With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, WWE had to cancel plans for the NXT UK brand for the upcoming months.
NXT UK usually tapes at Axxess over WrestleMania weekend, which obviously did not take place this year.
Today they announced that both their May tapings following the scheduled NXT UK TakeOver in Ireland, as well as the Download Festival tapings had been canceled.
So it looks like we will be getting a series of specials looking back at the history of NXT UK, as announced by NXT UK Assistant GM Sid Scala.
What is weird about this decision is that during the last set of tapings in March, they taped at least six more matches which haven’t aired yet, including pretty major bouts like WALTER vs. Ridge Holland, Ilja Dragunov vs. A-Kid, Finn Bálor vs. Kenny Williams and Toni Storm vs. Isla Dawn as reported here and here on this site.
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The show opened with clips of Triple H announcing the original UK Tournament and the establishment of a WWE UK championship in late 2016.
After the opening, Andy Sheperd is our host and he isn’t allowed to address the pandemic or the virus by name either, and keeps calling it “unique times”. Well, I guess that makes Vince McMahon a unique individual.
WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament Quarter Final Match: Tyler Bate beat Jordan Devlin (6:06; January 15, 2017, WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament 2017 – Day 2, Blackpool/England)
Odd choice, as this was voted worst match of that particular night on the Observer poll for the show.
Bate looked very young and very deer in the headlights coming out. Both men taped brief, current cell phone videos talking about it but neither said anything of particular note and it was more sound bites like “The people got their first glimpse of the Irish Ace.”
Here’s Dave’s original recap of the match from that week’s Observer:
Bate hit a tope right away. He also did a power spot where he pressed Devlin overhead and followed with an airplane spin.
They played off the injury to Burch the night before when they put over Devlin’s enziguri on Bate. Bate won with a quick left jab and a Tyler driver 97. This match was sloppier than most but still got a good reaction and was all action. **½
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They then recapped the rest of the tournament, including Bate beating Pete Dunne in the finals.
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Next up was a look at the second WWE UK Championship tournament in June of 2018 in Royal Albert Hall.
WWE United Kingdom Championship #1 Contendership Tournament Quarter Final Match: Zack Gibson beat Gentleman Jack Gallagher (13:37; June 19, 2018, WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament 2018 – Day 2, London/England)
Dave, at the time wrote:
In the first of the quarterfinals of the U.K.. tournament, Zack Gibson beat Jack Gallagher with the Shankly Gates arm submission. It was notable that they used a newcomer to advance over a main roster wrestler, but Gibson should be a top heel on the new television show.
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After that, they recapped Zack Gibson winning the tournament, Moustache Mountain winning the NXT tag team titles over Undisputed Era and Triple H announcing the NXT UK brand.
Mark Andrews vs. Joe Coffey w/ Mark Coffey (7:38; NXT UK #1, aired October 17, 2018, Cambridge/England)
Here’s my original report on the match:
Coffey tried to use his strength to immobilize the smaller Andrews, but he managed to repeatedly flip out of some armlocks until Coffey overpowered him.
Andrews is back with some armdrags and a great-looking springboard huricanrana. Coffey hit a mean pounce, a seemingly very European kind of body check, as it’s also a popular tool for other Euro big men such as Avalanche and Dante (the former tag team partner of Aleister Black).
Coffey continued to show his brute strength by grabbing Mandrews by the neck, spinning him around a few times just for the heck of it and hitting a butterfly suplex. Nigel mentions that Joe Coffey actually was Kurt Angle’s opponent at the latter’s last singles match for ICW back in 2016.
While Mark Coffey distracted the ref, Joe takes Andrews out with a stiff clothesline, forcing Andrews out of the ring.
Back in the ring, Mandrews channeled his best inner football player and slid under a clothesline attempt on his knees and hit a quick enziguri. He followed with a very cool combination of some double knees in the corner, a lucha roll-up, double foot stomp and a standing, twisting moonsault for a near-fall.
Coffey quickly recovered and launched himself at Andrews with a running/diving headbutt into the corner, followed by a quick power slam that almost got him the win.
He went for a vertical suplex, but Andrews countered it into the Stuntdog Millionaire, before hitting he top rope.
Mark pulled his brother to ringside and assumed safety, but Andrews hit a big moonsault on both of them.
Andrews, grasping at victory went to the top again but Mark Coffey once more proved to be a major distraction as he grabbed at hs leg, leading to a Joe Coffey overhead belly-to-belly from the middle rope and a brutal lariat for the pin in 7:38.
Post-match, the Coffey Bros. once more went to attack Andrews but Flash Morgan Webster came out with his helmet in hand for the save.
A very fun mean guy/quick guy match that showcased the strengths of both guys.
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Up next, a look at Pete Dunne.
WWE United Kingdom Championship #1 Contenders Match: Pete Dunne beat Trent Seven (14:45; WWE United Kingdom Championship Special, May 7, 2017, Norwich/England)
Here’s the report on the match from this site:
They went back and forth off a collar-and-elbow tie-up before Dunne circled around to try and gain a good position on the damaged right arm of Seven.
Dunne took him down and tortured him for a bit, but Seven escaped and landed a series of chops. Dunne was pulled off the second rope and ate a left arm lariat to the gut for 1.
Dunne went behind, but Trent’s rope escape left the arm open for a hard shot to the arm. They brawled to the floor and Dunne landed a nasty forearm strike to the jaw. This allowed him to trap the arm in the steps and kick the arm into the post.
Dunne talked smack on the apron and ate a slap before kicking away, but opened himself up to a Dragon suplex on the apron! They were both down for a 9.5 count before rocketing back in. This got a well-deserved “this is awesome” chant and it’s easily the best match on TV in at least a month.
Trent went up top for a superplex, but Dunne attacked the hand. Trent still went for a Dragon suplex off the top, but Dunne flipped to his feet and landed a forearm before eating a backfist and then landing an enziguri.
Dunne ran off the rope, but ate a lariat for 2.5.
Trent tried for a Seven Star lariat, but a bodyscissors counter opened the door for the Kimura. Seven recovered and hit a Dragon suplex and a backfist.
Dunne avoided a wrist clutch burning hammer and landed the Bitter End to win it
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They next looked at Dunne winning the championship from Tyler Bate at NXT TakeOver: Chicago, then defending it against Joe Coffey at the first ever NXT UK TakeOver in Blackpool.
The show ended just as that show did, with WALTER coming out and facing off with Dunne.
In an in-set video, Dunne said that he knew the match needed to happen.
Taped at Coventry Skydome in Coventry, England on March 6, 2020
Quick results:
Kay Lee Ray beat Dani Luna in a quick match, then got run off by Piper Niven when she kept attacking Luna
Finn Bálor faced off with Tyler Bate backstage
Bate will be in a 20-men battle royal in two weeks for a shot at WALTER’s NXT UK title
Ridge Holland beat Joseph Conners in a competitive match
Mark Andrews was attacked backstage, taking him out of the main event
Kassius Ohno beat Kenny Williams
A-Kid and Noam Dar will meet next week
Gallus beat Dave Mastiff, Flash Morgan Webster and substitute partner Trent Seven
Full rundown:
The show opened with a recap video of Finn Bálor calling out WALTER and pinning Alexander Wolfe last week.
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WWE NXT UK Title Match: Kay Lee Ray (c) pinned Dani Luna after the Gory Bomb (02:36)
Luna used her power advantage and hit multiple waist lock takedowns and dazed KLR, then managed a roll-up for a two count.
The champion came back and applied a sitting abdominal stretch, then landed a near fall of her own.
Luna came back with a deadlift back suplex off a missed dropkick by KLR for another two count.
KLR then capitalized on a mistake by Dani and hit the Gory Bomb for the quick win.
After the match, KLR kept attacking Luna and went for another Gory Bomb but Piper Niven ran out to make the save sending KLR packing.
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In a WWE.com exclusive video from after last week, Finn Bálor was shown walking through the backstage area with everyone staring at him, including Johnny Saint and Sid Scala.
He came upon Tyler Bate and they stared each other down. Bate then went to Saint and Scala and asked for an opportunity to “knock Bálor down a peg.”
They told him that opportunity might come eventually, but he would be in a 20-men battle royal in two weeks for a chance to compete for the NXT UK championship at NXT UK TakeOver: Dublin.
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Nina Samuels talked about facing Aoife Valkyrie next week
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Ridge Holland pinned Joseph Conners after Northern Grit (7:45)
They locked up and Holland got the easy advantage. Conners tried some evasion tactics, but got ran over by the massive Holland repeatedly. Holland hit a tilt-a-whirl slam, then rained down forearms on Conners.
Holland stumbled to ringside and got hit with a dive by Conners, who followed with a forearm from the top back inside the ring. Conners worked over Holland’s leg, as Holland tore his quad during his rugby career. Conners pulled him into the ropes from the apron, then kept attacking the leg further.
Conners went for Don’t Look Down but got blocked, then pulled of a small package but Holland escaped. He went for Northern Grit, but also got thwarted. Conners rammed Holland’s leg into the ring post repeatedly.
Holland finally came back with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex when he caught Conners off the top rope, then followed up with a second one.
Holland hit a head butt and a lariat, then pounced Conners halfway across the ring, before collapsing and grabbing his leg. Holland got Conners from ringside, but Conners escaped to the apron on the other side, then launched himself over the top for an STO.
Holland then finally got Conners up for Northern Grit. After some struggling, Holland hit the move for the win.
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Mark Andrews was down backstage grabbing his leg, seemingly after an attack. Mastiff and Flash Morgan Webster were there to tend to him when Gallus walked up and said they had nothing to do with it.
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A video package on Ilja Dragunov aired.
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Kassius Ohno beat Kenny Williams when the referee stopped the match as Ohno had Williams in the Kassius Clutch (6:58)
Ohno quickly got Williams down on the mat, but Williams escaped and turned the tables on Ohno.
They worked over each other’s arms. Williams rolled Ohno up for a two count, then hit some tilt-a-whirl head scissors. Ohno caught him off a body press, but got covered with a crucifix for another near fall.
Ohno pulled Williams off the top rope and worked over Williams’ fingers. Williams came back with some innovative offense, including two dives through the ropes. He hit a double-jump back elbow to the outside, then followed with a dropkick back inside.
Ohno then caught Williams off an attempted wheelbarrow roll-up, hit the rolling elbow to the back of the head, then locked in the Kassius Clutch for the referee stoppage.
