault combo. Devlin hit a high inverted backbreaker and started working Dar over with forearms.

Devlin stayed on the offensive and hit a suplex for a two count. Moments later, he missed a reverse body press off the second turnbuckle, allowing Dar to take over and follow with a release Northern Lights suplex. He caught an enzuigiri by Devlin and turned it into an ankle lock, but Devlin escaped and hit the Irish Ace Cutter for a near fall.

Devlin managed to hold on after being thrown over the top, but Dar kicked his legs from under him, sending him to ringside. Dar hurt his ankle when trying to kick Devlin against the ring steps, prompting Travis Banks to come out. That allowed Dar to send Devlin into the steps.

Devlin rolled up Dar and put his feet on the rope, but Banks was there to push them off. Devlin decked Banks but was distracted enough to allow Dar to roll him up for the victory.

After the match, Devlin attacked Dar and hit his pull-up backdrop driver on him. Banks then pulled Devlin out of the ring and they brawled to the back.

– A graphic announced a match between WALTER and NXT’s Kassius Ohno airing in two weeks. Storm defending her NXT UK Women’s Championship against Ripley will air next week.

Jinny pinned Mia Yim with her feet on the rope in 7:57 after hitting a kick to the face

They traded submissions early with Jinny slightly gaining the upper hand. Yim followed up with a number of roll-ups for some near falls. Jinny hit a running hurricanrana, but Yim cartwheeled out of it.

Yim went for an armbar, but Jinny reached the ropes before any real damage could be done. Jinny repeatedly slapped Yim and rammed her face into the mat. Jinny caught Yim in a seated wheelbarrow surfboard, but Yim managed to get her fingers on the bottom rope.

Yim then took over with strikes, kicks, and a cannonball in the corner for another near fall, then followed up with a German suplex into the corner, sending Jinny to the outside. As Jinny came back into the ring, she managed to hit a kick on Yim and pinned her with her feet on the rope.

– A graphic announced The Coffey Brothers taking on Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews for next week.

Non-title match: WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne submitted Wolfgang with an armbar in 10:43

Wolfgang threw his jacket at Dunne as the match started. They battled for position until Dunne shoved Wolfgang to the mat. After some stalling by Wolfgang, he hit Dunne with a stiff forearm that knocked the champ down.

After some back and forth, Dunne came back with an attack to Wolfgang’s knee from the turnbuckle. He went for a heel hook, but Wolfgang escaped. They ended up at ringside as Wolfgang further beat down Dunne. Dunne came back with attacks on Wolfgang’s fingers and arm and went for a double wristlock but ate a stiff gutbuster for his trouble.

Dunne finally came back with a rope-assisted release German suplex and a striking combination. He backflipped over Wolfgang and hit an X-Plex for a near fall.

Dunne stomped on Wolfgang’s head. He locked in a triangle and started bending Wolfgang’s fingers but got picked up and powerbombed into the corner. Wolfgang followed up with a suplex but couldn’t quite get the victory.

Wolfgang went to the top but got dropkicked in the face and then superplexed by Dunne. Dunne looked to snap Wolfgang’s fingers, but the big Scot escaped and hit a gutbuster. As Wolfgang went for the Howling (his somersault senton off the top), Dunne caught him in mid-air with an armbar and forced him to tap out.

Next week —

Toni Storm looks to defend her NXT UK Women’s Championship against Rhea Ripley in a rematch from NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool. The Coffey Brothers also take on Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews.

NXT UK results: WALTER vs. Mark Coffey

Posted on by Markus Gronemann

Taped January 13, 2018 at the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool, England

Quick results —

Ligero defeated Mark Andrews in a very good, fast-paced match with lots of cool spots. Xia Brookside managed to overcome Candy Floss, but both were attacked by a frustrated Rhea Ripley after the match. Toni Storm tried to make the save, but eventually succumbed to Riptide, just weeks before her scheduled title match against Ripley.

Joseph Conners defeated “Wild Boar” Mike Hitchman, while Joe Coffey managed to beat Ashton Smith. In the main event, WALTER beat Mark Coffey, further establishing his iron grip on NXT UK.

Full rundown —

– A graphic announced our main event of WALTER vs. Mark Coffey.

Ligero pinned Mark Andrews in 9:04 after C4L

They shook hands to hit things off and immediately battled for position. Both managed to evade each other for a series of moves, then had a roll-up battle but ended up fist-bumping.

Andrews hit a hurricanrana from the turnbuckle for a two count. In a cool spot, Ligero did a headstand on the apron, then hit a headscissors on Andrews, but he cartwheeled out. Ligero finally hit a somersault plancha from the barricade on the outside.

After some more back and forth, Andrews hit Stomp 182 and a standing corkscrew moonsault for another near fall. Ligero came back with a number of kicks, but Andrews turned a brainbuster attempt into the Stundog Millionaire.

After another dive by Andrews, Ligero came back with a pumphandle stomach buster for another close near fall. Andrews managed to roll through on a top rope hurricanrana attempt, then hit a reverse rana but jumped right into Ligero’s knees on a Shooting Star. Ligero hit C4L for the victory. They shook hands once more after the match.

– A recap from last week’s announcement aired, where Sid Scala announced the Grizzled Young Vets defending their UK Tag Team titles against Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch. We went across the big pond to get the reactions of Lorcan & Burch, who vowed to make the Vets’ title defense their last.

– A graphic said Xia Brookside would be in action next.

– Radzi Chinyanganya interviewed Pete Dunne as he entered the arena. Dunne said he was impressed by WALTER and would eventually meet him in the ring. He said that he did not fear WALTER and WALTER would find out why Dunne has been WWE United Kingdom Champion for more than 600 days.

Xia Brookside pinned Candy Floss in 4:31 after hitting the Brooksie Bomb

A battle of the youngest members of the NXT UK women’s roster also was one of pink vs. blue hair. Both wrestlers shook hands early on and smiled before Brookside took over right away with a headlock, but Candy Floss locked in a headscissors. Brookside managed to escape from it via headstand — before Candy Floss got another roll-up attempt.

Candy Floss eventually locked in a full nelson that gave Brookside some trouble before she escaped. Brookside eventually got on a wristlock that Candy Floss took some time to shake off. Candy Floss worked over Brookside’s arm, but Brookside came back with a bulldog, a headscissors takedown, and knees to the back of the head.

Brookside then hit the Brooksie Bomb, her version of her father’s Iconoclasm, for the win.

As Brookside went to help Candy Floss back to her feet, Rhea Ripley ran in and attacked both women, then locked Brookside in her reverse cloverleaf and started spinning her around until Toni Storm ran in for the save.

Just as Storm was gaining the upper hand, Ripley hit a headbutt. Ripley slammed Brookside head-first into Storm and hit Riptide on Storm, gaining some important psychological advantage for their upcoming title match.

– A video for the NXT UK tapings on February 22 and 23 aired.

– We saw a selfie video by Jordan Devlin. He vowed to defeat Noam Dar in Phoenix.

Joseph Conners pinned “Wild Boar” Mike Hitchman in 5:28 after hitting Don’t Look Down

Conners immediately beat down the Wild Boar with stomps and kicks, but Hitchman came back with punches of his own before throwing Conners around the ring and hitting a senton as he was getting up on all four.

Hitchman went to the top, but Conners grabbed his arm and hit a sort of rope-assisted codebreaker on it. He beat on the Boar at ringside. Boar caught Conners leg off a kick, managed to drape him on the ropes, and hit a senton.

Hitchman threw Conners to ringside, then followed up with a splash off the apron. He missed a spear to the corner, prompting Conners to launch himself over the top rope with a DDT for a near fall. Conners hit a sunset bomb off the top rope, then another one into the corner, and hit Don’t Look Down for the win.

– Gallus were shown sparring backstage. Joe Coffey said he’d dispose of Ashton Smith and Mark Coffey would beat WALTER. We’ll see about that.

– A highlight video of Jinny aired. Radzi interviewed her backstage — but she first reprimanded him about his face and told him to get better wardrobe to distract from it. She congratulated Toni Storm but said Storm was the one person to always get in her way and stop her from getting to the top.

Jinny said the real queen of NXT UK would be crowned soon. A match of Jinny meeting Mia Yim in Phoenix was announced.

Joe Coffey pinned Ashton Smith in 6:17 after hitting a discus lariat

Coffey immediately tried hitting a flurry, but Smith danced away and got a headlock on. Coffey threw him off and pounced him halfway across the ring to the outside. He then charged into Smith on the outside, sending him into the barricade.

Coffey locked in a hold that he eventually transitioned into a Cobra Clutch. Coffey worked over Smith’s lower back and kept screaming “still mine” throughout the match, referring to “the Kingdom of NXT UK”. He hit a number of uppercuts, followed by a pop-up uppercut that put Smith down.

Smith briefly came back with shots and targeted Coffey’s injured eye, but Coffey hit his discus lariat for the win.

– Wolfgang and Mark Coffey came back out to celebrate with Joe on the ramp, which immediately led to Mark walking to the ring for his match

WALTER pinned Mark Coffey in 6:31 after hitting a powerbomb

WALTER stared at Coffey, who could not help but look worried at what the big men was going to do to him. He got a few shots in, then WALTER took the first step in making his chest bleed with a hard chop. He bent Coffey backwards over the top and pounded on his chest.

Coffey briefly beat on WALTER outside and hit a few more strikes before finally bending WALTER’s arms back for a submission. Coffey kicked him in the back before planting a knee in his spine. WALTER used his dominant strength to turn the move around, prompting Coffey to cowardly flee into the ropes.

Coffey tried to whip WALTER out of the corner, but WALTER denied that foolishness. Coffey then tried a few lariats, but WALTER just shook them off. WALTER canceled Coffey’s final shot, hit a standing release German suplex, and took the Scot’s head off with a running boot into the corner.

WALTER bent Coffey backwards over the top rope as he chopped Coffey and nonchalantly stood on his face on the top. As Coffey tumbled outside, WALTER followed and slammed him into the apron.

Coffey briefly came back with a few lariats and an enzuigiri and even managed to cover WALTER for a pinning attempt. The Austrian then came back with a shotgun dropkick, followed by a big powerbomb for the inevitable victory.

Next week —

A number of matches taped during Royal Rumble Axxess in Phoenix will air.

NXT UK results: WALTER makes his WWE in-ring debut

Posted on by Markus Gronemann

Taped January 13, 2018 at the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool, England

Quick results —

In the main event, Moustache Mountain took their first step back at redemption after their TakeOver loss to the Grizzled Young Veterans, beating Fabian Aichner & Marcel Barthel in a great match.

WALTER also made his debut, impressively squashing Jack Starz. In other matches, Dave Mastiff beat Jay Melrose and Jinny defeated Kasey Owens.

Zack Gibson and James Drake cut a promo on their Tag Team title victory and were told by Sid Scala that they would face Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch soon. WWE also built up the NXT UK talent at Royal Rumble Axxess, with Rhea Ripley getting a rematch against NXT UK Women’s Champion Toni Storm in Phoenix.

Full rundown —

The show opened with a video hyping the debut of WALTER, showing clips of him coming out at the end of NXT UK TakeOver along with a number of tweets from people being excited about it.

“Bomber” Dave Mastiff pinned “Primate” Jay Melrose in 5:00 after hitting his running cannonball senton into the corner

They locked up a number of times with neither man getting the upper hand. Melrose tried shoulder blocking Mastiff, but the Bomber didn’t budge and went on to wipe Primate out with a running crossbody.

