The WWE United Kingdom championship has reportedly been stolen.
According to a report from PWInsider, WWE United Kingdom champion WALTER’s championship belt, along with his passport, was stolen earlier today in Chicago following a smash and grab of a rental car.
The rental car reportedly belonged to Timothy Thatcher, who also had property stolen in the burglary.
Independent wrestlers from the area told PWInsider that there has been a series of incidents similar to this recently in the Logan Square area, where both Timothy Thatcher and WALTER are competing tonight for EVOLVE.
There was an incident earlier this year where the AEW World title had disappeared from a limo Chris Jericho had rented just days after winning the championship at All Out. It was eventually recovered less than a week later by Tallahassee police.
Thatcher will face Arturo Ruas tonight at EVOLVE 142 while WALTER will face Josh Briggs in the main event in a non-title match.
Episode eleven (taped August 26 at the NEC Arena in Birmingham, England)
Quick recap
Pete Dunne successfully defended his WWE UK championship against Jordan Devlin in an outstanding main event, as both men delivered and had a great match. In women’s tag team action, the young up-and-comers Xia Brookside & Millie McKenzie beat the debuting Charlie Morgan & Killer Kelly in a fun match. Eddie Dennis kept his undefeated streak, beating Ashton Smith in another fun match. Joseph Conners beat former tag team partner Saxon Huxley in a slobber knocker mean guy match. All in all an entertaining episode.
Full rundown
Show opened to a graphic promoting the NXT UK women’s title finals next week, when Toni Storm meets Rhea Ripley. Another graphic informed us that Pete Dunne would defend his WWE UK title against Jordan Devlin tonight.
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Xia Brookside & Millie McKenzie beat Charlie Morgan & Killer Kelly in 5:13 when Xia pinned Morgan with a bridging pin
Charlie Morgan, who was trained by Danny Collins and the Knight wrestling family (Paige, her brothers and parents), started out in 2011. She wrestled for all the major UK women’s promotions, such as WAW, Bellatrix and Pro Wrestling: EVE. She also performed for PROGRESS, RevPro and Southside Wrestling Entertainment among others and is a former Bellatrix and EVE champion. She is openly gay and had her coming out at a Pro-Wrestling EVE show in 2017. She also was born prematurely at only 28 weeks old.
Morgan and Xia started out and Xia took her down with a top wrist lock. After some back and forth, Morgan escaped with an impressive headstand. Xia hit a huracanrana and a drop kick and tagged McKenzie, who came in with a swinging neck breaker. Kelly managed to tag in but also quickly got locked in a Fujiwara arm-bar style submission which looked like Millie almost ripped her shoulder out of the socket.
Kelly came back with a surfboard attempt that ended with Millie’s face firmly getting planted in the mat after a hard stomp to the back of the head. Millie eventually came back with a release German suplex, after which both women tagged out. Xia hit a chin breaker and double knees into the corner on Morgan.
She went to the top, but Kelly pulled her off. Meanwhile Millie came in and hit a hard spear on Charlie Morgan, who then got pinned by Xia using a bridging pin.
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We saw Pete Dunne backstage, preparing for his upcoming match.
There was a graphic for Eddie Dennis vs. Ashton Smith, followed by a TLC promo.
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Eddie Dennis beat Ashton Smith in 6:00 after the Neck Stop Driver
This match had been built up for a few weeks, with Dennis telling Smith to watch his debut match and Smith then interrupting Dennis’ backstage interview.
Dennis took Smith down early, but Smith escape and locked in a head lock for a bit. He flipped out of a back suplex attempt, did a leap frog over the much taller Dennis, hit a drop kick that rocked the bigger man and finally a leg lariat that briefly took him down and to ringside. Smith tried a dive as a follow-up, but Dennis caught him mid-move and gave him a black hole slam on the apron.
Back in the ring, Dennis used his judo background and threw Smith, then locked in a cravat and held it for quite a while. Smith finally escaped and hit a springboard dropkick on Dennis who was on the apron. A somersault plancha connected and back in the ring, Smith hit a leg lariat from the top for a near-fall.
He then hit a drop kick on Dennis, who was sitting on the top rope, but failed a superplex attempt as Dennis slipped beneath him and picked him up for the Severed Bridge, a Razor’s Edge style buckle bomb. He followed that his the Neck Stop Driver for the win.
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We took a look back at Joseph Conners turning on Saxon Huxley last week and were informed that this match was next. Also, a WWE Shop commercial aired.
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Joseph Conners pinned Saxon Huxley in 5:16
These two had a mean guy match, right out of a Vinny V dream sequence. The first 90 seconds or so were just punches and kicks, as Huxley tore into Conners with punches and Conners came back with body shots. Huxley got whipped into the corner, but stormed right back out with a shoulder block. Conners came back with a clothesline and more punches, then draped Huxley over the ropes in the corner and rained down some more punches on him. Huxley came back with a knee lift and a dropkick.
