NXT UK – December 31, 2020: Fishing In The River
NXT UK
Date: December 31, 2020
Host: Andy Shepherd
We’ll wrap up the year with this, as it’s another Best Of show. That’s not the worst thing in the world either, as NXT UK has had some great stuff over the course of the year. Last week’s show worked well and hopefully that’s what we’re going to get again here to finish the year. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Andy throws us straight to the first match.
From February 13.
Gallus vs. Danny Burch/Oney Lorcan
Non-title and it’s Mark Coffey/Wolfgang here with Joe on the floor. Danny and Mark start things off and don’t get very far early on. Wolfgang comes in and grabs a headlock takeover and it’s already back to Mark for an armbar. Burch drives him into the corner though and it’s Lorcan coming in for a double atomic drop. So much for Lorcan staying in as Burch is right back in for uppercuts.
Mark shows him how to really do one though and Burch is taken down for Mark’s chinlock. That’s broken up and a dive through the rope allows the tag to Lorcan. The running hip attack is cut off in a hurry though and it’s Lorcan in trouble in a hurry. Wolfgang hits a running backsplash into another chinlock to keep Lorcan down. Mark comes back in to stomp away but Lorcan gets annoyed at taking such a beating.
The chops don’t do much good as Wolfgang hits a Wasteland, only to miss the moonsault. Burch gets the hot tag and starts suplexing/headbutting. Everything breaks down and Lorcan hits a running Blockbuster on Mark. The Crossface has Mark in trouble and Lorcan adds a half crab on Wolfgang, only to get kicked into Burch and Mark for the save. The powerslam/enziguri combination finishes Burch at 10:41.
Rating: C+. It was the only match of the night to get any significant amount of time and even then they didn’t exactly light the world on fire here. Burch and Lorcan have been dispatched in a hurry and unfortunately I have a feeling that we’ll be seeing them as Dragunov’s backup anyway. It takes away a lot of their impact, but it’s quite the WWE trope so odds are it’s what we get.
A-Kid, Amir Jordan, Aleah James, Dave Mastiff, Kay Lee Ray and Mark Andrews wish us a Happy New Year.
Ashton Smith, Amale, Gallus, Isla Dawn, Wild Boar and Noam Dar wish us a Happy New Year.
Sam Gradwell recaps the year, but makes the mistake of doing it from memory. Gradwell: “January: It was cold. February: It was slightly warmer.” Then he talks about fishing by hand, the Heritage Cup, Walter vs. Ilja Dragunov, and then his return a few weeks later. So Happy New Year.
We go to the Pretty Deadly home, where they are having some difficulties making drinks. They finally get one right though and dub it the Pretty Deadly. It’s just a little bit though, just like 2020. Next year though, they get the big mouthful of Pretty Deadly.
Jinny, Ilja Dragunov, Kenny Williams, Primate, Dani Luna, Joseph Conners, Chris Sharpe, Jack Starz and Nina Samuels wish us a Happy New Year.
Next week will see the return of Super Nova Sessions, featuring the debuting Ben Carter.
Saxon Huxley, Piper Niven, Levi Muir, Oliver Carter, Xia Brookside, Rampage Brown, Tyson T-Bone and Eddie Dennis wish us a Happy New Year.
In two weeks: A-Kid vs. Walter for the United Kingdom Title.
We look back at Tyler Bate defeating Jordan Devlin in the United Kingdom Title Tournament in 2017.
From Takeover: Blackpool II:
Tyler Bate vs. Jordan Devlin
They circle each other to start as the fans are almost all behind Bate. Devlin wins an early battle over wrist control until Bate flips around and grabs his own wristlock. A battle over a rollup goes nowhere and Devlin is ready for Bop and Bang. There’s a backdrop to Devlin and a gorilla press makes it even worse. Devlin is sent to the floor but catches a charging Bate with a release Rock Bottom.
The Arabian press gets two and we have a split crowd for a change. A butterfly suplex lets Devlin mock the Moustache Mountain pose but the Devil Inside is blocked. Devlin drops him on the arm/back and stands on Bate’s neck to make it worse. The surfboard works on almost all of Bate, with Devlin pulling back on the head to add a little extra pain. Since that can’t last long, they’re both up and stereo crossbodies give us a double knockdown.
Back up and Bate catches a charge in the corner to slam Devlin. A running kick to the head sets up the standing shooting star press for two. Devlin gets up an elbow in the corner but the slingshot cutter is countered into a ridiculously long airplane spin. Even Bate is dizzy off of that one but manages a brainbuster for two. The Tyler Driver 97 is countered into a rollup for two before Devlin hits a half and half suplex for his own near fall.
Now the slingshot cutter connects, only to send Bate out to the apron. Another slingshot cutter onto the apron drops both of them on the floor and Devlin’s kick to the chest makes Bate dive back in to beat the count. They slug it out with Devlin getting the better of it until the rolling Liger Kick gives Bate a breather. The Devil Inside is blocked but Bate’s handspring clothesline is countered into a Spanish Fly for another double knockdown.
Bate crotches him on top but a super Spanish Fly into the Devil Inside connects for a VERY close two. Devlin punches him in the face and loads up his own Tyler Driver 97, only to get reversed into a headbutt. Bate hits a springboard tornado DDT into the Tyler Driver 97 for two, but Bate is right back up top with a Spiral Tap for the pin at 22:41.
Rating: A-. Yeah this was great stuff with both guys beating the heck out of each other. Devlin knew a lot of what Bate was going to do but got just a bit too cocky and slipped up in the end, allowing the better Bate to win. That being said, I’m not sure how much sense this makes as Devlin needed the win a lot more than Bate. Either way, this was the blow away match the show was looking for and it’s excellent.
Post match Bate gets a standing ovation, including from HHH, William Regal and Johnny Saint.
Overall Rating: B+. I know Bate hasn’t been around as much as some but man alive that guy can steal a show in a heartbeat. At the same time though, Devlin is someone who can hang with anyone and get a great match at the drop of a hat. Oh yeah and the tag match was on the show too. That’s pretty standard for a show like this but that main event was great again.
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