NXT UK – January 30, 2019: The One That Could Beat NXT

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT UK
Date: January 30, 2019
Location: Empress Ballroom, Blackpool, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Vic Joseph

We’re still in Blackpool and that means we could be in for some fun stuff. The fallout from Takeover is still in effect and we’re probably on the verge of seeing Walter make his in-ring debut. He’s a heck of a monster and if he does things well, he can be the top star around here in a hurry. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a video on Walter, who makes his debut tonight.

Opening sequence.

Dave Mastiff vs. Jay Melrose

They trade shoulders to no avail to start so the huge Mastiff goes with a crossbody to really take over. Melrose is right back up and grabs the beard (NOT COOL!) to hammer away. An armbar doesn’t get far on Mastiff so they trade forearms to no effect. Melrose blocks a suplex though and it’s right back to the armbar. Of course he can’t fireman’s carry the huge Mastiff, who crashes onto him and hits a running backsplash. A German suplex sets up the Cannonball to finish Melrose at 4:59.

Rating: C-. Not much to see here, though well done by having Primate (just call him that and drop the Melrose thing) get in some offense. Mastiff having to fight through some adversity is a nice touch and the match was far from bad. They need something for Mastiff to do though and this is only going to do so much for so long.

We look back at Zack Gibson and James Drake becoming the first Tag Team Champions.

Video on Xia Brookside.

Here are Gibson and Drake for a chat. The fans still hate Gibson, who talks about how they told everyone they would win. They stole the show in Blackpool because they were focused on their goal. You can take your shoes off and wave them all you want but they are Grizzled Young Veterans and Tag Team Champions. This brings out Sid Scala, who says their first title defense will be in Phoenix against Danny Burch/Oney Lorcan. Sounds good to me and it’s a match that makes perfect sense.

Walter vs. Jack Starz

This is Walter’s in-ring debut and he starts with the chops. They head outside for a drop onto the apron as Walter is already looking like a monster. Back in and a knee to the face sets up a heck of a powerbomb to complete the squash of Starz at 2:30. Walter not only looks like a star but he has the all important star power, which is lacking around here.

Post break, Trent Seven yelled at Walter, who was backed up by Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel. They’ll be his friends, though he didn’t seem interested.

Jinny vs. Kasey Owens

Owens hangs upside down in the ropes during her entrance for a nice touch. Jinny easily takes her down by the arm to star and scratches her nails into Kasey’s arm. There’s an ax kick to the back to keep Owens in trouble but she pulls Jinny into a bodyscissors for a nice counter. That’s countered into an ankle lock but Owens is in the rope in a hurry. They forearm it out until Owens avoids a charge in the corner.

Jinny takes her outside anyway and sends Kasey ribs first into the barricade, followed by an abdominal stretch back inside. You know a regular abdominal stretch isn’t enough though as Jinny scratches the ribs for a bonus. Jinny puts on a modified surfboard before just kicking her in the back. Kasey is right back with an armbar over the ropes, which can only last for a few seconds. Back up and Jinny pulls her out of the corner with the Makeover for the pin at 5:11.

Rating: D+. The fingernails stuff was a good idea as Jinny looked vicious but it still feels like she’s having trouble breaking through to the next level. That being said, Jinny vs. Storm is a big rivalry in Progress and it would work just fine in NXT as well. Owens was fine, though just another person who doesn’t stand out on a big roster.

Earlier today, Rhea Ripley demanded her rematch with Storm in Phoenix, which takes place in three weeks.

Next week: Walter vs. Mark Coffey.

Moustache Mountain vs. Fabian Aichner/Marcel Barthel

Bate and Barthel start things off in the traditional battle over the wristlock. It’s a headlock to put Barthel in control so Bate walks on his hands to escape. He’s not only big and strong but he’s agile. Barthel grabs an ankle so Bate pulls himself up and flips away again. An armdrag into an armbar has Barthel in more trouble so it’s off to Seven to stay on said arm.

Aichner comes in and starts uppercutting in the corner but Seven takes him down for Bate’s middle rope assisted Swanton. Seven is back in again and it’s a blind tag to bring Barthel back in for a pop up faceplant. We hit the chinlock for a bit, followed by a backbreaker from Aichner for two. It’s off to a bodyscissors to keep Bate down, triggering the comeback and a diving tag off to Seven. A powerbomb out of the corner rocks Aichner and it’s a sitout slam for two on Barthel.

The dragon suplex/clothesline combination is broken up and it’s an enziguri into a rollup for the near fall on Seven this time around. Barthel is sent outside and knocked off the apron by a missed charge from Aichner, leaving Seven to hit the Seven Star Lariat for two more. It’s back to Barthel to clean house until a Stunner cuts him off. Everything breaks down and a double Liger Kick takes the villains down. The dragon suplex/clothesline combination gets the pin on Barthel at 13:07.

Rating: B. I’m not much of a Barthel fan but this was a heck of a match with both teams looking great. The Grizzled Young Veterans are a great team and now we need some teams to come after the titles. Either of these two would be fine though having Moustache Mountain as the first challengers would make sense. Very good match here with all four feeling it.

