IMG Credit: WWE

NXT UK
Date: July 17, 2019
Location: Download Festival, Leicestershire, England
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Aiden English

We’re still at the Download Festival and that means the crowd reactions are likely to be a little bit weaker again this time. The build towards Cardiff continues but it seems that we have to get through one more stand alone show before we get there. That’s understandable, but not the most thrilling thing in the world. Let’s get to it.

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

Sid Scala runs down the card.

Opening sequence.

Marcel Barthel/Fabian Aichner vs. Tyson T-Bone/Saxon Huxley

Aichner shoves T-Bone down to start so T-Bone punches him from the mat. That earns him a powerslam and T-Bone stumbles over for a tag to Huxley. A spinebuster from Aichner and a kick to the face from Barthel has Huxley in trouble for a change. We hit the chinlock for a bit until a clothesline gets Huxley free, only to have the legal Aichner sneak around and pull T-Bone to the floor. With T-Bone down, it’s a powerbomb/middle rope European uppercut combination to finish Huxley at 4:53.

Result: D+. Pretty much a squash here as Imperium continues to look completely dominant. The four of them could be the top monsters for the company for a long time to come and making Barthel and Aichner look better is going to get them closer towards that ending. I still don’t get the appeal of T-Bone and Huxley but they could be worse.

Travis Banks says his journey continues despite losing to Walter. His journey is just beginning.

Xia Brookside vs. Jinny

Jinny says she doesn’t need Jazzy Gabbert to beat Xia but Jazzy doesn’t go anywhere. Brookside grabs a quick headlock before a crossbody gets two. A missed charge sends Jinny into the corner and Xia ties her in the Tree of Woe. That means a missed charge from Xia as well, allowing Jazzy to stare her down so Jinny can take over. Jazzy gets in a few shots of her own and Jinny pounds away for two. Brookside gets in a hurricanrana out of the corner but the referee gets knocked away. That’s enough for Gabbert to grab Brookside’s foot and Jinny pins her with a rollup at 4:35.

Rating: C-. Somewhat better than the opener as Jinny could ride this help from the monster all the way back to the title scene. Or Gabbert could go after Toni Storm as the ultimate monster. Either way, you could be in for something entertaining as the show has a women’s feud that isn’t about the title. That’s more than some places can say.

Imperium talks about taking out British Strong Style and only Trent Seven is left. Walter has accepted Trent’s challenge and promises to break his back.

Kenny Williams didn’t like washing the mud out of his mouth, but he’ll be ready to face Noam Dar next week. He’ll snap the wing that Dar has taken him under.

We look at Gallus defeating Dave Mastiff/The Hunt last week. After the show, Mastiff called out Joe Coffey but Gallus backed away.

Gallus says they tamed the wild animals and Joe is going to make Mastiff sit and heal.

Here’s Toni Storm for a chat. For a long time, she thought Kay Lee Ray was one of her best friends. She took Toni under her wing when she first got to the UK but now she’s not sure what happened to Ray. All Ray has to do is say when she wants her title shot and Toni will be ready….so here’s Ray to interrupt. She knows Toni is sick of her mind games so let’s do this right now. Eh or not actually. Ray is going to make Toni wait for Takeover: Cardiff but until then, she’s going to make Toni’s life a nightmare.

Scala isn’t interested in waiting for Takeover so next week it’s Toni Storm/Xia Brookside/Piper Niven vs. Kay Lee Ray/Jazzy Gabbert/Jinny.

Also next week: Walter vs. Trent Seven.

Kassius Ohno vs. Mark Andrews

Fans to Ohno: “PLEASE DON’T EAT HIM!” Ohno grabs a cravate to take Andrews down for two but Andrews cartwheels his way to freedom. Some dropkicks and an armdrag send Ohno outside but the suicide dive is pulled out of the air. Ohno, while still carrying Andrews, pulls the padding off the hook that attaches the post to the buckle and drops Andrews hard onto it.

Back in and a legdrop gets two and we hit the quickly broken chinlock. Ohno chokes on the rope instead and it’s back to the mat where Ohno declares himself a wrestling genius. Ohno: “He can’t get out because he doesn’t know how!”. Something like an abdominal stretch with a neck crank sets up a backbreaker for two as Ohno is having fun picking him apart here. He even sits on Andrews in the corner before knocking him off the top to the floor in a heap.

A more serious Ohno follows him outside and hammers away while throwing more insults. Ohno takes too long getting back in though and it’s a trio of enziguris as he comes through the ropes. The big running flip dive into a hurricanrana has Ohno down on the floor. Back in and Ohno sneaks in a shot to the throat, followed by a forearm to the back of the head for two.

One heck of an electric chair faceplant gives Ohno two and you can see the frustration setting in. Ohno chops away and Andrews stares at him. A knee to the face doesn’t do much to Andrews, who snaps off a reverse hurricanrana for two of his own. Stundog Millionaire and a tornado DDT gets two but Fall to Piece is caught in a cravate. Ohno hits a cravate suplex of all things (that’s a new one) but Andrews grabs a victory roll for the pin at 13:06.

Rating: B-. This told a very nice story with Andrews fighting from underneath against the bully in Ohno. They’re both easy characters to get but more importantly they’re easy to get behind/boo which is why a story like this worked so well. On top of that it was a good match with Ohno busting out some awesome stuff and grinding Andrews down but not being able to finish him.

Overall Rating: C+. It was nice to see the setup of the first match for Takeover but I’m more interested in seeing next week’s show. The women’s tag match and Trent vs. Walter should be entertaining and that helps get us one step closer to Takeover, as they’re getting better at bridging the gap between the major shows. Nice show here, with the rather low level main event offering a surprise.

Results

Marcel Barthel/Fabian Aichner b. Tyson T-Bone/Saxon Huxley – Powerbomb/middle rope European uppercut to Huxley

Jinny b. Xia Brookside – Rollup

Mark Andrews b. Kassius Ohno – Victory roll

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT UK
Date: June 19, 2019
Location: Download Festival, Leicestershire, England
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Aiden English

Things are shaking up around here as Imperium has added its fourth member with Alexander Wolfe. That is likely to set up a fourth member of British Strong Style, or at least a friend or two, to help fight off the villains. We could get something very good out of this and I’m rather pleased. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Wolfe joining Imperium last week in a good moment.

Opening sequence.

The arena is in a pretty large hall and the look is a nice change of pace.

Kenny Williams vs. Kassius Ohno

Ohno goes to the arm to start (the right one for a change) and cranks on it again to take Williams down to the mat. Back up and Williams flips over him but Ohno is too big for a sunset flip. For some reason Williams ties himself in the ropes, allowing Ohno to kick him in the face. The chinlock sets up a double arm crank as the fans implore Ohno to not eat Williams.

The backsplash hits Williams’ raised knees, which hurts the knee a bit due to Ohno’s girth. It’s fine enough to flip out of a belly to back suplex and grab a rollup for two. Ohno gets knocked outside for the dropkick through the ropes and a suicide dive. Back in and Ohno breaks up a springboard, setting up the discus elbow to the back of the head for the pin at 7:25.

Rating: C. Perfectly watchable match here with Ohno continuing to look like a formidable villain that a bigger name can take down later. It helps that Ohno knows all of these different styles and can wrestle against just about anyone, which was the case on display here. Williams continues to look good and he’s fine to have around for matches like this.

Post match here’s Imperium, now with their own graphic and matching track suits, so Ohno makes a hasty retreat.

Post break, Marcel Barthel is rather heavily booed before being able to say that the people seem to think Imperium is here to entertain them. That’s not true, because they’re here to restore the honor of their sport. The fans want wrestling as Barthel talks about their numbers increasing. Fans: “WHO ARE YA???” After being told to respect their values, the fans say that they want Pete Dunne.

Wolfe gets cut off by a SANITY chant before saying that he wanted wrestling to be treated with respect. Walter brings up #1 contender Travis Banks, who has an upcoming title shot but Imperium will decide how things will be done. The title match is next week and Banks is a fool for thinking he has a chance against Walter. Cue Banks to say he’s down for a title match next week and Walter needs to bring everything he’s got. The matching suits are a great look for the team and having Wolfe around makes the team feel that much more imposing.

