NXT UK – June 12, 2019: I Like This New Normal
IMG Credit: WWE
NXT UK
Date: June 12, 2019
Location: Braehead Arena, Glasgow, Scotland
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness
Tonight is a huge show as we have British Strong Style vs. Imperium, which should be the awesome match that everyone is expecting it to be. It’s not exactly a secret that there should be something big happening at the end but the question is what. Hopefully they can live up to the hype, which almost always tends to be the case. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
We open with a recap of the six man tag, including a quick history of both teams. Tonight it’s their first showdown and it feels big.
Opening sequence.
Xia Brookside/Isla Dawn vs. Jinny/Jazzy Gabbert
Jinny and Dawn take turns working on the arm to start with Dawn getting the better of it. Brookside comes in for an aggressive headlock and a dropkick to send Jinny into the corner….for the tag to Gabbert. Xia actually tries a sunset flip but gets powered down, allowing Jinny to come in for the stomps in the corner. A quick crawl across the ring lets Dawn come back in but Gabbert swats away the strikes. The Dominator plants Dawn but Jinny demands the tag so she can get the pin at 4:16.
Rating: D. Nothing match of course but it went exactly as it should have. Gabbert is the first monster the division has seen and having her under Jinny’s control is a fine story. She destroyed Brookside and Dawn here and that’s all she needed to do. Not exactly a good match, but the right presentation, which is what matters more.
Video on Ligero, who only had sight in one eye until he was eight years old due to his eye not opening. It caused other kids to pick on him so he decided to wrestle under a mask so he wouldn’t have to worry about how his face looked during his career. The mask is his identity and that’s what people are going to remember. Short piece here but it’s a nice way to get behind someone like Ligero.
Kenny Williams says Noam Dar can be annoying but he still likes him. What Dar does doesn’t affect him and it won’t affect him next week against Kassius Ohno.
Joseph Conners vs. Ilja Dragunov
As usual, Dragunov has an awesome entrance and looks insane. They lock up rather hard to start with Conners’ forearm to the back annoying Dragunov. The strike to the face sets up a neck crank with Dragunov making some rather strange noises at the same time. Back up and a jumping enziguri drops Conners, but he’s able to duck a running crossbody to send Dragunov into the ropes.
The chinlock goes on but Dragunov powers out and stares Conners down, setting up a knee to the face. A sunset bomb into the corner has Dragunov in some trouble but he counters a slingshot into a Death Valley Driver into the corner. The Torpedo Moscow finishes Conners at 4:49.
Rating: C-. Dragunov is one of those guys where you can’t take your eyes off of him and that’s the kind of thing you can’t create. It’s a special kind of intensity and that’s going to carry him very far. If nothing else, it’s always nice to see Conners getting destroyed and bludgeoned in various ways.
Toni Storm has beaten all comers and if Kay Lee Ray wants some Toni Time, come get it. Either way, the shiny shiny stays at home.
Video on Travis Banks, who talks about having such a strong work ethic. His time in NXT UK has been a mixed bag with great experiences but his injury held him back. Jordan Devlin was a thorn in his side but then he defeated him once and for all. Now he’s the #1 contender and it would be pretty cool to beat Walter for the United Kingdom Title.
The Hunt wants Gallus.
British Strong Style vs. Imperium
Dunne goes right at Aichner for some stomping in the corner to start but Aichner comes right back out with a hard clothesline. Bate comes in and it’s time for a double arm crank on Aichner. Barthel comes in and gets dropkicked but Bate takes too much time messing with the mustache, allowing Barthel to take over. That doesn’t last long though as Bate brings him into the corner for the tag from Seven.
Trent gets taken into the wrong corner though and Walter comes in to a lot of booing. Seven’s chop just annoys Walter so Seven does it again to a bit of success. Walter’s one chop puts Seven down though and it’s back to Aichner to keep Seven down in the corner. A swinging Rock Bottom gives Walter two on Seven and it’s back to Barthel to start in on the arm. Seven slugs away but walks into a spinebuster from Aichner to take him right back down.
A jawbreaker and enziguri get Seven out of trouble and it’s Dunne coming back in for an enziguri of his own. Dunne’s middle rope dropkick to the knee takes Walter down but he has to backflip out of the sleeper hold. The German suplex drops Walter again but he’s right back with a suplex of his own. Bate and Aichner come back in with Tyler taking over off a knee out of the corner.
An exploder suplex sends Barthel onto Aichner and it’s time for the airplane spin to various villains. Bop and Bang staggers Walter but Aichner saves him from an airplane spin of his own. A brainbuster gets two on Bate with Dunne making the save. The Backstabber into the top rope double stomp combination is good for the same but it’s back to Seven for some fresh strong style blood.
The Seven Star Lariat into the Bitter End into Spiral Tap gets two on Barthel with Walter making the save this time. Walter gets sent into the steps though and we’ve got a masked man. With the referee getting knocked to the floor, the masked man unmasks as Alexander Wolfe (formerly of Sanity). He knocks Bate out with a powerbomb and Barthel steals the pin at 14:03.
Rating: B. This felt like a big brawl and having Imperium grow in size at the end is a great touch. Wolfe was rumored to be leaving WWE and technically he did, though this was quite the surprise that helped everyone out quite a bit. Now I wonder who British Strong Style could find to help even the odds.
The now four man Imperium poses to end the show.
Overall Rating: B-. The first two matches don’t add all that much to the show but this was ALL about the main event and the big surprise to end the show. There’s nothing wrong with that at all and it made for a good show. NXT UK is now to the point where it’s rare to have a bad show and that’s something I could more than get used to. Like more British Strong Styles vs. Imperium for instance.
Results
Jinny/Jazzy Gabbert b. Xia Brookside/Isla Dawn – Dominator to Dawn
Ilja Dragunov b. Joseph Conners – Torpedo Moscow
Imperium b. British Strong Style – Barthel pinned Bate after a powerbomb from Alexander Wolfe
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