NXT UK
Date: October 24, 2018
Location: Cambridge Corn Exchange, Cambridge, England
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness

It’s week two and there’s a good chance we’ll be seeing a lot of new faces again this time around. Last week was mainly about introducing the top stars and some of them might be back this time around. I liked the first week a bit more than I was expecting, but it’s hard to say where things go from here. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Ligero vs. Mike Hitchman

Ligero looks like a luchador (complete with horned mask) and Hitchman is a rather hideous man called the Wild Boar. Ligero kicks him down to start and mostly misses a standing moonsault for two. Hitchman sends him to the apron but Ligero bounces right back in for a dropkick. That earns him a whip into the corner for a good looking running shoulder into the corner.

An exploder suplex sets up a neck crank but Ligero comes up with some running clotheslines. A running big boot gets two on Hitchman but he’s right back with a fireman’s carry faceplant. Hitchman hits a running backsplash to the back and another one in the corner for two more as Ligero is in big trouble. The fans get behind Ligero as he avoids a charge in the corner and hits a springboard tornado DDT for the pin at 4:49.

Rating: C. Not too bad at all here with the power vs. speed formula, which is one of the most tried and true ideas in wrestling. Every promotion can use a smaller guy like Ligero and the fans certainly took to him early. Hitchman didn’t stand out all that much, but at least the match was entertaining while it lasted.

Video on Dakota Kai.

Video on Killer Kelly.

Dakota Kai vs. Killer Kelly

Both of them like to kick. Kai starts in with the kicks but gets caught with a jawbreaker to slow her down. Kelly rains down the right hands and grabs a surfboard with a dragon sleeper to bend Kai in a few painful looking directions. Since Kai is about to break, Kelly lets her go and hits a basement dropkick for two more. A release German suplex keeps Kai in trouble but she’s right back up with some kicks to the face. The running kick in the corner is followed by a running seated version and a somewhat botched sunset flip Backstabber (a hard move to be fair) finishes Kelly at 4:11.

Rating: C-. The sloppiness hurt this one a good bit but at least Kai won. She could be a star in the Bayley sense, though that didn’t quite work in NXT. Maybe the weaker talent pool around here will serve her better, but she’s definitely got something. The kicks looked good as always and Kelly looked better than she did in the Mae Young Classic.

Post match Kai says she wants the NXT UK Women’s Title.

We look at Zack Gibson winning the UK Title Tournament over the summer.

Video on Eddie Dennis, who knew Mark Haskins and Pete Dunne when they were kids. He became a school principal and isn’t happy with their success. This guy could be interesting.

Here’s Gibson for a chat. He’s Liverpool’s #1 and that’s soon to be the world’s #1, as well as NXT UK’s #1. At the Royal Albert Hall, he beat three men in a row and won the tournament. Then the next night, he fought Pete Dunne, though the fans aren’t impressed. Gibson wants Dunne right now because the Royal Albert Hall fans weren’t fair to him over the summer.

The fans chant something at him so Gibson rants about Noam Dar getting a title shot with weeks to prepare but he failed anyway. Gibson is the kind of guy you can build a brand around and if you look up Dar, all you’ll see is someone doing a bunch of stupid poses. Cue Dar for a fight but GM Johnny Saint comes out to tell Gibson to come to the office RIGHT NOW. Gibson looks scared, which is the point of a good boss.

Video on Ashton Smith, who will do anything he has to do to win.

Travis Banks is coming for the Coffey Brothers, who attacked him in the Royal Albert Hall.

Ashton Smith vs. Tucker

Smith knocks him down for two to start so Tucker comes back with some superkicks to take over. A running headbutt drops Smith again and they hit a pinfall reversal sequence. Tucker begs off in the corner but comes out with some shots to the head and a suplex for two. The Super Duper Kick doesn’t work so Smith sends him into the corner for some running hip shots. The ripcord DDT (Ash Cloud) is good for the pin on Tucker at 4:16.

Video on Danny Burch, who debuts next week.

Also next week: Gibson vs. Dar.