Overall Rating: C+. It’s another show where the main event carried things and there’s nothing wrong with that. They had a good hour of television here and things are looking good going forward. Walter alone made this worth seeing and with the proper build, his eventual showdown with Pete Dunne could rival some top level NXT matches.

Results

Dave Mastiff b. Jay Melrose – Cannonball

Walter b. Jack Starz – Powerbomb

Jinny b. Kasey Owens – Makeover

Moustache Mountain b. Fabian Aichner/Marcel Barthel – Dragon suplex/clothesline combination to Barthel

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

NXT UK – January 16, 2019: There’s Always One Too Many

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT UK
Date: January 16, 2019
Location: Empress Ballroom, Blackpool, England
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness

So despite not being on the schedule, this show is airing tonight because there’s always one more episode than what you might actually want. This seems to be the standard dark matches from Takeover show and hopefully it’s more like Takeover than the regular TV show. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a long recap of Takeover. It really was a heck of a show.

Opening sequence.

Saxon Huxley vs. Ligero

Ligero soaks it in a bit but charges into a delayed slam for two to cut himself off. Some knees to the ribs give Huxley two and it’s off to a quick crossarm choke. Back up and Ligero hangs onto the ropes to block a whip, setting up an enziguri to put Huxley down. The missile dropkick gives Ligero two and a bottom rope springboard Stunner is good for the same. The springboard tornado DDT (C4L, Crazy 4 Ligero) finishes Huxley at 5:23.

Rating: D+. That choke killed a lot of the momentum they had as Ligero was doing most of the work here. Huxley’s big power offense was a single slam, which is probably why he got beaten clean by Ligero. I could see a nice little mini push for Ligero but Huxley might need to be pushed out as it’s not exactly there for him.

Jinny vs. Isla Dawn

Back in and Jinny gets a boot up in the corner to stop Dawn, setting up an abdominal stretch. A Downward Spiral into the middle buckle gets two and we hit the chinlock. That’s broken up with a belly to back suplex but Dawn gets crotched in the corner. Jinny plants her with an X Factor from the ropes for the pin at 6:17.

Rating: D. Jinny is the kind of person who needs the talking time to really make things work that much better. She’s fine in the ring, but this was little more than two people doing moves to each other until one of them got a pin. Dawn has already had her shot so it makes sense to have her get out of the way for Jinny to have her chance.

Travis Banks wants Jordan Devlin next week.

Mark Andrews/Flash Morgan Webster vs. Fabian Aichner/Marcel Barthel

Aichner avoids an early dropkick attempt and gets chopped down for his efforts. Barthel and Webster come in with Barthel getting knocked into the corner, leaving Aichner to catch Webster with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Barthel poses and puts on a chinlock before allowing Webster to flip out of a belly to back suplex. That’s enough for the hot (I guess) tag to Andrews so house can be cleaned. Everything breaks down and an assisted 450 gives Andrews two.

Aichner gets in a cheap shot to take over and it’s a spinebuster into a penalty kick for two more. Everything breaks down again and Andrews gets brainbustered out of the corner for the latest near fall. The fans actually get on their feet, which I’m not sure is quite yet deserved. A moonsault into a double kick to the head rocks the villains and Webster drops a Swanton for two on Aichner. The Stundog Millionaire sends Barthel outside but Andrews’ dive is countered into a drive into the barricade. Back in and Webster gets dropkicked, setting up a powerbomb/top rope European uppercut for the pin at 9:37.

Rating: C+. It takes something special to get beyond the levels of boring that Barthel adds to every match he’s in. The match was a nice high flying vs. power match and that’s something that is going to work every time you run the thing. Webster and Andrews can be a perfectly acceptable face team until their inevitable split and feud, which should be fun and let Webster turn into the heel that I always thought he was.

Overall Rating: C-. Well that was a completely necessary use of forty minutes. I didn’t see this show announced on the Network schedule and really, I can see why. The wrestling was fine but this episode didn’t need to exist as it offered a grand total of nothing that was necessary to see. At least they kept it a lot shorter though as dragging this out to the near hour (or more) that this show runs every week would have been an even bigger waste of time. Nothing too bad, but absolutely not worth your time.

Results

Ligero b. Saxon Huxley – C4L

Jinny b. Isla Dawn – X Factor

Fabian Aichner/Marcel Barthel b. Mark Andrews/Flash Morgan Webster – Powerbomb/European uppercut combination to Webster

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

NXT UK – January 2, 2019 (First Episode): Prep Time

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT UK
Date: January 2, 2019
Location: Liverpool Olympia, Liverpool, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Vic Joseph

We’re almost up to Takeover: Blackpool and a lot of the card is becoming clear. There are a few spots left though and some of those are in the Tag Team Title tournament. We have a semifinal match tonight with Moustache Mountain facing Gallus, which could be entertaining if done right. Let’s get to it.

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

In Memory of Gene Okerlund.

Opening sequence.