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A-Kid was being interviewed backstage when Noam Dar interrupted him and told him his time was over. A-Kid spoke to him in Spanish and Dar replied in French. He told him that he was just “A Kid,” but that Dar was “A Legend.”
A-Kid then challenged Dar for a match next week.
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A video recapped Jordan Devlin winning the Cruiserweight title at Worlds Collide and his history with Travis Banks. They will meet next week.
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Gallus (Joe Coffey, Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) beat Dave Mastiff, Flash Morgan Webster & Trent Seven when Joe Coffey pinned Webster after All the Best for the Bells (9:27)
Seven replaced the injured Mark Andrews.
Seven and Wolfgang started. Wolfgang had the brief advantage before Seven wiped him out with a crossbody and high-angle arm drag. After some quick tags, Gallus singled out Webster as their target of choice and worked him over.
Webster eventually tagged out to Mastiff who ran wild. Webster tagged back in and hit a 450 off the top.
Webster looked to hit poison rana on Joe Coffey but got caught and was put away by the powerslam/kick combo by Mark and Wolfgang, followed by All the Best for the Bells for the win.
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Next week:
Jordan Devlin will defend the NXT Cruiserweight title against Travis Banks. Nina Samuels wrestles Aoife Valkyrie and A-Kid faces Noam Dar.
Taped at York Barbican in York, England on January 17, 2020
Quick results —
Piper Niven pinned Dani Luna in a short match. Luna showed off some of her power.
Tyler Bate defeated A-Kid in a very good but short match. Joseph Conners then came out and berated Bate.
Ashton Smith & Oliver Carter defeated Pretty Deadly (Sam Stoker & Lewis Howley), who are now NXT UK regulars.
Kay Lee Ray came out for a promo and was interrupted by Toni Storm. KLR then challenged Storm to an I Quit match, with the stipulation being that — if Storm loses — she won’t get another title shot as long as KLR is the champion.
Trent Seven got revenge on Eddie Dennis and his TakeOver loss by pinning the Welsh Dragon in a steel corners street fight where all the turnbuckle paddings were removed. This was an insane match with lots of crazy spots that was well worth watching.
Full rundown —
The episode opened with Eddie Dennis and Trent Seven being shown arriving at the arena earlier in the day.
Piper Niven pinned Dani Luna after a Michinoku Driver (4:33)
After she had some matches as a freelance talent on the brand before, Luna recently was signed to NXT UK.
They locked up and Luna actually managed to push Niven, but quickly found herself in a headlock. They smashed into each other. Luna managed to stagger Niven — but she did not go down.
Niven caught Luna off a crossbody, slammed her down, slammed her again, and hit a crossbody of her own on a sitting Luna for a near fall. Niven hit a headbutt that sent Luna to the mat, then sent her into the corner hard. Luna answered a charge by Niven with a kick, then kicked away at her knee.
Luna actually got Niven up on her shoulders, but Niven slipped down and took Luna up on her own shoulders. Luna tried turning the move into a sunset flip, but Niven dragged her up and hit the Michinoku Driver for the win.
– A promo video on Gallus aired. They basically said that the Gallus boys are on top.
– Jordan Devlin was interviewed earlier in the week and said he was the best wrestler under 205 pounds in the world.
Tyler Bate pinned A-Kid after the Tyler Driver ’97 (5:40)
Bate came out to a superstar reaction. They locked up, then A-Kid took Bate down with a waistlock takedown and followed with a headlock takeover. Bate eventually powered out.
They traded wristlocks and athletic escapes, then Bate locked in a side headlock. A-Kid transitioned into a headscissors. Bate escaped with a headstand, but he immediately found himself in the hold again. They traded offense until A-Kid hit a Northern Lights suplex for a two count.
Bate hit an overhead suplex and followed with the running Shooting Star Press, but A-Kid caught him in an armbar. Bate did the Karelin lift and hit the airplane spin, but A-Kid turned it into a sunset flip, then sent Bate to the outside with a dropkick. A-Kid followed with a springboard moonsault to the outside.
Bate caught A-Kid with a dropkick of his own when A-Kid came off the ropes, then hit his rebound lariat and followed with the Tyler Driver ’97 for the win. Bate raised A-Kid’s hand afterwards.
Joseph Conners came out after the match and cut a promo on Bate. Conners said he was there when Bate won the UK title in 2017 and it was success after success for “Mr. TakeOver” while Conners was left on the sidelines. He challenged Bate to face a real man and said he would show everybody how worthy he was.
This was probably one of the best five-and-a-half minute matches of the year and I’d love to see those two go at it again in the future with 10-15 minutes more time.
– Trent Seven was shown preparing for his match backstage.
– A commercial for NXT UK merchandise on WWE Shop aired.
– A recap of last week’s Imperium vs. Dave Mastiff, Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews six-man tag aired, focusing on Mastiff and WALTER. They then showed Mastiff rummaging around backstage after last week’s show, screaming for WALTER.
Ashton Smith & Oliver Carter defeated Pretty Deadly (Sam Stoker & Lewis Howley) after an electric chair into a neckbreaker (5:44)
Pretty Deadly also are new signees for the NXT UK brand after having had some matches there in the past. If there ever is another Worlds Collide, matching them up against Breezango is a no-brainer.
Smith and Howley started out, with Smith demonstrating his power. Both teams tagged in and out a few times with not a lot happening, then Stoker got the upper hand on Smith.
Smith came back with a double clothesline on both Pretty Deadly members. Pretty Deadly used some dirty teamwork to send Smith into the barricades and continued working him over. Smith made his own comeback and tagged in Carter, who hit clotheslines on both members of Pretty Deadly.
Carter hit a uranage on Howley, but Stoker made the save. Pretty Deadly came back with some double-team work, but Smith eventually escaped and came back with a superkick. One superkick party by Carter and Smith later, Carter hit a backbreaker off an electric chair on Stoker for the win.
After the match, Pretty Deadly turned out to be sore losers and attacked their opponents. They threw Carter out of the ring, then hit a double-team codebreaker on Smith.
– Ilja Dragunov was shown training at the Performance Center when a reporter asked him about Joe Coffey. Dragunov said he was there to help Coffey at TakeOver, but if Coffey says his days are numbered, he better count fast.
Kay Lee Ray in-ring segment
Kay Lee Ray said she proved that she was the best at TakeOver and claimed that she would never lose the NXT UK Women’s Championship. She said she now understood why Toni Storm was so desperate to become the champion again, as she saw all the attention that came with being the champion.
Storm came out and said that KLR stole the title from her. KLR then challenged Storm to an I Quit match. KLR also said that if she wins, Storm would not get another title shot as long as KLR was the champion. Storm accepted the terms.
– A graphic announced an NXT UK Tag Team title match for next week. It will be Gallus vs. Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan.
– Eddie Dennis was shown backstage preparing for the main event. The referees were then shown removing the turnbuckles before the match.
– An epic video on Aoife Valkyrie running through some mountains aired.
Steel corners street fight: Trent Seven pinned Eddie Dennis after a Birminghammer (11:27)
Seven immediately attacked Dennis. He stopped short of hitting the exposed turnbuckles, slammed Dennis, and hit a leg drop. Dennis fled to ringside and was hit by a dive.
On the outside, Seven hit a chop that would have made WALTER proud, then went to whip Dennis into the steps, but Dennis reversed. Dennis took apart the steps and looked to hit the Severn Bridge on them, but Seven escaped and hit a DDT on the steps instead.
They brawled into the crowd, where Seven sat Dennis down in a chair and hit another chop. Dennis came back with a whip into the barricade, then actually hit the Severn Bridge over the barricade onto the steel steps. Back in the ring, Seven narrowly kicked out of a pinfall.
Dennis escaped getting whipped into the turnbuckle by sliding under the bottom rope. Seven hit a snap suplex outside, then they brawled into the crowd once more. Dennis back body dropped Seven into the announcers area and took apart the announce desk. Dennis shoved Seven into the desk, then took a swig from a water bottle and spit it into Seven’s face.
Dennis went for another Severn Bridge off the announce table, but Seven escaped and hit the Birminghammer off the announce desk and through a table that was set up in front of the desk.
Seven clotheslined Dennis over the barricade back to ringside. He went for a twisting senton off the barricade, but Dennis moved and Seven crashed to the floor. Dennis then pulled Seven’s mouth into the steel turnbuckle from the other side of the ring post. Dennis smashed Seven’s forehead into the exposed steel.
Dennis went for the Next Stop Driver, but Seven escaped. Seven repeatedly whipped Dennis into the exposed steel, then hit the Birminghammer for the victory.
Next week —
Gallus will defend their NXT UK Tag Team titles against Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan.
A big tag match between two of the top teams in NXT/NXT UK history has been added to the card for Worlds Collide.
DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) will face Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven & Tyler Bate) at the Royal Rumble weekend special. It’s taking place at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on Saturday, January 25 and will air live on the WWE Network.
After Ciampa and Gargano reunited on NXT tonight, the Worlds Collide match was set up by a tweet from Seven: “See @JohnnyGargano and @NXTCiampa are mates again. @Tyler_Bate… Wouldn’t it be wonderful if they could stay mates long enough to fight us? Moustache Mountain vs #DIY? What do you say @RealKingRegal? Possibly #WorldsCollide?”
Gargano saved Ciampa from an attack by Undisputed Era on NXT tonight. After Seven’s tweet was shown, Gargano & Ciampa did an interview and accepted Moustache Mountain’s challenge “for old times’ sake.”
Here’s the updated card for Worlds Collide:
Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, Bobby Fish & Roderick Strong) vs. Imperium (WALTER, Marcel Barthel, Fabian Aichner & Alexander Wolfe)
NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley defending against Toni Storm
DIY (Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano) vs. Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven & Tyler Bate)
Finn Balor vs. Ilja Dragunov
NXT Cruiserweight Champion Angel Garza defending against Isaiah “Swerve” Scott and two NXT UK wrestlers in a fatal four-way match
Taped at The Brentwood Centre in Brentwood, England on October 4, 2019
Quick results:
Imperium had words with Gallus, who mocked the most dominant stable in NXT UK and claimed the brand was their kingdom.
The Grizzled Young Veterans beat Ashton Smith and Oliver Carter in a good match, then also had word with Gallus backstage.
Xia Brookside said she wanted a piece of Kay Lee Ray.