We look back at Gallus attacking the Hunt two weeks ago.

Noam Dar was on the phone when a cameraman interrupted him to ask if Dar took a drive recently. Dar doesn’t like that accusation and mockingly applauds Kenny Williams for his loss. There is room for Williams under Dar’s arm but Williams threatens to treat his arm like his knee.

The Hunt vs. Gallus

It’s Mark Coffey/Wolfgang for Gallus here with Joe Coffey in the corner. The brawl is on in a hurry with the Hunt sending them outside for double suicide dives. We settle down to Boar and Coffey with Mark getting in a full nelson slam. It’s off to Wolfgang for a neck crank, a tag to Coffey for some stomping, and a seated full nelson from Wolfgang.

Coffey slaps on a cobra clutch on the mat as we run the full list of neck related holds. Boar finally flips out of another full nelson and brings Primate in to beat up Wolfgang. Everything breaks down and Boar gets driven into the steps. Back in and the enziguri/powerslam combination finishes Primate at 6:14.

Rating: C. I liked the match well enough and the Hunt can be heated up again without much effort later on. Gallus can be built up again to be fed to Imperium and that’s not a bad place for them. The most important thing though: how much better is the Hunt without their regular names? I’m so glad they figured that out.

Post match Joe joins in for the big beatdown. Dave Mastiff makes the save.

Moustache Mountain is getting a Tag Team Title shot in two weeks. They’re focused on Imperium, but getting the titles is what matters most.

Battle Royal

Xia Brookside, Jinny, Jazzy Gabbert, Kay Lee Ray, Piper Niven, Isla Dawn, Nina Samuels, Killer Kelly, Candy Floss, Rhea Ripley, Rhio, Kanji

The winner gets a future Women’s Title match. Everyone but Jazzy go to the ropes to start before three of them go after Jazzy instead. That means Rhio and Kanji being tossed out, followed by a Dominator to Floss. Jinny gets rid of her and the ring has cleared out in a hurry. Ray is sent outside (not over the top) and comes up holding her knee. Niven picks Jazzy up and puts her on the apron, allowing Brookside to get in a sliding dropkick for the elimination.

That leaves Jinny surrounded so it’s a triple team from Brookside, Dawn and Niven. Jinny is thrown over the top but Jazzy catches her and slides the boss back in. Jazzy is ejected so Xia gets rid of Jinny a few seconds later. Ripley muscles Kelly out and we’re down to five. Brookside and Dawn go after Ripley but Xia gets tied in the Tree of Woe for her efforts.

There goes Dawn and it’s the Ripley vs. Niven showdown. Hang on though as Samuels is tossed and it’s Ripley, Niven, Brookside and Ray on the floor. A Cannonball crushes Ripley but she shoves Ripley over the top to the apron. Niven pulls her out with her and Brookside eliminates them both with a dropkick. The celebration is on but Ray comes back in and dumps Brookside for the win at 8:40.

Rating: C. It’s the right end result and the match was well paced but STOP WITH THAT STUPID ENDING!!! It feels like every other battle royal has that same exact ending and it’s so overdone these days. As soon as Ray was seen on the floor, you knew where this was going because that’s how so many battle royals go these days. Ray winning is fine, but come up with a better way to do it.

Overall Rating: C+. The Imperium segment and the right result for the main event made for a good show, though not quite as solid as some of their recent shows. What matters here is how they set things up for the future, with the UK Title match next week and the Tag Team Titles in two weeks. It makes me want to keep watching and that’s the right idea.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT UK
Date: May 29, 2019
Location: Braehead Arena, Glasgow, Scotland
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Vic Joseph

It’s time for some fallout as last week saw Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel interfered to cost Pete Dunne his rematch against Walter for the United Kingdom Title. It seems like Dunne needs some friends and that’s just what he has. Other than that we have one more week before the four way for the #1 contendership. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at last week’s main event with Dunne getting cheated out of the title.

Opening sequence.

Here are Walter, Barthel and Aichner to open things up, with the fans giving a loud WE WANT DUNNE chant. We have to wait a second for the fans to calm down as it’s another case of no one being bale to say a word. Barthel says they are here to lead us to a better NXT UK and raise the professionalism of their sport. They are the ones to lead because they hold true power. Aichner says Dunne and British Strong Style have expired. None of them can lead NXT UK in the right direction so now it’s up to the three of them.

Walter says this mat is sacred to them and the three of them will be known as Imperium. This brings out British Strong Style and they waste no time in starting the fight. A cameraman goes down so the camera sits on its side as referees come out….and we lose the feed. Nice job with the tease.

Sid Scala makes the six man tag for two weeks.

Mark Coffey/Wolfgang vs. A-Kid/Carlos Romo

Wolfgang runs Romo over at the bell and it’s off to Coffey for a toss across the ring as the destruction is on fast. The fans are behind Gallus for a change as Romo gets a rollup for two and brings A-Kid for a breather. That goes badly as well as Coffey hits a chokeslam and brings Wolfgang back in for more aggressive shouting. Coffey’s seated full nelson keeps A-Kid in trouble and he swings it around for a bonus. A jawbreaker gets A-Kid over for a tag….and Wolfgang ax handles him in the chest to knock him silly. Wolfgang powerslams A-Kid as Coffey adds an enziguri for the pin at 3:28.

Rating: C. Rebuilding Gallus isn’t the worst idea in the world as Imperium is going to need someone to fight after they get done with British Strong Style. Then again this was in Scotland so Gallus was going to be more over here than anywhere else in the world so it’s not likely to carry on from here.

Xia Brookside doesn’t like Jinny bringing in Jazzy Gabbert to do her dirty work. Isla Dawn comes in and offers a partnership, which intrigues Xia.

Joseph Conners wants to see how tough Ilja Dragunov really is.

Video on next week’s four way.

Kassius Ohno vs. Jack Gallagher

They take their time to start with Ohno’s headlock sending Gallagher over to the ropes for a clean break. Ohno takes him down and starts in on the leg but Gallagher spins up with ease to show off the technical skills. It’s right back to the ankle before Ohno switches over to an armbar. Gallagher tries three straight handstands before going with a headscissors to take over. Ohno uses his own bouncing escape before popping to his feet as it’s a chess match so far.

They go back to the mat with Ohno tying up the legs until Gallagher gets up again. This time Ohno tries a full nelson, which Gallagher breaks by raising his legs and pulling himself down. That means another standoff into a test of strength with Ohno taking him down again. Something like a spinebuster plants Gallagher but he spins out of another leg crank. The handstand in the corner legs Gallagher jump over Ohno….and he ties himself in a ball in the middle.

Ohno gets smart and stomps away before pulling on the leg again. Since we haven’t had an escape in a few seconds, Gallagher spins out and fires off forearms, only to get kicked in the head. The rolling elbow is blocked with a headbutt to Ohno’s arm and Gallagher, with a bloody nose, tries to take him down into an armbar. With that not working it’s off to a triangle choke but Ohno powers up for a slam. A backsplash crushes Gallagher and they’re both down. They chop it out until the rolling forearm knocks Gallagher silly for the pin at 12:33, with Ohno pulling the foot from underneath the rope after the pin.

Rating: B-. I had a lot of fun with this as they were going with the British style of counters and holds, making it quite the entertaining match. Gallagher’s foot being underneath the rope sets up either a rematch or gives Ohno another talking point when he talks to Scala and the invisible Johnny Saint.

Piper Niven is ready to fight Rhea Ripley whenever.

We recap the opening brawl.

Women’s Title: Nina Samuels vs. Toni Storm

Toni is defending. Feeling out process to start with Nina slipping out of an early armbar attempt. A kick to the chest sends Nina outside and Toni snaps off a cartwheel. Back in and a series of uppercuts give Toni two but Nina ties her up in the ropes for a dropkick between the shoulders. An armbar has the champ in some trouble and a Hennig necksnap gets two.

Two knees to the back get two but Storm is right back with a German suplex. Storm Zero is countered so Storm grabs an STF for something that looks a lot like a tap. The rope gets Nina out of trouble and she kicks Toni in the head to take over again. Toni headbutts the heck out of her for two, followed by Nina’s double underhook backbreaker for the same. Nina’s missile dropkick gets two more but Toni rolls some single underhook suplexes. Storm Zero retains the title at 9:44.

