United Kingdom Championship Tournament Night Two: Offer Your Own Witty British Praise
IMG Credit: WWE
United Kingdom Championship Tournament Night Two
Date: June 19, 2018
Location: Royal Albert Hall, London, England
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness
We’re back in England after yesterday’s tournament wrapped up. The tournament crowned a new #1 contender for the United Kingdom Championship and that means we need to have a title match. In addition to Pete Dunne defending against Zack Gibson, we’ll also be seeing some NXT Title matches and a few other matches to fill out the card. Let’s get to it.
Here are last night’s results if you need a recap.
We open with a recap of last night’s show, including Gibson becoming the new #1 contender. The NXT wrestlers will also be featured tonight.
NXT opening sequence.
The announcers run down the card.
NXT Tag Team Titles: Moustache Mountain vs. Undisputed Era
The Era is defending. Bate dropkicks Strong to start and it’s quickly off to Seven for some arm cranking. As usual this goes badly for Seven but everything breaks down with the champs sending them outside. Back in and the fans are split as Strong chops away at Seven in the corner.
We’re already into the chinlock but Seven kicks O’Reilly to the floor. Like a smart champion, O’Reilly runs around the ring and pulls Bate off the apron to take over. As tends to be the case, the hot tag goes through a few seconds later, allowing Bate to come in and clean house. O’Reilly saves Strong from the airplane spin and jumps on Bate’s back, so Bate German suplexes Strong at the same time, just because he can.
Seven comes back in and gets kicked in the face for two, sending O’Reilly into fits of frustration. A discus forearm knocks Seven into Bate for the tag and the dragon suplex/clothesline combination (how they beat O’Reilly yesterday) gets a close two. Back up and O’Reilly’s brainbuster gets two on Bate but Seven sends Fish to the floor. A hard shot rocks O’Reilly and a torture rack neckbreaker/top rope knee drop combination finishes O’Reilly for the titles at 10:40.
Rating: B. That’s the way to fire up a crowd and it doesn’t matter if the title reign is just for the live crowd and they drop the belts right back in short order. Moustache Mountain is a fun team and the fans in both America and England love them. This was a perfect opener and that’s all you could have asked to see.
The new champs celebrate in the crowd.
Johnny Saint has made a new #1 contenders match between Flash Morgan Webster, Travis Banks and Mark Andrews.
Killer Kelly vs. Charlie Morgan
Morgan, who is rather skinny, works on a wristlock to start but they spin around into double nip ups for a standoff. A springboard spinning crossbody gives Morgan two but Kelly starts in with the power to take over, including an elbow to the back of the head. Kelly grabs a dragon sleeper to nearly break Morgan in half, only to kick her away in frustration.
Morgan comes back with a springboard body block but Kelly throws her into the corner with ease. A running dropkick in the corner rocks Morgan again and Kelly loads up a suplex, only to get reversed into a rollup for the pin at 7:07. The ending is as sudden and out of nowhere as it sounds.
Rating: D. I really wasn’t feeling this one as while it wasn’t terrible or even bad, it was pretty dull and uninteresting. It was a standard power vs. speed match but I don’t have any reason to care about either of them or what they were doing. Not terrible or anything, but just not very interesting.
Christian is here.
Mark Andrews vs. Travis Banks vs. Flash Morgan Webster
The winner gets a title shot at some point in the future. Hang on a second though as Saint comes out to announce a fourth participant.
Mark Andrews vs. Travis Banks vs. Flash Morgan Webster vs. Noam Dar
This is Dar’s return after a lengthy layoff due to a knee injury. Banks still has a bad shoulder. It’s a brawl to start because thankfully there are no tags. Dar, who is looking ripped, and Webster exchange armdrags but Andrews comes back in to stomp on Webster. That leaves Dar to start in on Banks’ shoulder on the floor, leaving Andrews to hit a corkscrew moonsault onto everyone else.
Back in and Andrews hits a Sliced Bread on Webster and a reverse DDT on Dar at the same time. Banks makes a save with a top rope double stomp and everyone kicks everyone else in the face for a four way knockdown. Webster and Morgan are left alone in the ring with Andrews flipping out of a super hurricanrana and grabbing a reverse hurricanrana for a close two. Dar is back in with a kneebar on Andrews but Banks comes in to add to choke.
