A date has been set for A-Kid and Tyler Bate’s Heritage Cup Championship match.
WWE has announced that A-Kid will defend his Heritage Cup Championship against Bate on the Thursday, May 20 episode of NXT UK. Bate became the number one contender to the Heritage Cup Championship by defeating Noam Dar in a Heritage Cup rules match at NXT UK: Prelude earlier this month.
This will be the second time Bate has challenged A-Kid for the Heritage Cup Championship. Last December, A-Kid defeated Bate to retain the title. A-Kid pinned Bate in the sixth and final round to win by two falls to one.
Bate has been friends with A-Kid and his on-screen mentor. In a promo that aired on NXT UK this week, A-Kid said Bate is someone he’s always looked up to — but it’s also very special to know that he doesn’t have to look up to Bate anymore. He just has to look Bate in the eyes and wrestle him.
A-Kid and Bate each have a win against each other in NXT UK. Bate defeated A-Kid on an NXT UK episode that aired in February 2020
A-Kid became the inaugural Heritage Cup Champion by defeating Bate’s Moustache Mountain tag team partner Trent Seven in the finals of a tournament last November. A-Kid has had two title defenses since becoming champion, retaining against Bate and Sha Samuels.
For the first time in more than a year, Moustache Mountain are set for tag team action.
WWE has announced that Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) will face Noam Dar & Sha Samuels on next Thursday’s episode of NXT UK. It will be the first time Bate & Seven have teamed together since NXT UK returned with new episodes in September of last year.
Bate & Seven teaming against Dar & Samuels comes after Bate defeated Dar at NXT UK: Prelude last week to become the number one contender to A-Kid’s Heritage Cup Championship. Seven was in Bate’s corner for the match, while Samuels was in Dar’s corner.
When A-Kid and Bate’s Heritage Cup Championship match will be taking place hasn’t been revealed. A-Kid became the first-ever Heritage Cup Champion by defeating Seven in the finals of a tournament last November. A-Kid successfully defended the title against Bate in December, winning the match two falls to one.
Two other matches have also been announced for next Thursday’s NXT UK. Joe Coffey will face Eddie Dennis, while Jinny will take on Dani Luna.
On Thursday’s NXT UK: Prelude special, Tyler Bate earned a shot at the Heritage Cup Championship with a victory over rival Noam Dar.
Fought under Heritage Cup rules, Bate defeated Dar in the sixth round, two falls to one, after hitting the Tyler Driver ’97 to get the pin. The win is his fourth straight since he lost to current champion A-Kid in the Heritage Cup finals in December while this was Dar’s first match since he lost in the November’s Heritage Cup semifinals, also to A-Kid.
No date was announced for the rematch, but A-Kid appeared on the show and said he wanted to prove who was the best mat wrestler in NXT UK.
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Thursday’s show also featured some announcements for their regular weekly show, also on Thursdays:
Kenny Williams vs. Amir Jordan: The former tag team partners will go at it next week as Jordan demanded it following Williams turning on him last week.
Nathan Frazer (the former Ben Carter) vs. Saxon Huxley
Dar will host his Supernova Sessions interview segment with special guests former NXT UK Tag Team Champions Gallus.
A special edition of NXT UK will be part of WWE’s WrestleMania week programming.
On today’s NXT UK episode, it was announced that NXT UK: Prelude will air at 3 p.m. EST/8 p.m. BST on Thursday, April 8. It was said that the event will showcase the wrestlers of NXT UK in matches that promise to be some of the most talked about in NXT UK history.
NXT UK: Prelude will be headlined by WALTER defending his NXT United Kingdom Championship against Rampage Brown. Tyler Bate vs. Noam Dar in a Heritage Cup rules match has also been announced for the show. The winner of Bate vs. Dar will become the number one contender to A-Kid’s Heritage Cup Championship.
Heritage Cup matches feature a British Rounds rules format.
WALTER made an appearance on today’s NXT UK episode and told NXT UK general manager Johnny Saint to find a worthy challenger for him. WALTER was then confronted by Brown. Brown said WALTER is a dominant champion, but he’s never faced Rampage Brown. WALTER and Brown started to get into it and Brown shoved WALTER down. Brown declared that he’s going to end WALTER’s NXT United Kingdom Championship reign.
WALTER has been NXT United Kingdom Champion since April 2019. Brown is undefeated since making his NXT UK debut in November of last year.
WALTER appeared on NXT last night, returning stateside for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began. WALTER laid out Tommaso Ciampa on the show. WWE looks to be building toward a match between WALTER and Ciampa, but when it will be taking place hasn’t been announced.
A video with Saint announcing Bate vs. Dar for NXT UK: Prelude also aired on this week’s’ NXT UK episode. Saint said Dar has been pestering him for a Heritage Cup Championship match against A-Kid. Saint said Dar will have to earn the title shot.
A-Kid became NXT UK’s first-ever Heritage Cup Champion by winning last year’s Heritage Cup tournament. He defeated Trent Seven in the tournament finals. Since then, A-Kid has retained the title in matches against Bate and Sha Samuels.
NXT UK: Prelude will air on Peacock in the United States and on the WWE Network everywhere else.
Tyler Bate is set for action on next week’s episode of NXT UK.
WWE has announced that Bate will face Sam Gradwell on NXT UK next Thursday (January 14). This will be just the second time Bate has wrestled since NXT UK returned with new episodes in September.
Bate returned to WWE television on the December 10 episode of NXT UK and unsuccessfully challenged A-Kid for the Heritage Cup Championship. On this week’s NXT UK, a video aired where Bate reflected on that loss. Bate said the loss provoked painful feelings and uncomfortable energy inside of him, but those moments of pain and discomfort present the opportunity to learn a valuable lesson. Bate said he’s learned that as long as he gives his all and is open to learning from a place of absolute authenticity, he’s liberated from the pain that any match can put in front of him.
Bate quoted Bruce Lee by saying “Be like water, my friend.” Bate said he feels what that means and wants to change the paradigm of his art like Bruce Lee did. Bate noted that he believes professional wrestling chose him as a conduit for some greater good that he doesn’t even know yet. Bate said if he acts out of raw and pure authentic self expression, everything will fall perfectly into place.
When the video ended, Gradwell was shown watching it on his phone. Gradwell asked if it was supposed to be inspirational and said the only yogi he respects is Yogi Bear. Gradwell said being like water is terrible advice.
Next week’s NXT UK episode will be headlined by WALTER defending his NXT UK Championship against A-Kid.
Jordan Devlin successfully defended his NXT Cruiserweight championship against Oliver Carter in week 1 of his open challenge series
Noam Dar debuted his Supernova 11 Series talk show; his guests were NXT UK Heritage Cup winner A-Kid and, unexpectedly, a returning Tyler Bate. Dar stirred things up and they ended up agreeing to a Heritage Cup match later tonight
Eddie Dennis and The Hunt pressured Sid Scala into a tag team title match for next week
Isla Dawn beat Xia Brookside after Nina Samuels distracted Xia from the big screen
Saxon Huxley attacked Jack Starz and Levi Muir af the UK Performance Center
A-Kid successfully defended his Heritage Cup championship against Tyler Bate, winning 2-1; Bate scored the first fall with a rollup, A-Kid scored the second fall from a moonsault implant DDT and then turned over a jackknife cover in round 6 for the final pin
Report —
The show opened with Jordan Devlin in the ring as he welcomed us to NXT UK, the show with the real NXT Cruiserweight champion. He kicked off week 1 of the Jordan Devlin’s Cruiserweight Championship Open Challenge. He said every time you saw Jordan Devlin in the ring, the championship was on the line.
Backstage, Ashton Smith was pumping up Oliver Carter and told him to go out there and win for Switzerland (his native country) and Ghana (the country he has his roots in). They came out together but Smith went to the back before the match.