Rating: C-. This might as well have been a house show title match with no reason to believe that Samuels was going to win the title. The women’s division is too strong to believe that Storm is going to be threatened by a lower name like Samuels. Not with people like Jinny, Ripley, Gabbert and Niven around. It’s not a bad match, but the drama wasn’t there.

Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling was pretty good this week and the big angle at the beginning made the show work well enough. It’s not as good as last week but that’s not a fair comparison to make. At least we have two weeks worth of big matches to look forward to, which is something very few shows can pull off these days, or almost ever for that matter.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: May 1, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness

Things are staying interesting around here and tonight we have the latest import in the form of Kushida, who makes his in-ring debut. As usual he gets to face Kassius Ohno, which should work out well for everyone involved. Throw in the Undisputed Era having some issues and we could be in for a good night. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a quick video on Kushida and how important he is.

Opening sequence.

Forgotten Sons vs. Danny Burch/Oney Lorcan/Humberto Carrillo

Fallout from last week’s brawl. Cutler and Lorcan strike it out to start until a running Blockbuster takes Cutler down. Blake comes in instead and gets uppercutted out to the floor. That means the big dive onto all three Sons and it’s off to Carrillo for a standing moonsault to the legs. The sky high springboard armdrag sends Cutler outside but it’s Ryker coming in off a blind tag to unload on Carrillo. The Sons take turns on Carrillo in the corner with various combinations of stomping.

Ryker’s cobra clutch doesn’t last long and a missed headbutt allows the tag off to Burch. Cutler gets pulled down into the Crossface with Ryker making a save. Everything breaks down and Carrillo’s suicide dive hits Lorcan by mistake. That leaves Burch on his own against all three Sons, which works as well as you would expect. A Polish Hammer drops Burch and Carrillo gets buckle bombed into Cutler’s raised knees. Ryder holds both Carrillo and Burch in a double reverse DDT for top rope knees to the chest (with Ryker dropping them instead of DDTing them) for the pin at 7:33.

Rating: C. Here’s where NXT is so many steps ahead of Raw and Smackdown: the Forgotten Sons weren’t working as they were, so NXT changed things up a bit and turned them into something that did work. They actually fixed the characters instead of throwing up their hands because their first half baked not completely developed idea wasn’t a runaway success. That’s how wrestling is supposed to work, but the biggest wrestling shows don’t get that.

Shanyna Baszler and company don’t like being asked about Io Shirai pinning Baszler so the microphone is slapped away.

Earlier this week, Bianca Belair and Mia Yim yelled at each other at the Performance Center. They’ll fight next week.

Mansoor vs. Dominik Dijakovic

Mansoor is smart enough to duck the cyclone boot and hurricanranas Dijakovic into the corner. A high crossbody is countered into the standing backbreaker and Mansoor is tossed outside, thankfully not breaking his leg as it awkwardly crashes into the barricade. Dijakovic gets two off a splash but Mansoor is right back with a sleeper. That doesn’t work very well so Mansoor goes with a kick to the head. With Dijakovic kneeling, Mansoor jumps onto the leg and uses it as a springboard for another kick. Dijakovic has had it and knocks Mansoor silly, setting up Feast Your Eyes for the pin at 5:12.

Rating: C+. This was a lot better than I was expecting and Mansoor looked good here with a lot of offense. Much like the Sons though, Dijakovic has gotten far better as he’s now just an athletic monster who has said what he wants. You don’t need to go into some huge development. Just feature them and give them impressive wins so people think something of him. It worked with Dijakovic and it would work with pretty much anyone else.

Post match here’s Velveteen Dream on a purple couch, accompanied by some good looking women. He’s heard that Dijakovic had words for him, so Dream has his own….in the form of a personalized version of the Star Spangled Banner, promising to steal the show like he does with his big elbow. Of all the Velveteen Dream things, this was the Velveteen Dreamiest.

We look back at the end of last week’s show with Matt Riddle helping Johnny Gargano against the Undisputed Era.

The Undisputed Era promise to take care of Riddle but bring up Strong’s loss last week. Strong walks away and Bobby Fish follows him, saying Cole’s timing was terrible.

Kassius Ohno vs. Kushida

Kushida gets the big debut entrance and looks just like he did in New Japan, which is a good move as the Back to the Future look is a signature for him. Ohno kicks away a handshake offer and throws the much smaller Kushida into the corner. Kushida’s wristlock is countered into a quickly broken chinlock as the fans are firmly on Kushida’s side. A takedown goes to Kushida, who rides Ohno’s back to mess with him a little bit.

The cartwheel into a basement dropkick rocks Ohno again but he’s right back with the cravate. That’s reversed as well and we have a standoff. The wrestling isn’t working so Ohno kicks him in the face but Kushida is fine enough to come back with a springboard missile dropkick. Ohno’s sitout facebuster gets two and Kushida’s nose is busted open.

The bloody nose doesn’t stop Kushida from coming right back up with a springboard hurricanrana for two. The handspring elbow is cut off with a hard forearm to the back of the head to give Ohno two more. There’s the pump kick to Kushida, who is right back with a running shot to the face. With Ohno rocked, Kushida grabs the Hoverboard Lock (not named) for the tap at 8:07.

Rating: B. Given that Kushida was my favorite New Japan name, I was kind of expecting to like this one and then it lived up to the hype. It was a very good, hard hitting match with Kushida taking everything Ohno could throw at him at and winning in the end. He’s going to be just fine around here and he looked great in his first performance.

Overall Rating: B-. A strong debut, stuff set for next week, no bad matches and angle advancement make the show the usual awesome evening. After watching two mostly bad major TV’s this week, NXT continues to be the big saving grace that fixes so many of my problems in about forty five minutes. Another good show here, and I would expect nothing less.

Results

Forgotten Sons b. Humberto Carrillo/Danny Burch/Oney Lorcan – Top rope knee to Burch

Dominik Dijakovic b. Mansoor – Feast Your Eyes

Kushida b. Kassius Ohno – Hoverboard Lock

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT UK
Date: April 24, 2019
Location: Pier 12, New York City, New York
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Vic Joseph

We’re still in New York and the big story seems to be the setup for the rematch between Pete Dunne and Walter for the UK Title. That’s more than enough to carry the show for the time being as the match itself feels so huge. Couple that with some of the rather nice midcard material they have and we’re in good shape. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Ligero vs. Kassius Ohno

Ohno powers him down to start and talks trash about Ligero being one of the best British wrestlers around. A sunset flip attempt is blocked and Ohno kicks him in the face for one. Back up and Ligero grabs a headscissors to send him outside but the flip dive from the apron sends Ligero head first into the steps. Ohno: “DID YOU HAVE AN ACCIDENT???” The chinlock goes on with Ohno laying back to bend Ligero over his knees. With that broken up, Ohno steps on Ligero’s hand and kicks him in the head a few times. The pump kick and backsplash miss though and Ligero starts firing off kicks to the knee.

Some kicks to Ohno’s head even things out a lot and a top rope splash gets two. Sliced Bread is blocked so Ligero gets two off a victory roll. Code Red gets the same and there’s a running flip dive over the top to drop Ohno again. Sliced Bread off the steps plants Ohno on the floor and he barely beats the count back in. With nothing else working, Ohno goes for the mask to blind Ligero, setting up the Roaring Elbow for the pin at 10:08.

Rating: B-. I know it makes sense but I’m rather tired of going for the mask against luchadors. Otherwise this was a rather good match with Ohno being all cocky and arrogant until Ligero fought back to make it even. Ohno needing to cheat in the end completed the story very well and there’s a good chance that we’ll be getting a rematch, which could be rather entertaining.

Jordan Devlin isn’t happy that his match with Walter is going to be non-title because Johnny Saint wants to protect the rematch of the century. Devlin doesn’t care, because next week he’ll beat Walter up and earn himself a title match.

Video on Wild Boar and Primate.

Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel walk through Axxess, making fun of fans at the create an entrance booth. The entrance and the ring are sacred ground and they don’t like having it treated as a joke.