Travis Banks vs. Jamie Ahmed

Banks goes straight for the arm to start but Ahmed is right in the ropes. Ahmed gets in a few shots of his own until Banks sends him into the corner. That means a running dropkick to the back and a German suplex for two. Another dropkick sets up a running stomp in the corner and the Slice of Heaven finishes Ahmed at 2:42. Pretty much a squash.

Post match here’s Jordan Devlin to say that he and Banks have wrestled all over the world but the difference is Devlin gets to go home to his family every week. Banks looks like he wants to shut Devlin up but Devlin reminds him to never bet against the Ace.

We look back at Zack Gibson beating Trent Seven a few weeks back with the help of James Drake. Tyler Bate came out for the save, leading to Gallus beating Bate and Seven down. The teams will meet for a spot in the first ever NXT Tag Team Title match.

Video on Dave Mastiff vs. Eddie Dennis from a few weeks back. The rematch is next week.

Kenny Williams/Amir Jordan vs. Marcel Barthel/Fabian Aichner

Williams takes Barthel down into an early headlock and then does it again by the arm. Jordan comes in to stay on the arm but stops to dance because that’s his whole deal. Thankfully Barthel knocks him down with one shot and it’s off to Aichner for the beatdown in the corner. Jordan’s comeback is cut off by a cheap shot from the apron and it’s a spinebuster into a running kick to the chest.

The chinlock is broken up with a jawbreaker but Aichner is smart enough to knock Williams off the apron. Barthel grabs another chinlock which is broken in short order as well, allowing the hot tag to Williams. That means some house cleaning until Jordan tags himself back in. Barthel throws him down with a suplex for two and Aichner tosses Williams into the barricade. A powerbomb/belly to back suplex combination finishes Jordan at 7:21.

Rating: D+. This could have been worse and while I’m still not wild on Barthel, he works fine enough as a partner for the pretty good Aichner. Jordan continues to be nothing but a bad joke while Williams is perfectly watchable. Hopefully we can get more from Aichner and Barthel as they could be a rather nice team.

Toni Storm and Deonna Purrazzo agreed to a match because they both want the Takeover title shot.

Johnny Saint and Sid Scala are trying to announce some Takeover matches when Joe Coffey interrupts. He wants the title shot with Pete Dunne at Takeover and is told it’ll be taken under advisement.

Jinny vs. Candy Floss

The announcers confirm that Storm is getting the Women’s Title shot, making the match with Purrazzo seem a little less important. Floss takes her down into a hammerlock to start as the fans call Jinny a Primark Princess. Jinny gets in some stomping and a hard forearm for two before grabbing a Kimura. A wristlock sends Candy face first into the mat again but she pops up with a dropkick for a breather. Jinny has had it with this offense though and it’s A Touch of Couture to finish Candy at 4:23.

Rating: D. Jinny is starting to get better at this, though she’s still nothing compared to what she does in Progress. That’s because she hasn’t been allowed to be that character, which is going to slow anyone down. Candy continues to be fine as the perky face and that’s a good role to be in on a show like this.

Tag Team Title Tournament Semifinals: Moustache Mountain vs. Gallus

It’s Wolfgang and Mark Coffey for Gallus here. Bate wastes no time in dropkicking Coffey down for one as the fans sing about their love of Moustache Mountain. A backdrop keeps Coffey in trouble and he bails outside for a breather. Back in and Coffey finally runs him over and it’s off to Wolfgang to take over with a front facelock. Wolfgang lets go to take a swing at Seven but walks into a hurricanrana for his efforts.

Now it’s Seven coming in for the chops and a DDT to drop Coffey. Wolfgang suplexes him down though and the beating is on with right hands to the head. A running elbow sets up a waistlock to keep Seven in trouble and the beating continues. Coffey grabs the same waistlock before it’s back to Wolfgang for the same hold, which stays on for a ridiculous amount of time. Wolfgang finally switches over to the bearhug before throwing Seven outside for a breather. Coffey tries to add a dive but gets knocked out of the air, allowing Seven to run around the ring and tag Bate in.

Bate starts fast with a suicide dive on Wolfgang, followed by a middle rope uppercut for a bonus. A t-bone suplex drops Wolfgang again and Bate nips up for good measure. Bate throws him up for the airplane spin and the reverse motion sets up a toss as Wolfgang is rocked. With Bate staggered, Coffey jumps on his back for a choke….so Bate German suplexes Wolfgang and drops Coffey onto the mat at the same time. My jaw actually dropped on that because THAT’S NOT NORMAL!

It’s back to Seven to pick up the pace with a dive off the apron to take out Wolfgang. As Wolfgang comes up holding his knee, Mark enziguris Bate for two. Cue Joe Coffey to get on the apron but Pete Dunne is out to cut him off. An X Plex drops Joe on the apron and it’s Bop and Bang to put Mark down. Wolfgang gets knocked off the apron and it’s the dragon suplex/clothesline to finish Coffey at 14:38.

