NXT UK
Date: November 21, 2018
Location: NEC Arena, Birmingham, England
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness

It’s time for another double shot as we continue to try and get through all the old tapings, even though there’s another taping scheduled for this weekend. Apparently I’m not allowed to complain about such things though so we’ll move on to what’s on tap this week, which includes to more first round matches in the Women’s Title tournament. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

NXT UK Women’s Title Tournament First Round: Xia Brookside vs. Rhea Ripley

Ripley throws her down by the face to start so Xia tries to grapple her down as well. The hurricanrana is countered into a buckle bomb though as the much smaller Brookside can’t do much with the much bigger Ripley. A delayed suplex and a dropkick to the back of the head give Ripley two and it’s off to a standing Texas Cloverleaf. Brookside fights up and snaps off a headscissors before going up top. The high crossbody is countered into the Riptide to give Ripley the pin at 5:14.

Rating: D+. Just a step above a squash here with Ripley looking dominant. That’s not at all surprising as WWE clearly thinks something of her and wants her to be a big deal. She’s got the stuff to be a big deal and pushing her makes a lot of sense. Brookside certainly has potential with a good look and natural abilities but at 20 years old, she needs some experience. There’s nothing wrong with that and I’m sure she’ll be around in the future.

James Drake and Zack Gibson have known each other for a long time and no team can challenge them. Last week was just a friend helping a friend. This interview is over.

We look back at Wolfgang and the Coffey Brothers attacking Moustache Mountain last week. The beating continued after the show ended with Trent Seven’s leg being crushed under an anvil case.

Eddie Dennis vs. Jack Starz

The fans are behind Dennis, who is nearly a foot taller than Starz. Dennis takes him to the ropes to start and blasts Starz with a forearm to the face. Some choking keeps Starz in trouble and a spinning Rock Bottom backbreaker gets two. Starz actually tells him to bring it on and hits some uppercuts. That just earns him a Razor’s Edge buckle bomb though and the lifting inverted DDT is good for the pin on Starz at 3:19.

Rating: D. Starz got in more offense than he should here but I still like Dennis’ work. He looks like a monster and has a better backstory than most around here, which is something that helps him stand apart. If nothing else just having his size is going to make him that much more interesting. Just a squash here for the most part though, with Dennis dominating.

Next week: Tyson T-Bone vs. Dave Mastiff.

Mark Andrews vs. Mike Hitchman

Hitchman (also known as the Wild Boar) takes him straight down by the arm but gets armdragged down a few times. Andrews gets knocked down onto the apron though and a big backsplash crushes him again. Another backsplash gets two but Andrews comes back with a series of strikes, including an enziguri to send Hitchman outside. A moonsault from the apron…bounces off Hitchman in a weird landing but it puts him down anyway.

Back in and Hitchman scores with a half and half suplex and a running backsplash (he loves that move) in the corner for two. A frog splash misses but Hitchman turns him upside down off a clothesline. That just earns him Stundog Millionaire and the shooting star (headbutt version) gives Andrews the pin at 5:27.

Rating: D+. I wasn’t feeling this one for the most part as Hitchman was too fond of that backsplash and the match was a little sloppy at times. Andrews is a good little underdog though and someone who could be a nice guy to push around here. Hitchman…well his nickname is good, even if his stuff in the ring isn’t great.

Eddie Dennis is happy to be undefeated when Ashton Smith comes in to say he could handle Dennis. That sends Dennis over the edge so he promises to take care of Smith.

NXT UK Women’s Title Tournament First Round: Isla Dawn vs. Toni Storm

Dawn dropkicks her into the corner at the bell and hits a belly to back suplex for two. Toni is rocked early and some elbows to the face make things even worse. Some forearms have no effect on Dawn, who scores with a pair of jumping knees to the face for two. The Rings of Saturn go on and Toni has to turn around several ways to finally get to the rope for the break. Dawn talks some trash and gets kicked in the face, followed by a running hip attack in the corner. A hard German suplex sets up Storm Zero for the pin on Dawn at 4:06.

Rating: C+. That was short but Dawn looked way better than she has in a long time. She beat up the much bigger star for a few minutes, which is quite the feat in a match that should be the most obvious ending on this show so far. You know Storm is getting a deep run in this thing after winning the Mae Young Classic so the win wasn’t exactly in doubt, but it was still cool to see Dawn make a go of it.

Storm helps her up.

Here are the semifinals, which will take place next week:

Toni Storm

Jinny

Rhea Ripley

Dakota Kai

Not bad at all.