NXT Cruiserweight Championship: Jordan Devlin pinned Oliver Carter to retain the title (06:30)
Devlin beat Carter down, but the challenger came back, showing his athletic prowess with a back flip kick into the corner and arm drags.
Devlin caught Carter’s foot and he went to back flip, but Carter bounced into the ropes and landed right on his neck, which either was a brutal accident or an intricately planned spot. He sold the neck the rest of the match and Devlin worked it over.
Carter came back and even hit a hurricanrana on Devlin, who was on the top rope. Carter hit a uranage, but once more sold his neck and couldn’t follow up on it. He hit an enzuigiri into the corner, but Devlin hit a poison rana, which once more spiked Carter on the neck.
Devlin followed up with Devlinside for the pinfall victory.
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Jinny was interviewed at the UK Performance Center. She was asked about Piper Niven and said that she would deal with Niven on her own time and Niven would not see her coming. But for now, she does not concern herself with Niven and said she tamed wild animals in the past and would do so again.
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Supernova 11 Sessions
Noam Dar hosted the first episode of his new talk segment. The setup was a lounge, complete with a couch and snacks. Dar put himself over, then introduced his guest, the first-ever NXT UK Heritage Cup champion, A-Kid. Dar laid on the couch while A-Kid had to sit on a folding chair.
Dar greeted A-Kid in French, then asked if he spoke English in Spanish. A-Kid said that Dar knew full well he spoke English and in fact, he may speak it better than Dar himself.
A-Kid said after beating Dar in the tournament, he was happy to be here. Dar said he was looking to clear up the misconception that they were rivals and that when A-Kid came to NXT UK, Dar took him under his wing, nurtured him and became his mentor and sensei. A-Kid looked like this was news to him.
Dar even gave him a new name and said after winning the Heritage Cup, he was no longer A-Kid but A-Man. A-Kid told him to stop, that he was in fact not his mentor, sensei or friend. He said a lot of people helped him out, but Dar was not one of them. A-Kid said that no one helped him more than Tyler Bate. Dar ran down Bate and called him a has-been, asking who he ever beat.
At that point, Bate’s music played and he made his return to NXT UK after more than 9 months. Dar played all nice and clapped, but Bate blew him off and congratulated A-Kid on winning the Heritage Cup. He said he wished he could have been in the tournament and Dar immediately picked up on it, asking if what Bate meant to say was that he would have beaten A-Kid. Bate said that’s not what he said and not to put words in his mouth.
Dar said they should have the match tonight and he even would go to Johnny Saint to request it, so that they could find out who was the student and who was the master. Bate and A-Kid agreed to have the match and shook hands on it.
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Eddie Dennis and The Hunt walked into Sid Scala’s office. The Hunt positioned themselves on either side of Scala and growled at him menacingly, then began to throw things off his desk.
Dennis asked about who were the previous tag team champions (Mark Andrews & Fash Morgan Webster) and who beat them last week (The Hunt). He demanded that the Hunt get a title match against Gallus.
Scala, clearly scared, stammered that he had to talk to Johnny Saint about that. Dennis told him to go and do that, then snapped his fingers and left with The Hunt.
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A graphic announced the A-Kid vs. Tyler Bate Heritage Cup match for tonight’s main event
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Isla Dawn pinned Xia Brookside (05:24)
Both women were more aggressive than in the past and had a back and forth match.
They brawled on the outside after a dive by Brookside when a stagehand set down a number of bags and suitcases by the ringside area. Nina Samuels appeared on the screen and told Xia (who beat her a few weeks ago) that “Brooksides are only good for carrying my bags.”
This distracted Xia, who walked right into a head kick by Isla. Dawn followed with a Saito suplex for the win.
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Sid Scala was being interviewed about how things were going at the NXT UK Performance Center when Saxon Huxley came crashing out of a room, screaming “Better luck next time!” and smashing some trash cans.
Scala and the camera ran into the room, where Levi Muir and Jack Starz where on the floor after having been attacked by Huxley. They had told Huxley after his last match week that he may have “better luck next time.”
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A graphic announced Gallus defending the NXT UK Tag Team Championships against The Hunt for next week.
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A quick reminder about the Heritage Cup rules:
All matches consist of six three-minute rounds with 20-second breaks between each round.
All matches are 2 out of 3 falls.
Falls can be won by pinfall, submission, or countout.
Once a fall occurs, the round ends.
The match ends once a wrestler has won two falls.
In the event of a disqualification or knockout, the match instantly ends without the need for two falls.
If all six rounds are completed, whoever is ahead on falls wins the match.
If there is a draw on falls, the match continues under sudden death rules with no time limit.
NXT UK Heritage Cup Championship: A-Kid beat Tyler Bate two falls to one to retain the Cup (16:56)
Bate looked phenomenal and in even better shape then before his pandemic induced break from the ring.
Round 1
The stared out with mat work and traded holds and counters for most of the round. They were locked in a knuckle lock as the round ended.
Round 2
They traded straightjacket holds for half of the round, A-Kid then transitioned into some BJJ in the final minute. luring Bate into his guard. They grappled some more as the round drew to a close.
Round 3
Bate went for an airplane spin early, but A-Kid escaped and hit a snap German. They traded more counters and Bate eventually rolled up A-Kid with an O’Connor roll for the pin at 1:47. (Bate 1-0)
Round 4
A-Kid was more aggressive now and had Bate locked in a triangle, which Bate power-bombed out of right as the round ended.
Round 5
A-Kid hit a springboard moonsault on DDT on Bate to score a pinfall in 1:00 of the round (Tied 1-1)
Round 6
They traded strikes and kicks early. Bate threw A-Kid through the ropes but held on to his leg, then went for a deadlift vertical suplex but A-Kid escaped. Bate went for his springboard lariat but A-Kid caught him and turned it into an armbar and went for a Jim Breaks Special, but Bate eventually escaped. Bate went for a jackknife pin, but A-Kid flipped him over and scored the deciding fall at 2:04 of the round. (A-Kid 2-1)
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Bate shook A-Kid’s hand after the match and raised his hand.
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Next week —
Gallus defend the NXT UK tag team championship against The Hunt.
One of the brand’s top stars returned on this week’s episode of NXT UK.
Tyler Bate made his return to WWE television during the debut of Noam Dar’s Supernova Sessions talk show segment on today’s NXT UK. It set up a match where A-Kid retained his Heritage Cup Championship against Bate in this week’s main event.
Bate won the first fall in the match, but A-Kid won the next two falls to retain. Though he was visibly disappointed after his loss, Bate shook A-Kid’s hand and raised his arm in the air. Bate was still looking at A-Kid and the Heritage Cup trophy while leaving the ring.
A-Kid was Dar’s guest for the Supernova Sessions segment. A-Kid had defeated Dar in the semifinals of the Heritage Cup tournament. Dar tried to claim that he took A-Kid under his wing and became his mentor when A-Kid came to NXT UK. Dar also took credit for A-Kid’s Heritage Cup win. A-Kid clarified that Bate was his mentor. After Dar insulted Bate, Bate’s music hit and he made his return.
Bate congratulated A-Kid on winning the Heritage Cup, but Bate said he wished he could have been part of the tournament. Dar tried to stir up issues between A-Kid and Bate and suggested they face each other later in the show. Bate was receptive to the idea and A-Kid said it’s the least he could do for Bate.
Prior to today’s episode, Bate hadn’t appeared on NXT UK since the brand went on hiatus this March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. NXT UK returned with new episodes airing starting in September.
A-Kid became the first NXT UK Heritage Cup Champion by defeating Trent Seven in the tournament finals last month.