Here’s Toni Storm for a chat. She’s proud to represent this brand on the most important week of the year. Toni lists off all the great talent in the division (including Rhea Ripley) but promises to be champion for a long time. That’s it for Toni, but it’s Kay Lee Ray (who Storm didn’t mention) coming out as Storm is leaving.

Kay Lee Ray vs. Xia Li

With the hold broken up, Kay has to duck away from a spinning kick to the face and hits a superkick of her own. Li is in trouble in the corner and Kay makes it worse by sending the arm into the corner. The armbar doesn’t last long as Li throws her down and comes back with some forearms. A flying mare sets up a spinning kick to the face for two on Kay, who is right back with a superkick. The Gory Bomb finishes Li at 5:27.

Rating: C-. Li has gotten better since she was in the Mae Young Classic but this was all about getting Kay over as a star. The lack of a mention from Toni is a good way to start something between the two of them and Ray’s reputation suggests that she should be fine on that level. Kay looked good here, and that’s what matters.

Piper Niven is at Axxess (or at least on the Axxess set as there doesn’t seem to be anyone around. She’s ready to keep proving herself to Rhea Ripley.

The Grizzled Young Veterans throw Kenny Williams and Amir Jordan’s gear out of the locker room.

Mark Andrews/Flash Morgan Webster vs. Moustache Mountain

Bate and Andrews start things off and we get the handshake of respect. The battle over arm control allows Bate to use his very British counter to escape and it’s back to a standoff. Andrews’ armdrag attempt is blocked with pure power so he switches off to Webster to come in with a top rope stomp to Bate’s arm. That doesn’t hurt Bate’s leg though and he dropkicks his way out of trouble, allowing the tag off to Seven. Webster is fast enough to drop toehold him down and grab a front facelock, meaning it’s back to Andrews.

That doesn’t go very well as Seven rips the skin off of Andrew’s chest with some chops. The fireman’s carry slam into the Swanton from Bate gets two and it’s already back to Seven to keep Andrews down. Andrews finally elbows his way to freedom and it’s Webster coming back in with a standing Lionsault. Seven backdrops his way out of trouble and hands it back to Bate to speed things up again. That means running elbows in the corner to Andrews and Webster, followed by the airplane spin/giant swing combination (that will never stop impressing me).

Webster counters the Tyler Driver 97 so it’s an airplane spin on the floor. Back in and the running shooting star gets two on Andrews, who is right back up with the double Pele to both Mountaineers. The tornado DDT gives Webster two on Seven and we settle back down to Seven chopping both of them away.

Bate comes back in for the Dragon suplex/clothesline combination, meaning Webster has to come off the top with a Swanton to break up a double cover. Webster gets the blind tag and it’s a running knee/reverse hurricanrana combination (cool) for two on Bate with Seven making the save. Seven comes back in for the snap dragon suplex, setting up the Burning Hammer/top rope knee combination to finish Webster at 12:29.

Rating: B. This took its time to get going but at the end Moustache Mountain was sweating a bit, which is more than you would expect from a team like Webster and Andrews. The tag division needs teams like these and Andrews and Webster got a nice rub here. That being said, Bate and Seven are getting the titles at some point, as they should.

Overall Rating: B. Another strong show here with mostly good wrestling and things being set up for the future. It’s no classic and the American crowds aren’t as interested as their UK counterparts, but they saw a good hour of wrestling, which is more than a lot of audiences get. Good stuff here, and the big guns are coming back soon.

Results

Kassius Ohno b. Ligero – Roaring elbow

Kay Lee Ray b. Xia Li – Gory Bomb

Moustache Mountain b. Flash Morgan Webster/Mark Andrews – Burning Hammer/top rope knee drop combination to Webster

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT UK
Date: April 10, 2019
Location: Coventry Skydome Arena, Coventry, England
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness

It’s the final show from the taping cycle and while the United Kingdom Title changed hands about six weeks after this was filmed, I’m sure something will be mentioned in an inserted video. As for tonight though, we have the Women’s Title to worry about as Toni Storm is defending against Jinny. They have quite the rivalry in Progress so this should be good. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Storm vs. Jinny. Storm won the title earlier in the year and Jinny is tired of it always being Toni Time. We get some clips of their Progress matches, with Toni saying that Jinny doesn’t like being made to work for something and tonight she has to fight.

Opening sequence.

Travis Banks vs. Kassius Ohno

Feeling out process to start with Ohno taking over off a wristlock but getting reversed into a headlock. Banks tries a shoulder but Ohno doesn’t go very far. He turns his head to look at Banks and says “Oh I didn’t see you! I didn’t feel you either.” Ohno loads up a shoulder of his own but stomps on Banks’ foot instead. Banks goes with the kicks to the chest instead and one to the back puts Ohno on the floor.

The dive is countered though and Ohno kicks him in the face. Banks is fine enough to hit a running kick to the chest from the apron, only to be sent into the steps for his efforts. Back in and a running legdrop gives Ohno two but he misses a backsplash. The kicks to the chest (they like kicking in this one) keep Ohno in trouble until a knee to Banks’ injured shoulder has him writhing on the mat.

Ohno walks around for a bit until they trade more kicks. The pump kick gives Ohno two so it’s time to pull on the arm a little bit. A reversed whip sends Ohno to the apron and a dropkick puts him on the floor. Now the suicide dive connects, allowing Banks to hit a running knee to the face.

Back in and Banks gets caught in an electric chair, which is countered into a victory roll for two. A quick Kiwi Crusher gets two more but Ohno throws him onto his shoulders again for a Rubik’s Cube (One Winged Angel) for two which should have been three. Ohno is so surprised that he gets rolled up twice in a row, followed by a third attempt for the pin at 14:47.

Rating: B. Questionable use of such a major move that didn’t end the match aside, this was a smart way to use Ohno. He’s so much bigger than Banks (or just about anyone else on the roster) and it’s a good idea to have him wrestle this kind of an aggressive style. Banks looks like he can beat a monster, which is a good way to get him back on the right track.

We look back at Piper Niven debuting last week and scaring off Rhea Ripley.

Long video on Pete Dunne vs. Walter.

Jordan Devlin is sick of hearing about Dunne’s rematch because he’d rather hear about his own title shot.

Piper Niven vs. Killer Kelly

Piper stalks her a bit and we get an early handshake. Kelly goes a little more aggressive than I would have expected and tries a cravate, earning herself a slam and backsplash. A regular splash gets two and we hit the chinlock. Back up and Kelly slips off Piper’s shoulder and grabs a sleeper, which is reversed with a crash into the corner. A Cannonball into a Michinoku Driver gives Piper the pin at 3:35.

Rating: D+. Not quite a squash but Kelly never felt like any kind of a threat. That’s the right way to present someone like Piper, who shouldn’t be in any kind of trouble until she’s in there with Ripley. Yeah she’s big, but she moves around very well and came off as very athletic, which is a great combination.

Post match Rhea tries to sneak in but gets stared back up the aisle.

Moustache Mountain is ready to come to New York to face Flash Morgan Webster and Mark Andrews.

The Grizzled Young Veterans aren’t happy with having to go to New York because Gibson doesn’t want to miss Liverpool games. There’s going to be a non-title challenge to any team from the NXT UK roster.

Joseph Conners vs. Jack Starz

Starz spins out of a wristlock to start and puts Conners down into a wristlock. Conners’ British Bulldog lift out of a short armscissors is countered into a sunset flip to give Starz two. With early frustration setting in, Conners hits a top rope shoulder and it’s off to a neck crank. Some elbow drops have Starz in more trouble and Conners wants the referee to check on him. The referee thinks Starz is fine so Conners hits a hard clothesline but Starz slips between his legs. A running corner dropkick sets up a high crossbody, which Conners rolls through into Don’t Look Down for the pin at 4:46.

Rating: C-. Remember all the other times I’ve criticized Conners’ matches in the same way? It’s the exact same thing here. Don’t Look Down is a good name for a finisher and it’s not a bad move….but it’s Joseph Conners doing the thing. I’d like to care about him, but he is just so uninteresting and dull that there’s nothing he can do to fix his problems.