Melrose came back with kicks, strikes, and headbutts that put the big man down. He worked for a double wristlock, but Mastiff mostly managed to block it. Mastiff eventually hit two big sentons on him, then hit a deadlift German suplex and the running cannonball senton into the corner for the win.

– Vic Joseph and Nigel McGuinness talked about the NXT UK Tag Team titles and we saw clips from Zack Gibson & James Drake winning the titles at TakeOver. A graphic announced the team would celebrate their victory next.

– A highlight video on Xia Brookside aired. She returns to action next week

– James Drake and Zack Gibson came out for their championship celebration. Gibson said that while every other team was brainstorming for a nickname, they were focused. As Moustache Mountain got shiny new pants, they were focused on their goal — and that’s why they are the NXT UK Tag Team Champions.

For the first time, Gibson referred to their team as the Grizzled Young Veterans and said soon the titles would be considered the most important ones in WWE. Sid Scala came out and mentioned that NXT UK would travel to Phoenix and announced that Gibson & Drake would defend their titles against Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch “soon.”

– A graphic announced that the debut of WALTER, who McGuinness called the “Austrian Anomaly,” would air next. I will of course continue to properly and respectfully address my fellow countryman as the “Ring General.” Sure, he may hail from Simmering, but that is no reason to call him an anomaly.

– Ligero vs. Mark Andrews was announced for next week.

WALTER pinned Jack Starz in 2:35 after a powerbomb

WALTER, 31, was born in Vienna, Austria, and after spending a few years playing soccer, he started training in 2005 under Michael Kovac.

After having his first few matches with Austria’s Rings of Europe, he made his wXw debut in 2007 and also embarked on a tour/dojo training stay with Japan’s ZERO1, training under Tatsuhito Takaiwa and Tomohiro Ishii and wrestling as the masked mascot Gha-cha-ping.

WALTER quickly became a regular and household name in wXw under the name of Big van Walter, winning the 2010 16 Carat Gold tournament and going on to become a three-time wXw World Unified Wrestling Champion and three-time wXw Tag Team Champion. He also became the head trainer at the wXw Wrestling Academy when they opened their doors in 2015 and became the only full-time employed wrestler for a promotion in Europe at the time.

He wrestled mostly in Germany until 2016, when he first started going to the United Kingdom and working for promotions such as PROGRESS and RevPro. In 2017, he started appearing in the United States for promotions such as PWG and EVOLVE, eventually winning the PWG, PROGRESS, and OTT World titles, as well as the PROGRESS Atlas title twice.

WALTER is considered one of the best big-man and overall indie workers of the past few years and eventually signed with WWE, on the stipulation that he would not have to move to the U.S. permanently.

WALTER majestically strode to the ring and gracefully hit his Ring General pose amid “WALTER’s gonna kill you” chants. Starz tried attacking WALTER, who merely brushed off the smaller man’s laughable offense, then proceeded to carve his chest in with a mighty chop. WALTER pursued his victim to ringside, picked him up for a back suplex, and smashed him onto the apron.

Being a fair and graceful beast, WALTER signaled to Starz that he may now stand back up and properly face the behemoth. As Starz failed to comply, WALTER started kicking at him for encouragement.

WALTER hit a knee, and as Starz cowardly tried to flee beneath the Ring General’s legs, the big man, quick and graceful as a cat, caught his prey, drove him hard into the corner, numbed him with a big Shotgun dropkick, and mercifully ended the affair by hitting a picture-perfect powerbomb for the victory.

After witnessing the mayhem in the ring, McGuinness then smartly proclaimed that he never wished to wrestle again, correctly assuming that the greatness that is WALTER would pound him into submission. I already feel a great deal of compassion for anyone foolish enough to cross the Ring General’s path.

– A video of Jinny beating Isla Dawn two weeks ago aired.

– A video taped during the break showed WALTER going backstage and Mark Coffey foolishly trying to confront him. Just as WALTER looked to consider the proper way to separate the Scot’s head from his shoulders, Marcel Barthel and Fabian Aichner walked up.

Barthel, in German, said that “it took a long time.” He continued in English that if WALTER was ever looking for friends on the brand, they would be here. WALTER just stared at his RINGKAMPF brother and walked away, probably deeming it unfair to form the most powerful faction in NXT UK just yet.

Jinny pinned Kasey Owens in 5:09 after hitting the Makeover

Owens, who is from Ireland, made her debut in 2010 after training under Bonesaw McGraw. She started out in her native Ireland and wrestled for promotions such as Pro Wrestling: EVE, ICW, and Southside Wrestling Entertainment. She also embarked on tours of Japan, working for Ice Ribbon in 2013 and for Stardom in 2016.

Jinny applied an armbar and drove her nails into the skin on Owens’ arm. Jinny kept the pressure on with a headlock and a running shoulder block. Jinny turned a bodyscissors by Owens into a heel lock, but Owens made the ropes.

Jinny hit a flying headscissors, then rammed Owens into the barricade on the outside. Owens came back and applied an armbar over the ropes, holding on until the count of four. Jinny then quickly came back with the Makeover for the pin.

– Rhea Ripley stormed into Johnny Saint’s office and demanded a match in Phoenix, proclaiming herself the best of both brands and demanding a rematch with Toni Storm. Saint asked her for a moment.

Shortly after, the match was announced to take place in three weeks, when matches from Phoenix will start airing on NXT UK.

– In a tweet by Saint, next week’s main event was announced as WALTER taking on Mark Coffey. I already pity the fool.

Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven & Tyler Bate) defeated Fabian Aichner & Marcel Barthel in 13:08 when Seven pinned Barthel after a snap dragon suplex/springboard lariat combo

Bate and Barthel started out with mat-based grappling, with Bate eventually walking out of a headlock backwards on his hands. Bate continued to use creative escapes on a spinning toe hold as Aichner shouted advice from his corner in German. Aichner and Seven both tagged in.

Aichner used his power to gain some momentum — but it did not last long, as Bate tagged back in and hit his assisted somersault senton. Barthel was back in with Bate, but Aichner quickly blind tagged himself back in, launched Bate high into the air, caught him again, and sent him crashing to the mat with a twisting slam. The heels worked Bate over, with Barthel hitting a running European uppercut and then isolating Bate in the corner.

Bate finally managed to impressively power out of a bodyscissors, picking Aichner up in the process and slamming him to the mat. He finally managed to make a hot tag to Seven who ran wild with a DDT, snap dragon suplex, and Falcon Arrow for a near fall on Barthel.

Aichner was back in but was quickly overwhelmed. As Moustache Mountain tried for their snap dragon/lariat combo, Barthel kicked Bate in the head as he went for his springboard lariat. In the melee that followed, Bate hit a big dive on Barthel onto the outside while Seven hit the Seven Star Lariat on Aichner for a near fall.

The heels came back with a spinebuster by Aichner on Seven, followed by a running kick by Barthel for another near fall.

Barthel managed to grind Bate’s offense to a halt, throwing him off the ropes right into a brainbuster by Aichner, but Seven narrowly managed to make the save. After thwarting an attack from Aichner and Barthel, Bate hit a double rolling kick against both. Seven and Bate then managed to hit their snap dragon/springboard lariat combo on Barthel for the win.

Next week —

WALTER battles Mark Coffey in the main event, while Ligero faces Mark Andrews and Xia Brookside will be in action.

NXT UK results: Travis Banks vs. Jordan Devlin

Posted on by Markus Gronemann

Quick results —

Jordan Devlin and Travis Banks continued their feud but did not manage to resolve it, as they went to a double countout in an intensely fought, great main event.

Pete Dunne addressed the crowd to open the show and got interrupted by Gallus. As Joe Coffey cut a promo on Dunne, WALTER made his entrance and he and Dunne cleaned house on Gallus, then had a staredown.

On the undercard, Nina Samuels beat the debuting Lana Austin, while Eddie Dennis returned for the first time since losing to Dave Mastiff at TakeOver and destroyed Jamie Ahmed.

Full rundown —

– The show opened with a recap of Jordan Devlin attacking Travis Banks as he entered the arena and then again before their scheduled match at NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool two weeks ago. It then progressed to Banks vowing to take revenge. Vic Joseph and Nigel McGuinness talked more about the match in studio.

– Pete Dunne came to the ring to address the crowd. He said that at TakeOver: Blackpool “we made history!” He said that while things changed since the first show in Blackpool two years ago, since TakeOver: Chicago in 2017, he’s still the WWE United Kingdom Champion.

Gallus came out, with Joe Coffey saying that TakeOver didn’t change a thing and this was still his kingdom. He said that the war wasn’t over and the end of it, the UK title would be around his waist. He said if anyone had a problem with that, they should speak up.

At that point, the lights went out, the fourth movement of Antonín Dvorák’s Symphony No. 9 hit, and WALTER walked to the ring. Gallus suddenly looked like they wanted to quickly leave ringside, but it was a ruse as Wolfgang and Mark Coffey hit the ring.

WALTER kicked Coffey in the face and Dunne snapped Wolfgang’s fingers, sending the heels packing. Dunne and WALTER then stared at each other, with WALTER eyeing Dunne’s title before leaving.

– Sid Scala made a statement in front of some journalists about NXT UK being part of the Worlds Collide tournament in Phoenix for Royal Rumble Axxess this weekend. Scala said they also would tape three episodes of NXT UK there.

Zack Gibson and James Drake entered the venue in the background. Scala asked them if they wanted to address the media. The tag champs virtually blew Scala off and Gibson said they’d give a statement next week.

Nina Samuels defeated Lana Austin in 4:09 after hitting Prima Donna

Austin made her NXT UK debut here. She started out in 2013, was a regular with Future Shock Wrestling, and also appeared for promotions such as ICW, ATTACK! Pro, Pro Wrestling: EVE, and a large number of other UK indies, and also wrestled at at a UK taping for Impact. She is a mother of three and is the current Future Shock Wrestling Women’s Champion.

Austin started out strong, but Samuels grounded things to a hold with a headlock, then hit a snapmare for a two count. Austin got out of another headlock with a Russian leg sweep and hit a number of clotheslines and punches.

Samuels finally managed to pick Austin up and hit Prima Donna for the victory.

– A recap video of the NXT UK Tag Team Championship tournament finals from TakeOver aired, with Gibson and Drake beating Moustache Mountain. An interview that Radzi Chinyanganya conducted with Moustache Mountain after the match was also shown. Trent Seven was devastated — but Tyler Bate said that they would eventually win the titles.

– Travis Banks was shown warming up backstage.

– An interview that Radzi conducted with Toni Storm after her match at TakeOver aired. She said that the brand deserved the best women’s division and she would do everything to give the fans that. She said the Mae Young Classic changed her and the experience helped her win the NXT UK Women’s Championship.

Eddie Dennis defeated Jamie Ahmed in 4:41 after hitting the Next Stop Driver

Dennis charged in, but Ahmed took over with a hip toss until Dennis hit a hard lariat to quickly end that flare-up of offense. Dennis locked on a cravat and kept the hold on even after Ahmed tried rolling through on it. Dennis hit a hard knee and threw Ahmed out of the ring, then struck him down with a hard running forearm.