Yeah, I’ve spoke to him obviously here and there and you know, been around to his house and met up with him and stuff . And you know, this year has been incredibly complex for everyone, you know what I mean? I feel like no matter who you are in the wrestling industry, the year 2020 has taken a bit of a toll on you. So there’s a big part of it where he’s had to… he’s had to do a little bit of soul searching. He’s had to go have a look at how he spends his money, how he lives his life, how he — the time he spends away from wrestling, what kind of influences is Tyler Bate looking at to improve his life, you know what I mean? There’s so many little aspects of things — and we have to remember and we have to remind ourselves, this guy is 22 years old. He won the UK Championship at the age of 19. That’s not a normal life for anyone. There are no 19 year olds on the planet that are WWE champions. It’s career-defining, and I think a lot of responsibility and a lot of power got put on Tyler’s shoulders at such a young age and I feel like that’s the point of this last year is him learning how to deal with that and like, him learning how to cope with the fame and how to cope with the pressure and how to cope with the limelight so, yeah. He’s been okay man. But, it’s a humongous learning curve for someone at the age of 22 to learn going into being a WWE champion.
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.
Tyler Bate’s rivalry with Jordan Devlin and Trent Seven’s feud with Eddie Dennis will lead to matches at NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool II.
This week’s NXT UK episode opened with authority figures Johnny Saint and Sid Scala announcing Bate vs. Devlin and Seven vs. Dennis for the TakeOver special. The card for the show is now up to five announced matches.
The Empress Ballroom in Blackpool, England is hosting UK TakeOver: Blackpool II on Sunday, January 12. This is NXT UK’s third TakeOver event. The first was held in Blackpool last January, while the second took place in Cardiff, Wales in August.
Here’s the updated lineup for the show:
WWE United Kingdom Champion WALTER defending against Joe Coffey
NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray defending against Toni Storm and Piper Niven in a triple threat match
NXT UK Tag Team Champions Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) defending against The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake), Imperium (Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner), and Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster in a four-way ladder match
This was a highlights show with clips of some of the best matches from the brand in 2019.
Full rundown:
Tom Philips and Nigel McGuinness sat in an empty arena and wished everybody happy holidays. They briefly talked about the great year the NXT UK roster had and ran down the announced matches for January 12th’s NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool II.
The NXT UK Women’s Championship
They threw it to the Toni Storm vs. Rhea Ripley match from the first NXT UK TakeOver from Blackpool.
Toni Storm pinned Rhea Ripley after hitting Storm Zero to win the title (14:49)
These were highlights from their match on the January 12 NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool which Dave Meltzer rated ***¼. This was followed by a Storm highlight video and a brief studio promo. She said 2019 had been great and she could not wait for January 12, 2020 to come around so she could become a two-time NXT UK women’s champion.
Kay Lee Ray pinned Storm after hitting a gory bomb to win the title (9:52)
These were highlights from their match on the August 31 NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff which Dave rated ***¼.
This was followed by a video of Piper Niven’s debut and a promo where she said she told her mum as a kid that she would be famous one day. A graphic then announced the Ray vs. Storm vs. Niven match at Takeover: Blackpool II.
The Jordan Devlin vs. Travis Banks rivalry
Jordan Devlin beat Travis Banks in a falls count anywhere match
From the March 6 episode of NXT UK, this was a highlight package of the two brawling and Banks hitting a crossbody off the stands on Devlin who was on the floor.
The NXT UK Tag Team Championship
The Grizzled Young Veterans did a promo from the tapings at Download Festival.
James Drake & Zack Gibson beat Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) in 23:46 after hitting Ticket to Mayhem on Seven to win the inaugural tag team titles
These were highlights from their match on the January 12 NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool which Dave rated as ****½. This was followed by a Grizzled Young Veterans highlight video and Gallus calling them out and Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster joining in on the fun
In a three-way, Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster beat The Grizzled Young Veterans and Gallus (Wolfgang & Mark Coffey) when Webster pinned Gibson to win the titles (20:17)
These were highlights from their match on the August 31 NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff which Dave rated as ****½. This was followed by a promo by Webster and Andrews about their year. They claimed they would climb the ladder and become two-time champions at TakeOver: Blackpool II. A graphic then announced the four-way ladder match between Gallus, Imperium, the Grizzled Young Veterans, and Webster & Morgan.
Forces to be Reckoned with
Dave Mastiff and Joe Coffey brawled to a double countout
These were highlights from their match at the August 7 episode of NXT UK. This was followed by a promo by Mastiff who talked about how he would unleash “the proper British heavyweight: on NXT UK.
Never Bet Against the Ace
Jordan Devlin beat Dave Mastiff after a second rope Devlinside
These were highlights from their match at the October 31 episode of NXT UK. This was followed by a Devlin promo putting himself over. He then addressed Tyler Bate as the two will meet at TakeOver: Blackpool II.
— Tom and Nigel were back, talking about Devlin and then transitioning to Ilja Dragunov. They briefly talked about Dragunov vs. Cesaro from TakeOver: Cardiff.
Dragunov vs. Cesaro
Cesaro beat Ilja Dragunov with the Neutralizer (12:26)
These were highlights from their match on the August 31 NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff which Dave rated ****.
Another highlight video followed showed both male and female NXT UK stars, culminating with Trent Seven and Noam Dar.
Trent Seven vs. Noam Dar
These were highlights from the October 4 episode of NXT UK, a match Seven won.
The WWE UK Championship
Pete Dunne and Joe Coffey signed their contract for NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool
On the January 2 episode of NXT UK, Coffey powerbombed Dunne through a table.
WALTER beat Jack Starz
These were match highlights from the January 30 episode of NXT UK. In his in-ring debut, WALTER punished Starz and left a huge handprint on Starz’ chest. Afterward, Tom and Nigel talked more about the match and Nigel had them replay the chop over and over again while Philips cringed. Nigel then went to chop Tom as the screen displayed technical difficulties and asked us to stand by.
After a graphic for WALTER vs. Joe Coffey at TakeOver: Blackpool II, Philips complained about getting chopped and Nigel told him it was for patronizing his country by wearing a Union Jack pin on his lapel.
WALTER pinned Pete Dunne after a top rope splash to win the WWE UK Championship (25:40)
These were highlights from their match on the April 5 NXT TakeOver: New York which Dave rated ****¾. This was followed by a highlight video, detailing the formation of Imperium.
WWE UK Champion WALTER pinned Tyler Bate after a lariat to retain (42:12)
These were highlights from their match on the August 31 NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff which Dave *****. This was followed by a promo by Joe Coffey who said he’d leave his mark on WALTER and leave with the WWE UK Championship at TakeOver: Blackpool II.
— Nigel and Tom concluded by announcing Ilja Dragunov vs. Alexander Wolfe in a no disqualification match as the main event for next week’s episode of NXT UK.
Two TakeOver matches edged ever closer to being booked as Eddie Dennis and Trent Seven clashed in the ring, and Tyler Bate challenged Jordan Devlin after Devlin almost cost Bate his match against Noam Dar.
Amir Jordan returned from injury to pick up the win for his team when he and Kenny Williams defeated Pretty Deadly.
Full recap —
Nigel McGuinness and Tom Philips welcomed us to Hull, England for this episode of NXT UK.
Kenny Williams & Amir Jordan defeated Pretty Deadly (Sam Stoker & Lewis Howley)
Williams and Jordan started well with Jordan knocking Stoker down with a clothesline and Howley down with a strong crossbody. Jordan was making his return here after a shoulder injury, and that didn’t stop him hitting a suicide dive to Howley early on.
Howley distracted the referee while Stoker pulled Jordan off the middle rope, draping his previously injured arm over the top rope. Pretty Deadly took control from here, focusing on Jordan and his shoulder. McGuinness liked the look of Stoker and Howley, calling them handsome throughout the match.
