NXT UK – August 20, 2020 (Superstar Picks): I Had Fun
IMG Credit: WWE
NXT UK
Date: August 20, 2020
Host: Andy Shepard
We’re back to something a lot more interesting than Greatest Hits here as we have Superstar Picks. In other words, it’s time to crack open the WWE video vault and see what we can find involving UK wrestlers. This is what they have been needing to do for a long time now as they are long past the point of good stuff for Greatest Hits from NXT UK. Let’s get to it.
Andy has finally changed rooms. He can still throw it to someone to pick a match though, with Ridge Holland getting the first honor.
From Prime Time Wrestling, October 8, 1985.
Bret Hart vs. Dynamite Kid
It’s the rare blue and black Hitman attire here. Bret wants Dynamite’s boots checked and then hides in the ropes to start. Dynamite shoves him down and Bret chills on the floor for a bit. Back in and we get a catapult to send Bret chest first into the buckle. That means another breather on the floor but this time Bret comes back in and is promptly atomic dropped. There’s the snap suplex for Dynamite and we hit the chinlock. They fight over a hammerlock until Bret is sent outside to break it up, much to the fans’ delight.
Back in again and Dynamite spins out of a wristlock but gets pulled down by the hair. Bret grabs the hair again and slams him down, setting up the middle rope elbow. The headbutt hurts Bret’s own head so he throws Dynamite outside for a change. A slam on the floor and a backbreaker give Bret two back inside but Dynamite’s sunset flip gets the same. Dynamite grabs a backbreaker of his own but can’t follow up, allowing Bret to tie him in the ropes.
The charge only hits said ropes though and they’re both down again. Dynamite gets in a headbutt and hair slam to the mat of his own (nice little callbacks) and a knee drop gets two. A middle rope knee gets two more but Bret trips him face first into the ropes. Another trip sends Dynamite through the ropes (another callback) but this time he comes back in with an O’Connor Roll for the pin at 12:30.
Rating: B-. They were telling a nice story here as Bret had to find a way to slow Dynamite down and started smothering him. He couldn’t control the energy eventually though and Dynamite got to make the comeback, including doing the same things that Bret did to him earlier for a nice bonus. These two probably wrestled each other 500 times in some combination and you can see it here.
Post match Jim Neidhart runs out to complain about Dynamite pulling the tights but Davey Boy Smith runs in for the save.
Video on the NXT UK women’s division, including showing how many countries are represented.
Piper Niven sends us to the 2017 Mae Young Classic.
Second Round: Serena Deeb vs. Piper Niven
Niven powers her into the corner to start and falls on Deeb in a slam attempt. Well to be fair that was just kind of dumb. A hard belly to back suplex breaks up Serena’s headlock and there’s a splash for two more. With the holds not working, Deeb opts for just punching her in the face for a change. A middle rope Codebreaker (or maybe something like a monkey flip) drops Niven and a neckbreaker gets two.
Deeb is right back up with a modified Diamond Cutter for two more as the fans are split again. A charge misses in the corner though and Niven drops a Vader Bomb….for two. Dang I would have bet on that one. Niven heads up top (uh oh) and misses a splash, only to grab the Michinoku Driver to put Deeb away at 7:12.
Rating: C. What in the world was that ending? Niven missed the splash to seemingly give Deeb a hope spot but she was up less than five seconds later and hit the finish for the pin. I looked away for a second and my head swung back because I thought the video had skipped. They were trying to get into the Sting vs. Vader formula here but that ending REALLY knocked them back.
Dave Mastiff sends us to….Uncensored 1996???? I just stopped having the flashbacks to this show!
Belfast Bruiser vs. Lord Steven Regal
That would be Fit Finlay and William Regal (with Butler Jeeves, as played by Bill Dundee) of course. Jeeves it’s dumb enough to stick around for this and bails to the back as Finlay jumps Regal to start. Regal grabs a hiptoss for one (with the forearm going into Finlay’s face) and hits an uppercut so Finlay knees him in the face. A hard clothesline gives Finlay two as they are beating the heck out of each other here. Regal gets in a kick of his own and we hit the cravate on the mat.
Dusty Rhodes uses terms like stomping a mudhole and Bobby Heenan is incredibly confused, though that could just be from trying to understand anything Dusty said. Finlay knees him in the face and takes it to the floor, where Regal is dropped face first onto the barricade. Regal’s arm is pulled into the post and we hit an armbar back inside. That’s broken up and Regal kicks him in the face as we hear about Pedro Morales doing Spanish commentary. Dusty is VERY pleased with this, calling Morales “the greatest athlete to ever put on a pair of tights.” I’m going to assume that’s some kind of a rib and move on.
Regal’s dropkick gets two but Finlay is right back with another crank of the arm. That’s broken up and Regal punches him down again, allowing for the choke with the leg while arguing with the referee (always a great one). Finlay headbutts him down and we hit the chinlock. Even that’s rough as Finlay hits him in the face at the same time. Regal glares up at him while getting choked but fights up, earning one heck of a clothesline to give Finlay two more.
Finlay drives him face first into the apron but Regal manages a suplex over the apron and down onto the floor. An elbow off the apron crushes Finlay again and we hit a headlock back inside. As Bobby and Dusty argue over United Kingdom geography, Finlay kicks him hard in the back so Regal distracts the ref and gets a good low blow. Finlay isn’t about to be sunset flipped so he puts his knee on the back of Regal’s head and drives him face first into the mat instead.
Regal is back with an armbar, with a knee on Finlay’s face of course. That’s broken up and Finlay hits a kind of backdrop but Regal counters a Boston crab attempt and sends Finlay face first into the apron (Heenan: “Right in the corned beef and cabbage.”). Finlay punches him in the face and that looks like a broken nose (apparently with a broken cheek for a bonus). Back in and Regal kicks him over the top as commentary tries to explain that the fans are too worn down to cheer. Regal runs him up the aisle for a ram into the Doomsday Cage and here are the Bluebloods (Regal’s friends) to pound on Finlay for the DQ at 17:30.
Rating: B. I’ve seen this match several dozen times (had the VHS and watched it over and over as a kid) but it’s the first time I’ve seen it in a long time. This was a blast as they beat the heck out of each other for a LONG time (probably a bit too long actually) and it was a very different and much more physical match than you would expect from 1996 WCW. It’s Finlay’s element but Regal was right there with him the whole time. If you like physical, hard hitting stuff, make sure you check on this one.
Post match Regal gets in a heck of a slap as Finlay is held back.
Overall Rating: B-. Now this is the kind of show that I’ve been wanting to see from this series and I’m hoping that we get a lot more of it. NXT UK hasn’t been around all that long and they have already gone through a lot of their matches. It’s ok to crack open the vault every now and then and I would love to see them do it for a long time to come. Give us something different every now and then. It isn’t going to hurt all that much.
Results
Dynamite Kid b. Bret Hart – O’Connor Roll
Piper Niven b. Serena Deeb – Michinoku Driver
Fit Finlay b. Lord Steven Regal via DQ when the Bluebloods interfered
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:
https://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/
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