Back inside, Ahmed escaped the Severn Bridge and hit a boxing combination, but Dennis stopped him in his tracks after he went to the top rope and hit a big superplex. Dennis hit the Next Stop Driver for the victory.

– A Tweet by Johnny Saint was shown, announcing Moustache Mountain vs. Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner for next week.

– Jordan Devlin was shown preparing backstage.

Jordan Devlin and Travis Banks went to a double countout in 13:24

The match started off hot as Banks ran down to the ring and immediately attacked Devlin, quickly clotheslined him to the outside and hit a suicide dive, and then hit a second one to another side of the ring just as Devlin recovered. Banks threw him over the barrier and manhandled him in the crowd, eventually kicking him back to the ringside area, then hit a dive off the barrier on Devlin.

Devlin eventually clipped Banks’ knee, but Banks came back with a double stomp onto Devlin’s back from the apron. Banks punished Devlin some more with aggressive kicks.

Devlin took over by kicking Banks off the turnbuckle on a springboard attempt and followed up with a backstabber. He hit his over-the-shoulder backbreaker for a near fall, then followed it up with his uranage/standing moonsault combo. After some submission holds, Devlin hit an insane standing Spanish Fly off the apron to the outside, and both men barely made it back into the ring.

Devlin hit another Spanish Fly off a clothesline attempt by Banks, but Banks powered right back up and hit a super stiff lariat. Banks wouldn’t let go of Devlin’s wrist, hitting a number of forearms. When even a headbutt couldn’t loosen the Kiwi Buzzsaw’s grip, Devlin hit his pull-up backdrop driver. Banks managed to hit the Kiwi Crusher, but Devlin kicked out at two.

Devlin went for Ireland’s Call but couldn’t hold Banks up. They both staggered through the ropes to the outside — and neither man could make it back to the ring to answer the count.

Neither wrestler was happy with the result and they began brawling again, with Banks throwing Devlin over the barrier. They brawled beside the crowd as the show faded to black.

Next week —

Moustache Mountain face Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner — and WALTER makes his NXT UK in-ring debut.

NXT UK results: Tag Team title tournament finals set for TakeOver

Posted on by Markus Gronemann

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.

NXT UK results: Moustache Mountain vs. Gallus

Posted on by Markus Gronemann

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.

Full rundown:

The episode opened up with a graphic remembering “Mean” Gene Okerlund, who sadly passed away today.

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.

NXT UK results: Coffey vs. Ligero, TakeOver: Blackpool announced

Posted on by Markus Gronemann

Episode 19 (taped November 24, 2018 at the Liverpool Olympia in Liverpool, England)

Quick recap —

NXT TakeOver UK was announced for January 12 in Blackpool, and Toni Storm made her intentions clear to challenge for the NXT UK Women’s Championship on that show.

Jordan Devlin defeated Kenny Williams in a good, fast-paced match, then cryptically called out an opponent but wouldn’t say who he was talking about. Eddie Dennis won by disqualification over Dan Moloney when Dave Mastiff attacked him, keeping their program alive.

Saxon Huxley & Tyson T-Bone beat Jack Starz & Tucker in a quick match. In the main event, Joe Coffey defeated Ligero in another good match, trying to prove that NXT UK was indeed his kingdom.

Full rundown —

– Sid Scala was in the ring, welcomed the crowd to Liverpool, and introduced NXT UK general manager Johnny Saint. They announced NXT TakeOver UK: Blackpool for January 12, 2019. This prompted Toni Storm to come out. She said she was proud to be part of this brand and had been living in Liverpool for the past five years.

Storm said she went to Evolution and won the Mae Young Classic. This meant she got a championship opportunity of her choosing and wanted to challenge for the NXT UK Women’s Championship at TakeOver: Blackpool. Saint’s reply was “Toni Storm: you got it.” Storm proclaimed that the title would be hers and said it was “Toni Time.”

– Vic Joseph and Nigel McGuinness were in studio, talking some more about TakeOver and then announced that we would bear witness to Zack Gibson’s “Guide to Liverpool” later, plus our main event — Joe Coffey vs. Ligero.

Jordan Devlin defeated Kenny Williams in 5:20 after Ireland’s Call

Amir Jordan was out with Williams. Devlin and Williams started out with a test of strength that Williams turned into a monkey flip, then sent Devlin to the outside. He followed up with a springboard back elbow from the second turnbuckle that hit Devlin on the apron. Williams hit a double kick through the ropes, but Devlin caught him, pulled him through, and slammed him on the apron.

Back in the ring, Devlin hit a high-angle backbreaker for a two count. Devlin applied a double-arm stretcher submission that Williams eventually rolled through on. Devlin hit his uranage/moonsault combo, but Williams pulled his knees up and cradled him for a near fall.

Williams came back with some strikes and a running boot that sent Devlin to ringside, then hit a suicide dive to the outside and into the ramp. He dropkicked Devlin — who was stuck in the ropes with his upper body — and rolled him up for a two count, then followed with a kick for another two count. Devlin caught Williams on a wheelbarrow roll-through and hit a half nelson snap suplex right on his neck.

Devlin clobbered Williams to the back of the neck, then hit his pull-up backdrop driver. He followed up with Ireland’s Call for the victory.

– Radzi Chinyanganya tried to interview Devlin after the match, but Devlin sent him to the corner and cut his own promo. He said every week he gets his hand raised and a whole country celebrates with him. He said his next opponent would find out never to bet against the Irish Ace.

Joseph and McGuinness were clueless as to who Devlin was referring to.

– A video promoted the arrival of Marcel Barthel in NXT UK on the next episode.

– Radzi was backstage, trying to get a word with Scala and Saint. They were interrupted by Rhea Ripley. She said she would decide who she defends her title against at TakeOver, but next week she wants to defend her title as well. Ripley said they better find her a proper opponent.

Scala and Saint briefly conferred. While Ripley asked Radzi if he had a question for the champ, the GM and his assistant returned from their office and announced Ripley would meet Deonna Purrazzo next week. Ripley said that she still did not like Scala. Saint just looked at Scala and said “Well, what can you do.” Johnny Saint is the best.

Eddie Dennis defeated Dan Moloney by DQ in 1:14 when Dave Mastiff attacked Dennis at ringside

During Dennis’ entrance, we saw him take out Dave Mastiff last week. Moloney started strong, hitting a float-over suplex and a few shoulder tackles, but Dennis quickly regained control with a judo-style hip toss and throwing Moloney to ringside. Moloney tried for a few chops, but he got knocked down by a  big forearm, followed by a Black Hole Slam onto the apron.

At that point, Mastiff ran out and attacked Dennis, causing a disqualification loss for Moloney.

Mastiff threw Dennis back in the ring and hit a release German suplex, then tried to hit his cannonball into the corner, but Dennis rolled out of the ring. Mastiff then struck down Moloney with a forearm and hit the cannonball on him.

– Scala and Saint were backstage with Ligero. Gallus walked up to them and Joe Coffey said he’s going to put Ligero into the hospital. Coffey said NXT UK was his kingdom and Ligero was just a stepping stone. Scala said the three of them should not get any ideas, as Mark Coffey & Wolfgang will face Moustache Mountain in two weeks in the NXT UK Tag Team title tournament semifinals.

Saint then dismissed Gallus, with Coffey getting in his face and repeating that it was his kingdom. Ligero said he would not be just a stepping stone.

– A graphic announced Zack Gibson’s guide to Liverpool was next.

– Gibson and James Drake were walking the streets of Liverpool and Gibson showed him around. They went to the harbor. Gibson said that the city had been built on the shoulders of hard-working men, working class men and women not afraid to get their hands dirty. He said this city has been overrun with entitled leeches who are prepared to take and take. As soon as Gibson received an ounce of success, the city turned his back on him and was jealous.

Gibson said he was bigger than any legend and if he ever left the city, it would crumble. He told Drake they would win the NXT UK Tag Team titles, as Liverpool needs Zack Gibson more than he needs Liverpool. A graphic announced Gibson & Drake in action next week.

Saxon Huxley & Tyson T-Bone defeated Jack Starz & Tucker in 2:41 after a knee by Huxley and a right hand by T-Bone on Starz

T-Bone chucked Starz across the ring right away. Starz escaped a fallaway slam and tagged out, then the faces hit a double dropkick on T-Bone. T-Bone immediately regained control and threw Tucker into the air. “The Ultrasonic Inspector” Saxon Huxley then was tagged in and they hit a double chokeslam on Tucker.

Tucker rolled through on a back suplex attempt for a quick roll-up, but Huxley plucked him out of mid-air on a crossbody attempt with a knee to the body. Tucker escaped another attack and tagged out to Starz, who hit a crossbody on Huxley from the top rope but didn’t notice T-Bone had been tagged in as well. T-Bone hit him with a running crossbody then laid out Tucker.

Huxley hit Starz with a knee — followed by a right fist from T-Bone for the victory.

– Radzi was backstage with Isla Dawn. She said it didn’t feel good that it wasn’t her time but she would do what she always does: rise up, dust off the ashes, and follow her path, which will be the NXT UK Women’s Championship. She was interrupted by Jinny — who said no one cares about Dawn’s path. She went out there and lost her title match. If Jinny was in her position, she would have walked out the champion. And that is the difference between a witch and a queen.

– A video promoted the post-TakeOver NXT UK tapings in Blackpool on January 13.

– A graphic aired for the Rhea Ripley/Deonna Purrazzo match scheduled for the next episode.

Joe Coffey defeated Ligero in 10:08 after hitting All the Best for the Bells

They locked up, leading to a clean break against the ropes by Coffey. Ligero went down off a shoulder block but rolled out of the way of a number of stomps, then rolled up in a ball, much like Johnny Saint or Daniel Bryan would do at times. He went for a hurricanrana, but Coffey picked him up for a powerbomb.

Ligero rolled through but couldn’t get a pin. Coffey went for a Boston crab, but Ligero pulled himself up, ran into the corner, and hit a hurricanrana. They countered back and forth outside the ring until Coffey speared him into the barricades, then rammed his back into the apron.

Back in the ring, the crowd chanted for Ligero. Coffey locked in a full nelson, transitioned into a butterfly hold, spun Ligero around a few times, and hit an overhead butterfly suplex for a two count. Coffey dead-lifted Ligero into a vertical suplex, but Ligero escaped by hitting a few knees. Coffey went for it again, but once more, Ligero escaped. Coffey went for his spear again, but Ligero jumped over him and then hit a somersault plancha to the outside.

Ligero went to the top rope back in the ring, then hit a somersault block on Coffey. Coffey briefly came back, but Ligero hit a rope-assisted Sliced Bread Number 2 for a near fall. Coffey hit a European uppercut, a spear to the back, a corner splash to the back, and a powerslam for another very close near fall. Coffey tried a dead-lift German, but Ligero elbowed his way out.

Ligero tried to throw Coffey out, but he got grabbed by the mask and driven into the turnbuckle. Coffey went to the top, but Ligero intercepted him and went for a top rope hurricanrana. Coffey caught him in mid-move and jumped off the second turnbuckle while simultaneously lifting Ligero up, which looked very impressive. Coffey powerbombed him and locked in a Boston crab, but Ligero made the ropes.

Ligero hit a number of big boots and a wheelbarrow roll-up for a near fall. He went for his springboard tornado DDT finisher, but Coffey caught him with All the Best for the Bells (his discus lariat) in mid-air for the victory.