Jordan fought back when a double team flapjack went wrong for Pretty Deadly. Williams got the hot tag and flew with a flying clothesline and a double suicide dive to the outside. A slingblade to Howley shortly after got a two count when Stoker broke up the pin.
Howley got a close two count when he rolled up Williams and grabbed the tights, then Williams had to dig deep and kick out again after a double team gutbuster. Williams fought back with a springboard double back elbow, and Jordan picked up the win moments later with a Swanton Bomb-ay.
– We had an exclusive from last week with Marcel Barthel and Fabian Aichner. They think it is a disgrace they need to fight in a ladder match at TakeOver: Blackpool II for the NXT UK Tag Team titles.
– Ligero was backstage talking about Kassius Ohno, saying he has had nothing but respect for him since they met years ago. He talked about them fighting earlier this year in New York and Ohno cheating to win that match. Ligero said it didn’t matter how much respect he had for Ohno because Ohno had none for him. They will meet in two weeks.
– Trent Seven then came to the ring for a promo. He talked about Eddie Dennis and the recent situation with Michael May. This brought out Dennis, who stood on the stage and stared at Seven while he talked about Dennis’ time off with an injury.
Dennis got closer to the ring while Seven talked about the early days of NXT UK. But when Dennis slowly got into the ring, he sucker-punched Seven with the microphone right in the forehead, cutting him open. Dennis then said, “I’ll see you at TakeOver: Blackpool.”
– We then had a video package for the Kay Lee Ray vs. Toni Storm vs. Piper Niven triple threat NXT UK Women’s Championship match for TakeOver. Niven doesn’t like what her friends have become, and both Ray and Storm promised to leave with the title.
Jinny (w/ Jazzy Gabert) defeated Amale
Jinny made short work of the “French Hope,” pummeling her from the get-go and locking in a rowing boat submission that nearly got the job done after only a minute. Amale just got to the ropes, but Jinny continued her onslaught with stomps to the chest.
Amale briefly fired back with a dropkick and a kick in the corner, but Jinny fought her off and hit the Makeover for the win.
Gabert flattened Amale with a short-arm clothesline after the bell. Jinny demanded another… and another, but Gabert had second thoughts after Jinny demanded the third and walked out on her so-called accomplice.
– WALTER announced that in two weeks time Alexander Wolfe will face Ilja Dragunov for the psychological advantage going into TakeOver.
Tyler Bate defeated Noam Dar
A fantastic match that went back and forth right until the end. They had a good technical start that eventually migrated into both going for their signature moves but neither connecting with any. A good tease of what these two can do together.
Bate made Dar put on the brakes with a headstand in the corner and then sent the Scotsman to the outside. Back inside, while applying a headlock, Bate grabbed his boot and hit Dar over the head with it, but then ate a dropkick to his face when he tried a second headstand in the corner.
Dar took control but couldn’t put Bate away, frustratingly calling the referee a “dafty.” Bate fought back but was caught with a penalty kick to the leg, a running dropkick while on the apron, and then a running snapmare into the steel steps on the outside. Bate just got in at the referee’s count of nine but went straight into some stiff kicks to the chest until catching one and firing up.
Bate pummeled Dar with right hands and a knee lift. He then came flying off the middle rope with a back elbow. He charged the corner with uppercuts and hit an exploder suplex. He eventually nipped up to hit a standing Shooting Star Press for a close two count.
Dar caught Bate out of nowhere with an ankle lock but rolled through for a pinfall attempt. They then exchanged various pin attempts before Dar locked in an omoplata stretch on the mat.
Back on their feet, Bate hit a belly-to-back suplex for another two count but got caught again when he went for another standing Shooting Star. Dar reversed the Bop-Bang into a flatliner, but Bate kicked out at the last moment.
Bate caught Dar with a kick and then hit the ropes shoulder-first looking for his big clothesline, but Dar caught him coming off the ropes with his Champagne Super-kneebar. Bate just got to the ropes in time.
Dar looked like he had the match wrapped up with two big kicks to the head, but Bate kicked out again. Bate hit his rolling kick, then knocked Dar to the outside and followed up with a big dive over the top rope to the floor.
They exchanged forearms inside the ring as the toll of the match was showing on both. Dar went for kicks again. Bate ducked and hit his big clothesline this time, but he only got another close two count.
Jordan Devlin then appeared and distracted Bate. Dar rolled him up — but Bate still kicked out. After a big right hand, Bate hit the Tyler Driver 97 and picked up the win.
Devlin immediately slid right into the ring after the bell, but Bate stopped him in his tracks. As Devlin backed away up the ramp, Bate challenged Devlin to a match at TakeOver. Devlin didn’t respond, but this will probably be added to the card.
Taped at The Brentwood Centre in Brentwood, England on October 5, 2019
Quick results —
NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray pinned Xia Brookside after a Gory Bomb in a non-title match.
Travis Banks defeated Ligero after hitting a Slice of Heaven. What Banks had missed was Joseph Conners attacking Ligero on the outside. Conners then also attacked Banks and cut a promo telling the NXT UK roster that — as long as he suffers — everybody had to suffer.
Alexander Wolfe asked for and got a match with Ilja Dragunov for next week.
in a tremendous main event, Tyler Bate defeated Kassius Ohno after hitting the Tyler Driver ’97. This was worthy of a spot on any NXT/NXT UK TakeOver and probably one of the best matches in the brand’s history. It’s worth going out of your way to see if you rarely watch this show.
Full rundown —
A graphic plugged tonight’s main event of Tyler Bate vs. Kassius Ohno.
Non-title match: NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray pinned Xia Brookside after a Gory Bomb (7:02)
They locked up and KLR applied a wristlock, but Brookside escaped with a side headlock takeover. KLR applied a headscissors on the mat, but Brookside escaped via a headstand. KLR took her down with a hard forearm, but Brookside came back with a crucifix and sunset flip in quick succession for a couple of near falls.
KLR caught Brookside off a crossbody attempt and worked her over on the mat for a few minutes. KLR hit a front face suplex and then went for a Gory Bomb, but Brookside escaped.
Brookside hit a spinning headscissors takedown and then eventually hit a hurricanrana off the ropes. KLR then stopped Brookside’s offense with a superkick and hit the Gory Bomb for the pin.
– A video recapped the history between Imperium and Ilja Dragunov and Dragunov joining Gallus in their battle with Imperium last week.
– A video with Piper Niven aired. Niven said she was a plus-sized athlete and wanted to give people confidence and always is happy when she hears people tell her she inspired them.
Travis Banks pinned Ligero after hitting a Slice of Heaven (10:03)
This was a rematch from their bout a few weeks ago that ended in a double pin.
They shook hands to start the match, but Banks followed up with a kick that missed. They traded punches, then took each other down with simultaneous kicks to the face. Ligero hit a handspring crossbody for a near fall.
Ligero applied an abdominal stretch, then followed up with a number of lariats. They found themselves in a backslide position and again ended up in a double pinfall situation but kicked out.
Banks followed up with a coast-to-coast dropkick from the rope into the corner for another near fall. Ligero caught Banks with a springboard sunset bomb and a Destroyer for a near fall of his own.
Ligero missed a splash from the middle of the rope and they traded cradles, after which Banks hit the Kiwi Crusher for another close two count. Ligero came back with a superplex that hurt both men.
They battled on the apron. Banks hit a fisherman’s suplex on the apron, then tried to follow up with a double foot stomp from the apron to the outside but missed. Ligero hit the C4L to the outside, but as he rolled Banks back into the ring, Joseph Conners suddenly appeared and drove Ligero’s head into the post. Banks didn’t see the attack and hit a Slice of Heaven for the pinfall victory.
