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UK Tournament
Date: January 15, 2017
Location: Empress Ballroom, Blackpool, England
Commentators: Michael Cole, Nigel McGuinness
Recap of Pete Dunne attacking Sam Gradwell along with their first round matches.
The second round has twenty minute time limits.
Quarterfinals: Pete Dunne vs. Sam Gradwell
The back is fine enough for a Michinoku Driver for two on Dunne as this is one sided so far. Pete rolls outside and takes a crossbody with the fans getting WAY into Gradwell. Back in and Dunne shoves him off the ropes for a big crash onto the apron, messing up the back all over again. Gradwell dives back in to beat the count but gets slammed into the corner to give Pete the pin at 4:50.
Rating: B-. This was all about the storytelling which is the most important thing you can get around here. The story with the back injury made things interesting and Pete came off as the real villain of the whole thing, which is a perfect role for him. I bought the idea that he wanted to win no matter what the cost and that gives him a character going forward.
Quarterfinals: Joseph Conners vs. Mark Andrews
Andrews starts with some very fast rollups for two each but Conners elbows him in the face to cut off the offense. Joseph tries his own sunset flip, only to have Mark roll through and dropkick him down for two more. That sends Joseph outside but he avoids a moonsault off the apron and drop toeholds Andrews into the steps.
Wolfgang and Trent Seven first round recaps. Cole mistakenly says Seven beat Roy Johnson in the first round.
Fit Finlay is here.
Quarterfinals: Wolfgang vs. Trent Seven
They start slow for a change until Seven slaps him in the face. That earns him a suplex and they head outside to start the brawl. A moonsault off the barricade crushes Seven but Wolfgang bangs up his knee. A suicide dive drops Wolfgang again but he comes right back with a superplex to put both guys down.
Jordan (not George as Cole puts it) Devlin and Tyler Bate first round recaps.
Quarterfinals: Jordan Devlin vs. Tyler Bate
I love the little wave that Bate does.
Here are the updated brackets:
Pete Dunne
Mark Andrews
Wolfgang
Tyler Bate
Video on the final four and how they want to win.
Robbie Brookside is here.
Semifinals: Pete Dunne vs. Mark Andrews
Dunne takes him straight to the mat and grabs a chinlock but a spinning armdrag sends Pete to the floor. That of course means a big flip dive as Andrews has shown me more in the last two matches than in his entire TNA run. As usual, I blame TNA. Pete bends the fingers back and goes for the stomp on the steps but Andrews snaps off a hurricanrana to take over again.
Dunne has a counter of his own though as the shooting star is reversed into a rollup for a very close two. The pumphandle Downward Spiral (Bitter End) is broken up and the fifth or so X Plex is countered into the fourth or so hurricanrana for two. Another shooting star misses and ANOTHER FREAKING X PLEX sets up the Bitter End to send Dunne on at 10:45.
Cole and McGuinness talk about their media coverage over the last few days.
Semifinals: Wolfgang vs. Tyler Bate
Nigel, a good commentator, tells us that Dunne uses an arm hold. Above all else, that felt natural instead of like they were hammering it over our heads. Simple, yet effective.
Medics check on Bate who finally sits up. The shocked look on his face is a nice touch.
Neville vs. Tommy End
Well, it will be after we look at how both guys got to the title match.
UK Title: Pete Dunne vs. Tyler Bate
Rating: A-. That might be a bit high but I got WAY more into this than I was expecting to. Bate winning is a nice choice and having him beat Dunne was as good of a story as they were going to be able to pull off. This was a much better match than I was expecting and this is the kind of match the tournament was needing to make it memorable. Great main event and Bate looked like a star despite his age.
HHH, Finlay, Regal and Balor present Bate with the title to end the show.
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