Next episode —

Rhea Ripley defends her NXT UK Women’s Championship against Deonna Purrazzo. Plus, Marcel Barthel makes his NXT UK debut.

NXT UK results: Women’s title match, Moustache Mountain in action

Posted on by Markus Gronemann

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.

NXT UK results: Joe Coffey vs. Trent Seven

Posted on by Markus Gronemann

Episode 15 (taped October 13 at Plymouth Pavilions in Plymouth, England)

Quick summary —

Flash Morgan Webster managed to avenge the loss of his partner Mark Andrews by defeating Fabian Aichner in a good match. Isla Dawn continued her path to challenge for the NXT UK Women’s Championship, defeating Killer Kelly and then calling out Rhea Ripley.

As teams are looking to qualify to compete for the NXT UK Tag Team Championship, Zack Gibson & James Drake defeated Amir Jordan & Kenny Williams. In the main event, Joe Coffey managed to beat Trent Seven in another good outing.

Full recap —

– The show opened with a video of Triple H and Johnny Saint introducing the NXT UK Tag Team Championship. It was said that teams had to impress Saint in order to qualify for a tournament.

– In the studio, Vic Joseph and Nigel McGuinness talked about the upcoming Tag Team titles and Joe Coffey vs. Trent Seven later tonight.

Flash Morgan Webster defeated Fabian Aichner in 9:36 with a bridging pin

We saw a backstage segment with Webster and Mark Andrews. Andrews told his partner to be careful against Aichner tonight. There also was a look back at Aichner discovering his mean streak and throwing Andrews into the ring steps in their match two episodes ago before picking up the victory.

Aichner wanted a hand shake to start the match, but Webster wouldn’t fall for it, kicked at his hand, and went for a quick roll-up to start things off. Webster was the smaller man here and evaded some of Aichner’s punches, instead managing to get some arm drags in. He pulled down the ropes and Aichner tumbled to the outside.

Webster launched himself over the ropes but missed his attack — and Aichner threw him into the steps. Andrews came out at that point to support his partner. Aichner almost gained a countout victory, but Webster managed to get back in at eight. Aichner took over with strikes and forearms and attacked Webster from ringside, throwing forearms at his head as he lay on the apron.

Aichner went for a nerve hold, then hit a back suplex as Webster escaped and went back to working over Webster’s shoulder some more. Webster managed to evade a back body drop with a kick to the head and evaded a corner charge by Aichner, which sent the man from South Tyrol tumbling over the top in what looked like a mean bump.

Back in the ring, Webster hit three consecutive dropkicks and the Modern Knee for a near fall. Aichner charged at him in the corner again, but Webster hopped the ropes and hit an enzuigiri from the apron, followed by the Rude Boy Block from the corner for a another near fall.

Aichner came back with a brainbuster and screamed at Webster to “stay down,” but Webster hit two headbutts and went up top. Aichner rolled to ringside, evading an attack. Webster followed him and got thrown into the barricades. As Aichner went for a running kick into Webster on the steel steps, Andrews stepped in and thwarted the attack.

Aichner rolled Webster back inside and went for a powerbomb, but as he jaw-jacked with Andrews on the outside, Webster took out his legs, rolled over, and got the win with a bridging pin. Aichner was furious in the ring as the babyfaces went to the back.

– Radzi Chinyanganya was backstage with Amir Jordan, who was his smiling and dancing self. He wanted Radzi to dance with him and even put his scarf around his shoulders. Radzi started moving his shoulders as Jordan danced, but Kenny Williams stepped in and told Jordan that there was a time for fun and a time to be serious and told him they had to focus on their upcoming match against Zack Gibson & James Drake. Radzi still was moving his shoulders around and Williams told him he was disappointed in him.

– We took a look at Isla Dawn beating Nina Samuels two episodes ago and were told she would be up next.

– After a WWE Shop commercial, we joined Gallus backstage. Joe Coffey said he’d take out Trent Seven tonight and then focus on Travis Banks, while Wolfgang and Mark Coffey promised to go after the NXT UK Tag Team titles.

Isla Dawn defeated Killer Kelly in 3:16 after a float-over gutwrench into a powerslam

Dawn started things off with leg kicks against Kelly’s left thigh, which would become the story of the match. She managed to take Kelly down on a guillotine attempt and put her in a leg lock. Kelly got back up and stuffed another takedown, then hit a suplex into the corner, followed by a running basement dropkick. Kelly then locked in a cravat.

Dawn managed to work her way out of the hold and threw more kicks to Kelly’s leg, weakening her base. Kelly started limping and Dawn went for a back drop driver, followed by a running knee, then hit her float-over gutwrench into a powerslam for the victory.

Post-match, Radzi interviewed Dawn in the ring, asking her what was next. Dawn said that her eyes were set on the NXT UK Women’s Championship, prompting Rhea Ripley to come out posing with her belt. Dawn challenged her to a match and Ripley seemed to accept. Dawn said that Ripley was so confident, but if she put the title on the line, she would walk out empty handed.

– A graphic promoted Amir Jordan & Kenny Williams vs. Zack Gibson & James Drake next, followed by a TLC commercial.

– Dave Mastiff was interviewed by some anonymous journalists and said that he would focus on the WWE UK Championship. Eddie Dennis walked up and said some journalist was looking to interview the undefeated monster of NXT UK and Dennis figured he had missed the call, but then found out they meant Mastiff. Dennis told him that he was not the only undefeated monster in NXT UK. Mastiff told him to settle things in the ring.

– Joseph and McGuinness were back in studio, talking about that proposed match and the teams in NXT UK.

Zack Gibson & James Drake defeated Amir Jordan & Kenny Williams in 6:52 after hitting a double-team codebreaker

Jordan and Drake started out and Jordan went for a quick roll-up. He hit a running body press early on and tagged in Williams, who hit a flying elbow on Drake’s arm. The faces threw the heels out of the ring and hit stereo dives on them, then Jordan followed up with a high crossbody back in the ring.

Drake came back and threw Jordan out of the ring, where Gibson grabbed him and Drake launched himself over the ropes to hit Jordan in the back. Back in the ring, Gibson locked in his sitting Cobra Clutch on Jordan. Jordan managed to escape with a stunner, but couldn’t reach Williams as Gibson tagged out.

Jordan eventually made the hot tag and Williams ran wild, hitting a back-spring elbow and a running soccer kick on Drake for a near fall. As Drake hit forearms on Williams in the corner, Jordan tagged back in and hit an STO on Drake. Williams then tagged back in. Gibson came in and threw Jordan outside and followed him, but Williams managed to hit a wrecking ball dropkick on him through the ropes.

As Williams skinned the cat back inside, Drake picked him up into a tombstone position, then threw him into Gibson who hit a codebreaker for the win.

– Moustache Mountain were backstage as Trent Seven warmed up for his match.

Joe Coffey defeated Trent Seven in 15:02 after a spinning lariat

Coffey proclaimed that this was “their kingdom” as he came out. He and Seven locked up and jockeyed for position, with Coffey breaking clean on Seven touching the ropes before taking him down and working the arm. Seven escaped and hit a suplex, but in the process, tweaked his injured knee, which Coffey gleefully noticed.

Seven hit a DDT, but Coffey grabbed him by the moustache and threw him outside. The rest of Gallus stepped up, but Bate also stepped in to keep them from attacking his partner. Coffey used this to jump into Seven’s back with a stomp from the apron. They went back in, but Coffey ended up on the apron again and Seven chopped him to ringside.

As Gallus stepped up on the apron, Bate got in the ring and Moustache Mountain attacked Gallus, with Bate hitting a dropkick. The faces then hit stereo dives on the heels to the outside. Bate brawled to the back with Wolfgang and Mark Coffey.

Seven hit another plancha on Coffey, then hit more chops back in the ring. Coffey clipped his knee to turn things around and worked over the injured leg. He missed a corner charge and ended up shoulder-first in the ring post, allowing Seven to actually get him up top for a superplex.

Seven managed to hit a snap dragon and another suplex for a near fall, then locked in a figure four on Coffey. Coffey escaped and they ended up on the apron, where Coffey hit a vicious belly-to-belly suplex on Seven onto the floor. Seven narrowly made it back into the ring at 9.5.

Coffey hit a powerbomb, then picked Seven up for another one and locked in the Boston crab, transitioning to a single-leg on Seven’s knee before the injured babyface managed to reach the ropes.

They ran into each other with a double clothesline and traded Strikes. Seven managed another snap dragon suplex on one leg, but couldn’t get Coffey up on what probably was a Burning Hammer attempt. Coffey managed to hit a deadlift German suplex, a spear into the corner, and a spinning lariat to pick up the victory. He celebrated as the show went off the air.

Next episode:

Dave Mastiff meets Eddie Dennis and the NXT UK tag team roster will continue to qualify for the Tag Team title tournament.

NXT UK results: Travis Banks returns against Wolfgang

Posted on by Markus Gronemann

Quick recap:

Travis Banks returned from his shoulder injury, making his NXT UK TV in-ring debut against Wolfgang and defeating the big man in a match marred by interference from both Gallus and Moustache Mountain.

Joseph Conners beat Dan Moloney in the opener, while Dave Mastiff tamed the “Wild Boar” Mike Hitchman. Ligero managed to defeat Tyson T-Bone, and NXT UK Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley made short work of the debuting Candy Floss. In other news, Eddie Dennis stalked Dave Mastiff backstage and Sid Scala promised more on the NXT UK Tag Team titles for next week.

Full rundown:

– The show opened with the same graphic and scrolling message as the last episode, remembering the Dynamite Kid.

– Vic Joseph and Nigel McGuinness were in studio and talked about our main event, Wolfgang vs. the returning Travis Banks.

– We were also told that Rhea Ripley would be in action tonight.

Joseph Conners defeated Dan Moloney in 4:51 after hitting Don’t Look Down

We took a look at Conners turning against Saxon Huxley a few weeks back and him beating his former partner three episodes ago.

They locked up and Moloney actually hit a judo hip toss, taking Conners down, then hitting a back body drop. Conners came back and actually attacked Moloney’s ear, I guess because he still is mad for losing half of his in a bar fight. He went to ringside and actually attacked Moloney from there, raining forearms across the back of his head on the apron. He took Moloney down with a clothesline and applied a chinbar.

Conners drove Moloney into the corner, but Moloney came back with a spinebuster. Conners managed to turn the match around once more, hitting a sunset powerbomb that drove Moloney into the turnbuckles, then hit Don’t Look Down for the win.

– Joseph and McGuinness talked about Banks and Wolfgang some more and then mentioned the women’s division.

– Radzi Chinyanganya was backstage with Isla Dawn, asking her if who she was as a person would help her rise. Dawn said that who she is and everything she does comes from a place of good, a place of honesty. Truth and spirit are the qualities she needs to send her on her journey for the NXT UK Women’s Championship.

Rhea Ripley interrupted the interview and said that last week she told Johnny Saint and Sid Scala to find her suitable competition, not just competition — and that while she found someone for tonight, she suggested that Dawn watch her match closely.

– A graphic announced Dave Mastiff would meet the “Wild Boar” Mike Hitchman tonight.

– We saw Moustache Mountain arriving at the building earlier today where they were confronted by Gallus. The two factions almost got into a brawl, but a number of officials, including Scala and Saint kept them apart. Saint commanded Gallus “Away with ya, away!” Johnny Saint is the best.