Video on Dave Mastiff, who is back soon.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm vs. Jinny

Jinny is challenging. They go right at it to start with Toni getting the better of it and grabbing a half crab. The fans don’t make it any better by calling Jinny a Primark Princess, though Toni switching to an STF might be more painful (emphasis on might). After using the rope for a break, it’s off to a camel clutch to put Toni in trouble for a change. Storm reverses into a surfboard on the mat but Jinny is right back in the ropes for the break.

A Downward Spiral into the middle buckle knocks Toni silly and it’s time to start in on the back. Jinny hits a backbreaker and grabs a chinlock with a knee in the back. Now it’s a regular chinlock as Jinny is looking rather strong so far. Toni fights up with some rolling German suplexes but another shot to the back cuts her off. Jinny’s version of Storm Zero is countered with a headbutt and Jinny is rocked. She’s fine enough to try a hurricanrana, which is reversed into a powerbomb. Storm Zero retains the title at 10:34.

Rating: B-. Jinny was treated as an equal here and a real threat to the title, which is the best thing that can happen to the division at the moment. Storm and Ripley have been on top for so long that they need someone fresh in the ranks. It doesn’t have to be someone to win the title, but there needs to be someone who makes Toni sweat, which is what we had here.

Overall Rating: B+. That’s one of the better shows they’ve had and they’re wisely taking a path that NXT took: what you see right now on this show, no matter what it might be, is the most important thing. They treated the Women’s Title match like a big deal, just as they did Trent Seven vs. Joe Coffey before. It makes everything on the show feel important, which gives you a reason to want to watch. Some things are of course more important than others, but you wouldn’t know that from commentary and that’s the right way to go about things.

Results

Travis Banks b. Kassius Ohno – Rollup

Piper Niven b. Killer Kelly – Michinoku Driver

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

Toni Storm b. Jinny – Storm Zero

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT UK
Date: March 20, 2019
Location: Coventry Skydome Arena, Coventry, England
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness

Things are getting very interesting around here as Walter made it clear that he’s coming for the UK Title. Last week saw Walter and champion Pete Dunne defeat the Coffey Brothers, but the big story was after the match when Walter stood on the title. That could make for an instant classic in New York so hopefully they go with the obvious move. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Johnny Saint and Sid Scala are in the ring with a big announcement: Pete Dunne will defend the United Kingdom Title at Takeover: New York. An opponent isn’t named but here’s Dunne to interrupt. Dunn: “GIVE ME WALTER.” The fans certainly like the idea but Dunne leaves before anything is said.

Toni Storm isn’t worried about Jinny but they both love gold. Jinny doesn’t like her because Toni makes her work for once. They’ll deal with things later. Toni leaves and Rhea Ripley comes in with a challenge for Xia Brookside. The cameras can stop recording now.

Eddie Dennis vs. Ligero

Ligero goes for the knee but has to avoid a charge in the corner. A springboard Stunner gets two and Ligero kicks him outside, only to have his slingshot dive caught. Dennis drops him on the apron and it’s off to a cravate inside. An elbow gives Dennis two as he’s tossing the much smaller Ligero around without much effort.

Ligero comes back with a kick to the head and a springboard splash for two. Dennis blocks the springboard tornado DDT but gets caught with a Code Red to give Ligero another near fall. Ligero takes too long going up and Dennis catches him with a delayed superplex. Severn’s Bridge sets up the Next Stop Driver for the pin at 9:01.

Rating: C. I like both of these guys so it’s cool to see them both getting a chance to shine. Ligero is perfectly fine as the local luchador but Dennis is still different enough from the rest of the roster that the aura makes up for the only above average skills. Both of these guys need something to do though and the one off matches aren’t getting them very far.

Kenny Williams and Amir Jordan are on a bit of a roll and Amir thinks they deserve a Tag Team Title shot. Williams thinks Amir asks him for too much so they should just train together all week. Maybe then Kenny will do something for him. The training montage ensues and Amir isn’t exactly made for this stuff.

Lewis Howley/Sam Stoker vs. Wild Boar/Primate

Stoker goes after Primate to start and gets launched with an overhead belly to belly for his efforts. Boar gives gives him a t-hone suplex and it’s a double suplex to take him down again. Howley comes in swinging and is quickly slammed down with ease. Primate throws Howley at Boar, who throws him right back for a hard belly to back suplex and the pin at 2:38.

Ashton Smith vs. Kassius Ohno

They bump fists to start and Ohno easily takes him down into an armbar. Smith can’t get him up in a fireman’s carry so he knocks Ohno outside instead. That goes nowhere so Ohno suplexes him for two before cranking on both arms at once. Back up and a pump kick works a bit better for Smith and now the fireman’s carry into a Samoan drop works. Ohno shrugs it off and hits a pair of backsplashes (egads man), setting up the Dream Crusher for the pin at 4:18.

Rating: D+. Just a step above a squash debut for Ohno, though at least Smith got in some offense before the loss. Smith has some potential and could mean something one day, though at the same time you need to give the constantly losing Ohno a win to establish him around here. At least Ohno looked good in his first match.

Post match Ohno pats him on the back before knocking him out again. Travis Banks comes up to chase Ohno off, which could start a nice rebound feud for Banks.

Gallus is having coffee and want to win some titles. It’s time to establish their greatness.

Tyler Bate vs. James Drake

Drake goes straight to the arm to start and the armbar has Bate in trouble. Bate is back up with the fireman’s carry and a right hand but Drake knocks him off the top and out to the floor. There’s a whip into the barricade and we hit the chinlock back inside as the fans tell Drake that his face looks like a censored. Drake’s suplex gets two and we hit a chinlock with a knee in the back.

Bate fights up and drives Drake back first into the corner for the break, followed by the alternating lefts and rights. An exploder suplex gets two and Bate adds the running shooting star for the same. Drake catches him coming off the ropes though and it’s something like a reverse powerbomb for two. The fans are behind Bate (well duh) as they hit the pinfall reversal sequence. Bate’s bounce off the ropes clothesline takes Drake down but the Tyler Driver 97 is countered with a backdrop. Drake has to roll out of a 450 and Bate exploders him into the corner again. Spiral Tap finishes Drake at 10:59.

Rating: B-. Best part of the show so far though that’s really not saying much. Bate winning helps advance Moustache Mountain to the Tag Team Title rematch, which you have to know is coming pretty soon. Drake is the forgotten part of the team and they’ve even planted seeds for that being the case. Good enough match, but nothing that you need to see.

Walter leaves Saint’s office and the title match is on for New York.

Overall Rating: C-. This was a pretty weak episode of the series and that’s just going to happen every now and then. The problem here was everything is going to pale in comparison to Dunne vs. Walter and nothing else seems to matter otherwise. It wasn’t a bad show, but it’s just a show that came and went.

Results

Eddie Dennis b. Ligero – Next Stop Driver

Wild Boar/Primate b. Lewis Howley/Sam Stoker – Assisted belly to back suplex to Howley

Kassius Ohno b. Ashton Smith – Dream Crusher

Tyler Bate b. James Drake – Spiral Tap

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT UK
Date: February 27, 2019
Location: Phoenix Convention Center, Phoenix, Arizona
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Vic Joseph

We’re still in Phoenix and this time around we have a heck of a card, including a Tag Team Title match as the Grizzled Young Veterans defend the titles for the first time. The arguably bigger draw though is Walter, who will be facing Kassius Ohno for his biggest challenge to date. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Tyler Bate vs. Jack Gallagher

Feeling out process to start with Gallagher kicking him away and going for the leg but Bate is in the rope. Now it’s Bate taking him to the mat for a hammerlock but Gallagher walks on his hands for an anklescissors to take Bate down. Bate’s handstand counter doesn’t really work so he bounces around a bit until he’s able to flip out of the hold in another sweet counter sequence.

Gallagher switches to the ankle by allowing Bate to grab a foot, knowing that he can counter into a better hold for some rather scientific style. That’s escaped as well and Bate traps one arm to pull on the other. Gallagher is up again for a stomp to the knee and a rather nasty Indian deathlock. Bate slips out again but still can’t maintain a hold of his own.