Travis Banks and Ligero went to a draw off a double pin in another entertaining match.
In the main event, Trent Seven and Noam Dar had their long-awaited rematch, with Trent Seven being victorious in a great and action packed bout.
NXT UK will take place at 4 PM GMT/11 AM ET next week, due to Crown Jewel taking place during its usual time slot. It might be 5 PM GMT or 12 PM ET though, as Europe switches from summer time to regular time this Saturday night and for a few weeks, the time difference between the UK and the US will be four instead of five hours.
Full rundown:
Imperium in-ring segment
The show opened with Imperium coming out in full force. Barthel said: “Imperium continues to proof that we are the most dominant force on this brand. Speaking of dominance, the most impressive and most dominant champion of NXT UK history wished to address his kingdom.” WALTER then took over and continued: “There is no man and there is no group that can continue with the might of Imperium. We are here to show you that this mat is sacred to us…”
At that point Gallus came out and laughed at Imperium, mocking WALTER calling NXT UK his kingdom and made fun of Imperium’s motto of “the mat is sacred.” Joe Coffey said they wanted to come out and congratulate Imperium on getting rid of British Strong Style. Mark Coffey said “Since day one, since Jolly Wolly set foot in NXT UK we said that Gallus was coming for gold. NXT UK is our kingdom. You’re either Gallus, or you against us” The crowd chanted Jolly Wolly and the two groups glared at each other.
Xia Brookside shot a selfie vide at the NXT UK Performance Center and talked about beating Nina Samuels last week. She talked about Kay Lee Ray costing her a title shot when she eliminated her from the contendership battle royal back in June. She said she wanted to get her revenge.
Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake & Zack Gibson) beat Ashton Smith & Oliver Carter after hitting Ticket to Ride on Smith (7:54)
Smith early on showed his power, picking Drake up from the mat and hitting a dropkick, before he pulled him up for a ripcord slam into a suplex. After a tag, Carter took over with a ushigoroshi off an electric chair setup. Drake finally managed to tag Gibson, but got hit with with an overhead belly-to-belly by Carter after he back flipped off Gibson in the corner.
Drake finally took over with punches and threw Carter to ringside where Gibson picked him up and Drake launched himself over the top rope with an elbow. The Veterans took turns working over Carter, who finally hit a quebrada and tagged in Smith, who ran wild. Gibson pulled Drake out of the ring, but Smith hit a somersault plancha on both of them.
He hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a near-fall, but got overwhelmed off a blind tag. Drake took out Carter in the corner, by launching himself off Smith’s back and hitting a flying kick. The Grizzled Young Veterans then hit Ticket to Mayhem on Smith for the pin fall victory.
The Veterans proceeded to beat their opponents down after the match, but Mark Andrews an Flash Morgan Webster made the save and scared them away.
Tyler Bate was interviewed about his future backstage. He mentioned new faces like Ilja Dragunov and Oliver Carter, but said he was especially interested in A-Kid and seeing where he would go.
We saw that during the break, the Grizzled Young Veterans made their way backstage and were confronted by Gallus. Gibson told them not to get used to their belts and worry less about Imperium and more about them. Gallus shrugged them off.
El Ligero and Travis Banks wrestled to a draw after a double pin (7:49)
Ligero had the advantage early on, getting Banks down with a pinning combination of a test of strength. banks took over with a wrist lock and an arm bar, wearing Ligero down. Ligero caught Banks in mid-air for another cover, but couldn’t kep him down. Banks came back with a small package off a suplex attempt, as both men traded pinning combinations.
Banks hit a flying knee and a barrage of chops but Ligero powered up and both exchanged chops, elbows and hard shots. Ligero finally hit a kick to to Banks that sent the Kiwi Buzzsaw tumbling to the mat. Ligero missed a senton, allowing Banks to go for a Slice of Heaven, but Ligero rolled him up, then went for another elaborate pinning combination and followed with a back slide.
They battled for another backslide and both rolled over, prompting the referee to count both men’s shoulders to the mat for the double pin.They shook hands after the referee declared the bout a draw.
A video recap aired of the brewing dispute between Jordan Devlin and Dave Mastiff, a graphic then plugged them facing off next week.
Another graphic plugged the debut of A-Kid for next week, which was a blatant lie as he already debuted on April 20 with long-time partner Carlos Romo, losing a squash match to Gallus.
Trent Seven beat Noam Dar pinned Burning Hammer (13:10)
Dar hit a baseball slide on Seven’s head as he rolled into the ring, then threw him into the ring steps and tied his hand to the ring post using Seven’s trademark towel before hitting a basement dropkick to Seven’s head. The referee checked on Trent as he was writhing in pain. The referee asked is he wanted to start the match to which Seven agreed.
As the bell rang, Seven hit a hard lariat on Dar right away for a near fall, then ran wild, making sure to protect his injured arm. He went for the Burning hammer, but Dar raked his eyes and charged Seven in the corner, but got caught with a one-armed slam. Seven went to the top rope, but Dar came flying in and took out his legs, sending Seven crashing down hard. Dar followed with fisherman’s buster, then snapmared the senior member of Moustache Mountain into the ropes.
Dar locked in a modified STF and worked over Seven’s fingers, mocking Pete Dunne in the process. He crotched Seven on the top rope, sending the older man tumbling to ringside. Dar kept mocking British Strong Style, this time grabbing an imaginary moustache and trying to hit a Tyler Driver ’97, but Seven escaped the move.
Seven hit a snap dragon suplex and followed with a suicide dive on Dar on the outside. Seven went to the top rope, but favored his knee. he hit a corkscrew senton, but Dar rolled out of the way. Dar avoided the Seven Star Lariat and hit a Flatliner for a two count. They ended up on the apron with Dar hitting a number of kicks before getting his leg caught.
Seven feigned an attack, then hit a DDT on the apron for a near fall of his own. Both men tried for Seven Star Lariats but neither could hit the move, until Seven evaded on, hit a snap German suplex and finally hit the move, but Dar kicked out of the cover on two.Seven missed a kick into the ropes, after which Dar took out his legs and hit a double foot stomp on Seven’s injured knee.
Dar locked in a knee bar and kicked at Seven, who was on the verge of submission and narrowly reached the ropes. Dar got Trent’s towel and put it around his shoulders, mocking Seven some more. Seven rolled him up with a schoolboy, but could only achieve a two-count.
Dar then took another page out of Pete Dunne’s book with a kick to the back of the neck for a near fall of his own. Seven then hit a square punch to the jaw, snapped Dar’s fingers and finally hit the Burning Hammer (and grabbing back his towel mid-move) for the victory.
Next week:
Jordan Devlin will face Dave Mastiff and A-Kid makes his proper, singles match debut. The show will air at 4 PM GMT/11 AM ET next week. Or an hour later, since WWE obviously can’t figure out the summer/regular time switchover in Europe this weekend.
An NXT UK vs. NXT tag match has been added to PROGRESS Wrestling’s show at Alexandra Palace next month.
WWE announced today that Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) will face Matt Riddle & Keith Lee at PROGRESS Chapter 95: Still Chasing. The show is taking place at Alexandra Palace in London, England on Sunday, September 15.
Bate & Seven are former PROGRESS Tag Team Champions.
Riddle and Seven both previously held the Atlas Championship. The Atlas title was unified with the PROGRESS World Championship when WALTER defeated Seven this May.
PROGRESS’ first show at Alexandra Palace — called Chase the Sun — was held in 2017.
WALTER will defend the PROGRESS Unified World Championship against David Starr at Still Chasing. Meiko Satomura will challenge for the PROGRESS Women’s Championship, which is currently held by Jordynne Grace. There will also be a rumble match to crown the first Proteus Champion. The Proteus Champion will be able to pick the rules for their title defenses.
Pete Dunne makes his return to PROGRESS at Still Chasing. The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) will also defend their PROGRESS Tag Team titles.
Taped June 16, 2019 at Download Festival in Leicestershire, England
Quick results —
Noam Dar pinned Kenny Williams after employing some cheap tactics. Kay Lee Ray, Jinny & Jazzy Gabert teamed together and defeated Xia Brookside, Piper Niven & Toni Storm, with Jinny pinning Brookside after Gabert again helped her out.
In a brutal main event war, WALTER defeated Trent Seven by referee stoppage after destroying Seven with powerbomb after powerbomb.
Full rundown —
– Trent Seven was asked about his thoughts on his match with WALTER later tonight. He said he would take WALTER’s head off. Seven reiterated that he was “here.”
Noam Dar defeated Kenny Williams after a low blow and the Nova Roller (10:10)
They did some back-and-forth action early on, with Dar getting the slight advantage. Dar and Williams each mocked the other when one outsmarted the other.
Things heated up with Williams diving leg-first through the ropes, then sliding to the outside for another attack on Dar. Dar countered with a stiff clothesline off the apron to get back on top. Williams got back in control with a springboard single-leg foot stomp and a jumping back elbow off the top.
Dar rolled up Williams for a near fall, evaded a springboard body press, and hit a fisherman’s buster for another close fall.
Dar locked in a kneebar, then transitioned into an ankle lock, but Williams kicked him off. Dar hit a combination on Williams, but Williams hit a rebound lariat and both men were down for the count. Dar turned another skinning-the-cat type of move into a kneebar, forcing Williams to slowly inch his way toward the ropes and finally force a break to the hold.
Williams’ shoe came off, but he rolled Dar up anyway for a near fall. Dar went to use the shoe as a weapon, argued with the referee, and finally threw the shoe out of the ring, distracting the ref and allowing Dar to hit a low blow, followed by the Nova Roller for the win.
– Radzi Chinyanganya was trying to catch up with the Grizzled Young Veterans. Zack Gibson said they beat Moustache Mountain twice and are the NXT UK locker room leaders. He told Radzi not to ask rhetorical questions and ordered him to find them proper opponents — since Johnny Saint obviously was having a hard time.
– We took a look back at the battle royal to determine the number one contender for the NXT UK Women’s Championship, with Kay Lee Ray winning and last week announcing that she’d face Toni Storm at UK TakeOver: Cardiff on August 31. KLR said she would make Storm’s life a living hell until then.
Jazzy Gabert, Jinny & Kay Lee Ray defeated Piper Niven, NXT UK Women’s Champion Toni Storm & Xia Brookside when Jinny pinned Brookside after an X-Factor (7:38)
KLR and Brookside started out, but Storm quickly blind-tagged herself in, causing KLR to also quickly tag Jinny. Jinny slapped Storm hard, then hit a few punches, but quickly ate a boot for her troubles.