“Bomber” Dave Mastiff defeated “Wild Boar” Mike Hitchman in 4:09 after the cannonball into the corner

They briefly locked up and Hitchman attacked right away, but Mastiff sent him to the mat with a hard forearm, then trapped both of his arms behind his back and rained down some elbows that had the Boar dizzy. He had Hitchman in a waist lock — but he escaped and Mastiff missed with a charge following that.

Boar hit a running senton onto Mastiff in the corner, then tried for an armbar and actually fish hooked Mastiff’s mouth. Mastiff came back with a headbutt, forearm strikes, and a running senton of his own. Boar came back with a couple of shoulder blocks that had the big man wobbling, then hit a running spear into the corner, which took Mastiff down.

As Hitchman came flying in with another hurled senton, Mastiff got his shotgun dropkick into the corner and finished things off with his cannonball for the victory.

– We took a look at Travis Banks being taken out backstage from the first set of tapings (he actually had a legit shoulder injury at the time) as the announcers talked about tonight’s main event.

– A graphic informed us that Ligero would meet Tyson T-Bone next.

– Radzi was backstage with Mastiff, asking how he felt, since he still was undefeated. Mastiff said he felt great, that people shouldn’t underestimate the Wild Boar, but that he was the better man tonight and was going all the way to the top. As he talked, a figure was seen in the background, but the camera was out of focus.

As Mastiff walked away, the camera focused on the person in the background, and it was Eddie Dennis peeking at Mastiff from the doorway. I’m sure headmaster Dennis suspended kids for less than creepily spying on other kids.

Ligero defeated Tyson T-Bone in 6:32 after a springboard splash

Ligero hit some leg kicks early, trying to attack the larger man’s base and ducking his attacks. This worked well for a while. Ligero even hit an enzuigiri from the apron to T-Bone in the ring. A right hand by T-Bone sent the Leeds Luchador to the outside and T-Bone got a few punches in as Ligero was leaning into the steel steps.

Back in the ring, the big man hit a fallaway slam, then locked in a rear chinlock. Ligero came back with more leg kicks and another enzuigiri, a dropkick, and a top-rope assisted Sliced Bread. T-Bone recovered and hit an exploder, then a running kick and a running hip attack into the corner, leading to a near fall.

T-Bone missed his knockout punch and tumbled to ringside. Ligero hit a running somersault from the apron and followed up with a springboard splash for the pin.

– A highlight video of Rhea Ripley aired, showing her way to winning the NXT UK Women’s Championship.

NXT UK Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley defeated Candy Floss in 2:49 after Riptide in a non-title match

Candy Floss at just 19 (I believe she still was 18 when this was taped) already has three years as a pro under her belt. She was trained at the PROGRESS Projo by Darrell Allen and had her debut in 2016. She wrestled for PROGRESS, Riptide Wrestling, and Pro Wrestling: EVE in the UK, before embarking on her first tour of Japan for Stardom in April of 2018.

Ripley was out first and cut a promo in the ring. She said she was all about opportunities and took her opportunity to become the first-ever NXT UK Women’s Champion. She said she had hand-picked someone from the back to have the opportunity of a lifetime.

Candy Floss came out and Ripley, while seemingly amused by the young woman with the pink hair, offered a handshake and even broke a lock-up off clean as Candy Floss got to the ropes. That was about as nice as Ripley would get, as she started working Candy Floss’ arm.

Candy Floss managed to escape the armlock and hit a running dropkick that had Ripley staggering. The champ quickly came back with a dropkick of her own and applied a rear-naked choke. Candy Floss managed to power out eventually, but a knee to the gut stopped her offense dead in its tracks. Ripley hit a few shoulder charges into the corner and quickly hit Riptide for the victory.

Afterwards, Ripley helped Candy Floss up and even raised her arm, but then quickly attacked her with a forearm to the back of the head. She hit some ground and pound and stomps for good measure and finally threw Candy Floss out of the ring.

– Flash Morgan Webster got interviewed by a number of anonymous journalists backstage. He talked about himself and Mark Andrews teaming up, then Fabian Aichner showed up and Webster confronted him about his match with Andrews earlier. Aichner told him to do something about it next week, if Webster didn’t like how he conducted himself in the ring.

Webster accepted the challenge and the match was confirmed in a graphic.

– Scala and Saint were backstage and teacher’s pet Scala told us that Saint had allowed him to make his first few announcements. He said that Trent Seven would meet Joe Coffey next week and there would also be an update on the NXT UK Tag Team titles.

Saint looked around somewhat bewildered in the background, but I am not sure if this was legit or planned. Still, Johnny Saint is the best. He always looks like the nice grandpa that would give you candy and then simultaneously stretch you if you ate them all at once.

“The Kiwi Buzzsaw” Travis Banks defeated Wolfgang in 4:16 after turning a suplex attempt into a pin when Trent Seven held on to Wolfgang’s leg

Banks, from New Zealand, started out in 2009, wrestling for New Zealand Wide Wrestling early on and supposedly lived in an abandoned train carriage in New Zealand for two years. He eventually went to Japan and wrestled with ZERO1 and first wrestled for AAW in the U.S. in 2013.

He started appearing on a regular basis in the UK in 2016, wrestling for PROGRESS, ATTACK! Pro, Fight Club: PRO, Defiant (WCPW), Southside, RevPro, IPW:UK, Preston City Wrestling, and numerous others. He also first appeared for wXw in 2017 and was part of this year’s 16 Carat Gold tournament. He wrestled at WrestleMania Axxess in 2017 and 2018 and also was part of PWG’s BOLA in 2017 and appeared for EVOLVE a few times.

Banks teamed with TK Cooper as the South Pacific Power Trip and is part of CCK with Chris Brookes and Kid Lykos. He is a former PROGRESS World Champion, a title he actually defended at WrestleMania Axxess this year, won PROGRESS’ Super Strong Style tournament in 2017, and has also held singles and tag team titles in Defiant, RevPro, Fight Club: PRO, and ATTACK!

Wolfgang mocked Banks’ shoulder injury at the start of the match, but Banks hit a forearm as Wolfgang did his howl, then followed up with a few kicks. Wolfgang eventually threw his injured shoulder into the post. As they went to ringside, Mark Coffey provided some distraction to allow Wolfgang to take over and throw Banks into the steps.

Back in the ring, Wolfgang applied a nerve hold. Banks fought back with his injured shoulder, which prevented him from throwing hard punches. He eventually hit a dropkick into the corner. As Wolfgang went outside once more, Banks hit a nice running double foot stomp off the apron onto his opponent. He followed that up with another jumping kick off the second rope back in the ring.

Mark Coffey once more provided a distraction, allowing Wolfgang to hit a running kick, followed by a running back senton and a spear for a near fall. Banks hit Slice of Heaven from the second turnbuckle but couldn’t capitalize as the rest of Gallus once more was on the apron, distracting him.

Moustache Mountain ran out and pulled them off, then Banks hit a suicide dive on the heels. Wolfgang came back with a forearm and went to suplex Banks back inside the ring, but Trent Seven pulled his leg away and Banks managed to land on Wolfgang for the pin and the win in mid-move.

Moustache Mountain celebrated with Banks as the heels avoided another confrontation.

NXT UK results: Women’s title tournament finals set

Posted on by Markus Gronemann

Episode ten (taped August 25 and 26 at the NEC Arena in Birmingham, England)

Quick recap —

The second round of the NXT UK Women’s Championship tournament concluded and the finals are set, as Toni Storm beat Jinny and Rhea Ripley disposed of Dakota Kai in the semifinals. Storm and Jinny was pretty good but not on the level of other matches these two have had in the past.

Dave Mastiff managed to overcome fellow big man Tyson T-Bone. Also, the team of Saxon Huxley & Joseph Conners imploded after they lost to Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews.

Full rundown —

We took a look at the Women’s title tournament bracket before going to our first match in the second round of said tournament.

UK Women’s title tournament semifinal match: Rhea Ripley defeated Dakota Kai in 9:50 after Riptide

Ripley wanted a test of strength — to which Kai obliged. Of course, the bigger woman was stronger and put Kai down for a one count. Kai tried to escape via monkey flip, but Ripley just carried her over to the corner. Kai came back with a kick and a shoving match ensued, which was ended by a dropkick by Kai, followed by another running kick and a double foot stomp.

Ripley rolled to ringside and was met by a hard soccer kick from Kai, followed by a second one just for good measure. Back in the ring, an attempted body block by Kai ended badly as Ripley picked her up and let the canvas catch her on her way down. Ripley connected with a few more strikes in the corner and hit a dropkick, then applied her inverted cloverleaf and picked up Kai’s lower body for added effect.

Kai eventually made the ropes and came back with a few of her kicks, a running dropkick into the corner, and two running face wash kicks for a two count. The action spilled to the outside once more, but this time Ripley caught Kai’s soccer kick, hoisted her up on her shoulders, and dropped her face-first on the apron.

Back inside, Kai came back with a flurry of strikes and tried going for the Kairopractor, but Ripley wouldn’t budge. Ripley tried going for the Riptide, but Kai countered it into a roll up. Kai then went for a roundhouse kick, but Ripley ducked and had Kai in perfect position to hit Riptide for the win.

**********

Vic Joseph and Nigel McGuinness threw to a quick interview with Sid Scala, who had just emerged from Johnny Saint’s office, all happy. He said he had been given an opportunity to face Joe Coffey in two weeks, and while he was not yet medically cleared, he would make the most of it. I predict carnage to be brought upon this sweet summer child by the Scotsman and his buddies.

A graphic informed us that a match between Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews vs. Saxon Huxley & Joseph Conners was next.

After a TLC commercial, Radzi Chinyanganya interviewed Jordan Devlin, asking him if he was calling Pete Dunne out. Well, I guess having a day job as a moderator of a kid’s show means you don’t have to be very perceptive in real life. Devlin talked about brutalizing Ligero on the last episode and cementing his place as the number one contender.

Devlin said that Dunne held the title for more than 450 days and defended it against guys like Mark Andrews and Tyler Bate who were pathetic, not vicious and ruthless like him and he was willing to do whatever it took to win the title. Devlin proclaimed that after his hand was raised, he’d be renaming the brand NXT Ireland featuring the UK.

**********

Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews defeated Saxon Huxley & Joseph Conners in 6:08 when Andrews pinned Huxley after a Shooting Star Press

Huxley and Webster started out and Webster went for a sunset flip right away, and followed up with a hurricanrana and a dropkick. Both tagged out, but Andrews and Webster hit a double standing moonsault on Conners. After another tag, Huxley hit a Thesz press and Andrews played face in peril for a while, getting beaten down by both men.

Andrews eventually managed to tag Webster, who hit a Rude Boy Block followed by a somersault on Conners on the outside. A crossbody attempt on Huxley got caught, though — and he got slammed to the mat. Webster managed to blind tag Andrews, who took down Huxley and Andrews hit a Shooting Star Press for the win.

After the match, Conners attacked Huxley and hit him with Don’t Look Down. So I guess this team won’t be in the NXT UK Tag Team title tournament.

**********

Joseph and McGuinness hyped the upcoming match between Dave Mastiff and Tyson T-Bone. After a Marine 6 trailer, there was another graphic promoting Sid Scala vs. Joe Coffey in two weeks.