Instead Gallagher pulls him into Eddie Guerrero’s Lasso From El Paso but lets go as Bate is getting too close to the rope, switching over to an arm pull. With the submission attempts not working, Gallagher tries a sunset flip but Bate rolls over into a cradle, sending them around the ring for a series of one counts that lasts a good twenty seconds. That’s broken up and Bate grabs a quick rollup for the pin at 9:47.

Rating: B-. This was very, very different than your usual match but also highly entertaining. Some of the psychology and scientific counters were outstanding here, though the ending was so out of nowhere that it didn’t quite work. It made sense with Bate realizing that he couldn’t outwrestle Gallagher and powered him down for the pin instead, but it felt out of place after what they had been doing for the first nine and a half minutes.

Jordan Devlin jumped Travis Banks at the UK Performance Center with wrestlers and trainers breaking it up.

Video on Walter.

Video on Nina Samuels.

Eddie Dennis talks about rupturing his pectoral muscle just over a year ago. Then he signed with WWE that May because adversity motivated him. Now he’s back and more vindictive than ever, so he’s taking down the roster one by one.

Kassius Ohno vs. Walter

It’s weird seeing these two with people equal to their size. A test of strength goes to Walter, even as Ohno tries to take the knee out. Walter wristlocks him into an armbar and Ohno makes the mistake of chopping him. One heck of a big boot sends Ohno outside as Nigel compares Walter to the early years of Andre the Giant: stand there and don’t be aggressive, but attack when someone comes near you.

Ohno gets in a backsplash to the arm as Walter gets back in and pounds away with forearms in the corner. The cravate is broken up with a hard shove and they go to the strike off with Walter chopping him in the back. A big German suplex drops Ohno and a running seated senton gets two. Ohno knees him down but misses a moonsault, allowing Walter to dropkick him into the corner. The powerbomb finishes Ohno at 8:37.

Rating: B. I liked this one in a different way from the opener, partially because they went with a change of style, which is one of the best things they could have done. Ohno clearly wasn’t winning, but that doesn’t mean he can’t put up a good match on the way. This was all about two big guys hitting each other really hard and it gave Walter a bit of a sweat for the first time. That’s a good step for him and the match took both of them in the direction they should be going.

Ligero is willing to beat up Joseph Conners again if he has to.

Next week: Ligero vs. Conners and Banks vs. Devlin in a falls count anywhere match.

Tag Team Titles: Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Danny Burch/Oney Lorcan

James Drake and Zack Gibson are defending. Drake grabs Burch’s arm to start as it’s the early setup for Gibson’s Shankley Gates. That’s reversed into a regular armbar and then a hammerlock as Burch takes over on the mat. Gibson comes in and punches Burch in the face, giving us a nice mixture of the first two matches. It’s already back to Drake, who gets slapped in the chest so Burch can bring Lorcan in. As usual, Drake isn’t quite as skilled as Gibson but that’s how teams work. Drake pokes Lorcan in the eye and sends him into the post as the champs take over for real.

Back in and the chinlock goes on, followed by a nerve hold to really mix things up. Gibson gets two off a belly to back and it’s right back to the chinlock. Somehow, Lorcan is able to fight off a variety of chinlocks and bring in Burch for the suplexes. A middle rope dropkick sends Drake into his own corner so Burch forearms Gibson off the apron. Everything breaks down with Lorcan getting knocked outside, setting up the Ticket to Ride for two on Burch. A pair of headbutts get Burch out of trouble though and Lorcan comes in with a double Blockbuster.

It’s already back to Burch (that was fast) with a Doomsday Device getting two as Gibson backdrops Lorcan onto the cover for the break. All four come in and Lorcan (legal) grabs the half crab on Drake as Gibson (also legal) puts Burch in Shankley Gates. The slap off breaks the holds and it’s Lorcan hitting a running dive to take out both champs. Back in and the elevated hanging DDT gets two on Drake so Burch punches him in the face. Lorcan gets knocked to the floor though and the Ticket to Mayhem finishes Burch at 13:08.

Rating: B. Another very good showing here with the two teams working well enough together to give you the hope of a title change. They also seem to be planting the seeds of Gibson being the focal point of the team (as he should be) which could be leading to a split. Throughout the match the announcers talked about Gibson having a God complex, which very well could cause some tension between the two of them. It’s WAY too early to split them though as they could hold the titles for several months to come.

Overall Rating: A-. Now that was a fun show with three high quality matches. As tends to be the case around here, the storytelling isn’t the strongest and having the focus be on the wrestling instead of the stories is a good way to go. You can’t do that every week, but when they get it right, it works very well. I had a great time with this and it flew by while leaving me wanting to see more, which is one of the best things that can be said.

Results

Tyler Bate b. Jack Gallagher – Rollup

Walter b. Kassius Ohno – Powerbomb

Grizzled Young Veterans b. Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch – Ticket to Mayhem to Burch

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Takeover: Phoenix
Date: January 26, 2019
Location: Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix, Arizona
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson, Mauro Ranallo

I don’t think I need to waste your time suggesting that this show might be awesome. Takeover has raised their standard up so high that there’s no reason to suggest that it’s going to be anything less than great. The question now is how great, which should make for a heck of an evening. Let’s get to it.

The opening video focuses on the desert, where it’s hot, dry and quiet. Until there’s a loud chant for NXT of course. The card gets a rundown, which works quite well when there are only five matches. The sound of a rattlesnake is a nice touch.

Kingdom Hearts III is sponsoring the show. I’m home.

We go to the Spanish broadcasters but the lights go out as they’re talking….because we have vikings.

Tag Team Titles: War Raiders vs. Undisputed Era

The Raiders are challenging and have a full legion of vikings with shields and spears (one of which was apparently played by Rowe’s newlywed Sarah Logan). I’m not big on vikings most of the time (now Cowboys on the other hand….) but this was freaking awesome. Bobby Fish is out with the champs here. The fans seem to be behind the champs, who jump the Raiders to get things going.

Rowe takes both of them outside with clotheslines, followed by Hansen doing the same. Just to show off a bit, Rowe slams Hansen off the apron onto both of them and then shrugs off a flying shoulder back inside. O’Reilly breaks up Fallout and the champs finally get in some offense. A bunch of strikes have Hansen in trouble as kicking at the legs slows him down. Hansen shrugs off a guillotine choke and brings in Rowe, who no sells a forearm and throws O’Reilly at Strong.

Everything breaks down and Hansen misses a suicide dive for a nasty looking crash. That doesn’t seem to bother Rowe, who hammers both of them down anyway. A backbreaker cuts him off though and Rowe gets dropped ribs first across the top rope. The dueling chants begin as O’Reilly hits a half nelson backbreaker for two. O’Reilly tries a rear naked choke so Rowe walks him into the corner, drawing Strong in for the double teaming.

The fans rather approve as they’re certainly split here. Rowe tosses O’Reilly to the floor, followed by winning a strike off back inside. That’s enough for the second hot tag to Hansen so house can be cleaned again. Hansen cartwheels into a dropkick and tries the forever lariats in the corner. A Bronco Buster gets two on Strong but Strong is right back with a running clothesline.

The pop up powerslam plants O’Reilly and Hansen dives onto Strong as Kyle kicks out in a heck of a near fall that I almost bought as the finish. A powerbomb into a top rope splash gets two more but Fallout is broken up again. Instead Strong hits a top rope superplex into a top rope knee from O’Reilly for a VERY close two and that’s a standing ovation. Strong scores with the Angle Slam for two more, followed by High/Low for ANOTHER two as Hansen just won’t stay down.

Another High/Low is countered and it’s a Tajiri handspring elbow to both champs. Rowe comes back in and it’s a powerbomb/World’s Strongest Slam to O’Reilly and Strong at the same time. Because that can just be done you see. O’Reilly is DONE and Fallout gives us new champions at 16:58.

Rating: A-. This was the long form tag team formula and it told a great story with the Era hitting everything they could on the monsters but not being able to do enough. It makes the Raiders look like the truly better team because the Era couldn’t stop them no matter what. That’s how you do a match like this and the Raiders are going to hold those titles for a very long time. Great opener.

Pete Dunne and Toni Storm are here.