Rating: B+. I’m still not wild on Gallus but it was nice to see these guys beat the heck out of each other and draw in Joe and Dunne as a bonus. They had a very good match here with Bate looking like a star (I mean DANG) and Seven more than holding up his end. You had to put Moustache Mountain in the title match though as they’re bigger and more interesting stars. This wasn’t up for debate but we had a good match on the way.

Post match the brawl is on with Dunne coming in for the save. British Strong Style stands tall with Dunne saying he’ll defend the title against Joe at Blackpool. Another brawl breaks out to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event saved the show and that’s all it needed to do. They focused on some different people here and it helped a lot as the show needs some stars other than the established ones. Blackpool doesn’t look awesome yet but they’re putting the pieces in the right places to make it work. Pretty good, but the main event is all that’s worth seeing.

Results

Travis Banks b. Jamie Ahmed – Slice of Heaven

Marcel Barthel/Fabian Aichner b. Kenny Williams/Amir Jordan – Powerbomb/belly to back suplex combination to Jordan

Jinny b. Candy Floss – A Touch of Couture

Moustache Mountain b. Gallus – Dragon suplex/clothesline combination to Coffey

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

NXT UK – December 12, 2018 (Second Episode): The Rocky Path To The Good Part

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT UK
Date: December 12, 2018
Location: Plymouth Pavilions, Devon, England
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness

We’re on the second day of the third taping cycle now and that means we should have a fresh crowd. You know, because these crowds have so many issues with getting and staying hyped. There are several stories going around at the moment, but something has to really stick to make the show get better. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Ashton Smith/Ligero vs. Mark Coffey/Wolfgang

Wolfgang and Ligero start things off with the fans being way behind Ligero. Probably because he’s not Wolfgang. Smith sneaks in for a dropkick and it’s right back to Ligero, whose tornado DDT is blocked. The villains take over and grab a waistlock on Ligero with Coffey slamming him down to the mat.

That’s followed by a bearhug as you can’t fault the basic psychology. Ligero breaks free and brings Smith back in for some speedier offense. With Wolfgang knocked to the floor, a jumping clothesline staggers Coffey. There’s a springboard back elbow to the jaw for two, followed by a superkick for the same with Wolfgang having to make a save. Ligero hits a dive onto Wolfgang but Coffey hits a kick to Smith’s face for the pin at 5:37.

We look back at Isla Dawn challenging Rhea Ripley for the Women’s Title.

Johnny Saint is with the two women and makes the match official.

Gallus knows that was an impressive enough performance to impress Saint. They’re tired of hearing about the other teams around here and they want the titles. The only person they’re concerned with is Pete Dunne, because Joe wants the title. First up though is Travis Banks, who is going to be squashed like a bug.

Jack Starz vs. Joseph Conners

Conners wastes no time in beating him down with Starz’s ribs being wrapped around the post. A dropkick to the back makes things even worse but Starz fires off some uppercuts for a breather. That just earns him a double stomp out of the corner and a running sunset powerbomb into the corner. Don’t Look Down gives Conners the pin at 2:16. Total squash.

Xia Brookside is ready for Jinny, who comes in to sneer.

Tyson T-Bone has found someone as sinister as himself: Saxon Huxley. Keeping two uninteresting guys together is usually a good idea.

Xia Brookside vs. Jinny

Brookside grabs a headlock takeover to start and she headstands her way out of a headscissors to some rather appreciative applause. Jinny takes her down by the arm but Xia gets a boot up in the corner. A hurricanrana and middle rope crossbody give Xia two until the Fashion Disaster (a Downward Spiral into the middle buckle) cuts her off. Jinny puts a knee in the back and cranks on both arms until a jawbreaker gets Xia out of trouble. Running knees to the back give Xia two but Jinny sends her throat first into the middle rope. The Touch of Couture (a rolling kick to the head) finishes Xia at 5:14.

Rating: C. This was fine as Xia has potential but is nowhere near ready for the big push yet. Jinny isn’t quite ready yet either, but she’s further along than Xia. This fashionista thing isn’t helping Jinny though and she would be better off by being more like she is in Progress, where the fashion thing is more of an amplified detail than the focus of her character.

Video on Dave Mastiff.

Video on Eddie Dennis.

Rhea Ripley vs. Isla Dawn for the Women’s Title next week.

Eddie Dennis vs. Dave Mastiff

Mastiff takes him into the corner to start but they’re both tentative early on. Dennis’ shoulder has no effect and a second does even less. Instead it’s Mastiff hitting a heavy forearm to take over and some elbows to the head keep Dennis in trouble. The running dropkick looks to set up the backsplash but Dennis avoids the bad case of pain. A boot sends Mastiff outside and two more keep him in trouble.

Back in and Mastiff misses a charge in the corner, setting up….the cravate. Well it’s better than another armbar. Mastiff gets up and scores with a headbutt, followed by a big superplex to put them both down. A Regal Roll into a backsplash gives Mastiff two, followed by a bridging German suplex for the same.