Conners then attacked Banks and Ligero and beat both men down. Conners cut a promo, saying this was supposed to be about him and he was supposed to be the first WWE United Kingdom Champion and part of the first NXT UK TakeOver.
Conners screamed that he was worthy, worthy of TakeOver, and who was he (he didn’t specify who he meant) to tell him that he wasn’t worthy. Conners said as long as he was going to suffer, everybody was going to have to suffer along with him. Conners was still wearing the T-shirt from the original UK Championship tournament that took place in January 2017.
– A video on Ridge Holland aired. He had some kind of club which he dragged along a fence and stated “NXT UK — I’ll be seeing ya.” He debuts next week.
– They showed a clip of William Regal visiting with Johnny Saint and Sid Scala at the NXT UK Performance Center. Alexander Wolfe interrupted them and politely asked Saint for a match with Ilja Dragunov. Scala whispered into Saint’s ear, which drew the ire of Wolfe. Saint then agreed that Dragunov and Wolfe could settle their differences next week.
Tyler Bate pinned Kassius Ohno after the Tyler Driver ’97 (24:02)
Ohno applied a wristlock, but Bate worked his way out of it and countered with one of his own. Ohno applied a cravat. Bate escaped and locked in an Octopus hold, then transitioned into a sunset flip attempt, which Ohno turned into a modified Camel Clutch and later a surfboard submission. Bate ended up locking in a side headlock and hit Ohno with his foot for good measure.
Bate did a headstand in the corner and caught Ohno with a headscissors takedown as he rushed in. He followed up with a number of dropkicks, but Ohno turned things around once more and drove Bate into the ring post as Bate was on the apron. As Bate returned to the ring, Ohno brutally assaulted him with kicks and elbows. Ohno called Bate a “stupid boy” as he kept beating on him.
Ohno crashed down on Bate with a senton for a near fall, then hit a hard rolling elbow to the temple. Ohno ended up on the top rope and hit Bate with a hard right, then went for a cravat but turned it into a version of the Kassius Clutch and eventually turned it into a sit-down cravat powerbomb.
Bate got back to his feet and tried going for a German, but Ohno blocked it. After some struggling, the Big Strong Boi eventually hit an exploder suplex on his much bigger opponent. He followed up with a knee strike, a flying European uppercut, a running uppercut into the corner, yet another exploder suplex, and a running Shooting Star Press for a two count.
Bate went for the Tyler Driver ’97 but couldn’t get it. He hit a few uppercuts and tried again, but Ohno gave him a huge back body drop and Bate over-rotated and hit the mat hard.
Ohno hit a cyclone kick for another two count and followed with a number of headbutts. Bate powered back up and hit a number of slaps and eventually got another two count of his own. Bate went for the airplane spin, but Ohno grabbed the ropes and hit a few kicks. Bate came back with clotheslines and kicks, but Ohno kicked him in the neck on the rebound clothesline.
Ohno went up top for a moonsault but missed. Bate then hit a deadlift German suplex for another two count. Bate hit two rolling koppu kicks and both men were out of it — Ohno in the ropes and Bate on the mat.
Bate hit another rolling koppu kick. Ohno hit a running boot and Bate hit the rebound clothesline. Ohno rolled to the outside and Bate followed him out with a big dive, but Ohno caught him in mid-air and hit the Dream Crusher to the neck for a 2.9 count.
Ohno berated Bate, calling him a rookie and himself a veteran. They battled on the top and Ohno applied a cravat, but Bate escaped and picked him up on his shoulders for the UFO airplane spin. Bate then finally hit the Tyler Driver ’97 for the well-deserved pinfall victory.
This was an awesome match that people should go out of their way to see.
Next week —
The first matches from this coming weekend’s set of NXT UK tapings in Hull will air, including the debut of Ridge Holland and a match between Alexander Wolfe and Ilja Dragunov.
Two matches that were set up by angles on tonight’s NXT have been made official for next week.
Tyler Bate vs. Cameron Grimes and Io Shirai vs. Candice LeRae have both been announced for next Wednesday’s NXT. The Women’s Tag Team titles will also be defended in NXT for the first time, with Asuka & Kairi Sane defending against Dakota Kai & Tegan Nox next week.
Bate was shown arriving to Full Sail with Pete Dunne on tonight’s episode. Later in the show, Bate was sitting in the front row for Matt Riddle vs. Grimes.
After Riddle won, Grimes refused to give him a fist bump. Riddle then fist bumped Bate. Grimes and Bate argued, and Bate laid out Grimes with a punch after Grimes shoved him.
Shirai interfered and attacked Rhea Ripley during Ripley’s match against Bianca Belair tonight, but LeRae came out to neutralize Shirai. Ripley defeated Belair after hitting Riptide.
NXT UK returned to the Brentwood Centre in Brentwood, Essex on Saturday to close out this weekend’s television tapings.
– Dark match: Rhea Ripley defeated Nina Samuels
Ripley bowed to the crowd after the match, seemingly bowing out of NXT UK.
– Jack Starz defeated Saxon Huxley
– There was a segment where Imperium said they’re on top of NXT UK. This led to Gallus coming out and laughing at that notion.
– A-Kid defeated Kassius Ohno by countout
Ohno beat A-Kid down after the match, with Tyler Bate coming out to make the save.
– Joseph Conners defeated Roy Johnson
– Kay Lee Ray cut a promo saying we’ve seen the last of Toni Storm. KLR — the NXT UK Women’s Champion — also said she managed to do what Xia Brookside never could.
– Jordan Devlin defeated Dave Mastiff
– Joe Coffey defeated Tyson T-Bone
– Isla Dawn defeated Killer Kelly
– William Regal made an appearance and thanked the crowd.
– Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster vs. The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) ended in a double DQ
Gallus interfered to cause the disqualification. Imperium had a standoff with Gallus after, with Ilja Dragunov then coming out and siding with Gallus.
– NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray defeated Xia Brookside
– Travis Banks defeated Ligero
Joseph Conners interfered and then beat down Banks after the match. Conners called himself “TakeOver worthy.”
The second TakeOver special in NXT UK history takes place today as the Motorpoint Arena hosts NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff.
In a matchup of Imperium vs. British Strong Style, the show will be headlined by WALTER defending his WWE United Kingdom Championship against Tyler Bate. WWE’s YouTube account uploaded their “Prime Target: NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff” special that builds up the match.
Two other championships will also be on the line. Toni Storm and Kay Lee Ray will clash in a grudge match for Storm’s NXT UK Women’s Championship. The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) are putting their NXT UK Tag Team titles on the line in a triple threat match against Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) and Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster.
Travis Banks is set to face Noam Dar, Dave Mastiff meets Joe Coffey in a last man standing match, and Cesaro will be issuing an open challenge.
The main card starts at 2 p.m. Eastern time, with a half-hour pre-show airing before that.
**********
Pre-show play-by-play:
Welcome everybody to this live play-by-play of NXT UK’s second ever TakeOver special. Our pre-show tonight consists of Vic Jospeh, Nigel McGuiness and Aiden English. They talked about the tag team title match, pointing out that local heroes Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster might become the first ever Welsh champions in WWE history. They then ran down the rest of the card and showed Toni Storm and Kay Lee Ray arrive at the arena earlier tonight.
A video package recapped the story between tonight’s NXT UK women’s championship match, with Kay Lee Ray getting into Toni’s head by using intimate personal knowledge against her. Vic Jospeh wondered, if Toni Storm was broken mentally. Nigel said he wasn’t sure but the big question was, “Can Toni come back?”.