**********

Dave Mastiff defeated Tyson T-Bone in 4:41 after a cannonball into the corner

This was Mastiff’s toughest challenge yet. It was set up after Tyson hung around for Mastiff’s match two episodes ago and them getting into it backstage later on. T-Bone hit a fist to Mastiff’s nose right away, but Mastiff came back with a shoulder block that put T-Bone down.

T-Bone retaliated with punches and kicks and even got a one count after a hard elbow to the back. He applied a chinlock, but Mastiff powered out and briefly put T-Bone in a bear hug that did some damage. T-Bone came back with more strikes and a sunset flip but received Mastiff’s 320 lbs. on his chest for not watching any big guy/little guy matches back in the 80s.

Mastiff launched himself at T-Bone with a running crossbody, channeled his inner Vader for a number of body shots, and hit a headbutt, followed by some hard elbows to T-Bone’s jaw. Mastiff hit a release German suplex and put T-Bone away with the cannonball in the corner.

**********

A graphic advertised Toni Storm meeting Jinny next, followed by a commercial for WrestleMania tickets going on sale.

A tweet by NXT UK general manager Johnny Saint confirmed Pete Dunne defending his title against Jordan Devlin next week.

We took a look back at how Toni Storm and Jinny qualified for round two.

**********

UK Women’s title tournament semifinal match: Toni Storm defeated Jinny in 10:31 after Storm Zero

This was at least the 10th singles match these two have had with each other, after they took the series all the way from PROGRESS to wXw, RevPro, WrestleMania Axxess, and the 2018 Mae Young Classic, among others.

They locked up right away and battled for position. Storm got backed into the corner and they kept going at it, ending up on the mat where Storm applied a headlock that Jinny turned into a cover. They traded wristlocks with Storm eventually escaping. Storm hit a running kick and applied a variation of an STF, but Jinny made the ropes.

Storm charged at Jinny in the corner, but she got her leg up and hit a flatliner into the corner. It looked like Storm’s knee gave out during a whip into the corner and Jinny took over, until a double headbutt evened the scales once more. Storm came back with a snap German suplex and a hip attack in the corner and followed with a fisherman’s suplex for a near fall.

Storm went up top, but a head kick courtesy of the Fashionista’s long legs stopped her in her tracks. Jinny went up for a superplex, but Storm headbutted her once more and sent her crashing down. She still couldn’t capitalize, as Jinny this time hit a dropkick on Storm’s legs and yanked her down with an X-Factor style facebuster for a near fall.

Storm went for Storm Zero, but Jinny managed to escape and hit her rolling axe kick that won her the first round — but it wasn’t enough here as Storm managed to put her foot on the bottom rope during the pin. Storm jumped over Jinny on a corner charge, hit another snap German, and finally hit Storm Zero for the win.

Johnny Saint came out on the ramp as Storm was inspecting the NXT UK Women’s Championship. Ripley also came out, got into Storm’s face, and shoved her, but Saint got in between them before anything more could happen. Ripley went backstage again after throwing up her crossed-arm devil’s horn gesture.

And that’s it folks, as the finals of the NXT UK Women’s Championship tournament will be Rhea Ripley vs. Toni Storm in a battle of a mosh pit kid from Australia taking on a die-hard Motley Crue fan from New Zealand to determine the best women’s wrestler in the UK.

NXT UK results: Women’s title tournament begins

Posted on by Markus Gronemann

Episode eight (taped August 25 at the NEC Arena in Birmingham, England)

Quick recap:

Zack Gibson defeated Trent Seven with help of his Grizzled Young Veterans partner in crime, James Drake, in a very good main event. Wolfgang and the Coffey brothers then attacked Seven and Tyler Bate afterwards.

Dakota Kai and Jinny advanced in the NXT UK Women’s Championship tournament, beating Nina Samuels and Millie McKenzie respectively. Tyson T-Bone made his NXT UK debut and won a quick squash, only to be one-upped by Dave Mastiff, who continues to run roughshod.

Ligero will battle Jordan Devlin next week, and we will probably see Toni Storm vs. Isla Dawn and Rhea Ripley vs. Xia Brookside in the women’s championship tournament.

Full rundown:

There was a cold open with clips from all the participants in the NXT UK Women’s Championship tournament that gave a bit of background on all of the participants. After the opening sequence, Nigel McGuinness and Vic Joseph welcomed us and looked back at the announcement of the tournament from the last episode.

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NXT UK Women’s title tournament first round match: Dakota Kai defeated Nina Samuels in 4:38 with the Kairopractor to advance to the semifinals

Samuels started off right away with a vicious knee, but Kai came back with a running kick. Samuels pushed Kai’s upper body between the top and middle ropes and bent her backwards, then hit a running dropkick while Kai was still caught in that specific predicament. She then proceeded to stretch her arms backwards and locked Kai in a Gori Special, which Kai eventually managed to escape from and turn into a roll-up.

They got caught up in a striking battle, which Kai got the better of. Kai ran wild, hitting a running dropkick, a face wash kick, and eventually another running kick, all onto Samuels who was in the corner.

Kai then hit the Kairopractor for the win and will face the winner of the Rhea Ripley/Xia Brookside match.

**********

A graphic announced that Tyson T-Bone would make his debut next, and another informed us that Dave Mastiff would be in action as well.

An Interview with Mark Andrews (conducted by Radzi Chinyanganya) aired. Andrews said that he has a new focus, after his program with the Coffey Brothers ended. He stated that he was the most exciting guy in NXT UK, that he could do things that no one else could, and that he wanted a title around his waist.

Flash Morgan Webster showed up and said he wanted some gold too and proposed the two of them team in the tournament to determine the NXT UK Tag Team Champions. Andrews contemplated that and said that Webster had a good point.

After a promo for the season finale of WWE Ride Along, there was another interview with Ashton Smith. He was asked what was next and said that you have to consider how to handle defeat, do you go home and cry or — at that point, Eddie Dennis interrupted the interview and told Smith to watch his match next week to get some tips.

Smith got all thoughtful and told the interviewer that maybe he would watch Dennis’ match.

**********

Tyson T-Bone defeated Jake Constantino in 2:01 with a punch and a lariat

T-Bone is an 11-year veteran and was trained by Robbie Brookside and Todd Smith (Hanson of the War Raiders) as well as Killer Kowalski. He is a regular with Preston City Wrestling, Southside Wrestling Entertainment, Grand Pro Wrestling, and Future Shock and has appeared in PROGRESS, RevPro, IPW:UK, and other promotions. He is a former three-time PCW Heavyweight Champion and teams with Rampage Brown as Team Single.

Constantino is a British MMA fighter with a 3-0 record who seemingly hasn’t done a lot on the UK scene, but lost to Andrade Cien Almas on SmackDown back in May when they taped in London.

T-Bone apparently has a tattoo of the Virgin Mary on his arm, to apologize for every punch that connects. She had quite a bit of apologizing to do here, as he punched Constantino in the face right away. He proceeded to beat the crap out of Constantino, who took a Bret-Hart-style chest bump into the corner, after which T-Bone mauled him from behind with a Vader-style running double overhead chop. He then hit a Saito suplex, a hard right, and a lariat to pick up the victory.

Post-match, T-Bone got on the mic and asked if this was a joke and if this was the best NXT UK had to offer. He concluded with “It’s a joke!” and threw the mic down, obviously disgusted with the competition. As he walked up the ramp, Dave Mastiff’s music hit and the big man made his way to the ring. The two competitors had words, Mastiff told him to watch him, and T-Bone obliged.

**********

Dave Mastiff defeated Dan Moloney in 1:20 with a cannonball into the corner

At 21, Moloney already is a five-year veteran of the ring and earned his merits in Southside Entertainment Wrestling, Fight Club: Pro, ATTACK Pro, and Kamikaze Pro, among others. He had under-one-day reigns as SWE Heavyweight Champion and as the ATTACK 24/7 Champion and also competes as Los Federales Santos Sr.

This was another Mastiff showcase, as the only offense Moloney got in were a few strikes right at the beginning of the match. And speaking of Vader, Mastiff actually wore a red-and-black singlet right out of Vader’s closet it seemed.

A whip-in attempt by Moloney went awry right away and Mastiff brutalized the young grappler with a standing dropkick, senton, headbutt, deadlift German suplex, and finally hit a merciful cannonball into the corner to put and end to the massacre of young Dan Moloney.

All of that was accompanied by “Mastiff’s gonna kill you” chants and happened under the watchful eyes of Tyson T-Bone, who looked partly impressed and partly interested to find out what a match with Mastiff might feel like. T-Bone left, with Mastiff screaming (presumably) mean things at him.

**********

We saw a split-screen of Trent Seven and Zack Gibson preparing for their upcoming match.

After a WWE Chronicle: Dean Ambrose trailer aired, Chinyanganya interviewed Sid Scala of all people. Scala was asked what he needed to change after his rough start in NXT UK.

Scala said he needs to get back to the drawing board, that he wants one more opportunity, and that he has the feeling the fans are losing faith in him. That would imply there had been faith in the beginning. Scala said he needs to sit down with Johnny Saint and ask for that opportunity.

**********

NXT UK Women’s title tournament first round match: Jinny defeated Millie McKenzie in 4:51 with a rolling axe kick to advance to the semifinals

Jinny, wrestling’s fashionista, started out in 2015 and trained under Jimmy Havoc at the PROGRESS Projo and was their first graduate. She actually has a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a background in marketing and sales, and a genuine love for fashion and has probably the most fashionable ring outfits, which she seemingly never wears twice either.

Jinny is a regular in PROGRESS, RevPro, wXw, OTT, Pro Wrestling: EVE, and other UK promotions. She is the current PROGRESS Women’s Champion and a former RevPro Undisputed British Women’s Champion. She has her own stable, the House of Couture, in PROGRESS and is also a member of the Schadenfreude stable in Fight Club: Pro, among some of Europe’s finest wrestlers.

At just 18 years of age, McKenzie already has two years of experience under her belt, having trained under Travis Banks and current WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne, who she actually held the Pro Wrestling Revolver Tag Team titles with. She also is one-half of the current Kamikaze Pro Tag Team Champions with Chief Deputy Dunne and a former Defiant Women’s Champion.

McKenzie is a regular in Fight Club: Pro, Attack Pro, Pro Wrestling: EVE, Defiant, PROGRESS, wXw, and RevProm, among many others and is known as the Millie Suplex Machine, as she uses a great variety of suplexes in her matches.

McKenzie countered out of a Jinny headlock, but she received a hard slap by the Fashionista. She came back with a dropkick and a kick to Jinny’s spine and hit a running European uppercut. Jinny came back with a flatliner into the turnbuckles and a chinbar. She went for a surfboard, but McKenzie quickly reached the ropes.

McKenzie came back with a great spear and picked Jinny up for a deadlift release German suplex, followed by another release German suplex. Jinny escaped the attempt for a third one and hit a Japanese arm drag that catapulted McKenzie into the turnbuckles once more. She then hit a rolling axe kick on McKenzie which she set up with a Rainmaker-style grab of the wrist for the victory.

**********

We took a look back at Jordan Devlin’s comments about Ligero last episode and saw a Ligero video, where he explained that early on he was told that his role would be to be thrown around by bigger guys and how he developed a hybrid style. Ligero vs. Devlin will happen next week.