Both women tagged out to Gabert and Niven respectively. Gabert hit a hard forearm, then shoulder blocked Niven to the mat. Brookside and Jinny were in next, with Niven wheelbarrow suplexing Brookside on top of Jinny. After falling victim to a hurricanrana off the second turnbuckle, Jinny tagged in KLR. The heel trio then proceeded to work over Brookside for a few minutes.
Brookside finally managed the hot tag, allowing Storm to run wild on Jinny, hitting a number of German suplexes and a clothesline on her for a two count. KLR tried a sneak attack, but got taken out by Niven. Storm then hit a dive through the ropes on Jinny and Gabert, followed by a cannonball off the apron by Niven and a top rope crossbody by Brookside.
Back in the ring, Storm hit a shining wizard on Jinny, but was attacked by Gabert as she went for Storm Zero. Niven then took out Gabert. Storm tagged Brookside, who tried another attack off the turnbuckle, but Gabert grabbed her leg, allowing Jinny to hit the X-Factor off the turnbuckle for the win.
– A graphic announced that Dave Mastiff would speak out next week, answering Joe Coffey’s challenge.
Non-title match: WWE United Kingdom Champion WALTER defeated Trent Seven by referee stoppage after WALTER kept powerbombing Seven (14:30)
Seven immediately dove onto WALTER as he was still standing in the aisle and proceeded to ram him into the barricades. Back in the ring, the ref finally rang the bell and WALTER came back with some strikes, but Seven threw him to the outside again and hit another dive.
WALTER took over and went to powerbomb Seven onto the apron, just as he had done to Tyler Bate a few weeks ago, but Seven managed an escape via back body drop. Seven went for a Rainmaker-style elbow, but WALTER ducked, locked in a sleeper, and hit a German suplex on Seven.
WALTER hit a few brutal shots and kicks, wearing Seven down, but he would not go down without a fight and hit a chop out of defiance. A body slam later, Seven was back among the ring dust though.
A barrage of chops by Seven later, WALTER’s boot once more connected with Seven’s face, and WALTER’s fists proceeded to cave Seven’s chest in. WALTER locked in a single-leg Boston crab, then transitioned into a reverse chinlock until Seven finally made the ropes.
WALTER missed a kick into the corner, allowing Seven to hit a snap dragon suplex, a number of lariat-type strikes, and finally a super-stiff lariat that sent WALTER to the mat.
WALTER was visually dazed, allowing Seven to hit a number of rapid-fire chops until the ref separated the two off a five count. WALTER then hit a single stiff chop that sent Seven crashing to the mat.
Seven tried fighting back, but WALTER hit a big knee that sent Seven crumbling to the mat again. Seven hit a desperation back fist that sent WALTER stumbling to ringside. Seven wanted to follow up with an aerial attack, but he took too long to reach the top rope, allowing WALTER to send him crashing back into the ring.
WALTER went on top himself, but Seven followed and they fought up top. WALTER went for a top rope powerbomb, but Seven escaped and hit a huge superplex for a two count.
They ended up on the outside once more and Seven tried to hit the Burning Hammer but collapsed. WALTER then powerbombed him on the apron and rolled him back inside. The big Austrian then hit a second powerbomb in the ring, but refused to go for the pin. Instead, he hit a third powerbomb as Marcel Barthel, Fabian Aichner, and Alexander Wolfe walked out and posed in front of the ring.
WALTER hit a fourth powerbomb, then pulled Seven up and hit yet another powerbomb as the referee looked on concerned. WALTER hit one last powerbomb, finally prompting the referee to stop the match.
The show faded to black with WALTER posing in the ring with the WWE UK Championship and the rest of Imperium posing in front of the apron.
Next week —
Dave Mastiff answers Joe Coffey’s challenge. A number of matches taped last weekend in Plymouth will also air.
Piper Niven pinned Rhea Ripley in a hard-hitting match, Alexander Wolfe made his NXT UK in-ring debut by making quick work of Jack Starz, Jazzy Gabert quickly defeated Dani Luna & Mercedes Blaze in a handicap match, and Kassius Ohno called out Mark Andrews for being a fraud.
In the main event, Moustache Mountain came close to defeating the Grizzled Young Veterans for the NXT UK Tag Team titles, but Tyler Bate & Trent Seven were attacked by Imperium as they were at the brink of victory. Seven was handcuffed to the turnbuckles as WALTER destroyed Bate with a number of powerbombs onto the apron and into the ring post.
Full Rundown —
– The show opened with a look back at the history between the Grizzled Young Veterans and Moustache Mountain.
– Vic Joseph and Aiden English were talking about tonight’s main event when Rhea Ripley’s music played and she stormed to the ring. She grabbed the mic and demanded that, instead of settling things between her and Piper Niven later tonight, they settle things now. Niven’s music played and she ran to the ring and got right into Ripley’s face.
Piper Niven pinned Rhea Ripley after a Michinoku Driver (8:42)
They started out with strikes and Ripley kind of got the better of things with a kick and strikes, but Niven hit a crossbody out of the corner and threw Ripley to ringside. Niven went after her, but got driven back-first into the apron, then got sent face-first into the post as she recovered and tried to slam Ripley on the outside.
Back inside, Niven kicked out of a cover at one. Ripley kept being aggressive, stomping a mudhole into Niven in the corner. She locked on a triangle and worked over Niven’s arm and hit a number of shots to the head. Niven eventually came back with a shotgun dropkick into the corner, then went up for a Vader Bomb, but Ripley pulled her off and covered her for a two count.
Niven impressively locked in her inverted cloverleaf and pulled Niven almost completely off the mat, but Niven made the ropes. Ripley trash-talked Niven and slapped her hard across the face, but Niven then held onto the ropes and hit a crashing belly-to-back suplex.
Both women got up, grabbed each other’s wrists, and traded stiff clotheslines. Ripley went for Riptide, but she couldn’t get Niven up. Niven hit Ripley with a headbutt, then sent her into the corner and followed with a running cannonball senton into Ripley’s back. She then hit a Michinoku Driver for the win.
– Kenny Williams was asked about what he was thinking when he walked out during Noam Dar’s match last week. As he answered, Dar attacked him and rubbed his face in the mud.
– A graphic announced that Alexander Wolfe vs. Jack Starz would be next. Starz keeps being the guy that gets fed to new NXT UK talent (WALTER, Ilja Dragunov, and now Wolfe).
Alexander Wolfe pinned Jack Starz after a sit-down powerbomb (4:04)
Wolfe walked out wearing just black trunks and a jacket, which was very strange, since I can’t remember ever seeing him not wrestle in a singlet, dating back to his time as Axeman/Axel Tischer in wXw.
Wolfe grabbed Starz and cranked his neck, then transitioned into a wristlock that might as well have been a grip of iron. Starz tried to flip and turn out of the move, but Wolfe held on, then quickly hit a release German suplex.
Wolfe turned Starz’s back to mush with a number of Irish whips into opposite corners, then hit a huge pump kick and a big body slam. Starz briefly fought back and hit a few European uppercuts, but Wolfe stopped that nonsense with a Death Valley Driver and a sit-down powerbomb for the victory. Wolfe then demanded Starz leave the ring.
– Wolfgang grabbed a cameraman and took him into a container where Gallus were meeting. They talked about their dominance and how they’d take out Dave Mastiff and The Hunt. Wolfgang then threw the cameraman out again.
– A graphic announced a statement by Kassius Ohno for later tonight.
– A video announced that Toni Storm would return to action next week.
Jazzy Gabert (w/ Jinny) defeated Dani Luna & Mercedes Blaze in a handicap match (1:43)
Luna started out for her team and got slammed and clotheslined right away. As she tagged out, Gabert grabbed Blaze and threw her into the ring. Luna came back in, but bounced off Gabert with a crossbody. Gabert then hit a Dominator on Blaze for the quick victory.
Kassius Ohno video package
Ohno said NXT UK was in distress and someone like him needed to save the British style. He talked about the “Founding Five” — British Strong Style, Wolfgang, and Mark Andrews. Ohno focused on Andrews, saying that he threw a superkick because of Shawn Michaels, forgetting that it was pioneered by a British wrestler, “Gentleman” Chris Adams.
Ohno called Andrews a disgrace and said Kassius Ohno is the best British wrestler in the world.
– The Grizzled Young Veterans were shown preparing for their match.
– A graphic announced Gallus vs. Dave Mastiff & The Hunt for next week.
Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) defeated NXT UK Tag Team Champions The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) by DQ when Imperium interfered
Gibson and Bate started out and Gibson had Bate in a wristlock, which Bate escaped from. He hit a dropkick to Gibson and tried to hit another one on Drake but came up short when Drake moved. Bate came back, tagged out, and hit a somersault senton from the top on Drake for a near fall by Seven.
Seven and Gibson were in and Seven hit a hard chop. The champs worked over Seven for a while as the crowd chanted “He’s got his own face on his ass/Assface” at Drake. They threw Seven to ringside, then hit a combination backbreaker/springboard elbow on him.
Back inside, Gibson locked in a sitting Cobra Clutch, then tagged out again so Drake could lock in a rear chinlock. Seven finally managed to throw Drake in the corner, but Drake was able to tag in Gibson. Seven then evaded Gibson for a hot tag of his own.
Bate hit a running European uppercut in the corner on Gibson, a dropkick on Drake, and caught Gibson on a corner charge and hit a suplex. He followed with a standing Shooting Star Press. He went for the Tyler Driver ’97 and when Drake interfered, hit a double hurricanrana on both opponents and then a suicide dive to the outside.
Seven was back in for an assisted powerbomb, but the referee was distracted by Drake. Moustache Mountain went for the dragon suplex/lariat combo, but Gibson escaped and hit a combo neckbreaker/superkick on Bate, then a reverse surfboard/leg drop combo on Seven for a near fall.
Drake wrapped his wrist tape around his knuckles for a few stiff shots at Seven, who made one last desperate comeback attempt with the Seven Star Lariat and got the tag.
Bate ran wild on both heels, then caught Gibson in a cradle for a close two count. As Gibson went for a superplex on Bate, Seven tagged in and caught Gibson in a torture rack position while Bate splashed Drake. Seven then hit a Burning Hammer on Gibson onto Drake.
As Moustache Mountain looked to have the match won, Imperium ran out and attacked them.