We recap Kassius Ohno vs. Matt Riddle. Ohno has lost to him twice in a row now but after the second loss, he attacked Riddle in a huge heel moment. The idea is that Ohno isn’t happy with Riddle for being the new NXT toy and wants to give him a welcome beating.

Matt Riddle vs. Kassius Ohno

Riddle is ready with the strikes at the bell and knocks Ohno to the floor for a running forearm off the steps. Back in and Riddle knees him in the ribs, followed by a running forearm on the apron. A sunset bomb is countered with a stomp to the face (sometimes it makes more sense to go simple) and we hit the cravate on Riddle. An elbow to the face gets two more and Ohno erupts on him in the corner.

They head outside again with Ohno sending him head first into the steps, just like he did in the post-second match attack. Back in and Ohno stomps hard on Riddle’s fingers but Riddle is fine enough for a bridging German suplex. That means it’s time for the kicks to the chest….so Ohno BITES THE TOE. Good grief dude I know you have a good sized gut but if you need a snack during a match, we’re reaching Bastion Booger territory.

Ohno gets two off a Liger Bomb and a moonsault (THUD) connects for the same. Riddle pulls him straight down into a rear naked choke but Ohno is in the corner pretty fast. The offer of a fist bump just gets Ohno beaten up even more, with Riddle taking him down and unloading with forearms to the back of the head for the tap at 9:49.

Rating: C+. Not too bad at all here, but it wasn’t exactly in doubt, save for a surprise Keith Lee turn. The action was fine with Ohno seeming desperate to beat Riddle, who has beaten him twice before. That was a fine story and the ending was the right call, though it wasn’t exactly some thrilling stuff. They didn’t overstay their welcome though and that’s how things should have gone here.

Velveteen Dream arrives with some good looking women.

We recap the North American Title match. Champion Ricochet is answering a challenge, as Tommaso Ciampa suggested that Johnny Gargano go after the title. Ricochet is an amazing talent, but Gargano is full of evil and seemingly being manipulated by Ciampa, but this has the potential to be an instant classic. They’re heavily pushing the good vs. evil story here, as Ricochet is almost pure while Gargano is willing to do whatever it takes to shake off his demons and become champion. Heck of a story indeed.

North American Title: Johnny Gargano vs. Ricochet

Ricochet is defending. It’s a feeling out process to start with no one getting the advantage early on. Johnny’s headlock doesn’t get him very far but Ricochet nips up off a shoulder. What looked like a Gargano Escape winds up being a crucifix for two but Ricochet is right back up with some flips to avoid a hurricanrana. Another headscissors attempt earns Gargano a dropkick to the floor, setting up a step up moonsault from the middle rope, because Ricochet can just do that.

Back in and Ricochet gets caught in a hot shot onto the top turnbuckle as Gargano isn’t just evil, but he’s also smart. A chinlock backbreaker gives Gargano two but the slingshot spear misses, allowing Ricochet to hit a moonsault to the back. Ricochet picks up the pace with a running hurricanrana and a 619 in the corner. There’s the spring European uppercut into the rolling suplexes for two more.

Another hurricanrana is countered into a sitout powerbomb into a crossface and now it’s Ricochet in trouble. It’s too early for the Gargano Escape but the slingshot DDT is countered with a backdrop out to the apron. You know that means the flip dive, because that’s what Ricochet does. Back in and it’s a standing shooting star into a middle rope moonsault for two on Gargano as things are getting faster. Ricochet goes up but Gargano catches him with a hurricanrana….so Ricochet lands on his feet. The fans are VERY impressed, as they should be to be fair.

Ricochet tries a handspring but gets pulled into the Gargano Escape, again much to the fans’ delight. That’s broken up with some power (an underutilized part of Ricochet’s offense) and Gargano gets suplexed into the corner. It’s too early for the 630 as Gargano rolls outside before Ricochet can launch. Instead it’s a running flip dive over the corner as Ricochet gets to show off again.

The springboard 450 gives Ricochet two but a way too long shooting star press hits knees. Gargano superkicks him to the floor, where Ricochet catches a suicide dive in a fireman’s carry….which is reversed into a reverse hurricanrana to drive Ricochet head first into the floor. Back in and Gargano’s slingshot DDT is only good for two as even commentary needs a minute to breathe. With frustration setting in, Gargano pulls the floor mats back but a little humanity sinks in, causing Gargano to take it back inside instead.

A clothesline drops Gargano, who avoids the Phoenix splash. Instead Ricochet throws him down and slaps on a Gargano Escape of his own, sending Gargano crawling to the ropes. They head to the apron with Gargano sending him head first into the post (which was done to him last year), setting up a suplex/brainbuster hybrid on the concrete. Ricochet is out on his feet so it’s another slingshot DDT (with a spike) to give Gargano the pin and the title at 24:25.

Rating: A. What a spectacle but they actually had a story being told as well. Ricochet is the ultimate athlete with a combination of power (not a great amount but it’s there) and incredible athleticism, but Gargano is just talented all around, combined with a never say die attitude. The story here though was Gargano doing whatever it took to win because he knew what would happen if he didn’t. There was also the resistance to use the concrete before giving into the demons in the end and winning the title by any means necessary. Heck of a story but an even better match. This is an early Match of the Year contender, which shouldn’t surprise anyone.

We recap Shayna Baszler vs. Bianca Belair. Bianca is an athletic freak who has run over everyone through sheer athleticism and talent. Baszler is a bit older but more experienced and arguably well rounded. All Belair can say is that she’s undefeated, which makes her seem way too confident.

Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler vs. Bianca Belair

Bianca is challenging and drives her into the corner a few times to start for some bragging clean breaks. Thankfully Baszler gets tired of the UN-DE-FEA-TED chant and tries an O-VER-RA-TED version. A hard shoulder puts Baszler down and Belair takes over on the floor. Baszler shows off the intelligence though and grabs the hair to pull Bianca into the post. It’s only good for a nine count so Baszler is right onto her with shots to the face and an armbar.

The Dakota Kai arm stomp has Belair getting checked in the corner as Baszler is on a roll. We hit the armbar (makes sense in this case) for a bit until a hard kick to the face gives the champ two. The O-VER-RA-TED taunt earns Baszler a slap in the face and a spear with the bad arm gets two more. Baszler kicks her in the ribs and gets two off a running knee strike. The slugout is on until Belair whips the heck out of her with the hair, actually busting Shayna’s stomach open.

A toss into the corner knocks the referee down though and the KOD connects, meaning there’s no one to count. Cue Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke to interfere and be taken out, allowing Shayna to grab the Kirifuda Clutch. Belair still isn’t done though and fights up, somehow swinging Baszler to the side, setting up a suplex for the real break. Back up and Belair completely misses a 450, allowing Baszler to grab the Kirifuda Clutch. Belair somehow stands up again and we get an EST chant but she collapses and passes out at 15:13.

Rating: B-. There was some great athleticism on display here, but egads that UN-DE-FEA-TED thing isn’t exactly making me want to cheer for Belair. They did everything here to make her into a face and that worked well enough, but was I supposed to like her coming into this? Baszler winning made perfect sense here and was what I was expecting, though it was a little jarring to suddenly be cheering for the cockiest woman in the division. You can almost guarantee Belair wins the rematch though.

Velveteen Dream and said women are in the front row.

We recap Tommaso Ciampa vs. Aleister Black. Ciampa won the NXT Title thanks to some accidental interference from Johnny Gargano. Since then Ciampa and Gargano have tentatively reunited as Ciampa has gone on a rampage. Tonight, Black gets his long awaited rematch after trading wins with Gargano. This feels like a stop on a longer road, but that doesn’t mean it’s not looking great.

NXT Title: Aleister Black vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Ciampa is defending and sweet goodness Black’s entrance is still cool. That’s similar to Undertaker’s where you can do it time after time and it never gets old. They go straight to a hard lockup and fall to the floor without letting go. Back in and Black takes him down with a few more headlocks as you can certainly feel the anger. I mean, they’re some pretty harsh headlocks. Back up (eventually) so Black starts in with the kicks, sending Ciampa down onto the mat to duck a big one.