Conners escaped an over-the-shoulder power bomb attempt and hit some more. you guessed it, punches. Huxley briefly got the upper hand with a clothesline but Conners hit a nice sit-out spine buster for another near fall. He grabbed Huxley by the hair and screamed “this is my world, you are just visiting” at him, before finishing him off with a kind of reverse-spinebuster-face slam type of move.
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Nigel and Vic were in studio as we got a Toni Storm video with sit-down segments and in-ring highlights, including her winning the Mae Young Classic this year. She said that she always had felt pressure, but if you wanted to be a history maker that’s what it took. Her whole life led up to this point and that this was not something she wanted but she needed.
She said that she was going to be the first NXT UK Women’s champion, after nine years of hard work and sacrifices. She concluded by saying that it was Toni Time.
We saw Jordan Devlin prepare backstage, followed by a WWE 2K19 commercial.
Next, we took a look at Rhea Ripley. She came to the UK to rip the women’s division apart, and that Toni would just be another victim. Toni’s last step was Rhea Ripley, her name was going to be on the NXT UK Women’s title. She will be the first champion and this is where it all ends.
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WWE UK Championship: Pete Dunne (c) submitted Jordan Devlin in 15:07
They locked up right away and Dunne immediately took him down with an arm bar and kept working the arm, but Devlin head scissored his way out amd slapped Dunne, prompting and immediate slap back from Dunne. Dunne tried stomping Devlin’s elbow and forearm, but Devlin rolled out of the way. A monkey flip by Dunne sent Devlin flying. then the champ followed with a hard forearm and an even stiffer lariat.
Dunne worked over Devlin’s arm and when to manipulate his fingers as well. Dunne tried his backflip off the turnbuckle on a whip but Devlin caught him and gave him a back stabber for a two count, which established Dunne’s lower back being hurt. Devlin hit his uranage/standing moonsault combo for a two count.
Dunne came back with a running enzuigiri into the corner, after successfully completing his backflip this time around. Dunne went for a German but got countered and Devlin hit a German of his own, which Dunne flipped over on and landed on his feet and hit a snap German of his own. He followed that by suplex into an arm bar, but Devlin escape by rolling up Dunne.
Devlin hit a running kick that had Dunne down in the corner and in an impressive spot, Devlin pulled Dunne up from the corner by the arm, straight into a backdrop driver for another two count.
After missing a standing moonsault, Dunne stomped his hand but then ran into a Spanish Fly out of nowhere. Devlin couldn’t capitalize on the momentum though, as Dunne immediately locked in a Koji clutch. The action spilled to ringside, and as Dunne tried to stomp Devlin’s arm on the ring steps, Devlin pulled his legs away and Dunne crashed onto the steel steps face-first. Devlin then hit a Spanish Fly off the steps onto the floor, which looked brutal.
They both narrowly got back in the ring at 9. After a double stomp on Devlin’s fingers, Dunne went for the Bitter End, but Devlin countered it into a reverse huracanrana for another near-fall. A quebrada by Devlin was stopped mid-air by a forearm smash by Dunne, who hit the Bitter End, but on landing, hurt his back even more and couldn’t go for the pin. They both were on the apron and Devlin shoved Dunne hard into the ring post back first.
They both got to the top rope and Devlin hit a Super Spanish Fly for a 2.99 cover. Dunne got up in a fighting stance, but Devlin hit a head butt that took both men down. Devlin removed Dunne’s mouth guard and hit a super kick for another close near-fall.
Devlin went for a moonsault, but got caught in a triangle on impact. He managed to briefly touch the ropes, but Dunne rolled over with the triangle still locked in, bent Devlin’s fingers apart, then grabbed the remaining fingers and bent them as well, forcing Devlin to tap.
Devlin sulked backstage, as the Bruiserweight celebrated in the ring.
The WWE UK Championship tournament brought a lot of new eyeballs on UK talent, and the tournament itself is recapped to start the show. Tyler Bate talks about how his career has changed since winning the title, while Wolfgang talks about how his social media following has grown since then. Trent Seven says he wants to be the face of the company in the UK, while Pete Dunne says he’ll take the crown.
Jim Ross and Nigel McGuinness introduce us to Norwich, England. Tonight, Trent Seven faces Pete Dunne to determine who faces the champion at NXT TakeOver: Chicago, while Mark Andrews faces Tyler Bate for the UK title in the main event.
Wolfgang vs. Joseph Conners
We get highlights of Wolfgang’s work from the UK Title tournament. Conners comes out looking incredibly intense with a stare that makes him stand out instantly. His power moves from the tourney are showcased and they talk about how he lost his left ear.
Lots of near falls leading to the final sequence. Conners lands a powerbomb for a two count and goes for a diving something, but eats a big spear. A swanton bomb gets the win for Wolfgang.
TJP and Brian Kendrick vs. Dan Maloney and Rich Swann
Kendrick starts against Maloney, who bullies Kendrick around until Kendrick outsmarts him and attacks the arm. TJP and Kendrick work the arm before we get a spot that I haven’t seen since ESPN Classic aired the AWA and Ron Fuller did the stump puller to his own partner. Maloney switched out with Kendrick and TJP went from blindly cranking on Dan’s arm to Kendrick’s. TJP looks over and sees them and then apologizes to Kendrick.