Fabian Aichner kneed Seven into the ring steps as WALTER held Bate for Wolfe to kick him in the face. Marcel Barthel and Wolfe then handcuffed Seven in the corner. They taunted him as WALTER powerbombed Bate on the apron twice, then powerbombed him into the ring post on the outside, all while the rest of Imperium forced Seven to look on.
Wolfe taunted Seven with the key to the handcuffs, then threw it into the crowd. The show went off the air with Imperium posing on the apron and their music playing while Seven screamed in agony and Bate laid motionless on the outside.
Next Week —
Gallus faces Dave Mastiff & The Hunt. Toni Storm will also be in action.
Taped April 20, 2019 at the Braehead Arena in Glasgow, Scotland
Quick results —
Jazzy Gabert & Jinny defeated Xia Brookside & Isla Dawn, then Ilja Dragunov answered Joseph Conners’ challenge and quickly was victorious in an intense match.
In a tremendous main event, Imperium (WALTER, Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) defeated British Strong Style (Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) when Alexander Wolfe made his NXT UK debut, joining his colleagues from the European mainland and helping them gain the victory in this important bout.
Full rundown —
The show opened with a great video montage, analyzing the formation of Imperium and their budding feud against British Strong Style. The two teams will clash in our main event tonight.
Jazzy Gabert & Jinny defeated Isla Dawn & Xia Brookside with Jinny pinning Dawn after a Dominator by Gabert (4:15)
Jinny and Dawn started out, with Dawn gaining the upper hand off an arm lock. The babyface team worked well together early on, causing Jinny some trouble until she finally tagged Gabert.
The Alpha Female didn’t mess around, immediately locking a standing armbar on Brookside and ragdolling her around from one side of the ring to the other. Brookside tagged Dawn and she went to town on Gabert, but also quickly got caught with some strikes by the former MMA fighter.
Gabert hit a Dominator on Dawn, then tagged Jinny so she could get the pinfall victory for her team. Jinny and Gabert posed on the apron after the match.
– A very good video on Ligero aired. He talked about his childhood, telling a story on how he was born with one eye closed and only had surgery to correct the issue when he was eight years old. Ligero discussed how he was ridiculed at school for his look. He chose to wrestle under a mask, as it gave him more confidence and it made him more memorable and made him stand out more than anyone else to the fans.
– Kenny Williams was interviewed and asked about Noam Dar. He said Dar always was a cheater, but it didn’t concern him. He said he faces Kassius Ohno next week and only needs his luck.
Ilja Dragunov defeated Joseph Conners after hitting the Torpedo Moscow (4:48)
They started out with an intense lockup with neither man being able to get an advantage. Dragunov chopped Conners down and hit a standing senton, then applied a brutal neck crank, following up with some strikes. Dragunov hit an Inoki-style jumping head kick.
Conners briefly took over with a few strikes of his own, then locked in an armlock, but Dragunov powered out, much to Conners’ disbelief. Dragunov hit a running lariat into the corner, but Conners countered his second attempt at the move, then hit a sunset bomb into the corner.
Dragunov quickly recovered, caught a springboard attack by Conners, and hit a Death Valley Bomb into the turnbuckle. He hit a huge overhead back suplex, then did his UN-BE-SIEG-BAR chant in the corner and hit the Torpedo Moscow for the victory.
– Toni Storm was being interviewed about Kay Lee Ray. She said everyone was looking for the “shiny-shiny” but it was staying “home sweet home.”
– A graphic announced a women’s battle royal for next week to determine the number one contender for Storm’s NXT UK Women’s Championship.
– A video feature on Travis banks aired. He talked about being very relaxed out of the ring, in a stark contrast to his intense in-ring persona. Banks said he’s very goal-oriented and wanted to be the first Kiwi wrestler in Royal Albert Hall “in about 50 years,” but lost in the UK number one contender’s tournament to Zack Gibson.
Banks said his shoulder injury got him focused and set things into perspective. He said it was frustrating not being able to wrestle at NXT UK TakeOver in Blackpool, when Jordan Devlin attacked him before the match.
Banks said winning the fatal four-way was what he was working towards, and now he has a shot at WALTER. he said it would take more than a chop or a powerbomb to beat him. He said it would be great to win the WWE United Kingdom Championship — and it would be even cooler to win it from WALTER.
– The Hunt were shown bursting out of the locker room, uttering animalistic noises. They screamed that next week, the hunt would be on for Gallus.
Imperium (WWE United Kingdom Champion WALTER, Fabian Aichner & Marcel Barthel) defeated British Strong Style (Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate & Trent Seven)
Moustache Mountain came out to their music, then Pete Dunne’s music played and he came out and joined them on the stage. While Bate and Seven interacted with the fans, Dunne entered the ring and was all business.
Imperium came out, doing the Ringkampf pose (which I probably should start calling the Imperium pose) to a blank, white Titantron that eventually turned black to read “Imperium – WALTER – Barthel – Aichner.”
Dunne and Aichner started and Dunne immediately started beating up Aichner, but the man from South Tyrol came back with a lariat from out of the corner and knocked Dunne down. Dunne took back over, working over Aichner’s arm, then tagged in Bate and they attacked Aichner’s arms together.
Barthel tagged in and quickly took over, pounding Bate into the mat. Seven tagged in and they hit a double-team fireman’s carry slam/somersault senton on Barthel. Barthel took back over, then tagged in the champion.
WALTER immediately took over, but Seven ducked a chop and hit a number of chops of his own. After a quick intermezzo by Aichner, WALTER finally hit a chop that flung Seven to the mat as if he was struck by lightning.
Aichner was in next, working over the weakened Seven, including hitting a high-angle Saito suplex. WALTER was back in and after a quick retaliation by Seven, the Austrian giant hit a hard boot, then beat up Bate in the corner just for good measure. Dunne ducked his attack, but couldn’t do any damage to WALTER from the apron.
Imperium did a good job of isolating Seven and methodically picking him apart. Barthel was back in and aggressively asked Seven “Was ist los mit dir?” (“What’s up with you?”). Aichner was back in, locking a body scissors on Seven and trying to get a choke in, but Seven managed to turn it into a pinfall attempt.
Seven finally hit an enzuigiri and managed to tag out to Dunne while Aichner tagged WALTER. Dunne took over, but WALTER held his own. Dunne did his back flip from the top, but WALTER had him scouted well and hit a hard chop to the back. Dunne and WALTER traded high German suplexes, after which both men were down.
They both managed to tag out and it was Bate and Aichner next. Bate hit a jumping European uppercut on Aichner, then caught Barthel in an exploder and suplexed him onto Aichner. He got the airplane spin on Aichner and then Barthel and was looking to do the same to WALTER, but he was saved by Aichner. Bate briefly held his own against all three members of Imperium.
Aichner hit a backstabber on Bate, while Barthel came off the second turnbuckle with a double foot stomp as Aichner held Bate in position. Bate managed to hit both Aichner and Barthel with his springboard double lariat, then managed to tag out to Seven, even though WALTER tried to hinder him from doing so.
Dunne hit the Bitter End on WALTER, followed by a corkscrew plancha by Bate, but Barthel made the save for WALTER.
A man dressed in black with a hoodie and a face mask slowly walked out as Seven accidentally hit the referee, sending him out of the ring. The masked man got into the ring and unmasked as Alexander Wolfe, then hit a Liger Bomb on Bate as WALTER rolled the referee back into the ring. Barthel covered Bate for the victorious fall.
After a brief pause, Wolfe joined his new Imperium brethren in the ring and they did their pose as the show went off the air. Of course, Wolfe as Axel Tischer/Axeman was an integral part of wXw in Germany from 2009 to 2015 and also is a part of the Ringkampf stable/brand, alongside WALTER, Barthel, Veit Müller, and formerly(?) Timothy Thatcher.
Next week —
A battle royal to determine the next contender for Toni Storm’s NXT UK Women’s Championship will take place and Kenny Williams faces Kassius Ohno. Both matches, along with a number of others, are probably being taped over the weekend at Download Festival in Donington Park in Leicestershire.
Kassius Ohno beat Ligero after trying to tear off his mask and hitting the rolling elbow. Kay Lee Ray beat NXT’s Xia Li, but not before staring down Toni Storm, who was out to cut a promo before the match. Moustache Mountain beat Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster in a great, fast-paced main event.
Full rundown:
Nigel and Vic talked about tonight’s main event, before we went straight to our first match.
Kassius Ohno pinned Ligero in 10:08 after a rolling elbow to the back of the head
The story here was that Ohno was the bigger and stronger guy and decided the action in the ring for a long time. As Ligero was looking to finally gain the advantage, Ohno resorted to unfair tactics to take the victory. The crowd hated Ohno and were into Liger, but not as much as back in the UK.
Ohno told Ligero to show him what he got and slapped him a few times. Ligero tried a few spots, but Ohno countered, avoided or overpowered Ligero. The Leeds Luchador finally got the advantage off a head scissors that sent Ohno to the outside and followed up with a somersault senton off the apron. He miscalculated on the follow-up though and Ohno once more took over. Finally, Ligero, who was almost out on his feet, managed to catch a kick by Ohno and came back with leg kicks and a running knee to the face and hit a splash from the middle of the top rope for a near-fall.
Ligero went for Sliced Bread off the top but Ohno turned it into tombstone attempt, but Ligero rolled through for another near-fall. As Ohno fled to the outside, Ligero hit a somersault over the top rope, then hit Sliced Brea off the ring steps. Both narrowly made it back into the ring, but as Ligero went for a cutter through the ropes, Ohno caught him, started to tear his mask off and as Ligero was looking to put it back on, Ohno hit the rolling elbow to the back of the head for the victory.
— Jordan Devlin was pissed off that his match with WALTER next week was a non-title match, because Johnny Saint wanted to protect WALTER for “the rematch of the century” against Pete Dunne
— A highlight video for “The Hunt” aired; they’ll be in action next week.
— Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner walked through WrestleMania Axxess and complained about fans thinking they could be champions and how back in the day, you had to work for the privilege of winning a title. They repeated once more their mantra of “The Mat is Sacred” (identical to RINGKAMPF’s motto of “Die Matte ist heilig”).
Toni Storm came out to cut a promo in the ring. She said it was awesome to represent the NXT UK brand on the most important weekend of the year. She talked about all the great women on the brand and said she’s be the champion for a very long time. As she was ready to walk backstage again, Kay Lee Ray’s music hit and she stared Toni down as she made her way to the ring.