**********

Zack Gibson defeated Trent Seven in 12:58 with a small package and some outside help by James Drake

Gibson came out and did a promo, doing his Liverpool’s number one and soon-to-be number one in NXT UK and the world shtick. He said that the Beatles conquered music and the Liverpool Football Club conquered…probably football — but he never got to tell us, as Seven came out at that point.

Gibson already had nuclear heat, as the fans chanted “Shoes off if you hate Gibson” with a passion. Probably half the crowd waved one of their shoes at Gibson.

Seven powered up from a wristlock at the start of the match, but quickly got trapped in a kneebar, which he escaped from. He hit some chops and Gibson fled to ringside and teased walking out, but Tyler Bate came out and made him reconsider.

Back in the ring, Seven was stopped by a double chop to the throat. Gibson started working Seven’s left arm and shoulder, going for a double wristlock and eventually hitting his Keylock Driver for a cover. He followed up with a seated Cobra Clutch variant and a straight arm suplex, right out of Robbie Brookside’s playbook. A chop and slap battle ensued and Seven hit a DDT for another cover.

Gibson came back with an enzuigiri in the corner, but a hard punch by Seven sent him over the top and to the outside. Seven followed with a suicide dive, a snap dragon suplex back in the ring, and a powerbomb. He then locked in a single leg Boston crab, but Gibson made the ropes. Gibson came back with a Saito suplex. They got into another slap and chop battle, until Gibson hit another double chop and followed it up with a clothesline.

Seven came back with a suplex into a slam for a near fall. Gibson went to the ropes and hit a jumping codebreaker and locked in the Shankly Gates. Seven struggled, but he eventually made the ropes. As he was down on the mat close to the apron, Bate reached in to grab his mentor’s hand in a show of moral support and earned a kick to the head by Gibson for that.

Seven hit the Seven Star lariat back in the ring, at which point James Drake came out and rammed Bate into the ring steps. Gibson attempted another Keylock Driver. Seven turned it into a roll-up and went for another single leg Boston crab, but Gibson rolled him up into a small package and Drake grabbed his hands from the outside for leverage, managing to hold Seven down for the pin.

As the heels walked down the ramp together and Bate entered the ring, Wolfgang and the Coffey brothers suddenly attacked Seven and Bate. The fans chanted for Pete Dunne, but he was nowhere to be found.

Mark Coffey and Wolfgang held Bate while Joe Coffey locked Seven into a single leg on his injured leg. They eventually released Bate, who was then taken out by a super stiff lariat that turned him inside out. The heels posed and the show went off the air.

NXT UK results: Six-man main event, Toni Storm vs. Dakota Kai

Posted on by Markus Gronemann

Episode six (taped July 29 at Cambridge Corn Exchange in Cambridge, England)

Quick recap —

The new heel trio of Joe Coffey, Mark Coffey & Wolfgang stood victorious against Mark Andrews, Flash Morgan Webster & Ashton Smith in a strong main event. Toni Storm beat Dakota Kai to establish herself for the upcoming NXT UK Women’s title tournament in the best women’s wrestling match on NXT UK thus far. We also saw the arrival of Jinny, who attacked Kai after the match was over.

Zack Gibson defeated the debuting Amir Jordan and again drew a tremendous amount of heat in his post-match promo, setting up a match against Trent Seven down the line. Jordan Devlin once more looked impressive, beating another NXT UK debutant, Kenny Williams.

This episode concludes the tapings in Cambridge from July 28 and 29 and we will move on to matches taped August 25 and 26 next week.

Full rundown —

Nigel McGuinness and Vic Joseph opened up the show, talking about the chaotic main event we would be getting tonight as a graphic of the participants in the match was shown. We also got a graphic announcing Toni Storm as the winner of the 2018 Mae Young Classic and a highlight video of her match against Io Shirai from Evolution. We were told Storm would be in action next.

**********

Toni Storm defeated Dakota Kai in 7:16 with Strong Zero

They brought up Storm’s match against NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler at Royal Albert Hall and also mentioned that Storm actually had a victory over her in Japan. They started out with a headlock jockeying for position, but neither woman got the advantage. They shook hands, but both went for a kick immediately after, which both caught respectively and then proceeded to carefully set their opponents’ leg down again.

Kai took Storm down and hit a running kick, but Storm came back with strikes and a running kick of her own. Storm hit a nice snap suplex and applied a modified STF, wrapping her arm around Kai’s neck in the process. Kai eventually reached the ropes for a clean break.

Another striking battle was won by Kai and she hit a stiff head kick. A second kick was thwarted by Storm with a headbutt, but she couldn’t capitalize on it, as Kai hit her with another head kick on a charge. Another kick attempt was caught by Storm, who hit a snap German suplex.

Kai came back with a running kick into the corner but missed a second one. Storm went for her hip attack, but was hit by another kick. She managed to check the follow-up one and hit a beautiful release snap German suplex, followed by double knees into the corner and the Storm Zero (Air Raid neckbreaker) for the win. They shook hands and hugged afterwards.

There also seems to be some confusion still about what move the Storm Zero is supposed to be, as the announcers called her Tiger Driver the same name before. On the indies, she usually uses a snap piledriver, which is being called the Strong Zero there, but obviously is banned in WWE.

As Kai was on her way up the ramp with Storm still in the ring, Jinny came out and attacked her and called out Storm. Storm then helped Kai up and accompanied her to the back.

**********

Zack Gibson was shown backstage on his way to the ring, followed by a promo for the November NXT UK tapings in Liverpool.

**********

Zack Gibson defeated Amir Jordan in 4:24 via submission with the Shankly Gates

Jordan originally hails from Pakistan and started wrestling in 2015. He trained with Lance Storm at the Storm Wrestling Academy as well as the PROGRESS wrestling school. He’s a regular in IPW:UK and 3 Count Wrestling, where he also was the North East Champion.

Gibson tried for a double wristlock right away, but Jordan escaped and hit the big man from Liverpool. Gibson worked over his arm until Jordan escaped a wrist lock and proceeded to do his dance, mocking Gibson. The fans were fully behind him and hated Gibson with a passion.

Jordan got a crossbody and a sunset flip, but Gibson just wouldn’t go down and instead grabbed Jordan’s arm for an arm ringer and hit a keylock driver for a near fall next. Jordan got a dropkick from the middle rope and even a high crossbody from the top, but it wasn’t enough to put Gibson away. Gibson came back with a double palm strike and a stiff lariat followed by Helter Skelter. He locked in the Shankly Gates for the submission victory.

After a Road to Evolution hype video, we were back in the ring with Gibson, who proceeded to cut another promo to thunderous boos and “Zack Gibson is a wanker” chants. His delivery was really good. Here is what he said verbatim: “I am Liverpool’s number one; soon to be recognized as the world’s number one; soon to be recognized as NXT UK’s number one.

I stand here once again victorious! I entered the UK Championship tournament and I won! I challenged the superstar of 205 Live, Noam Dar and I won! Every single day that I step into this ring is another step closer to becoming your NXT UK Champion. This brand, this movement, NXT UK is already the benchmark in British Wrestling. The very best talent from up and down this country flocked to NXT UK because they wanted to be part of something special. But they, the locker room, the punchers have another thing coming, if they think I’m going to share the top spot, I’m the guy to build this brand around.

The NXT UK locker room is full of talent so ready to ride my coattails, I’m Liverpool’s number one, I’m the man who’s going to elevate this brand, not the Bruiserweight Pete Dunne, not Danny Burch, not Mark Andrews, not…”

At this point, Trent Seven came out to partake in the fun and said this: “Are you completely delusional? Seriously though, I have no idea what goes on in that shiny, sweaty head of yours, because I remember, not too long ago, in the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool it was those names and me that kicked this whole thing off in the start.

Good point though, where were you? I didn’t see you in any of the promotional material, I didn’t see you on any of the social media, you were not in the back, did you buy a ticket to watch? No, you were sat upright in bed, with a nice cup of tea, with your mum’s laptop, watching us make history on the WWE Network!

Fair play, I gotta give you your dues, you were the 2018 UK tournament winner — but you couldn’t get the job done on night two, could you? However, you know what you did do that was pretty cool? You made every single person in the Royal Albert Hall take off their shoes!”

This prompted another chant of “Shoes off, if you hate Gibson.” Seven got into the ring at this point and continued: “Now you mentioned some very, very talented men earlier, but you failed to mention me. So how’s about you and me right now in Cambridge, Gibson, let’s go!” Gibson got into as fighting stance but then left the ring to another round of loud boos.

**********

McGuinness and Joseph talked about Jordan Devlin and we got a recap video of his debut match. This was followed by a Kenny Williams video, where he talked about being on 205 Live in the past and explaining why he was being called “The Luckian.”

**********

Jordan Devlin defeated Kenny Williams in 4:23 with the Island’s Call

Kenny Williams started in 2013 and is a regular with ICW, Defiant, Premier British Wrestling, and British Championship Wrestling, among others. He is the current Pro Wrestling Elite Champion and a three-time former ICW Zero-G Champion. He also teams with Noam Dar as the Champagne Superbollocks. He appeared on 205 Live from London back in May, competing in a four-way with Tyler Bate, Kalisto, and TJP.

This was a fun match while it lasted and both men got to show off their talents. Devlin started with a wristlock and Williams hit a lucha-style arm drag off the ropes early on, which Devlin flipped through. Devlin hit his uranage/standing moonsault sequence and soon after put on a neck crank, which Williams countered out of with a chinbreaker.

Williams got on the apron and they traded counters, then Devlin hit a hard forearm to the back of Williams’ head, sending him to the outside. He tried for a running soccer kick on the apron, but Williams caught his foot and put Devlin face-first on the apron. Williams was back in the ring and hit a Wrecking Ball dropkick and a suicide dive on Devlin.

Back in the ring, he followed that up with a flying back elbow off the top rope for a near fall. After a series of roll-ups and counters, Devlin finally hit the Island’s Call for the victory.

**********

We saw Ashton Smith, Flash Morgan Webster, and Mark Andrews backstage, preparing for their match. 

There also was a graphic that there would be a huge announcement by Johnny Saint next week.

**********

Mark Coffey, Joe Coffey & Wolfgang defeated Mark Andrews, Flash Morgan Webster & Ashton Smith in 14:56 when Joe Coffey pinned Webster after a lariat

Webster and Wolfgang started off, which made sense, as Wolfgang attacked him last week. Webster tried, but Wolfgang had the upper hand. Andrews and Joe Coffey tagged in next and Coffey took advantage of Andrews trying to go for a lucha-style DDT, holding on to his legs and spinning him around a few times before dropping him on his face.

Mark Coffey tagged in next and Andrews flipped out of a back suplex attempt. Smith tagged in on the face side and hit some chops and a flying clothesline but only managed to get a one count. Everybody got in the ring at that point, but the referee had things under control again after a few seconds.

Mark Coffey hit a big double fist blow and tagged in his brother, who knocked down Smith with a hard left. He also spun Smith around a few times, this time from a double underhook position, before hitting a nice butterfly suplex. Finally, Smith managed to hot tag Andrews as Wolfgang came in for the heels. Andrews, who beat Wolfgang last week, went for an enzuigiri and a hurricanrana off the middle rope.

In a nice display of teamwork, Mark Coffey distracted Andrews, Wolfgang threw him out of the ring, and Joe Coffey attacked him at ringside. Andrews at this point was the face in peril and got worked over by all three opponents in quick succession — until he finally managed to turn a suplex attempt by Mark Coffey into the Stunt Dog Millionaire and get to Webster for the hot tag while Coffey tagged Wolfgang.

