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

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

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

Opening sequence.

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

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

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

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

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

Eddie Dennis vs. Jack Starz

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

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

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

Mark Andrews vs. Mike Hitchman

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

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

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

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

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

Storm helps her up.

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

Toni Storm

Jinny

Rhea Ripley

Dakota Kai

Not bad at all.

Jordan Devlin vs Ligero

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results

Rhea Ripley b. Xia Brookside – Riptide

Eddie Dennis b. Jack Starz – Lifting inverted DDT

Mark Andrews b. Mike Hitchman – Shooting star press

Toni Storm b. Isla Dawn – Storm Zero

Jordan Devlin b. Ligero – Ireland’s Call

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

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

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

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

NXT UK
Date: November 7, 2018
Location: Cambridge Corn Exchange, Cambridge, England
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness

We’re continuing the British theme this week with two more episodes of NXT UK. It’s a big show this time around two with the United Kingdom Title on the line as Danny Burch challenges Pete Dunne. Someone has to take the title from Dunne eventually and there are worse options than Burch. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Dave Mastiff vs. Damien Weir

Weir looks scared. They’re doing the Earthquake bit with the camera shaking every time Mastiff takes a step during his entrance. Weir bounces off of Mastiff to start and there’s a huge backsplash. A one armed delayed vertical suplex drops Weir again and a really big Cannonball finishes him off at 2:26.

We look back at Wolfgang and the Coffey Brothers joining forces last week.

Video on Ligero.

Video on James Drake.

Video on Jinny, a fashionista. I’ve heard good things about her elsewhere but the fashionista part wasn’t mentioned.

Ligero vs. James Drake

Ligero drives him into the ropes to start and Drake hides for a bit. Back in and Drake forearms him in the mask so Ligero comes back with some of his own (Drake must have messed up the horn), followed by a spinwheel kick for one. Drake throws some heavy shots in the corner and it’s off to the chinlock. Ligero comes back with some more kicks and a Code Red for two, only to miss something off the top. A running corner dropkick gives Drake two of his own but Ligero is right back with a springboard tornado DDT for the pin at 5:49.

Rating: C-. Ligero is fine for the local luchador while Drake is another name on the long list of heels who don’t stand out in the slightest. He was billed as Mr. Mayhem, even though he did nothing that made him stand out or came off as mayhemish in the slightest. Just a match really, but Ligero is going to get a following.

Toni Storm is ready to face anyone who comes out her, including Dakota Kai. This brings Kai in, to say she’ll be that much better next week. They seem cool with each other.

Video on Ashton Smith.

Zack Gibson will be back next week.

Smith comes out for a match but gets jumped by Wolfgang and the Coffey Brothers. Joe talks about being upset about what happened in the Royal Albert Hall and now he sees people with similar views as his. If you’re not on their level, they will eliminate you. There is no more British Strong Style and there will be no more Big Strong Boys. This is their kingdom. Not bad, though the addition of Wolfgang brings them down a few notches. They need a story of some kind like this though as you can only have one off matches for so long.

Flash Morgan Webster and Mark Andrews are ready to fight the Coffeys. Smith comes in and says he’s doing this with them. The trio goes in to see Johnny Saint.

Sid Scala vs. Eddie Dennis

I’ve been looking forward to this one. Dennis, a rather tall guy who is a little lanky, kicks him in the ribs to start but gets kicked in the knee. That just earns Scala another forearm and some right hands to the head. The cravate goes on and a jumping knee drop gets two. Dennis shouts about waiting a decade for this moment and wants better competition. Scala slaps him in the face and gets one of his own off a high crossbody. That’s about it for him though as a Razor’s Edge buckle bomb sets up an inverted implant DDT to finish Scala at 3:29.

Rating: C. Dennis has intrigued me since his first vignette and he more than lived up to the hype here. He has a good look (the height makes him stand out) and the backstory does him a lot of good. That’s the first new character who has stood out to me on this show and that’s what this place needs.

United Kingdom Title: Pete Dunne vs. Danny Burch

Burch is challenging and we get Big Match Intros. Dunne takes him down by the leg to start and gets in a kick to annoy Burch. The test of strength goes to Dunne and it’s time to crank on the finger while hammerlocking the other arm. Burch fights up with a suplex and goes for Dunne’s hand, sending the champ into the ropes.

Back up and Dunne’s leapfrog is pulled down by the leg but Dunne escapes the Crossface. They head to the floor with an X Plex dropping Burch onto the apron to put him in real trouble. It’s time to crank on the arm again and Dunne hits a hard kick to the elbow. Dunne ties the arm around his leg and rips at Burch’s face. Burch fights back with chops and a middle rope dropkick sends Dunne flying. A rather snappy nipup sets up a powerbomb, followed by a knee to the face to give Burch two.

Dunne is right back with another stomp to the arm and it’s time to head outside again. The arm is sent into the steps (you can’t say Dunne isn’t focused) but Burch is right back with a German suplex. Back in and Dunne grabs a triangle, which is countered into a buckle bomb. A German superplex gets two and they pull themselves up on the ropes for the big slugout. Another X Plex sets up an armbar but Burch reverses into a quickly broken Crossface.

Burch hits one heck of a clothesline and they’re both down again. It’s Dunne up first and stomping away at Burch’s head but Burch gets up again for a headbutt. The hanging DDT gets a close two and you can hear the fans sounding shocked. The Crossface goes on again in the middle of the ring but Dunne grabs the nose (egads) for the break. The Bitter End gets two and it’s time for a triangle with the finger bending to make Burch tap at 16:20.

Rating: B+. More Dunne greatness with Burch more than holding up his end of the match. These guys beat the heck out of each other and it was cool to see the arm playing into the ending. As usual, I have no idea who takes the title from Dunne but it’s nice to see them going so hard with his title reign as the title change is going to be huge.

Overall Rating: B. That’s probably the best show they’ve done so far with a big title match and a good debut from Dennis. They’re starting to set up some stories here and that makes the show much better. There are some people I want to see and if they can keep doing that, everything is going to start getting better.

Results

Dave Mastiff b. Damien Weir – Cannonball

Ligero b. James Drake – Springboard tornado DDT

Eddie Dennis b. Sid Scala – Inverted implant DDT

Pete Dunne b. Danny Burch – Triangle choke

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

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