Kendrick tags in and gets the Captain’s Hook, but Maloney makes the save. Maloney clubs away at Kendrick, but the heels cheat to win by having TJP hold Kendrick’s arms for a hotshot. Kendrick wins with a small package using the tights.
Trent Seven’s injury in the UK Championship tournament is shown before he tells Charly that he’s hurt, but it’s just tendon damage. Pete Dunne attacks him to set up the number one contender’s match. Dunne says he’s now getting the credit he deserves and he’s where he should be. Trent Seven is shown hitting nasty strikes and winning with the Seven Stars. Andy Shepherd is mid-ring to do introductions for the match. Dunne comes out with the PROGRESS championship in his mouth. Trent comes out and they leer at each other menacingly.
#1 Contender’s Match: Pete Dunne vs. Trent Seven
They go back and forth off a collar-and-elbow tieup before Dunne circles around to try and gain a good position on the damaged right arm of Seven. Dunne takes him down and tortures him for a bit, but Seven escapes and lands a series of chops. Dunne gets pulled off the second rope and eats a left arm lariat to the gut for 1. Dunne goes behind, but Trent’s rope escape leaves the arm open for a hard shot to the arm. They brawl to the floor and Dunne lands a nasty forearm strike to the jaw. This allows him to trap the arm in the steps and kick the arm into the post.
Dunne talks smack on the apron and eats a slap before kicking away, but opening himself up to a Dragon suplex on the apron! They’re both down for a 9.5 count before rocketing back in. This gets a well-deserved “this is awesome” chant and it’s easily the best match on TV in at least a month. Trent goes up top for a superplex, but Dunne attacks the hand. Trent still goes for a Dragon suplex off the top, but Dunne flips to his feet and lands a forearm before eating a backfist and then landing an enzuiguri.
Dunne runs off the rope, but eats a lariat for 2.5. Trent goes for a Seven Star lariat, but a bodyscissors counter opens the door for the Kimura. Seven recovers and hits a Dragon suplex and a backfist. Dunne avoids a wrist clutch burning hammer and lands the Bitter End to win it and go to TakeOver Chicago to face the winner of tonight’s main event for the UK Title.
Dunne says that people would get hurt and did before they hype up the WWE 24 special on Finn Balor. A Mark Andrews hype video showcases his work in the UK tournament while Tyler Bate says he’ll show the world why he’s the champion. This was simple and effective. Andrews comes out to a really cheery fast-paced song that is delightfully amusing and lets the crowd swing their hands around. Bate and his outstanding game show theme come out to a mild applause.
WWE UK Champion Tyler Bate vs. Mark Andrews
Andrews and Bate shake hands to start things off before a quick takedown exchange. Bate works him down on the mat and focuses on the arm. Andrews counters with matwork of his own before a kneeling armbar. Bate recovers and starts to work on the leg and going back to the arm. Andrews uses some Johnny Saint tactics to escape a wristlock.
Andrews locks on a front facelock before Bate puts him up top calmly. Andrews is in a full nelson, but escapes with more British technical wizardry. Bate wrestles him down and locks on a standing surfboard before a cartwheel and a running rana lead to Andrews doing a cartwheel. Mirror image dropkicks lead to a standoff. They jawjack and Andrews gets a dropkick for 2 before locking on an octopus stretch. Tyler begins to go to the rope, so Andrews turns it into a cradle for 2.
Andrews hits a 619, but eats another uppercut and a long airplane spin before going to turn it around, but eating an inverted rana for 2. JR points out that Andrews is doing well for himself while not flying around endlessly and saving his flying for when it matters. Andrews goes up for the shooting star press, but Bate stops him and goes for a Lambeu leap before eating a rana.
A running SSP gets 2 for Andrews. Andrews lifts him up, but eats a superkick and a modified slingshot lariat. Tyler goes for a suplex, but eats a stunner. Andrews goes for the SSP, but Bate gets the knees up and sends Andrews to the other side of the ring. Andrews rolls into mid-ring, but eats a koppo kick and the Tyler driver ends it.
This was an outstanding match, but a notch below Dunn-Seven, which was an absolute must watch. Dunne comes down to attack Andrews and stares down Bate before their Takeover match.
Final Thoughts:
This was an outstanding show and easily the best single show that WWE has done since either night of the UK Title tournament. They have struck gold with every single person showcased on this program and Pete Dunne feels like a top-level heel in the making. It’s hard to imagine him headlining Raw, but it’s very easy to see he and Nakamura engaged in a WWE Title feud on SmackDown in a year’s time.
Hopefully he doesn’t spend too much time outside of the main roster, because they could just transplant every part of his act to the main roster without any alteration and they would have someone who fans could genuinely hate. His physical style stands out as much now as Finlay’s did over a decade ago when he returned, and hopefully they continue to allow him to do what he does and don’t “improve” him by sanding off the rough edges.