Kay Lee Ray pinned Xia Li in 5:25 after the Widow’s Peak
Xia Li got to show off some good offense, but this pretty much was the Kay Lee Ray showcase, as she clearly is being groomed for a title match against Toni Storm.
Li made her NXT UK debut here and Nigel talked about her background as a practitioner of kung fu and how she defended her family back in China after her father’s death when she was in her teens.
Both women traded offense right away but Kay Lee got the better of it quickly. Kay Lee Ray kept the upper hand after some mind games backfired, but Li got to show off some of her kicks, Ray hit a crescent kick and drove Li into the post, then followed up with kicks and strikes in the corner. Li eventually got to show some offense, hitting a snap mare off an atomic drop attempt, a kick to the back and a hard kick to the chest. She missed a double foot stomp though and Kay Lee Ray picked up the win with the Widow’s Peak.
— Piper Niven was signing autographs and was asked about Rhea Ripley, She said that while Rhea was a great athlete, she was looking forward to how she would react to someone a little too big to push around.
— The Grizzled Young Veterans were upset backstage, throwing Amir Jordan and Kenny Williams’ gear out into the hallway, raging on about how they were locker room leasers and Jordan and Williams could get dressed in the hallway.
Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) beat Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews in 12:28 when Seven pinned Webster after a combined Burning Hammer/flying knee drop
These two teams had a tremendous, fast paced match that had great aerial offense, mat wrestling and a good amount of drama. The crowd was into both teams and it was a great showcase for all four men,
Bate and Andrews started out with Andrews gaining the upper hand off an arm bar but Bate worked his way out of it and they traded holds and counter-holds. Both men tagged out and Webster tried tackling Seven off his feet, but failing miserably. He switched tactics and used his athleticism to take Seven down. Seven feigned a chop and as Webster ducked, he hit a quick DDT. After tagging again, Bate hit a somersault senton off the top onto Andrews and Seven worked him over some more, doing a good job of isolating him from being able to tag out.
Finally Webster made it back in, immediately hitting a springboard dropkick on Bate and a springboard moonsault on Seven. The offense didn’t take long though as Bate staged his own comeback, culminating in a double airplane spin/giant swing,. Bate got thrown tot he outside, but caught Webster off a plancha and did another airplane spin on the outside. An exploder later, Seven was back in, but Mark Andrews slid under Moustache Mountain and hit a double Pelé kick on both men, then Andrews and Webster hit stereo somersault planchas to the outside. Andrews then hit an assisted 450 onto Seven for a near-fall.
Moustache Mountain hit a combined slingshot lariat/dragon suplex on Andrews, but Webster came off the top with a somersault senton to break up the pin. Bate missed a slingshot lariat when Andrews slid under him, then hit a reverse rana, assisted by a running knee from Webster. Seven quickly tagged back in and hit a Burning Hammer, assisted with a flying knee drop by Bate on Webster to pick up the win.
Both teams shook hands after the match.
Next week:
WALTER faces Jordan Devlin in a non-title match and The Hunt will be in action.
Amir Jordan & Kenny Williams narrowly defeated Fabian Aichner & Marcel Barthel, with Williams rolling up Aichner. This seems to set up Jordan & Williams as the next challengers for the NXT UK Tag Team titles, even though the Grizzled Young Veterans disputed that claim in an in-ring segment later in the show.
Kay Lee Ray made her in-ring debut on NXT UK, beating Isla Dawn. Jinny attacked Toni Storm and left her laying before their match next week.
In the main event, Joe Coffey bested Trent Seven and submitted him after working over his back for much of the match.
Full rundown —
The episode opened with a graphic advertising Pete Dunne defending the WWE UK Championship against WALTER this Friday at NXT TakeOver: New York.
Amir Jordan & Kenny Williams beat Fabian Aichner & Marcel Barthel in 7:58 when Williams rolled up Aichner for the win
Barthel and Jordan started it off, with Barthel teasing his “NEIN!” spot but instead opting to school Jordan on the mat and work over his arm. Jordan hit two dropkicks and decided to do his dance, drawing the ire of Barthel and eating a double strike to the throat for his disrespect of the mat.
Both men tagged out and Williams sent Aichner to the outside with a hurricanrana. Williams wanted to follow, but Barthel told him “NEIN!” and Aichner hit both faces with a double clothesline from behind.
Barthel hung Jordan head-down over the ropes and Barthel and Aichner hit a double dropkick at him, with Barthel in the ring and Aichner running over on the outside and hitting one on the apron. After a hot tag, Williams hit a springboard back elbow on Barthel and a flying kick on Aichner.
Barthel went for the Landungsbrücken suplex, but Williams hit a bulldog to counter out of it. Williams then hit a kick through the ropes on AIchner — but as he skinned the cat back inside, Barthel hit him with a kick and sent him outside. Jordan went to hit a crossbody on Aichner on the outside, but Aichner caught him and hit a backbreaker.
The finish came as Aichner had Williams up for a vertical suplex, but Williams kneed him in the head and managed a flash pin with a quick roll-up.
– Radzi Chinyanganya interviewed Rhea Ripley as she entered the building and quizzed her on Piper Niven. Ripley said she’ll destroy her. Niven makes her NXT UK in-ring debut next week.
– Radzi talked to Johnny Saint and Sid Scala, but they were interrupted by Jordan Devlin. Devlin asked how WALTER could walk in and just be gifted a title match while he had to sit on the sidelines. Scala gave him a non-answer and Devlin said he’ll be watching TakeOver very closely.
Kay Lee Ray pinned Isla Dawn after a Gory Bomb
Kay Lee Ray started out by working over Dawn’s arm, but Dawn managed to counter out of the hold. They traded near falls early on — until KLR hit a kick, locked on a hammerlock, and drove Dawn into the corner. She transitioned a modified Fujiwara armbar into an armbar, but Dawn managed to escape once more.
KLR was in control after some creative offense and a dive to the outside. Dawn came back with a belly-to-back suplex for a near fall but ate a chop and superkick for her troubles. KLR then hit the Gory Bomb for the victory.
– Radzi interviewed Toni Storm backstage, but she quickly was attacked by Jinny, who viciously beat her down. Storm was down and the referees called for help.
– Travis Banks talked about looking up to Kassius Ohno years ago. He challenged him for a match down the line.
Grizzled Young Veterans in-ring segment
The NXT UK Tag Team Champions came out wearing nice suits and ties. The fans had their shoes off — because they hate Gibson. Gibson introduced the team and said they were not dressed to compete because Gibson was not medically cleared to wrestle, blaming Oney Lorcan for busting up his eardrum.
Gibson said fans, wrestlers, and even Vic Joseph talked about how they have a chip on their shoulder. He said they had been overlooked while others were given opportunities. He said Amir Jordan & Kenny Williams got one lucky victory and there are already rumors they may be champions. He asked on what grounds that would be the case and said they hadn’t been in the business for five minutes.
Gibson said he and Drake would soon be recognized as the most important champions anywhere.
– A graphic confirmed Travis Banks would face Kassius Ohno next week.
Joe Coffey submitted Trent Seven in 14:13 with a Boston crab
They traded body shots early and took each other down with tackles. Seven hit a DDT after Coffey tried to duck a chop. They ended up outside, where Coffey drove Seven into the barriers. He slammed Seven on top of them, then bent Seven’s back around the ring post.
Coffey applied a shoulder lock and worked over Seven’s back on top of that, then applied a bear hug to further weaken his opponent.
Seven eventually made his comeback with a dragon suplex and a slam, then hit a plancha to the outside. He tried a spinning somersault plancha from the top, but Coffey evaded him and Seven landed on his already injured back. Coffey hit a lariat, a German suplex, a pounce into the corner, and a powerbomb for a close near fall. Coffey tried to pick up Seven for another powerbomb, but Seven took him down and applied the figure four leg lock.
Coffey finally made the ropes as Seven kept punching his knee. Both men battled on the apron and Seven finally managed to back body drop Coffey, prompting the Scot to crash hard to the mats at ringside.
Seven ended up on the outside as well and barely beat the 10 count to make it back in. Coffey hit an uppercut but missed a crossbody off the top. Seven used this opportunity to hit the Seven Star Lariat, but Coffey managed to kick out. Seven went for the Torture Rack. His back gave out and Coffey hit a powerbomb, but Seven kicked out once more.
Coffey then locked in a single-leg Boston crab. Seven struggled to make the ropes, but Coffey transitioned into a full Boston crab and Seven had no option but to eventually tap.
– The show closed out with a great video for the WWE UK title match between Pete Dunne and WALTER this Friday at TakeOver: New York
Next week —
Toni Storm faces Jinny, Piper Niven debuts, and Kassius Ohno takes on Travis Banks.
PROGRESS Wrestling is unifying their men’s division singles titles.
It was announced today that PROGRESS World Champion WALTER will face Atlas Division Champion Trent Seven in a unification match at Alexandra Palace in London, England on Sunday, May 5. That’s the second day of PROGRESS’ Super Strong Style 16 tournament.
WALTER has been World Champion since winning the title from Travis Banks in July 2018, while Seven has held the Atlas title since defeating Doug Williams in September. The Atlas Championship was introduced in 2016 as a title for wrestlers over 205 pounds.
This year’s Super Strong Style 16 is taking place at Alexandra Palace from May 4-6. Travis Banks, Ilja Dragunov, and Trevor Lee have already been confirmed for the tournament, with the winner receiving a future title shot.
WALTER, Seven, Banks, and Dragunov are part of the NXT UK roster, while Lee reported to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida earlier this month.
NXT UK’s first TakeOver special also featured the crowning of the brand’s inaugural Tag Team Champions.
Zack Gibson & James Drake defeated Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) in the opener of UK TakeOver: Blackpool to become the first NXT UK Tag Team Champions. Gibson and Drake won with their Ticket to Mayhem double-team finisher (Drake lifting Seven in position for a tombstone and Gibson then hitting a codebreaker).
There was a spot leading into the finish where Bate was on Gibson’s shoulders on the outside and Drake took Bate out with a spear after ducking a lariat from Seven and diving through the ropes.
On-screen authority figures Johnny Saint and Sid Scala came out to the stage after the match to applaud and raise Gibson and Drake’s hands.