Dennis is right back with a swinging sitout powerslam (and he held Mastiff up) for his own near fall. The Severn Bridge is blocked twice (even with Dennis holding him up in the Razor’s Edge position) so Dennis nails a clothesline for two instead. Mastiff has had it and throws him into the corner for the Cannonball and the pin at 11:47.

Rating: C. This was the hoss battle that it should have been and the more I think about it, the more I can go with Mastiff winning here. I’ve been saying for months that they have to do something around here to make more stars and Mastiff seems to be one of them at the moment. It’s a fun match, even if Dennis lost to my annoyance.

Overall Rating: C-. I wasn’t exactly feeling this one with most of the show being the lower level guys, though they managed to come up with some stuff that worked well enough. They were trying to make some new names here and that’s been needed for a long time, though it’s not going to be something that goes over so smoothly. Not a bad show here, but you can feel the quality going down compared to the show earlier today.

Results

Mark Coffey/Wolfgang b. Ashton Smith/Ligero – Kick to Smith’s face

Joseph Conners b. Jack Starz – Don’t Look Down

Jinny b. Xia Brookside – Touch of Couture

Dave Mastiff b. Eddie Dennis – Cannonball

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

NXT UK – November 21, 2018 (Second Episode): The Big Ones Are What Matter

IMG Credit: WWE

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

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

Opening sequence.

NXT UK Women’s Title Semifinals: Rhea Ripley vs. Dakota Kai

There’s some history here as Kai eliminated her from the first Mae Young Classic. The fans sound like they’re behind Kai, even as Ripley takes her down with a test of strength. Ripley sits her on the top for a slap to the face, only to get kicked in the jaw to even things up. A rollup gives Kai two and Ripley is looking annoyed. Some kicks to the chest send Ripley bailing to the floor and a pair of running soccer kicks make it even worse.

Back in and Ripley tosses her down to take over again as there’s only so much you can do against that kind of size and power advantage. Ripley hits a basement dropkick for two and some hard forearms to the back have Kai in even more trouble. Another dropkick gives Ripley another two as Vic says Kai hasn’t been able to get out of the gates. She was out of the gates earlier, but Ripley knocked her back into the gates. Get your horse metaphors straight.

The standing Texas Cloverleaf has Kai in pain until she can make it to the ropes for the break. Kai finally comes back with some forearms and a running dropkick into the corner, followed by the running facewash. The running big boot gives Kai two but Ripley is right back with a face first drop onto the apron. As you might expect, the much bigger Ripley talks trash but has to counter the Kairopractor. Riptide sends Ripley to the finals at 9:51.

Rating: C. These two have chemistry together and the size difference alone makes for a great David vs. Goliath visual. Ripley winning is the right call as Kai is already over just based on her charisma alone. There’s a good chance that she’ll win the title and that wouldn’t be bad at all for a first accomplishment.

Sid Scala, in a suit, is very pleased to get an opportunity in two weeks against Joe Coffey.

Jordan Devlin is calling Pete Dunne out for a title shot. Dunne has held the title for a long time but he hasn’t faced the serious competition. When Devlin wins the title, this place is becoming NXT Ireland Featuring The UK.

Flash Morgan Webster/Mark Andrews vs. Saxon Huxley/Joseph Conners

The much bigger Huxley sends Webster into the corner to start as the fans sing about wanting to know something. Webster comes back with a hurricanrana out of the corner and a dropkick is enough for the tag off to Andrews. Conners comes in as well and gets rolled into a double stomp to the chest. It’s back to Huxley to throw Andrews down hard as the villains start in on the lower back.

A few corner clotheslines set up an armbar to keep Andrews down. Andrews’ jawbreaker isn’t enough for the tag but he rolls away from Huxley for the hot tag off to Webster. Something like a Whisper in the Wind drops Huxley and there’s a flip dive off the apron to take Conners down as well. Huxley is back up and grabs Webster, ignoring Conners’ offer of a tag. That’s enough for Webster to tag Andrews and the Eton Rifle (a spinning reverse DDT) into Fall to Pieces for the pin at 6:10. Conners didn’t try to make a save.

Rating: D+. Neither team is exactly exciting but Andrews and Webster are fine enough for a high flying team. Conners and Huxley are your run of the mill annoyed villains team and that’s not exactly a rare concept around here. Both of them could use a little spice and I don’t see that happening if they’re just teaming together.

Post match Conners lays Huxley out. Good, as Conners and Huxley weren’t doing anything for me anyway. The fans calling Conners a sinner and then Judas for beating down Huxley was rather funny.

Dave Mastiff vs. Tyson T-Bone

Battle of the big men here, even though T-Bone isn’t all that huge. Mastiff stands in the middle and T-Bone circles around him while throwing some punches. That just annoys Mastiff, who shoves him into the corner. T-Bone hammers away and kicks Mastiff down, including some elbows to the back. We hit the neck crank on Mastiff, who gets smart by bearhugging his way to freedom. For some reason T-Bone tries a sunset flip, earning himself some bad chest pain. Some right hands and a headbutt rock T-Bone, setting up a suplex to send him flying. The Cannonball finishes T-Bone at 4:41.