Jordan Devlin vs Ligero

Feeling out process to start with Ligero working on the wrist and armdragging him to the mat into a rollup. That earns him a SI chant, even though Ligero is from England. A headscissors down gets two and we get what sounds like an Elite chant. Devlin is right back with a release Rock Bottom into a standing moonsault for two and it’s off to a neck crank. Back up and a heck of a back elbow gets two on Ligero and Devlin says Ligero isn’t on his level.

A crossbody gets Ligero out of trouble but Devlin grabs his leg in a smart move. Ligero knees his way out of a suplex and gets two off a Code Red. That’s enough of this nearly getting pinned thing for Devlin, who knees him hard in the mask. In a cool spot, Devlin pulls him up from the mat into a belly to back suplex, all in one motion with a hard landing. Ligero is somehow alive enough to send him to the floor for another headscissors and it’s time to go back inside.

The top rope splash hits Devlin’s raised knees though and a Spanish Fly gets two with Devlin not believing the kickout. With nothing on the mat working, Devlin ties him up in the Tree of Woe for a double stomp but Ligero does a situp into a belly to back superplex. Now the top rope splash connects for two and they’re both down. They head to the apron for a slugout but Devlin sends him face first into the steps. That means a moonsault to the floor, followed by Ireland’s Call for the pin at 11:44.

Rating: B. I still don’t quite like Devlin as much as some do but he was looking solid here and Ligero was just a step behind him. I’m not entirely sure why Devlin felt the need to beat him up, but at least they had a good match to close out the show. Pete Dunne needs challengers and Devlin wouldn’t be bad as an option. Rather good match here, which is a good sign with none of the top stars involved.

Post match, Devlin calls out Pete Dunne to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show got a lot better as it went on with some of the earlier stuff being pretty weak, but the last two matches were both strong with the main event being a quite good match. They’re starting to develop some stars around here, which has to be the case sooner rather than later because British Strong Style can only carry you so far. Good show here, as things are getting easier to watch.

Results

Rhea Ripley b. Xia Brookside – Riptide

Eddie Dennis b. Jack Starz – Lifting inverted DDT

Mark Andrews b. Mike Hitchman – Shooting star press

Toni Storm b. Isla Dawn – Storm Zero

Jordan Devlin b. Ligero – Ireland’s Call

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Mae Young Classic
Date: September 26, 2018
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Renee Young, Beth Phoenix, Michael Cole

We’re wrapping up the first round tonight with the last four matches, meaning things are already going to be halfway done. The interesting thing here is going to be seeing which surprises WWE has left for us, along with Japanese superstar Io Shirai as this year’s breaking name. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

The opening video talks about the eight names who will be competing tonight.

Opening sequence.

All matches are first round matches.

Rachel Evers is the daughter of Paul Ellering and wants to make her own path. She lost her focus last year but that’s not happening this time around.

Hiroyo Matsumoto calls herself Lady Godzilla. I think that sums her up quite well.

Kassius Ohno, who is dating Evers, is here.

Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Rachel Evers

Cole’s description of a woman who called herself LADY GODZILLA and wants to fight the Undertaker: “She’s colorful and loves to have fun.” Cole on Evers: “She wants to have fun!” They shove each other around (while still having fun) to start and some shoulders go nowhere. Clotheslines go nowhere so Matsumoto shoulders her down as Renee talks about joshi.

Evers gets two off a gutwrench suplex and kicks Matsumoto in the face. A missed charge lets Matsumoto Stun her over the ropes, which is called flamboyance for some reason. Matsumoto gets two off a missile dropkick and we hit the chinlock. Back up and Evers gets laid over the middle rope for some kicks to the ribs, followed by a Vader Bomb knee drop for two more.

Evers comes back with a pop up spinebuster (not a powerbomb Cole) for a double knockdown. A slugout goes to Evers and she grabs a cutter into a backsplash for two. Evers drops a spinning double springboard legdrop for two more and the fans are entirely behind her here. Another strike off goes to Matsumoto and she grabs a German suplex, which Evers no sells to a BIG reaction. Matsumoto has had it with Evers and powerbombs the heck out of her, followed by a Saito suplex (the Rock Drop) for the pin at 7:46.

Rating: B. Well that was awesome. These two beat the heck out of each other in a style that you just don’t get around here. Matsumoto wasn’t quite the monster I was expecting but Evers got to slug it out with her and it turned into a very entertaining match as a result. The crowd alone made it that much better, which is a major benefit that not every match can enjoy.

Taynara Conti is a Brazilian jujitsu fighter who has appeared on NXT before.