Webster cleaned house on the big guy, hit a jumping knee on Joe Coffey, and used a twisting moonsault from the second rope on Wolfgang for a near fall. Smith tagged in and hit a high knee in the corner, but his attempt to hit the Ashcloud DDT on Wolfgang was countered as the “Last King of Scotland” launched him into the air. Wolfgang tagged out again and both Coffey brothers were in, hitting a 3D variation with an uppercut instead of a cutter on Smith for another near fall.

Smith hit a desperation superkick on Mark Coffey and managed to tag Andrews, who hit an enzuigiri on Joe Coffey but got caught on a moonsault attempt by Wolfgang, who had tagged back in. Andrews managed to turn it into a DDT and Wolfgang rolled to ringside. Andrews tagged Webster, and then he and Smith hit double suicide dives on the Coffeys.

Back in the ring, Wolfgang decapitated Webster with a brutal lariat and tried to powerbomb him to the outside, but Webster managed to counter the attempt into a headscissors, sending Wolfgang to the outside again. Webster at that point hit a somersault senton onto everyone on the outside from the top rope.

Back in the ring, the Coffeys pulled Smith and Andrews off the apron as Wolfgang hit a big spear on Webster, tagged in Joe Coffey, and whipped Webster into a spinning lariat by Coffey, which sealed the fate of the babyface team. The heels were being portrayed as an unstoppable unit here, so it remains to be seen who can step up to stop them down the line.

NXT UK results: Pete Dunne vs. Danny Burch title match

Posted on by Markus Gronemann

Episode five (taped July 29 at Cambridge Corn Exchange in Cambridge, England)

Quick recap —

Pete Dunne defended his WWE United Kingdom Championship against Danny Burch in a hard-hitting strong-style affair that may have been the best match on NXT UK yet. The Coffey Brothers and Wolfgang took out Ashton Smith before his match, setting up a six-men tag team match in the main event next week against Smith, Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews.

Eddie Dennis made his debut and looked good against Sid Scala, Ligero defeated James Drake in a fun match, and Dave Mastiff continues to look like a monster, squashing Damien Weir in under 90 seconds.

Full rundown —

The show opened up with a graphic of our main event: Pete Dunne defending his WWE UK title against Danny Burch. We then went straight to our first match.

“Bomber” Dave Mastiff pinned Damien Weir after a cannonball in 1:27

Weir is better known as Chief Deputy Dunne on the UK scene and often competes in a tag team, the Anti-Fun Police. He started out in 2010 and is a regular with Attack! Pro, Kamikaze Pro, Southside Wrestling, IPW:UK, PROGRESS, RevPro, and others. He’s also the current IPW:UK Tag Team Champion with Los Federales Santos Jr. and the current Kamikaze Pro Tag Team Champion in a mixed tag team with Millie McKenzie.

Mastiff beat his NXT UK record of disposing of Sid Scala on the first episode by 31 seconds here. Weir tried hitting a body press right away, but just bounced off the “Bomber.” Mastiff hit a senton, an impressive looking deadlift vertical suplex into a slam, dragged Weir into the corner, hit a cannonball, and picked up the victory.

**********

Nigel McGuinness and Vic Joseph recapped Wolfgang joining the Coffey Brothers last week after his match with Mark Andrews and beating down Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster. We were promised a statement by the new trio later on.

There was a short highlight video on Ligero while he talked about being from Leeds and wearing a mask to stand out. This was followed by a video on James Drake, who said he had traveled around the world to make sure he became an elite sports entertainer and how he was a completely different man now. He was focused more than ever and if anyone stood in his way, he would go through them.

After a WWE Network promo, we got another video on Jinny. She said that she was the fashionista of NXT UK and had more money than all other wrestlers combined. Well, good for her, she might be able to give Brock Lesnar a few tips then.

We also saw Danny Burch warm up for his main event match.

**********

Ligero defeated James Drake in 5:48 after a springboard DDT

Drake started training at 14 and made his debut in 2010. He teamed with Axl Rage as The Blackpool Blonds and Blond Jovi early on. He currently teams with Zack Gibson as the Grizzled Young Veterans, mostly in PROGRESS and Future Shock Wrestling. They’ve held the Tag Team titles in both promotions before.

Drake competed for All Star Wrestling earlier in his career on a regular basis and was a regular for Grand Pro Wrestling as well. He’s also known as “Mr. Mayhem” — and we were being told he adopted more of a “grit your teeth” mentality recently. He might consider asking Pete Dunne about wearing a mouth guard then.

They started off with a good old-fashioned lock up, jockeying for position early on. Fans chanted “He’s got his own face on his ass” at Ligero, who has a picture of his mask on the back of his trunks.

Drake took things to the mat with a smooth headlock takeover. Ligero hit a spinning heel kick and eventually threw Drake to ringside. Back in the ring, Ligero hit a Code Red Bomb for a near fall and after trading some reversals, followed it up with a springboard spinning DDT off the middle rope for the victory in a good match.

**********

Radzi Chinyanganya interviewed Toni Storm backstage and asked her how she prepared for Dakota Kai, as the two will meet in the next episode. She said that she went into the match with the intention to win. Well, duh! She said Kai and her had similar goals, as far as the NXT UK Women’s Championship is concerned, but that it was just not going to happen for Kai.

Kai showed up and interrupted the interview, stating that she respects everything Storm has done, but as good as she was going to be, Kai was just going to be a little bit better. Storm replied that in that case, the best woman may win. They shook hands on it.

An Ashton Smith video aired. He talked about how there wasn’t a person that he couldn’t beat.

Zack Gibson did a short promo, announcing that he would be back to face the debuting Amir Jordan on the next episode and was soon to be Number One.

**********

Ashton Smith vs. an unannounced opponent never took place

Smith came out for a match, but we never found out who he was supposed to face. He was wiped out by the Coffey Brothers and Wolfgang, who unceremoniously threw him to the back. Joe Coffey was on the mic and said that since Royal Albert Hall, they have been imposing their will on anyone and everyone, no one liked them and they didn’t care.

At Royal Albert Hall, Joe Coffey had an epiphany, he liked surrounding himself with people who had the same mentality, whether it was blood or someone who took pride in doing things his way, like Wolfgang. He said the mantra for this brand was “We are NXT UK,” but he believes that there’s a hierarchy and if you’re not on their level, they will dispose of your weakness. There would be no more British Strong Style and certainly no more “big strong bois” in the future.

Joe closed by saying “No one likes us, we don’t care, from now on, it’s a pack mentality, divide and conquer, this is our kingdom!”

**********

A graphic said that Eddie Dennis would debut next.

Flash Morgan Webster and Mark Andrews were backstage in front of NXT UK General Manager Johnny Saint’s office and said they’ve had problems with the Coffeys for a long time now, now they got Wolfgang involved and they were sure that the Coffeys also had attacked Travis Banks. Ashton Smith showed up and wanted to join them in seeing Saint.

**********

Eddie Dennis defeated Sid Scala in 3:30 with the Next Stop Driver

“The Pride of Wales,” Eddie Dennis stands 6’5″ and started wrestling 10 years ago. A teacher by trade, he went on to become the youngest headmaster in the UK at the time, but left his position to wrestle full-time. He started out with Pete Dunne and Mark Andrews, but focused on his original career while they had some more international success earlier on.

A regular in PROGRESS, RevPro, Attack! Pro, Kamikaze Pro, Pro Wrestling Chaos, and others, Dennis is a former ATTACK! and ATTACK! 24/7 Champion, as well as a former PROGRESS Tag Team Champion with Mark Andrews as FSU (Friends Stand United or F**k S**t Up).

Dennis started strong, kicking his smaller opponent and had him in a cravat, from which he hit some vicious knees. He hit a knee drop for a near fall, but Scala kicked out. Scala came back with some offense, hitting a few slaps and a high crossbody, but couldn’t keep Dennis down for the pin. Dennis hit a buckle bomb and the Next Stop Driver for the quick victory.

**********

We saw Pete Dunne walking to the ring backstage, followed by a WWE Story Time ad.

A graphic announced Toni Storm vs. Dakota Kai for next week. There also was a tweet by Johnny Saint, announcing a six-man tag team match for our main event of the next episode, pitting the Coffey Brothers & Wolfgang against Mark Andrews, Flash Morgan Webster & Ashton Smith.

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WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne defeated Danny Burch in 16:14 by submission to retain his title

This was a stiff, hard-hitting, strong-style match that also had a lot of submissions and overall told a great story. Burch was portrayed as the grizzled veteran last week who suffered numerous setbacks throughout his career and now finally was on his way to win his first major title from the young up-and-comer, who wrestles a similar style as the one he helped establish over the past 15 years.

They locked up and traded submissions attempts early, but neither man could get the clear advantage. Dunne hit a stiff kick on an early exchange, and received retribution in the form of a hard slap to the neck a few seconds later. Dunne started working on Burch’s fingers and wrist early on, which would be an ongoing story of the match.

Burch hit a nice overhead toss in the early minutes and also took Dunne down brutally from a leapfrog attempt. Dunne rolled to ringside, checked a kick by Burch, and pulled him to the outside, where he hit an X-Plex to the apron that looked like no fun at all. Dunne continued working the arm and Burch came back with an enzuigiri and a missile dropkick from the middle rope for a near fall.

Dunne came back with a stiff forearm that knocked the veteran halfway across the ring. Dunne did his backflip off the middle rope off a reversal, hit a kick to Burch’s jaw, and then jumped on his left arm from the middle ropes, causing further damage. They spilled to ringside and Dunne slammed Burch’s hand on the ring steps, but missed a stomp, causing Burch to pull his feet out so Dunne took a face-first bump onto the steel, followed by a German suplex by Burch on the outside.

Back in the ring, Dunne went for a triangle but trapped the right arm instead of the left one he had been working on, causing Burch to power out and hit a buckle bomb. Burch went for a top rope German suplex, but Dunne managed to bend his fingers to escape, only for Burch to hit it anyway. Dunne tried flipping over in mid air, but still landed hard on his face and knees, which led to a near fall.

They had another striking battle, which Dunne ended by hitting an enzuigiri and an X-Plex. He immediately transitioned into an armbar. Burch countered out into a cross face, which Dunne managed to counter into a pinning attempt. Burch went for another German suplex, but this time Dunne managed to flip through it and hit a kick to the back of Burch’s head.

A lariat by Burch turned Dunne inside out, but Dunne came back with kicks and proceeded to stomp a mud hole into Burch. Dunne was signaling to end the match, but Burch suddenly popped up, hit a headbutt to Dunne’s shoulder, and his draping DDT that won him his last NXT UK match. Dunne kicked out at 2.9.

Burch locked in the crossface once more and even managed to roll back into the middle of the ring as Dunne was inching closer to the ropes. In desperation, Dunne gouged Burch’s face to finally break the hold and hit the Bitter End, but Burch kicked out of that one too, which got a big pop.

Dunne locked in a triangle, this time trapping the left arm. He rolled over on top of Burch’s head and proceeded to his finger-breaking spot and twisted the injured fingers and wrist with the triangle still locked in, forcing Burch to tap out.

Burch looked devastated but acknowledged Dunne on leaving the ring while the champ posed with his title as the show went off the air.