Moustache Mountain wore British Bulldogs-inspired gear during the match. In an homage to Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid, Seven hit a running powerslam and Bate then hit a diving headbutt for a near fall at one point.
Gibson & Drake defeated Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews to advance to the finals of the Tag Team tournament, while Moustache Mountain defeated Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang). Gibson & Drake had already been a team before tagging together in NXT UK, with them known as the Grizzled Young Veterans outside of WWE.
WWE’s first-ever NXT UK TakeOver special takes place at 2 p.m. Eastern time (7 p.m. GMT/8 p.m. CET for those in Europe) in Blackpool, England today.
In the main event, Pete Dunne is looking to defend his WWE UK Championship and carry on his 603-day reign against Joe Coffey. The feud between these two has been brewing for months now, with both men’s respective groups, British Strong Style and Gallus, getting involved.
Dunne snapped Coffey’s fingers during a contract signing a few weeks ago and got powerbombed through a table for his troubles. Most recently, Gallus were victorious over British Strong Style in a six-man tag team match during the go-home show for this TakeOver special. This should be a hard-hitting match with both men wanting to prove they can carry the main event of the brand.
On the undercard, Dunne’s BSS brethren, Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven), are facing Zack Gibson & James Drake in the finals of a tournament for the NXT UK Tag Team Championship in what should be a strong match. Bate and Seven beat Gallus in the semifinals, while Gibson & Drake defeated Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster.
In a rematch of the finals from another tournament, NXT UK Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley will defend her title against Toni Storm. These two had a great match back in August, when Ripley first won the title and Storm legitimately injured her back during the match and was out of action for about a month. Both women have looked strong in recent matches on NXT UK, so I expect another good match between them.
Dave Mastiff will take on fellow monster Eddie Dennis in a no DQ match. Mastiff initially beat Dennis a few months ago in their first match and the feud has been brewing ever since, with both men attacking the other and a second match ending in a double disqualification. This is a modern take on an unstoppable force meeting an unmovable object and will be a proper mean guy match.
Jordan Devlin also will face Travis Banks in what will be a great platform for both men to showcase their in-ring prowess. The story here is a simple one, in that the patriotic Irishman is blaming his opponent from New Zealand of not loving his home country as much as Devlin loves his.
There will also be a pre-show on the WWE Network starting at 1:30 p.m. Eastern (6.30 GMT/7.30 CET).
**********
Pre-show:
Vic Joseph and Nigel McGuinness opened the show with shots of the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool and ran down the card. A number of recap videos summarized the stories behind the individual matches.
A video on the new WWE UK Performance Center aired, with highlights of Paul Levesque’s speech and sound bits by Charlotte Flair, Finn Balor and Pete Dunne.
Radzi Chinyanganya had breaking news from backstage and they showed a video of Travis Banks the arena and getting attacked by Jordan Devlin, throwing him into a stack of backstage ramps and a wall, looking to injure Banks’ left knee. Radzi stated that Banks had been medically cleared for his match with Devlin though.
Main show:
A video recapped the history of NXT UK talent, starting with the original UK Championship tournament from Blackpool in January of 2017 leading to this first NXT UK TakeOver.
1. NXT UK Tag Team Championship tournament finals: James Drake & Zack Gibson beat Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) in 23:46 after hitting Ticket to Mayhem on Seven
This was a great opener, showcasing the strengths of all four men. Story of the match was Seven first injuring his left arm on a dive, then also getting his knee attacked and eventually succumbing to the heels.
Bate and Seven were wearing red and black tights, in a tribute to the British Bulldogs. Johnny Saint presented the NXT UK tag team titles in the ring.
The fans were crazy right from the get-go, cheering on Tyler Bate and taking off their shoes to show their disdain for Gibson. Early story was Bate countering Gibson’s offense, including impressively flipping backwards through a bridge on his neck on a pinning attempt. Moustache Mountain were on offense in the first few minutes, including Bate cat and mousing his way around Drake in a way that I’m sure made Johnny Saint proud.The heels finally took over around the 7 minute mark by outsmarting Seven outside the ring, and Gibson nailing him in the throat.
Gibson and Drake hit their move where Gibson picked up Seven for a backbreaker on the outside and Drake dove over the top rope onto him. Seven bled from the back of the head, courtesy of a stiff elbow by Drake. Seven was in trouble for a few minutes until he finally managed a hot tag to Bate, who managed to pick up first Drake and eventually both Drake and Gibson for an airplane spin to massive “Big Strong Boi” chants. He also gave Drake and exploder from the apron onto Gibson on the outside, following by a running shooting star from the apron on both on the outside. In another hommage to the Bulldogs, Seven hit a running power slam, followed by a diving headbutt by Bate.
Gibson foiled a snap dragon/lariat combo by hitting a Ticket to Ride on Seven, then Helter Skelter, followed by a 450 by Drake for a close near fall. Gibson then locked in Shankly Gates on Seven and Drake managed to lock in the same move to Bate as he tried to make the save, until Bate managed to pick Drake up and slam him into Gibson as we entered the home stretch of the match. Moustache Mountain finalls hit the snbapdragon/lariat, but Seven’s arm was injured so the move didn’t it with full force and Drake kicked out. Gibson pulled Bate off the apron on his shoulders and Drake speared him on a dive in a “holy shit” kind of moment. Gibson and Drake finally hit Ticket to Mayhem on Seven to become the NXT UK tag team champions.
Johnny Saint and Sid Scala were out to congratulate the new champs.
“The Irish Ace” Jordan Devlin vs. “The Kiwi Buzzsaw” Travis Banks never took place
The scene of Devlin attacking Banks as he arrived at the building aired again before the match. Banks came out slightly limping, wincing as he crouched down during his entrance, slapping his knee repeatedly. Banks immediately attacked Devlin before the bell as he came down the ramp. Devlin threw Banks into the steps knee first before they kept brawling around ringside. Devlin repeatedly attacked Banks’ knee, kicking it on the steel steps. NXT UK Assistant GM Sid Scala came out with a number of referees to break things up. They eventually took Banks backstage as Devlin cut a promo in the ring. Johnny Saint came out and talked to Scala, and stated they had a backup plan as they were afraid Devlin might try something like that.
Finn Balor then came out as a replacement and the place exploded. Balor of course, is Devlin’s original trainer.
2. Finn Balor beat “The Irish Ace” Jordan Devlin in 11:45 after hitting Coup de Grâces
The gist of the match here was Devlin taking his former trainer to the limit, thwarting Coup de Grâces three times before finally succumbing to the move. They had a fast-paced, technical match with lots of hard hits and often countering or mirroring each other’s offense.
They went face to face when Devlin slapped Balor, who responded with a striking combination. He went for Coupe de Grâces right away, but Devlin rolled out of the ring, thwarted Balor’s comeback and worked him over around ringside, before mocking Balor’s pose in the ring. Balor eventually took back over and went to the top for Coup de Grâces again but Devlin dropkicked him off the rope and to the outside, where he almost was counted out.
They traded chops until Devlin quickly hit his uranage/standing moonsault combo for a two count. Both men traded abdominal stretches and the story was that neither could get a real advantage over the other, as they knew each other’s moves so well. Devlin eventually hit a head butt and his pull up high angle back drop driver for a near fall.
Balor hit a penalty kick from the apron on Devlin and went up for Coup de Grâces a third time but again got thwarted. Devlin hit a beautiful moonsault but Balor got his knees up. Fourth time was the charm, as Balor finally hit Coup de Grâces for the win.
– Luke Menzies, a rugby player from 2007-2017, was shown in the crowd. Menzies signed in May of 2018 and has been on NXT but not NXT UK television yet.
3. No Disqualification: “Bomber” Dave Mastiff beat Eddie Dennis in 10:43 after hitting a rolling cannonball senton through a propped up table
This was the hard-hitting weapons match most people expected. Dennis was dominant throughout the match, using a cane, chair and table to beat down Mastiff and also exposed the floor on the outside. Mastiff fought back throughout the match and eventually managed to smash Dennis through a table for the win.
They started trading strikes, ending with Mastiff hitting a running cross body. They ended up outside and Dennis ended up being thrown in the steps. Mastiff waisted little time and pushed the steps into the ring, but Dennis got a Singapore cane from under the ring and clanked Mastiff in the skull with it, then hit a Russian leg sweep with the aid of his newly found weapon.
Mastiff took a number of licks with welts visibly building up, until he got hold of the weapon and used is against his nemesis. Dennis finally caught Mastiff off another cross body and hit a Black Hole Slam onto the steel steps for a near fall. After a chair got introduced, Dennis used a mistake by Mastiff and picked him off the ropes for the Severn Bridge, which looked impressive. Dennis got a table, which prompted a loud “tables, tables, tables” song by the fans, to the tune of “No Limit”, the 1990’s Eurodance hit.
Mastiff hit a rolling fireman’s carry on the exposed arena floor, followed by a senton. Dennis came back with the Next Stop Driver, which also was an impressive feat of strength. He tried another Severn Bridge, looking to smash Mastiff into a table propped up in the corner but he managed to escape, hit a release German and his rolling cannonball senton through the table for the victory.
– they showed Kay Lee Ray from Scotland and “Alpha Female” Jazzy Gabert from Germany in the audience. Both were in the 2017 Mae Young Classic. Ray was reported to be signing with WWE in recent weeks while Gabert was offered a deal back in 2017 but didn’t clear medicals due to herniated discs. She had surgery to fix that problem and was part of the recent WWE tryouts in Cologne, Germany as a spectator.
4. NXT UK Women’s Championship: Toni Storm beat Rhea Ripley (c) in 14:49 with Storm Zero to win the title
This was a hard-hitting strong style match with both women looking good. Toni was in trouble for most of the match as Rhea was dominating her for minutes at a time. This was a redemption story for Toni who won the Mae Young Classic before challenging for this title and eventually overcoming the odds against her bigger and stronger opponent.
They circled each other for a while, then Rhea attacked but neither woman could get an early advantage. Rhea fled from Toni but got wiped out by a dive from the challenger. Rhea started working over Toni’s back, trying to capitalize off her old injury and locked in some body scissors to put pressure on her lower back and hips. Rhea kept being the dominant force of the match with repeated suplexes, slams and legdrops, then rag dolled Toni around the ring.
Storm finally came back with a big head butt of a whip that put both women down. They traded strikes and transitioned into the Frye-Takayama spot. Storm got the better of it and hit tow Germans, but couldn’t get Storm Zero. Rhea tried for Riptide as well, but Toni thwarted that attempt as well. They traded submission holds with Ripley’s inverted clover leaf and Storm going for an ankle lock, then hitting a hip attack and a German suplex hold for a near fall.
