NXT UK – July 31, 2019: Cardiff Might Be Better Than Toronto
NXT UK
Date: July 31, 2019
Location: Plymouth Pavilions, Devon, England
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Aiden English
We’re a month away from Takeover: Cardiff and that means a lot of the card is already set. This has been one of the better shows around as of late and I’m hoping we get even more of what they’ve been doing. Takeover: Cardiff is actually looking a bit more interesting than Takeover: Toronto at the moment and as strange as that is, it’s nice to have something different for a change. Tonight is the start of a fresh taping cycle as well so let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
Opening sequence.
Sid Scala and Johnny Saint (hey he’s alive) are in the ring to open the show with Sid introducing Johnny and whispering something in his ear. Saint talks about taking over on August 31, which has been announced for quite a while now. Cue Imperium to say that Saint and Scala are no longer in charge. The ring is sacred to them and they are the #1 force in NXT UK.
Walter wants to know who is next to challenge for the title and Tyler Bate’s music plays. Imperium runs to the stage to jump Bate, who comes in through the crowd to fight Walter. The rest of Imperium is held back and Bate slugs away until security breaks it up. Scala makes the match as Saint tries to hold Bate back. That’s the only match they could have picked and if it’s anything like their match in Progress, they’ll blow the roof off the place.
Mark Coffey/Wolfgang vs. Pretty Deadly
That would be Sam Stoker and Lewis Howley. Wolfgang jumps Howley in the corner to start and hits a knee to the ribs. Stoker comes in and gets planted with a release flapjack. The chinlock goes on and Stoker is double monkey flipped across the ring to keep him in trouble. Stoker is allowed to go over for the tag to Howley, who is quickly planted with the kick to the head/powerslam combination for the pin at 3:14.
Rating: D. What else were you expecting here? You can imagine Gallus gets a Tag Team Title shot in the future so having them win a squash like this is a good way to keep them warm. I’m still trying to get my mind around the idea of the Coffeys not being the team but it’s not like Wolfgang would work as a singles guy.
Post match Gallus says that they want a shot at the Grizzled Young Veterans. They set it up and then went with what makes sense. Nothing wrong with that.
Jordan Devlin asks Sid Scala about why he isn’t getting a title shot. Scala gives him Alexander Wolfe tonight instead.
Dave Mastiff is ready to fight Joe Coffey next week.
Dani Luna vs. Rhea Ripley
Ripley kicks her in the face at the bell and a bunch of forearms keep Luna down. Some right hands to the face keep Luna in trouble and a dropkick makes it even worse. Luna gets in a single right hand, sending Ripley over the edge so Riptide can give Rhea the pin at 1:59.
We get a closer look at Toni Storm vs. Kay Lee Ray. They’ve known each other for a long time and have wrestled together around the world, but Kay has changed since they’ve gotten here. They’ll fight in Cardiff and Toni is a bit nervous because Kay know her so well.
Video on Eddie Dennis getting hurt and having surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle. Dennis blames every single selfish wrestler and doesn’t like fans booing people even though he’s done nothing wrong.
Jordan Devlin vs. Alexander Wolfe
Feeling out process to start with neither being able to get very far. Devlin hits him in the face though and the glare sends Devlin outside for a quick run. Back in and Wolfe staggers him with a single forearm, followed by an elbow to the face. Devlin is right back with some running knees to the chest as the fans are getting behind him early on. A Rock Bottom is broken up with an elbow to Devlin’s jaw and a knee to the ribs takes Devlin down again.
The abdominal stretch with knuckles to the ribs has Devlin screaming a bit but he hiptosses his way to freedom. Wolfe isn’t going to let that bother him as he drops Devlin ribs first onto the top rope to stay on the ribs. Devlin manages a victory roll into a double stomp to the ribs, followed by a standing moonsault. The ribs are banged up again but Devlin is fine enough to hit a slingshot cutter for two.
They slap it out with Devlin getting the better of things until Wolfe kicks him in the face. Devlin scores with a headbutt to rock both of them but the ribs are too banged up to pull him up for the snap Saito suplex. Instead he stomps at Wolfe’s head and gets two off a Spanish Fly. Wolfe’s bridging German suplex gets two and he nails a bicycle kick. The sitout powerbomb finishes Devlin at 11:30.
Rating: C+. These two worked well together for a hard hitting match. What matters most here was having Imperium stay strong as someone other than Walter gets to have a strong win. Devlin has lost a little bit of steam in the last few months but at least he’s still being featured and is going to be fine in the future because of talent alone.
Tyler Bate says he’s coming for the title at Takeover.
Overall Rating: C. It was still a good show but this was definitely a step down from previous weeks. What mattered most though was having the big Cardiff title match set up as Bate vs. Walter could be one of the best matches this promotion has ever had. It’s still a good show, though this was more about the vignettes and videos than the wrestling itself. You can do that once in a while, but hopefully we’re back to some bigger matches next week.
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