A pre-tape from earlier today showed Cesaro arriving at the arena and being interviewed by Radzi Chinyanganya. He said what he meant by taking a hands-on approach was that he didn’t bring his gear for nothing and would issue an open challenge to the NXT UK locker room tonight.
The announcers then recapped the history between Dave Mastiff and Joe Coffey, after they went to a double count-out three weeks ago, when neither men could continue and they hurt each other and beat the hell out of one another.
Next we took a look at The Grizzled Young Veterans’s NXT UK tag team championship reign and Gallus challenging them last month, followed by Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster challenging them and eventually being added to the match after winning in singles matches against members of the other teams.Vic brought up how The Grizzled Young Veterans complained that Andrews and Webster got their way into the match that way.
Imperium were shown entering their dressing room and closing the door. WALTER looked very serious and all business. A video recapped the main event, with the formation of Imperium, Alexander Wolfe joining the group, the subsequent destruction of both Tyler Bate and Trent Seven at the hands of WALTER and Tyler Bate’s return and getting the upper hand against WALTER. The announcers then discussed Tyler Bate’s chances in tonight’s main event.
Main show play-by-play:
A video introduction focused on Imperium’s iron grip on the NXT UK brand, then ran down the main matches on the card. Vic and Nigel are calling the show without Aiden English.
1. NOAM DAR BEAT TRAVIS BANKS AFTER THE NOVA ROLLER (13:55)
Dar in the past drew the ire of both Kenny Williams and Travis Banks, making out to be a bigger star than them and claiming he was guaranteed a match at TakeOver. Banks, after not being able to compete in the first NXT UK TakeOver in Blackpool, seems super motivated to get a win here tonight. This was a hot opener, with Dar repeatedly targeting Bank’s shoulder and knees and finally capturing the victory.
They locked up with Dar pushing Banks into the corner, but Banks returned the favor right away and Dar smiled as he escaped into the ropes, trying to frustrate Banks.Dar caught Banks off an aerial attack and tried locking in the ankle lock, but Banks quickly escaped. Banks followed up with leg kicks, then hit a running soccer kick on Dar’s head from the apron when Dar escaped to ringside. Dar then played possum and crotched Banks on the top rope, then hit a clothesline from the opposite turnbuckle for a near-fall.
Dar somersault slammed Banks into the ropes, which looked to have hurt Banks’ previously injured shoulder, which Dar promptly worked over. Banks came back with a basement dropkick into the corner and a German suplex to get a two-count of his own.Banks was dominant, until Dar outgrappled him, then hit reverse kicks to the shoulders from the bottom and rolled into a shoulder lock. Banks escaped and went for a cross-face, but didn’t quite get it.
Dar slapped Banks, enraging him, but then capitalized on Banks’ fury and worked over his knee. Banks went for Slice of Heaven from the second turnbuckle, but Dar again grabbed him frm mid-air and locked in a kneebar. They traded punches and Dar finally was forced to release the hold. Dar followed up with a basement lariat to the back of Banks head for another near fall, then mockingly hit Banks’ own trademark kicks to his head. Banks again went for Slice of Heaven but turned it into a foot stomp to the back of Dar mid-move, then followed up with a suicide dive to the outside.Dar once more tried to outsmart him, but was hit with Slice of Heaven from the ringside barrier instead.
Back in the ring, Banks hit a double foot stomp off the top for a close two count. They traded kicks, punches and forearms, with Banks eventually hitting a Shining Wizard. Banks went fo Slice of Heaven again, but Dar kicked his leg out from under him and hit the Nova Roller for the win.
— Kay Lee Ray was seen backstage, warming up for her title match against Toni Storm later tonight
— Radzi was backstage with Cesaro again, asking about his open challenge. Cesaro said he didn’t care about who it was. Ilja Dragunov walked up to him and got in his face.
2. CESARO BEAT ILJA DRAGUNOV WITH THE NEUTRALIZER (12:26)
This was a great match and Cesaro was greeted like a God of Wrestling here, after being just another face on the card in recent months. People were hot for this match and both men delivered, showing power and aggression as well as brutal strength and determination to deliver a great match on a big show. Cesaro won after catching Ilja off Torpedo Moscow and No Kings of Wrestling reformation and we will have to wait and see if Cesaro will be a regular here or if this was a one-time deal like with Finn Balor in January.
Dragunov right away hit a running kick on Cesaro, but the Swiss Cyborg came back right away. Ilja went for a body press but Cesaro easily caught him, but Dragunov escaped. They traded slaps, but mostly evaded each other and briefly came to a standstill. Ilja finally got a few chops in, hit a senton and went for a cover but didn’t get a pin. Cesaro thn nonchalantly dumped Dragunov over the top rope, throwing him head first into the barriers. Back in the ring, Cesaro followed up with a slam and leg drop, then locked in a chin lock.
Cesaro went for the big swing, but Dragunov blocked it, which was booed by the crowd. Cesaro then slingshot Dragunov’s throat on the bottom rope. Ilja went for the Konstantin Special, but Cesaro caught him in the ropes and did a 40-rotation giant swing to a massive pop and “Incredible!” chants. Cesaro went for a cover, but then transitioned into a cross face. Ilja looked like he was close to passing out, but then crawled towards the ropes and briefly rolled Cesaro over for the cover. He hit the Konstantin Special, which now is called Six One Line for a near fall. They briefly battled for position, but Dragunov finally managed to hit a crotch-hold driver, then followed up with a dive to the outside which almost came short but Dragunov pulled Cesaro down with him.
Ilja hit a coast-to-coast from the top rope for another near-fall. Dragunov hit a number of chops, but Cesaro then gorilla pressed him into a knee, Go to Sleep style for another close count. Ilja turned a lariat attempt into a back slide for a two count, then hit a Death Valley Driver into the corner to big “this is awesome!” chants. He followed up with a senton frm the top for another two-count, then prepared for Torpedo Moscow, but Cesaro launched him high into the air for a big uppercut, then followed up with the Neutralizer for the win.
Cesaro was already walking down the entrance, but then re-entered the ring and gestured to Ilja to get up. He teased hitting another uppercut, but instead shook Ilja’s hand.
— Adrian Street and Miss Linda were shown in the crowd, following the debut of the Adrian Street documentary on the WWE Network before tonight’s TakeOver
— Tyler Bate was shown preparing backstage, alongside Trent Seven
3. NXT UK TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP THREE-WAY: MARK ANDREWS & FLASH MORGAN WEBSTER BEAT THE GRIZZLED YOUNG VETERANS (C) AND GALLUS (WOLFGANG & JOE COFFEY) WHEN WEBSTER PINNED GIBSON TO WIN THE TITLES (20:17)
This was a crazy match full of high spots and at points, I had no way of keeping up with all action. Very good with the home town heroes of Webster and Andrews overcoming the odds and Webster pinning Gibson clean to win the titles.
Gibson and Andrews started off. Gibson ground him to the mat among chants of “Shoes off, if you hate Gibson”. Nigel said he didn’t want the people of Cardiff take off their shoes. Drake tagged in and Andrews got the better of him. Andrews and Webster double teamed him, including hitting a joint moonsault/somersault on him. Wolfgang tagged, but Gibson pulled Drake to safety at ringside.Drake smartly tagged Webster and it was Wolfgang and Webster next, but this quickly led to a three-way standoff with all three teams.
Wolfgang took out Drake on the apron but Gibson ducked him, then blind-tagged Wolfgang just as Andrews was going for a springboard but he noticed it and hit Gibson with a springboard drop kick. Webster and Andrews then hit stereo moonsaults on Gallus on the outside as the action moved on faster than words can describe (or I can type, at least) . Drake and Webster ended up back in the ring and the Grizzled Young Veterans worked him over with a few dirty tricks they had up their sleeves.