Dar’s part is broken up so Webster has to grab Andrews’ hand to break up a tap. Banks hits the Slice of Heaven but Andrews reverses the fisherman’s buster into the Stundog Millionaire. The shooting star misses though and Dar sends Banks’ arm into the post. Dar kicks Banks in the chest for the pin at 8:50.
Rating: C+. Just a match here with a bunch of spots and nothing connecting them together. In other words, it’s perfect for an indy style match but the people here should be capable of so much better. Dar is a surprise, but he never did anything for me in the first place and I don’t really find him to be anything of note here. I do like him a bit better as a face though.
Post match the Coffey Brothers run in and attack Andrews and Banks. Dar eaves without helping.
Wolfgang promises to take the Adam Cole’s North American Title.
North American Title: Wolfgang vs. Adam Cole
Cole is defending and gets powered into the corner by the much bigger Wolfgang to start. To be fair though, how many people aren’t much bigger than Cole? A kick to the face gives Cole two and he stomps away in the corner. Cole’s neckbreaker gets two more but Wolfgang is right back with a fireman’s carry gutbuster. He’s smart enough to go with a waistlock to stay on the ribs and another gutbuster cuts off a comeback attempt.
More shots to the ribs in the corner have Cole in trouble but Wolfgang takes forever going up, earning some loud booing. Cole uses the delay to superkick him out of the air and gets two off a Backstabber. There’s the fireman’s carry neckbreaker for two more and Cole shrugs off a Wasteland. A hard clothesline puts Cole down but he gets the knees up to block the Howling (swanton). The Last Shot retains the title at 10:14.
Rating: C. I get the potential they see in Wolfgang but he doesn’t do much for me more often than not. He’s a big guy who can move around well enough, but every time he’s out there I expect more from him. Cole being the face in the match isn’t that surprising and he could be holding the title for a good, long time.
Moustache Mountain can’t believe they won the titles.
Velveteen Dream/EC3 vs. Ricochet/Aleister Black
Dream is, again, the most over guy in the match. Ricochet and Dream start things off and this time it’s a Ricochet chant. Hang on though as Dream has to rip his shirt off. He wants to face Black though and the champ is down for another round of one of the best feuds of last year. That goes nowhere either so EC3 comes in instead. The fans think this is awesome even with pretty much nothing going on in the first two minutes. Black has a seat in the middle of the ring and EC3 isn’t sure what this is.
The confusion seems to work though as Black gets taken into the wrong corner, only to have Ricochet make a blind tag and springboard in to take over. EC3 bails so Ricochet backflips into his pose for a cool visual. Black moonsaults into his pose as well with Ricochet having a seat next to him as it’s all good guys so far. That’s finally enough for Dream to break up a springboard though and Ricochet is in trouble for the first time. A suplex stays on Ricochet’s ribs and it’s off to a seated top wristlock.
Ricochet dropkicks his way over for a tag but Dream grabbing a chair distracts the referee so it’s Ricochet staying in trouble for a smart move. The fans chant VAR, meaning they want a replay. Both villains come in at the same time so Ricochet beats them both up, capped off by a neckbreaker/DDT combination. That’s enough for the hot tag off to Black and it’s time to use the legs.
A quebrada takes out EC3 and Dream for two on the former but Dream hits one heck of a spinebuster to cut Black off. The Purple Rainmaker slips though and EC3 clotheslines Black’s head off instead. Everything breaks down and a series of strikes to the face sets up a quadruple knockdown for a nice ovation. Ricochet is up in a hurry though and hits a big dive to take Dream out.
Back in and the STO DDT gets two on Black and a Death Valley Bomb puts Ricochet down as well. Ricochet slips out of the Top 1% though and gets two off a running shooting star. The forward DDT (really not liking that move) drops Ricochet but Dream walks away from a hot tag attempt. EC3 yells at him, knows what’s behind him, and turns into Black Mass for the pin at 15:52.