Jesse Eleban is a nerdy geek who is from Earth and describes herself as “amazeballs”. I think you get the idea here.

Dana Brooke is here. Uh…..ok then.

Jessie Eleban vs. Taynara Conti

Conti wastes no time in throwing her down twice in a row. Jessie is right back up with a kick to the face (those long legs help with that) and a backsplash (egads enough with that move) gets two. Back up and Conti starts in on the arm, followed by an STO for two. A stomp to the arm sets up an armbar, followed by another version with some cranking on the wrist to keep Jessie in trouble.

Now it’s off to bending the fingers apart, followed by some stomping to the ribs in the corner. Since that’s enough to let Jessie fight back, Conti kicks her square in the arm to cut her off again. A catapult of all things drops Conti and some dropkicks keep Conti in trouble. Conti blocks a rollup though and spins her into a Boss Man Slam for the pin at 4:44.

Rating: D+. Conti winning here wasn’t exactly a surprise here and there’s nothing wrong with that. When you have someone who has wrestled on Wrestlemania and a newcomer, it’s not exactly the biggest shock in the world. Jessie is charismatic and could get somewhere with some more experience and development, but there was no way she was winning here.

Isla Dawn says she takes a lot of inspiration from goddess worship and wants to fight.

Nicole Matthews is a veteran from Canada who wasn’t happy with being an alternate last year. How can you have the best of the best if she’s not included?

Isla Dawn vs. Nicole Matthews

They fight over a few lockups to start as we hear about Dawn being into witchcraft. Dawn takes her down and hits a double stomp, followed by a running Meteora for two. Nicole is right back with a neckbreaker out of the corner (with an edit that made me think that was a second attempt) for two. A kick to the back and a backbreaker has Dawn in more trouble until she avoids a forearm in the corner.

Matthews ties her in the ropes though and kicks away at the chest to keep Dawn in trouble. Some elbows and forearms set up a double arm crank but Dawn is right back up with some knees to the face. A snap belly to back suplex drops Matthews and a fisherman’s suplex gets two. Dawn almost drops her on an Angle Slam for another near fall as Beth thinks a spell might be in need of a spell. Matthews has finally had enough of her and clotheslines Dawn into a Liontamer for the tap at 7:19.

Rating: D. This one didn’t work for me and I don’t think that’s the biggest surprise. I was really disappointed in Dawn here who had an interesting backstory and then just went out and wrestled a normal match. The match itself felt disjointed and sloppy at times, which you shouldn’t have from someone with Matthews’ experience.

Io Shirai is a strong style high flier who was inspired by Rey Mysterio. Make sure the rocket attached to her back doesn’t burn you as it launches.

Xia Brookside is nineteen years old and the daughter of NXT trainer Robbie Brookside. It was nice knowing her.

Of course Robbie is here.

Io Shirai vs. Xia Brookside

Renee on Xia: “She looks like she’s made of Skittles.” That sounds cool, but Io’s moniker is Genius of the Sky. I don’t like Skittles so I’m taking Shirai there. Xia forearms her to start but Io lands on her feet to counter a headscissors. The look of shock on Xia’s face pretty much seals her fate so as Io forearms her in the corner.

Slingshot knees to the chest in the corner and Io grabs a kind of reverse Sling Blade into a Crossface. A hard knee to the face drops Brookside but she gets in a faceplant for a breather. The fans get behind Brookside…for all of two seconds until a palm strike cuts her off. More running knees in the corner set up a Great Muta style moonsault for the pin at 3:17.

Rating: D+. This still wasn’t the most thrilling match in the world as Xia was nothing more than cannon fodder for the big star. At the same time, Io isn’t about to show off everything she can do in a match that is little more than a squash. She’s going to get a heck of a push in the tournament and beyond, which is exactly the point of a match like this.

Shirai helps what used to be Brookside up.

Here are the updated brackets:

Meiko Satomura

Mercedes Martinez

Lacey Lane

Taynara Conti

Toni Storm

Hiroyo Matsumoto

Mia Yim

Kaitlyn

Tegan Nox

Nicole Matthews

Rhea Ripley

Kacy Catanzaro

Io Shirai

Zeuxis

Deonna Purrazzo

Xia Li

We get a recap of the show, which doesn’t happen every week. Feels like filler.

Overall Rating: C. The opening match more than makes up for some of the weaker stuff down the card but the first round being over is the most important thing. The whole appeal of a tournament like this is seeing the people who stole the show in the first round fighting each other again later and that’s going to make the next few weeks a lot of fun.