Rating: D. Mastiff is someone where you get the idea as soon as you see him. He moves pretty well for a big man and he can do enough things to make him look good. T-Bone seems to be a tough guy with a boxing background, but I didn’t get the story here. Is T-Bone supposed to be big? Or was this a toughman fight? Then again Mastiff isn’t exactly the definition of tough, and the match didn’t quite click. I mean, the match wouldn’t have worked that well with a better story either so this was kind of doomed from the start.

Devlin gets his title shot next week.

We look at how Jinny and Toni Storm made it to the next round. Why didn’t we get this for Ripley and Kai?

NXT UK Women’s Title Tournament Semifinals: Jinny vs. Toni Storm

Jinny gets the PRIMARK PRINCESS chant as they lock up to start. That goes nowhere so they glare at each other a bit instead. An armdrag gives Jinny control and she puts a knee in Toni’s face to keep her down. Back up and Toni’s wristlock doesn’t get her very far so she goes with a running boot to the chest instead. A modified STF has Jinny in trouble but she fights up and gets two off a suplex into the corner.

Jinny grabs an armbar to keep Storm down and then pulls her down by the hair for a bit of viciousness. The armbar goes on again as Jinny isn’t exactly impressing me here. Toni fights up and snaps off a headbutt but they both go down. The slugout from the knees goes to Toni, who gets in a hard German suplex.

A fisherman’s suplex gets two and Toni goes up but has to kick Jinny off. For some reason Toni takes so much time that Jinny is able to get back up and dropkick her onto the middle buckle. That means an elevated X Factor for two on Toni and an ax kick is good for the same. Toni is right back up with a German suplex and Storm Zero sends her to the finals at 10:31.

Rating: B-. I finally got around to seeing some more from Jinny in Progress (including a match from Storm) and it’s rather clear that she’s not going at full strength here. Jinny is a much better character than “she cares about fashion” and that really limits her matches on this show. Her wrestling isn’t her strongest point to start and if you take away the character stuff that makes her work so well, she’s kind of stuck. Storm winning was obvious, but it was nice to get a good match on the way there.

Storm stares at the title so Ripley comes out to shove her.

Overall Rating: C. The main event bailed out what was an otherwise not exciting show and we’re setting up for an interesting final in the next week or so. The show still has some hit or miss results with the storytelling and the character work, but the bigger stories are clicking and that’s what matters most. Keep things moving in that direction and they’re onto something here.

Results

Rhea Ripley b. Dakota Kai – Riptide

Flash Morgan Webster/Mark Andrews b. Joseph Conners/Saxon Huxley – Fall to Pieces to Huxley

Dave Mastiff b. Tyson T-Bone – Cannonball

Toni Storm b. Jinny – Storm Zero

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

NXT UK – November 14, 2018 (Second Episode): Once More Up The Mountain

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT UK
Date: November 14, 2018
Location: NEC Arena, Birmingham, England
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness

It’s tournament time as last week’s big announcement saw the creation of the NXT UK Women’s Title, which we do actually need around here for the sake of keeping things a little more interesting. We’re getting two tournament matches tonight so they’re certainly hitting the ground running. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a look at the tournament and the women involved.

Opening sequence.

NXT UK Women’s Title Tournament First Round: Dakota Kai vs. Nina Samuels

Kai kicks her down to start and gets two off an early double stomp. Samuels kicks her leg off the middle rope though and a running knee to the back gets two. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker is good for the same as Samuels is certainly staying focused. We hit the Gory Special until Kai reverses into a sunset flip for two of her own. Kai starts in with the kicks and it’s the Facewash in the corner. The Kairopractor is good for the pin on Samuels at 4:40.

Rating: D+. Was anyone expecting anything else? Samuels got to do a little bit here but Kai is one of the more popular names in the division and it would make no sense to have her lose in the first round. I doubt she wins the title, but at least whoever beats her will get a nice rub out of it.

Mark Andrews wants some gold. Flash Morgan Webster comes in and says he does too so a team is suggested. Webster is really bad at reading from a script. Andrews seems interested.

Ashton Smith isn’t going to be broken by his loss last week. Eddie Dennis comes in to mock him and a match seems to be set for next week.

Jake Constantino vs. Tyson T-Bone

Constantino doesn’t get an entrance but seems to be an amateur wrestler. T-Bone wants to prove he’s tough. Jake (must be related to Rico) gets shoved away to start and T-Bone splashes him from behind. A big running elbow gets two and the neck crank goes on. Constantino tries to fight up but gets punched in the face to cut him down. T-Bone finishes him with a lariat at 2:04.

Post match T-Bone asks if that’s the best this place has to offer. That was a joke. As he leaves, Dave Mastiff comes out for his match and staring ensues.

Dave Mastiff vs. Dan Moloney

Dan tries slugging away to start but makes the mistake of trying an Irish whip. That earns him a big dropkick from Mastiff as T-Bone is still watching. Mastiff hits a dead lift German suplex, followed by the Cannonball for the pin at 1:20. Total squash.