Rating: B. This got a little too wild at the end but they were all working hard and got to show off for a long time. Having some of the more established names out there can show what the top stars can do and that’s a good idea. Give the fans a taste of what they might be able to get later on and make them want to come back. Smart move and a rather good match.
Post match Ricochet looks at the NXT Title before handing it back.
Toni Storm is ready to win the NXT Women’s Title.
NXT Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler vs. Toni Storm
Storm is challenging. They trade headlocks to start with Baszler getting the better of it. The fans are behind Storm as she fights up and gets in a front facelock. With the fans singing about Storm, she sends Baszler outside for a suicide dive but the champ posts her to take over. Back in and Baszler starts toying with her before getting serious by taking the knee out.
A running knee in the corner gets two and it’s time to stat punching Storm in the face. Baszler stomps her on the foot and grabs a gutwrench superplex but Storm knees her in the head. Storm Zero plants Baszler but the knee gives out again, meaning it’s a delayed near fall. Baszler is right back up with a jumping knee to the face for two and the Kirifuda Clutch goes on again. Storm makes the ropes and falls to the floor, giving Baszler the countout win at 12:18.
Rating: C. Storm is clearly someone with star quality and could be a player in the future, though she needs some more seasoning and a trip to the Performance Center full time could do wonders for her. They made sure to protect her with that finish too and that’s one of the best things that could have happened to her.
Post match Baszler leaves but runs back in to choke Storm out again.
Video on Dunne vs. Gibson, which is more about Dunne than anything else, mainly due to how little we’ve seen from Gibson around here.
United Kingdom Championship: Pete Dunne vs. Zack Gibson
Dunne is defending and wastes no time in going for the fingers. A crank of the fingers have Gibson in trouble and we’re back up for a standoff. The fans sing to the guys as they’re still in first gear until Dunne blasts him with a clothesline. Gibson goes with the grappling and takes Dunne to the mat with a suplex, only to have Dunne reach for the ankle. That goes nowhere so Gibson suplexes him over by the arm.
They head outside with Dunne being sent shoulder first into the barricade. Back in and Gibson pulls on the leg some more, which just seems to tick Dunne off. A shot to the face rocks Gibson and Dunne is starting to do that creepy smile of his. There’s a running enziguri in the corner and the X Plex gets two. A hard kick to the head rocks Gibson and a double stomp to the face sends Gibson out to the apron.
That means a DDT onto the apron but Dunne bangs up his already injured arm again. The arm goes into the steps but Helter Skelter is countered into another X Plex to plant Gibson one more time. Back in and Dunne is all ticked off while still hanging onto the arm. With his defenses lowered, Dunne takes a shot to the neck and Gibson pummels away in the corner. Dunne gets back up and puts the mouthpiece in, meaning it’s time to fight. Gibson is beaten down in short order but a clothesline turns him inside out.
Of course Dunne is up fast enough for a clothesline of his own and they’re both down. Another slugout puts both guys down again and the fans are rather pleased. Dunne hits a snap German suplex and gets two off the Bitter End, much to his shock. The Ticket to Ride off the ropes gets another close two and it’s off to the Shankly Gates, sending Dunne straight to the ropes.
The fans tell Nigel to sit down but a super Helter Skelter gets both their attention back as well as a near fall. Shankly Gates go on in the middle of the ring and somehow Dunne makes the rope again. For some reason Gibson thinks it’s a good idea to slap Dunne in the face, earning himself a snap of the finger. Dunne punches him out of the air and the Bitter End retains the title at 17:44.
Rating: A-. Sweet goodness Dunne is amazing and there’s no other way to put it. He’s seemingly incapable of having a bad match and now he’s expanding outside of the performances with Bate. Gibson looks great and it’s hard to argue with him losing after wrestling three times yesterday. He’ll be fine, but Dunne was ready to move up to the main roster months ago.
HHH and the locker room comes out to celebrate with Dunne. The boss says this is the next chapter in British wrestling history and this is the fans’ brand.
Overall Rating: B. Another very solid show though I liked yesterday’s edition more. There’s a lot of talent out there and the UK brand should be a lot of fun. Throw in some stories and more action like this with a more compact form and everything will be fine. Two good shows in a row built up a lot of good hope the potential is high. Well done again.
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