Wolfgang vs. Tyler Bate

Wolfgang hasn’t impressed me much so far but maybe this will be better. Feeling out process to start with Wolfgang taking him up to the ropes for a howl. The much smaller Bate gets sat on the apron as the fans call Bate (I think?) a big strong boy. Bate wants a test of strength but gets taken down, only to spin out and nip up for a dropkick. Wolfgang slips out of an airplane spin attempt and starts in on the ribs.

Some stomps set up a waistlock into a bearhug but Bate punches his way out. A middle rope elbow to the jaw sets up Bate’s bouncing off the ropes into the clotheslines. Three in a row finally put Wolfgang on one knee and Bate is able to do the airplane spin. The running shooting star gets two but the Tyler Driver 97 is broken up. Wolfgang flips him over with a release German suplex and gets two off a spear. The Howling (Swanton) misses and the Tyler Driver 97 finishes Wolfgang at 10:26.

Rating: C-. Bate was trying here but he needed someone better than Wolfgang. I know he’s a bigger guy, but that’s about all Wolfgang has going for him. I’ve seen him a few times now and nothing he’s done has really impressed me. Bate is the kind of guy who should be on the main roster one day and when you consider how young he still is, it’s downright impressive.

Overall Rating: C. There isn’t much to say about these shows, but that’s how the early episodes should be. You need to set these things up over the course of a few weeks so that the stories have more of an impact. They’ve done a good job of establishing some basic characters though and that’s the important thing so far. I’m still not sure that this show really needs to be there, but at least they’re doing an acceptable job so far.

Results

Ligero b. Mike Hitchman – Springboard tornado DDT

Dakota Kai b. Killer Kelly – Code Red Backstabber

Ashton Smith b. Tucker – Ash Cloud

Tyler Bate b. Wolfgang – Tyler Driver 97

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
Date: September 5, 2018
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Beth Phoenix, Renee Young

Well it worked the first time. This is the first episode of the second edition of the tournament and this year’s version is being shown a little differently. Instead of having big batches of four episodes at a time, it’s a weekly show every Wednesday after NXT, which is probably a better idea. I’ve done my best to avoid spoilers here so let’s get to it.

All matches are first round matches.

We open with a look at last week’s tournament, with Kairi Sane defeating Shayna Baszler in the finals. Various women talk about how important it is to win the second tournament.

Opening sequence.

The announcers welcome us to the show.

Zatara is a masked wrestler from Chile. She wants to show the world how great her country can be and says she’s smart.

Tegan Nox (better known as Nixon Newell) is from Wales and is influenced by Molly Holly, who did things no one else was doing. She was supposed to be involved last year but tore her ACL.

Tegan Nox vs. Zatara

They fight over a wristlock to start with Zatara’s kicks to the leg not keeping Nox down. A dropkick sends Zatara out to the floor and a slow motion 619 makes her duck. Back in and Zatara takes Nox down by the knee and puts on some cross between a Figure Four and an Indian deathlock. Nox dives over to the rope and limps/runs for an uppercut in the corner. A high crossbody gives Nox two but a missile dropkick sends her sprawling. Zatara misses a dropkick to the back though and a Shining Wizard gives Nox the pin at 6:11.

Rating: C. Not much of a match but Nox has all the star power she could ever need. This was a nice introduction to her and the story of being injured last year is really easy to get behind. Zatara was fine, though she felt a bit like a stock villain, especially with the mask. They didn’t do much here other than getting the tournament’s feet wet and that’s fine.

Ember Moon and Alexa Bliss are here.

Rhea Ripley is from Australia and is much more serious after losing last year.

MJ Jenkins has big hair, talks about herself in the third person and is from New York.

Rhea Ripley vs. MJ Jenkins

Ripley impressed me last year and has every tool that you could want in a future WWE star. Jenkins likes to shake her hips a lot and Ripley won’t shake hands. An early armdrag takes Ripley down but she dropkicks Jenkins to the floor. The fans are WAY behind Ripley here and a hard clothesline gets two. A delayed suplex gets two and the abdominal stretch, with an elbow to the ribs, has Jenkins in trouble.