Webster was in peril for a while, with Drake applying a nerve hold. It was Whack-a-Webster, as Drake, Mark Coffey and Zack Gibson all got to beat him up, until Webster finally managed to tag in Andrews. He hit a wheelbarrow roll-up on Gibson, then transitioned into a spinning DDT on Drake and hit a double Pelé kick on Gallus, before him and Webster hit stereo dives on both opposing teams on opposite sides of the ringside area. Andrews hit a 450 on Gibson, but Drake made the save.
Mark Coffey then took out Webster and Andrews, then him and Wolfgang double teamed Andrews for a two-count. After some more action, Wolfgang ended up taking a reverse rana by Andrews after Webster provided some assistance with a kick to Wolfgang’s face. Gibson foiled an aerial attack by Andrews, then Mark Coffey and Andrews fought on top with Andrews first head-butting Coffey off the top, then it a shooting star to the outside on everyone.
Back inside, Andrews and Gibson fought, with Andrews hitting Stunt Dog Millionaire, followed by a senton from Webster but Gibson narrowly kicked out at 2.9. Drake was back inside, hitting a Shotgun dropkick on Andrews, followed by Helter Skelter from Gibson and a 450 from Drake but this time it was Andrews’s turn to kick out at 2.9 to a big pop. After Gibson and Webster got involved, all four men were down, just as Gallus re-entered the ring. Gallus took out everyone, then Wolfgang launched Coffey over the top onto everyone. Wolfgang hit a Coffey-assisted power slam on Andrews, but Webster narrowly made the save during the pin.
Everyone was back in the ring and for a moment it looked like the other teams teamed up on Gallus. In the melee, Webster hit a Welsh Destroyer before The Grizzled Young Veterans hit a Doomsday Device on Wolfgang with Gibson hoisting him up on the outside and Drake diving through the ropes with w clothesline. At that point, it was Webster & Morgan vs. Drake & Gibson. They trhew out Webster, but Andrews turned Helter Skelter into a double Stunt Dog Millionaire and Webster hitting the 450 on Drake, but Gibson pulled the referee out of the ring.
The Veterans hit Ticket to Mayhem on Andrews and Gibson went to cover him, as Drake took out Gallus with a dive. Webster at this point hit a shooting star press on Gibson to break up the cover and pinned Gibson for him and Andrews to become new NXT UK tag team champions.
Andrews and Webster then celebrated with family and friends at ringside.
— Toni Storm was shown getting ready for her title match later
4. LAST MAN STANDING MATCH: JOE COFFEY BEAT “BOMBER” DAVE MASTIFF AFTER HITTING HIM WITH A CRATE, PREVENTING HIM FROM GETTING UP BEFORE 10 (16:03)
This was a crazy brawl, where they virtually broke the ring in the first minute, with the top turnbuckle coming off a whip-in. They did all kinds of weapon shots and table spots and brawled all the way to the announce table through the arena, crashed off a platform through that table and still didn’t have enough. Coffey won, by pushing a box into Mastiff just as he was about to get up before the ten count.
Mastiff attacked Coffey as he came down the ring with a chain and things were on! They traded hard punches in the ring, with Coffey getting the upper hand, but Mastiff was no worse for wear. A hard whip by mastiff into the corner broke the turnbuckle, which Mastiff immediately went to clubber Coffey with. He then shoved the metal part between Coffey’s teeth and slammed his face to the mat. Coffey tried to go for a springboard, but the turnbuckle had no support and he crashed to the mat.
Mastiff hit a German suplex on Coffey and threw him outside, but Coffey got back to his feet at 3. Coffey came back with a pool cue, then produced a bag labeled “Gallus” from under the ring and emptied a bunch of weapons on the floor. He also propped a table up on the barrier, but Mastiff back body dropped him onto the pile of weapons. Coffey against got up at three and Mastiff tried to attack him with a cricket bat but Coffey evaded him and broke the pool cue over Mastiff’s back.
Mastiff got the bat and clobbered Coffey’s back, but it wasn’t enough to keep Coffey down. Coffey then jumped over a charging Mastiff, who tried to drive him into the table, then speared him through the table himself, which kept Mastiff down until eight. Coffey tried to hit Mastiff again with the chain, but got German suplexed for his troubles, which kept him down until five. Mastiff then started whipping Coffey with the chain to “Fuck him up, Mastiff, fuck him up” chants.
Mastiff got another table and again propped it up on the outside. Mastiff and Coffey had a tug-of-war with the steel chain, until Mastiff smartly released it, sent Coffey tumbling back and hit a running cannonball on Coffey through the table. Coffey got up at eight and fled into the crowd over the barricade. Mastiff stalked him with a chair as he crawled away, then beat him up with said piece of seating furniture.
Coffey then hit Mastiff again with a chain-wrapped fist and sent him down for an eight count. Mastiff then tossed Coffey a chair and had one himself, then they proceeded to run at each other with their chairs, wall-of-death-style, which sent both men down to the floor, but both narrowly got back up at nine. They brawled over to the announce table at the edge of the entrance way and Mastiff put Coffey up on the table, then picked him up for a Finlay Roll on the table, which didn’t even budge under the weight of the two large men.
Both men brawled up onto the pre-show platform over the announce table and stared each other down, before trading punches, with each trying to send the other man down. Coffey grabbed mastiff by the beard, who proceeded to head-butt him, sending both men crashing down the platofrm and through the announce table. Both men wer down for the count, struggling to get back up. They were staggering to their feet at nine, but Coffey managed to push a traveling case into Mastiff to send him back down before the count of 10, winning the Last Man Standing match.
— they showed WALTER prepare for his match, surrounded by his Imperium brothers
— Teagan Nox was shown in the crowd
5. NXT UK WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP: KAY LEE RAY BEAT TONI STORM (C) WITH THE GORY BOMB TO WIN THE TITLE (9:52)
Kay Lee Ray won the title clean after hitting two Gory Bombs (one of them into the ropes) in just under 10 minutes. Toni looked strong, but coudln’t KLR away and the story was that Kay lee knew her very well and got in her mind. Thy had a good match otherwise that had a lot of intensity.
Toni was ready to fight, but KLR immediately fled to ringside. She repeatedly backed away, enjoying her mind games being successful, until Toni dove at her and unleashed on her, then threw her into the barrier. KLR slapped her, in retaliation for the slap Toni had dished out a few weeks ago, but Toni quickly took over again. KLR came back with a savate kick through the ropes right on Toni’s nose, then proceeded to choke her over the middle rope. She followed up with a seated abdominal stretch, then hit a front face suplex for a two count. Toni ducked a number of slaps, then hit a German suplex after a failed attempt.
Storm tried for Storm Zero, but KLR countered into an attempt of her Gory Bomb, but Toni reversed into the a reverse wheelbarrow position and hit a sort of Candian Destroyer for a two count, Toni then hit Storm Zero, but KLR managed to kick out, which stunned the crowd and the announcers. Toni looked flustered and KLR hit the Gory Bomb for a two-count herself.
They fought on the top rope and Storm tried for Storm zero, but didn’t get it, She vaulted over KLR, then hit a second turnbuckle German suplex on KLR for another two count. Toni dove through the ropes onto KLR on the outside, but KLR kneed her in the face as she re-entered the ring, then followed up with a launching somersault off the top, which she looked to have landed awkardwly on but seemed to be OK.
Back inside, KLR actually hit another Gory Bomb close to the ropes, launching Toni into the ropes, then followed up with another Gory Bomb for the victory and title win.