Sid Scala knows he needs to go back to the drawing board but wants one more opportunity. He’s going to ask Johnny Saint for that chance.

NXT UK Women’s Title Tournament First Round: Jinny vs. Millie McKenzie

The fans seem to be behind McKenzie as she works on Jinny’s arm, earning herself a slap from the free arm. A running back elbow drops Jinny, who backs up into the corner. That’s just a ruse though (what a villain) for a Downward Spiral into the middle buckle. The fans call Jinny a Primark (an inexpensive clothing store) Princess as the chinlock goes on.

Back up and Jinny gets a quick rollup into a surfboard (cool), sending Millie bailing to the ropes Millie fights up and hits a heck of a spear, followed by a better looking German suplex. Jinny is right back up with a Japanese armdrag, followed by a windup rolling Liger kick for the pin at 4:52.

Rating: C. Jinny has charisma and I could see her being a big star with the right vignettes. The fashionista thing isn’t going to work very well and given that she’s facing Toni Storm in the second round, I don’t expect to see her going very far. McKenzie wasn’t great but she definitely has potential and the fans reacted to her. That’s more than some people can get so she’s off to a good start.

We look back at Jordan Devlin calling out Ligero.

Video on Ligero.

Next week: Devlin vs. Ligero.

Zack Gibson vs. Trent Seven

Before the match, Gibson says he’ll be NXT UK’s number one soon. Gibson takes him down by the wrist as the fans has managed to get the fans to take their shoes off again. That’s switched off to an ankle twist as the fans are shouting something else now. Trent gets up and chops him to the floor with Gibson thinking about walking. Tyler Bate comes out to keep things in the arena, sending Gibson back inside for an uppercut to Seven.

A few more shots to the arm and face put Seven in trouble again, followed by a backdrop driver for two. Gibson suplexes him down by the arm but Seven starts getting up. Seven knocks him to the floor for a suicide dive, followed by a powerbomb for two back inside. Gibson fights out of a half crab but can’t reverse it into the Shankley Gates. Instead he settles for two off a belly to back suplex and it’s time to slug it out.

That goes to Seven, who catches Gibson with a swinging sitout slam for two. Gibson is right back with the middle rope Codebreaker for two of his own, followed by the Shankley Gates. Seven finally makes the rope, causing Gibson to yell at Bate. The Seven Star Lariat gives Trent two but here’s James Drake to jump Bate. The distraction lets Gibson grab a small package (with Drake offering some extra leverage) for the pin at 12:59.

Rating: B. Seven has grown on me more than almost anyone else on the show as he’s gone from someone I really didn’t like back in the day to one of the more reliable acts around. Having Gibson beat him is the right call as they have to build some people up and Gibson is most of the way there already. He could very easily be the top heel and is almost there already. Good match.

Post match Wolfgang and the Coffey Brothers come in and beat down Moustache Mountain to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Definitely the better of the two shows this week thanks to a strong main event. They did a better job of getting people on the show this time and that’s a good idea as they still don’t have very many big names set up yet. Gibson is pretty much set, but they need to find a way to set people up other than having them face Moustache Mountain. The tournament starting is a good sign as well and thankfully it seems to be a short one. Things are starting to roll around here, even if the two hours a week is still a bad idea.

Results

Dakota Kai b. Nina Samuels – Kairopractor

Tyson T-Bone b. Jake Constantino – Lariat

Dave Mastiff b. Dan Moloney – Cannonball

Jinny b. Millie McKenzie – Wind-up Liger kick

Zack Gibson b. Trent Seven – Small package

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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

Mae Young Classic – September 19, 2018: The Good End Of The Scale

IMG Credit: WWE

Mae Young Classic
Date: September 19, 2018
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Michael Cole, Renee Young

We’re halfway through the first round with eight names having already advanced to the second round. That means we still need eight more people to move on and we’ll be getting four of those names tonight. This week’s show features one of the bigger names that was announced for the tournament over the summer. Let’s get to it.

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

All matches are first round matches.

Opening recap of the first eight winners and preview of tonight’s matches.

Opening sequence.

Kavita Devi was in the tournament last year and uh…..well she wasn’t very good.

Kaitlyn is back to prove that she can still do this.

Kavita Devi vs. Kaitlyn

Cole is a full on Kaitlyn fan here and Renee sounds like she has a crush on her. An early shot to the face puts Kaitlyn down as Cole talks about the original NXT’s women’s season and how that plays into the Women’s Evolution. Fair enough, though that’s more about the company as a whole than the women.

Kaitlyn chops away and gets two off a legdrop, only to get chokeslammed with no elevation. A running kick to the back sets up an armbar so Kaitlyn taps, which doesn’t count for whatever reason. Kaitlyn has to elbow her way out of a fireman’s carry and some forearms rock Devi. The Cannonball in the corner draws the YOU STILL GOT IT chants, followed by a spear to end Devi at 4:09.

Rating: D+. Devi was horrible last year and was upgraded to pretty bad this year, whichTy isn’t much of a step forward. She isn’t big enough to be a giant but is too big to be able to move around with most people. Kaitlyn on the other hand is being treated like a legend despite not really being a huge star in the first place. It’s nice to have her back and she has some credibility, but this wasn’t exactly a star making performance.