Ripley hit Riptide around the 12 minute mark for a very close near fall. Ripley continued to beat her down with short arm clotheslines, but Toni escaped on the third attempt and hit Storm Zero for a near fall of her own. Storm then escaped another Riptide attempt and hit Storm Zero to win the NXT UK Championship for the first time. Toni went and celebrated with the fans in the crowd.
– Charlotte Flair was shown watching the show in the crowd.
5. WWE UK Championship: “The Bruiserweight” Pete Dunne (c) beat “The Iron King” Joe Coffey in 34:15 by submission from a sitting triangle and joint manipulation
This was a tremendous, highly dramatic match with both guys giving everything they had, taking a few brutal bumps and a number of near falls. Both were exhausted by the end and both hit thier finishers numerous times to no avail until Dunne finally managed to make The Iron King submit.
Coffey came out with the rest of Gallus. but they did not accompany him down the ramp while Dunne came out on his own. Coffey stood with his arms folded in the ring while Dunne looked on disgusted.
They traded arm and wrist locks early until Dunne briefly took over with some of his sadistic joint manipulation and submission attempts. Coffey tried for his discus lariat early but Dunne avoided it. Dunne kept going for moves that would weaken Coffey’s arms and hands. Coffey impressively transitioned a double wrist lock into a deadlift vertical suplex, but Dunne managed to swing back down and lock the move in again until Coffey finally hit a suplex to escape.
Dunne took a nasty spill on his face on a throw to the outside but quickly hit a back flip over Coffey off the steps and an enzuigiri to stun his challenger, but found himself on the receiving end of a high angle slam onto the rampway. Coffey took over the match at that point, primarily working over Dunne’s back until the Bruiserweight managed to stage a comeback with a number of hard strikes and hitting a moonsault quebrada to the outside and an X-Plex back in the ring but it was obvious his back was hurt. This led to Coffey hitting a big powerbomb for a close near fall, then locked in a Boston crab. It briefly looked like Dunne actually had passed out but he finally managed to make the ropes in dramatic fashion.
In a unique spot, they traded head butts to the shoulders and eventually, went both down. Dunne avoided the lariat, then hit an STO and locked in the Koji Clutch. Dunne then transitioned into an ankle lock off a deadlift into a tombstone by Coffey. Both men went for their finishers but neither could hit it, until Dunne finally managed to hit the Bitter End but Coffey kicked out at 2.9. They fought on the apron and Coffey hit a sit-down powerbomb onto the apron as both men fell to ringside and just made it back inside by 10.
Coffey rained down blows and stomps on the champion but the champ got his second win and came back with stomps of his own. In the melee that followed, Coffey hit the lariat, but Dunne again kicked out just barely as the crowd started going crazy. Dunne locked in an armbar which he managed to keep on even when Coffey lifted him onto the top rope and finally managed to slam him down with one arm.
Both men looked exhausted as the match went into what appeared to be its home stretch. They traded blows once more and Dunne had Coffey in the ropes but Coffey managed a come back with a Mount Everest German suplex for another near fall. Coffey then went for the Bitter End, but Dunne escaped and hit a Bitter End of his own but couldn’t get the pin as Coffey rolled out of the way. Coffey finally hit the discus lariat from the apron but it looked like he didn’t catch Dunne with full force.
They battled on the top rope and both fell down, with Coffey taking a nasty spill to the outside, then a few minutes later the same spot led to both tumbling to the outside and into the barrier but somehow made it back into the ring. Dunne hit a discus lariat and Bitter End but still couldn’t get the win. Dunne then locked in an arm bar and bent the fingers to finally make Coffey tap out.
– As it looked like the show was about to go off the air, the familiar tune of “Aus der Neuen Welt”, Antonín Dvořáks’ 9th symphony hit and The Ring General WALTER made his way down to the ring as Pete Dunne looked shocked. He entered the ring and stared down the champ. Joe Coffey tried to get back in the ring but the Austrian powerhouse nonchalantly kicked him in the head and hit the Ringkampf pose while Dunne stood there with the WWE UK Championship dangling from his mouth. WALTER then left and slowly walked down the ramp again, having made his intentions clear to dethroned the Bruiserweight after more than 600 days.
Episode 24 (taped November 25, 2018 at the Liverpool Olympia in Liverpool, England)
Quick results:
Ligero beat Joseph Conners. Travis Banks beat Tyson T-Bone in a short match, marred by Jordan Devlin coming out during the match. Banks won anyway and then sent Devlin packing. Gallus (Joe Coffey, Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) beat British Strong Style (Pete Dunne, Trent Seven & Tyler Bate).in a tremendous 25 minute match, leading up to Dunne and Coffey facing each other for Dunne’s WWE UK Championship this Saturday at NXT TakeOver: Blackpool.
Full rundown:
A video of the Gallus/British Strong Style rivalry and tonight’s six men tag main event match opened the show.
Ligero beat Joseph Conners in 5:21 after a springboard tornado DDT
Conners for weeks talked about the “shiny new toys” of NXT UK, mentioning guys like Ligero vowing to break them. Ligero started out strong, hitting Conners with a number of quick moves. Conners eventually managed to take over by pushing him into the ring post on the apron, then hit a hard clothesline in the ring for a near-fall. Conners continued to aggressively work Ligero over. Ligero finally came back with a fireman’s carry and kick to the head, but was quickly stopped again. Conners started to tear at Ligero’s mask, but Ligero eventually hit his springboard tornado DDT for the win.
Radzi interviewed Zack Gibson and James Drake backstage about their upcoming NXT UK tag team title match at NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool. Gibson reiterated that they were undefeated and said they were so confident that they cleared a space on their mantelpieces and would take to Facebook Live for an early celebration. He said they were “sssssoon to be recognized the NXT UK Tag Team Champions”.
British Strong Style and Gallus were shown preparing for their match backstage.
A Dave Mastiff/Eddie Dennis aired. Mastiff talked about their rivalry, stating that he was the only undefeated monster in NXT UK and that Dennis was jealous and he would be the victor in their no disqualification match.
Travis Banks beat Tyson T-Bone in 2:08 with A Slice of Heaven
T-Bone was aggressive from the start, rag dolling Banks around and hitting him with some hard strikes, but Banks came back with strikes and a running shotgun dropkick, followed by a double foot stomp into the corner. 90 seconds in, Jordan Devlin’s music played and he came out, dressed like Banks. As this was not RAW, Banks only briefly was distracted, but took right back over, eventually hitting a Slice of Heaven for the pin.
Devlin then entered the ring and attacked Banks, but Banks quickly hit a Slice of Heaven on him and sent him packing.
A recap video of the Toni Storm/Rhea Ripley rivalry aired, featuring the NXT UK Women’s Championship finals between them, followed by Ripley’s dominant title reign and Toni winning the Mae Young Classic and challenging for the title.
A segment ran down the NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool card, including a breaking news announcement of Travis Banks facing Jordan Devlin
Gallus (Joe Coffey, Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) beat British Strong Style (Pete Dunne, Trent Seven & Tyler Bate) in 25:29 when Joe Coffey pinned Tyler Bate after a spinning lariat
Bate and Joe Coffey started things off to massive Tyler Bate chants. Bate got forced into a bridge off a test of strength, with Coffey going for a number of pin attempts before fighting his way back to his feet. All six men briefly faced off before the referee could restore order. Seven and Wolfgang were in next and Seven hit a cross body before chaos between all six men broke out again. Now Dunne and Mark Coffey were in. Dunne quickly hit a hard clothesline before another melee broke out, this time ending in a big brawl with Gallus ending up at ringside.
Back in the ring, Dunne started stretching Mark Coffey and British Strong Style quickly tagged in and out, working over Mark Coffey until Bate crashed into Wolfgang and the heels got the advantage, working over the Big Strong Boi. At one point, Bate took a great Bret-Hart-style chest-first bump into the corner before managing the hot tag to Trent Seven. who took over like a house of fire on all three men, prompting Wolfgang and Mark Coffey to hi each other inadvertently a number of times. This ended when Joe Coffey smashed him shoulder-first into the ring steps on the outside to turn the tables once more.
Gallus worked over Seven for a few minutes before he finally managed to hit a big superplex on Joe Coffey and make the hot tag Pete Dunne. He hit an X-Plex on Mark Coffey and locked in a knee bar on Wolfgang, who eventually managed to tag Joe Coffey. Dunne immediately locked Coffey in a triangle, and then, as Coffey tagged Wolfgang who came off the top rope, Dunne caught him in an arm bar.
Wolfgang eventually suplexed his way out and Dunne tagged Bate. Bate and Coffey had a few great spots, ending with Coffey missing a springboard body press and Bate hitting a running shooting star. Bate escaped a wheel barrow spin by Coffey, then picked him up for a long air plane spin. Coffey escaped a Tyler Driver ’97 attempt and then both men went down after trading strikes.
Both tagged out to Seven and Mark Coffey with Seven hitting a ripcord DDT before all three members of British Strong Style hit a triple power bomb on Mark. Bate then hit a dive on Wolfgang. Dunne and Mark Coffey were in the ring, but Dunne got distracted when Joe Coffey has his WWE UK title on the apron. Joe Coffey hit a big power bomb on Dunne for a very close near fall, with Bate breaking up the pin.
After some more chaos, Dunne and Joe Coffey ended up together in the ring, doing the Frye-Takayama exchange of strikes. Dunne stomped on Coffey fingers but ate a spear in return. Dunne thwarted a second attempt with a hard knee to the head. Dunne broke Coffey’s fingers and hit the Bitter End, but didn’t see Wolfgang getting tagged in. Dunne tagged Bate, who hit a corkscrew senton on everybody on the outside. Bate hiot a rolling kick on Wolfgang who managed to tag out to Joe Coffey. Bate went for his springboard lariat, but Coffey caught him with the spinning lariat for the pin in the finish to a great match,
Pete Dunne faced off with Gallus from the apron as the show went off the air.
Next episode:
The fallout from the first ever NXT UK TakeOver special, probably with matches being taped this coming weekend.
Also, don’t miss NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool this coming Saturday at 2 PM ET (7 PM BST, 8 PM CET) on the WWE Network (pre-show starts half an hour earlier).