The announcers talk about Ripley being a huge Miz fan, which they agree that Miz can never know about. Jenkins fights up (with Renee being VERY happy) with an elbow and shoulder block, followed by a roundhouse kick from the apron. A missile dropkick gets two on Ripley but she ducks another kick to the head, setting up a sitout pumphandle slam for the pin on Jenkins at 6:40.

Rating: C. Jenkins wasn’t bad here but much like the opener, it was clear who was getting the star push here and that’s the right way to go with something like this. Ripley is clearly going to be someone WWE wants to push the heck out of and when you have her size and look, there’s not much of a reason to disagree. It’s quite a change of pace from last year and hopefully we get to see more of her in the future.

Vanessa Kraven says she looks like a monster but has a sweet playful side.

Lacey Lane wants to prove how awesome women can be compared to men and she’s inspired by the Dudleys.

Lio Rush is here.

Vanessa Kraven vs. Lacey Lane

Lane is the hometown girl and Cole thinks she’s the wildcard pick to win the whole thing. You’ve seen five out of thirty two dude. Calm down. Kraven is 6’2 and 200lbs so she’s got quite the size advantage over the pretty small Lane. Lane has to move around to start but her crucifix attempt is shrugged off. Some forearms in the corner have no effect so Lane kicks her in the head for some more success. A double springboard wristdrag sends Kraven to the floor and Lane cartwheels on the apron to kick her in the head again.

That kind of offense can’t last forever though as Kraven catches her and drops Lane face first onto the apron. Back in and a cannonball crushes Lane for two, followed by an over the shoulder backbreaker to make things even worse. Lane kicks her way out and hits a jawbreaker into a low superkick. A spinning side slam gives Kraven two as the fans are behind Lane. It seems to work quite well as a quick crucifix bomb gives Lane the surprise pin at 4:50.

Rating: D+. I wasn’t feeling this one as Lane winning felt a little forced and I didn’t get behind her like the crowd did. It also didn’t help that the announcers kept pushing the David vs. Goliath story. Not terrible, but it wasn’t much to see and Lane feels like a rather manufactured feel good underdog story.

Natalya is thrilled to be here and picks Mia Yim or Io Shirai to win.

Meiko Satomura wrestled on Nitro when she was 16 and has never given up on her dream. Now she’s the grizzled veteran wanting one last shot.

Killer Kelly (who was on some of the UK specials) is from Portugal and has an MMA background which will carry her far.

Meiko Satomura vs. Killer Kelly

Satomura is a legend and Kelly was inspired by Kane. Meiko kicks at the leg to start as the announcers drool over her. Back up and a headlock keeps Kelly in trouble and works on the knee to keep an escaping Kelly down. The headlock goes on again but this time Kelly fights her way out for a bicycle kick. Satomura pulls her straight back down into a heck of an STF but Kelly is next to the ropes for the break, though she looks terrified.

Some hard kicks to the chest have Kelly in trouble and all she can do is take them. A suplex gives Kelly a breather so Meiko cartwheels into a double kick to the back. Meiko heads up top but Kelly catches her and pulls it down into a dragon sleeper in the Tree of Woe for a rather painful looking visual. A running basement dropkick sets up a fisherman’s suplex for two on Meiko as the fans think this is awesome. Fair enough actually. Back up and Meiko scores with a Pele kick and a hard Death Valley Driver for the pin at 7:40.

Rating: B-. Easily the match of the night here due to Satomura being treated as a legend (well deserved). That makes these things feel so much more important and it’s nice to see someone being presented as a top star. Kelly had some promise here but there was no way she was winning this one.

Overall Rating: C+. Perfectly watchable show, which is always the case for these shows. The tournament offers a look at some competition you haven’t seen before and that makes for some fun shows. It’s way too early to guess who is going to win the thing and that’s the point of a long form tournament like this. Good start though and this should be an easy watch every week.

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