Jinny is a fashionista who has been signed to NXT UK.

Toni Storm was an absolute star in last year’s tournament and she has to be a big favorite this time around.

Tyler Breeze and the Iconics are watching.

Jinny vs. Toni Storm

Beth: “How does being a fashionista translate to a wrestling ring?” Well we’ve been trying to figure out the weird careers/interests in wrestling for years so she’s not alone. They take turns shoving each other around until a wristlock has Jinny in some low level trouble. A forearm to the face just fires Storm up though and it’s a running knee into the corner. Jinny is fine enough to hit a Downward Spiral into the middle buckle though and Storm’s nose may be messed up.

Some forearms to the face set up a Japanese armdrag into the corner and we hit the armbar. Toni is right back up with a rolling crucifix (and what looked like a wink to the camera) for two but Jinny reverses into something like a sitdown surfboard. That’s broken up as well before Storm’s shoulders are ripped apart and Jinny misses a charge in the corner. A hard German suplex puts Jinny down and Storm Zero (tiger driver) finishes her off at 7:09.

Rating: C. I know Jinny is a much bigger star (and different character) in Europe but I didn’t get much out of her here. All WWE told me was that she was a fashionista, which is hardly the most interesting thing in the world. Toni on the other hand continues to have more star potential than almost anyone else in the tournament and is clearly going to be a big deal in WWE as soon as she’s there full time. Not a bad match, even though Storm winning was never in doubt.

Xia Li (the woman from China with the fans) is back and ready to prove herself again.

Karen Q is ready to show what she can do, which includes speaking three languages. That’s more than I’ve learned about her in a year or so of watching her in Ring of Honor.

Candice LeRae and Johnny Gargano are here, seemingly with no problems at the moment.

Karen Q vs. Xia Li

Cole is annoyed that Li didn’t bring them the promised dumplings. They bow to each other to start and take martial arts poses, which gets the loudest reaction of the night so far. Xia trips her down so Karen nips up and that’s another double bow. Back up and Li fires away in the corner but Karen pounds away and bows as well. A handspring elbow in the corner hits Li and a running kick to the face makes things even worse. Karen hits a pretty low full nelson slam and the cravate goes on. More kicks put Karen down for two and Xia hits a spinning kick to the back for the pin at 4:28.

Rating: D. They had me interested here with the martial arts stuff to start and then it was really just a match with some kicking included. Li moving on to the next round is fine, if nothing else so we can see the fan thing again. Karen continues to be one of the least interesting people I’ve seen in a long time. She’s not bad, but I still know nothing about her because she’s just someone who goes out and wrestles. That’s not exactly thrilling.

Allysin Kay (Sienna from Impact) is violent but classy, because she has her pinkies up. She was influenced by Bad News Brown, who isn’t a name you hear as inspiration all that often.

Mia Yim is aggressive and has a history with Kay, including a match where she severely broke her nose. That’s the kind of little story that can do a lot of good for these matches.

Sonya Deville is here and I didn’t recognize her with her hair down.

Shelton Benjamin is here.

Mia Yim vs. Allysin Kay

They go straight to the brawling with Kay having to bail to the ropes to get out of a cross armbreaker attempt. Mia does the Andrade Cien Almas pose and avoids a charge to send Kay outside. A kick to the chest has Kay in more trouble but she’s fine enough to Pounce Yim to the floor. Yim shrugs off some chops and heads back inside for a suicide dive without much impact.

A chop hits the post with a lot more impact though and Yim gets dropped face first onto the apron. The fans are split between LET’S GO MIA/PINKIES UP as Kay kicks her in the ribs. Kay blocks another armbreaker attempt and has to do the same to get out of a kneebar. They’ve finally had it with the wrestling and just start hitting each other until Kay bicycle kicks her down.

Yim is right back with some running dropkicks and a missile version gets two. A Code Red is good for the same but Kay is back up with a discus lariat for two more. We get a double knockdown until Yim goes up top (Cole, as she climbs the buckles: “IS SHE GONNA GO UP TOP???”), only to get caught by Kay. That earns Kay a super Soul Food (Eat Defeat) for the pin at 9:37.

Rating: B-. Match of the night here by a pretty wide margin and a lot of that is due to the two of them having a story coming in. I get that you can’t do that in a tournament with a bunch of fresh names (not a criticism, just a reality) but it helps so much to have even something like this. There’s a reason for them to be fighting each other like this and that made the match a lot easier to get into. Good match, and one of the best of the tournament so far.

Overall Rating: C. Totally watchable show this week with nothing terribly bad (Kaitlyn vs. Devi was short enough to get by) and a good main event. We’ve only got a week left of the opening round and the shows being about an hour each make them easy to sit through. After next week we can move on to the better matches, which is where a lot of the fun is in a tournament. This year’s edition has been perfectly fine so far and that’s a good result for something like this, which can go in either direction.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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