— they are really pushing the NXT debut on USA on September 18, as they aired the same hype video three times during this show alone
— Junior, the band that Mark Andrews is a part of were shown in the audience. Their song “Brick by Brick” is an official theme song for this show
6. WWE UK CHAMPIONSHIP: WALTER (C) BEAT TYLER BATE AFTER A LARIAT TO RETAIN THE TITLE (42:12)
This was an unreal, epic 42-minute battle that took everything out of both men and may have been the best match I ever saw from either of them. They pulled out all of their big moves and then some. The crowd was livid and super into the match and both men left everything they had in the ring. WALTER repeatedly smashed Bate into the apron, as he had done weeks ago, and Bate came close to winning a number of times and performed some great feats of strength, which the crowd ate up. These two were artists and the ring was their canvas, as they painted a dramatic picture like few ever seen in NXT or WWE in general over the years. Go out of you way to watch this, as it just might be the match of the weekend.
The crowd was firmly behind Bate, chanting and singing his name. Bate evaded a WALTER chop in the ropes and countered with a leg kick. Tyler tried working over WALTER’s wrist, but quickly found himself in a chin lock before resorting to leg kicks. WALTER used his size advantage to push down on Bate during a test of strength. WALTER pinned Bate down and umped on top of him, but bate bridged out, pushing WALTER up in the process, which always in an impressive spot. They traded forearms, but Bate quickly was trapped in a headlock on the mat. Bate actually worked back on his feet, but quickly got taken down again. Meanwhile, the crowd chanted “WALTER is a wanker”.
Bate actually managed to pick up WALTER off the headlock, but WALTER quickly tried to go for a power bomb. Bate escaped, tried to go for Tyler Driver ’97, which WALTER escaped from. bate then actually managed to stagger WALTER of a shoulder block then slammed the big man to a big pop. Bate followed up with a dive, but WALTER caught him and threw him into the apron, then followed up with a power bomb on the outside, sending Bate into the edge of the apron.
WALTER followed up with a big boot as Bate tried entering back into the ring. The big Austrian threw bate into the barrier, followed up with a running boot that bent Bate in half, then threw Bate head-first into the ring post with another power bomb. The doctor checked on Bate as WALTER paced the ring. Bate got back on his feet and signaled that he was ready to go on. Back in the ring, WALTER body slammed Bate, then kicked him in the back.
WALTER got out the chops, turned Bate’s chest into a platter of ground meat, then bent him over the top turnbuckle for good measure, using his foot to bend Bate almost all the way down to the apron. He tried to follow up with a power bomb on the apron, but Bate blocked it, then gave WALTER a massive exploder from the apron to the outside. He smashed WALTER into the barriers, then gave him a series of leg drops in the ring, before charging him with elbows. He followed with a spinning European uppercut from the second turnbuckle, but WALTER chopped him out out of mid-air, then locked him in a Boston Crab to vanquish any momentum that may have been there.
He planted his knee high on Bate’s spine, then transitioned into a neck crank.Bate actually blocked a suplex attempt by WALTER, but couldn’t get him up for a suplex of his own and got the receipt in form of a chop right away. Then, after blocking another attempt, he actually got WALTER up for a suplex of his own as the crowd erupted. Bate staggered the champ with a number of uppercuts, then hit three clotheslines and a kappa kick to stagger WALTER. He followed up with an exploder, after failing to hit a German, kipped-up and hit a running shooting star press for a two-count.
Bate went for the Tyler Driver ’97, but WALTER escaped. Bate went for another attempt off a reversal of a back slide, but once more WALTER escaped. WALTER hit a Shotgun dropkick to Bate’s back, shooting him into the corner, but Bate managed to get a sunset flip off a power bomb attempt for a very close near-fall.
Bate got on the top rope, but WALTER rolled to the apron. They fought back and fort, until WALTER climbed the ropes as well, with Bate looking to suplex the champ to the outside. WALTER escaped, then chopped Bate off the ropes and climbed them himself once more, looking to go for his big splash that won him the title against Pete Dunne in New York. Bate stopped him with a head-butt, They fought in the top once more, with Bate doing Pete Dunne’s finger snapping spot, then hit another exploder off the top for another 2.9 count.
They traded chops and leg kicks while both were down on the mat. WALTER clobbered him down a few times with chops and forearms, but Bate kept getting back up for more. Bate actually hit him with a hard forearm and WALTER crumbled, but landed on Bate who had trouble struggling out from under the giant. They dramatically slugged it out on the mat once more. They were back up and WALTER hit some palm strikes. Bate went for his slingshot clothesline, but this time WALTER caught him in an exploder. Bate kicked WALTER’s face off a power bomb attempt, then actually got him up on his shoulders for an airplane spin.WALTER grabbed the ropes in the corner and climbed them, but Bate grabbed him and hit Trent Seven’s Burning Hammer. which left both men with very little left on the mat.
WALTER rolled to ringside and collapsed, but made it back on the apron. bate hit him with a running soccer kick, then dove onto him with a sort of DDT or bulldog., then launched himself at tha champ once more, this time flying high over the top rope. WALTER was on his kneed and Bate actually dead lift German suplexed him for another close count. Bate went for Tyler Driver ’97, but WALTER reversed out, then Bate actually hit it but still could not pin the Ring General’s shoulders down for the three count. bate followed with a corkscrew senton, which didn’t lead to victory either.
Bate got out some dirty boxing and had the champ hurt, but as the ref told Bate to back off, WALTER struck him down, then locked in the sleeper. Bate actually got up from under him and picked the big man up on his back, then drove him back down on the mat.WALTER locked in the choke once more, with Bate narrowly making it to the ropes. WALTER stroke him in the chest and locked in the move once more, but Bate actually pulled him over the top rope until both were on the apron once more. WALTER then actually hit a sleeper hold suplex onto the apron that flipped Bate over. WALTER then hit the big splash from the top, but Bate managed to kick out of that. WALTER hit another sleeper suplex in the ring, but Bate was an immortal god that could not be kept down. Another power bomb also yielded no desirable results, as Bate KICKED. OUT. AT. ONE!
WALTER then finally hit a desperation lariat that might as well have taken Bate’s head off and finally pinned his opponent’s shoulders to the mat for the one-two-three. Unreal match.
After the match, the rest of Imperium came out to pose with WALTER and congratulate their general on his successful title defense.
Bate was devastated and exhausted as Pete Dunne and Trent Seven entered the ring and helped him to the back. bate actually managed a smile, knowing he survived the battle to fight another day and also knowing that he came closer to beating WALTER than any other man in NXT UK to date. British Strong Style did their salute in the ring to a big pop and raised Tyler’s hand as the show went off the air.
Final thoughts:
A great TakeOver, with a number of very good to great matches. WALTER/Bate was a legit match of the year candidate and possibly the best match of either man’s career. Tyler Bate has future superstar written all over him and along with Johnny Gargano should probably have been in the main event mix on the major rosters two years ago. WALTER is tremendous as well, both as a performer relying on basic but effective moves and has tremendous ring psychology. In a way, he comes across as a more legit Brock Lesnar, whereas Lesnar’s offense nowadays looks often cartoonish while still brutal, WALTER is the real deal with his no-nonsense approach. Still with things being the way they are, a future in the U.S. as a full-timer seems not to be in the cards for him and that is according to his own wishes. It will be really interesting who they build up as his next challenger, as the Imperium vs. British Strong Style saga, while yielding incredible matches, seems to be told for now and things should move to a new direction until the end of the year.
Ilja Dragunov vs. Cesaro was a lot of fun, very hard-hitting and a nice bonus to the card. Dave Mastiff vs. Joe Coffey was an all-out brawl with a number of spots and weapons usually not seen in WWE. The three way tag team title match was full of action from beginning to end and the crowd ate up the local heroes winning. The women’s match told a good story and Toni Storm really should be on the main roster every week. Noam Dar vs. Travis Banks was a good opener that set the proper mood for the rest of the show.