Black has a seat as well as the mind games are strong with this one. Mauro suddenly dubs Tommaso Tommy, all so he can say Black wants to “End Tommy.” Egads that was a stretch and even too hard of a pun for me. Black hits a big flip dive to the floor and Ciampa needs a breather. Instead he gets a kick to the head before getting smart, sending the knee into the steps. A suplex sends the knee into the steps again and it’s Ciampa in full control for the first time. Back in and Ciampa cranks on the knee like a smart villain should.

The leg gets tied in the ropes for a kick to the knee and Ciampa calls him a one trick pony. After wrapping the knee around the post one way, Ciampa does it again from the other side in a smart move. We’re not done yet either as Ciampa drops the knee onto the announcers’ table before having a rather evil seat. We continue the streak of leg work with a trip to the Tree of Woe but Ciampa lets him go pretty quickly. It’s a bit too quickly as Black hits a running kick to the head in the corner.

Back in and the kick to the chest with the good leg gets two but Black is slow to follow up. Neither finisher can connect on either of two attempts so Ciampa forearms him in the back of the head. Ciampa tries the Fairy Tale Ending for the third time, only to be reversed into a bridging German suplex (on one leg) for two. Black Mass is loaded up but the knee gives out, allowing Ciampa to dragon screw legwhip him into a half crab. That’s reverses into the same thing on Ciampa but since Ciampa’s knee is fine, it doesn’t last long.

Black tries his middle rope moonsault to the floor, which of course takes forever. Instead it’s a Tower of London (hanging cutter) onto the apron to give the champ two more. They slug it out with Black getting the better of it, including a double stomp to the chest. A brainbuster gets two on the champ and he heads outside with the middle rope moonsault connecting this time around. Black slips on the way back in though and the Fairy Tale Ending gets a very close two.

With nothing else working, Ciampa pulls the floor pads back (popular move around here) but the yelling referee allows Black to hit a Meteora off the apron. Back in and Black Mass connects in full but Black’s knee is way too banged up for the cover. Ciampa is able to roll onto his side and they’re back up again. Another Black Mass nearly hits the referee so Ciampa sends him into the ropes for the hanging DDT. The Fairy Tale Ending gets a heck of a near fall so it’s a third Fairy Tale Ending into a fourth Fairy Tale Ending to retain the title at 26:31.

Rating: A-. As tends to be the case on a lot of Takeovers, this wasn’t exactly surprising but they worked very hard and told a story with Ciampa taking away Black’s best weapon to slow him down. Black gave him a great fight but came up short, because Ciampa really is as good as he brags about being. It did feel like a stop on the way to a bigger story, but they beat the heck out of each other in a match that lets Ciampa look better without Black losing a ton in defeat. He would seem to be main roster bound pretty soon anyway so it doesn’t mean too much in the long run.

After a bunch of replays, Ciampa heads up to the stage to pose, drawing out Gargano to hold up his own title for the big super evil pose to end the show.

Overall Rating: A. And somehow, that feels like it belongs on the lower end of the series. This was another excellent show with three great matches and the worst match on the card being perfectly watchable. I’m almost scared to imagine what they have for the final, mega blowoff between Gargano vs. Ciampa, but somehow I completely believe that they could make it live up to the hype. Now where else are you going to see something like that other than NXT? This lived up to the hype and really, that’s all you would have expected around here.

Results

War Raiders b. Undisputed Era – Fallout to O’Reilly

Matt Riddle b. Kassius Ohno – Forearms to the back of the head

Johnny Gargano b. Ricochet – Slingshot DDT

Shayna Baszler b. Bianca Belair – Kirifuda Clutch

Tommaso Ciampa b. Aleister Black – Fairy Tale Ending

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

IMG Credit: WWE

I’m really not sure what to say about Takeover anymore. You know it’s going to be great. You know it’s going to be impressive. You know it’s going to be one of the best shows of the year. We’re WAY past the point of believing that it’s going to be anything else, so now the question is how good can it be. This show’s card is rather impressive and there’s a good chance that their first show in the desert could be great. Let’s get to it.

Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler(c) vs. Bianca Belair

We’ll start off with a match that got a great boost from the final push. I’m not completely sold on how the match is going to go as Belair doesn’t have much experience against a top name as she’s only wrestled a bunch of squashes and Nikki Cross for the most part. That being said, Baszler is someone who can help carry her through and the story of Belair being the natural athlete not being able to handle someone with the skills and experience of Baszler. It worked in Top Gun.

I really could see this going either way but I’ll go with Baszler retaining. Belair is someone who is going to come back and win the title later on, perhaps on a big episode of TV, but I think she needs to learn something before getting the ultimate goal. The idea of Baszler catching her for trying to do something a little too big or impressive works for me, though I also wouldn’t be shocked to see Belair win, sending Baszler into the Women’s Royal Rumble and the main roster in general. I’ll go with Baszler retaining, but her days are numbered.

Matt Riddle vs. Kassius Ohno

This is one where the ending isn’t exactly in doubt. Riddle is going to be one of the biggest stars in NXT and Ohno’s entire job is to put people over. Ohno has already lost to him twice, both times in pretty definitive fashions. There is still the possibility of Keith Lee turning on Riddle to cost him the match, though that seems to be a bit of a bad idea, especially after Lee has lost twice now.

I’ll go with Riddle winning here, which is exactly what he should do. Lee can take him out after the match or on the next TV show, but having Ohno defeat Riddle, even through shenanigans, doesn’t make a ton of sense. Going with what makes sense fits NXT far better than anything else. Riddle wins, though watch out for the rather large and athletic man lurking around.

Tag Team Titles: Undisputed Era(c) vs. War Raiders

I’m thinking this one is a little more straightforward like the previous match. The War Raiders debuted last year around Wrestlemania time and I don’t think have actually lost a match since (a rather common trope around here and something that works well because, believe it or not, wins and losses matter in wrestling). The Undisputed Era has held the titles almost uninterrupted since November 2017 and it’s time for a change.

So yeah we’ll go with the title change here because there’s no reason for it not to happen. The Raiders have been built up perfectly for this and the Era is pretty much out of people to face. Let them chase the titles for the time being until someone else gets built up to take the titles from the Raiders several months from now. It makes sense, and NXT isn’t the kind of place to go completely off the beaten path with some crazy move.

North American Title: Ricochet(c) vs. Johnny Gargano

Yes. That word seems rather appropriate here as there’s a very strong chance that this is going to be a match of the year candidate. These two tend to do that and I could very easily see Ricochet moving up towards the main event scene in short order. He’s that good, and his star power has been on the rise since his debut, when it was huge in the first place. However, does he lose the title here to someone who is already a major star?

The more I think about it, the less sure I am. I’m going with Gargano winning the title in an upset here as he embraces the darkness even more and goes full on evil to win the title, likely running off Candice LeRae in the process. This is all setting up an insanely awesome tag match with Aleister Black/Ricochet vs. the evil DIY (if the title wasn’t a factor, that could be the feature match in New York) and having Ricochet chase the title that he was cheated out of could work wonderfully. Gargano wins, in my least confident pick of the show.

NXT Title: Tommaso Ciampa(c) vs. Aleister Black

This is actually a weird one as I’m not sure what’s going to happen. The match itself is more of a stopping point on the major story and I’m not sure where that’s going to end. I do like the idea of having the Takeover match not needing to be the big definitive ending because the story isn’t ready to be there yet. Black deserves his rematch and the aggression he shows against the master manipulator should be great.

However, it’s not going to be enough as Gargano likely helps Ciampa retain the title, reforming the team once and for all (or at least until Johnny exorcises his demons and wins the title in the biggest blowoff NXT will ever have). Black can join forces with Ricochet (sadly not Velveteen Dream it seems) and set up the dream tag match, but this time around it’s the evil DIY standing tall to end the show.

Overall Thoughts

It’s kind of a weird show in the series as it feels like a pit stop on the way towards the New York show. The cool thing about NXT though is they know how to make this work anyway and I want to see the show. It might be one of the weaker Takeovers, but that means it more like the poorest millionaire. The show is going to rock and that’s all that matters. It’s also all that’s expected, which isn’t something you can say about much anything else.

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