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

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

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

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

Opening sequence.

Saxon Huxley vs. Ligero

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

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

Jinny vs. Isla Dawn

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

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

Travis Banks wants Jordan Devlin next week.

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

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

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

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

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

Results

Ligero b. Saxon Huxley – C4L

Jinny b. Isla Dawn – X Factor

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

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

Takeover: Blackpool
Date: January 12, 2019
Location: Empress Ballroom, Blackpool, England
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness

I’m not sure what to think about this. First of all, it’s cool that NXT UK is starting to do something like this. You can only go so far with a TV show and nothing else so having a special like this helps. At the same time though, NXT was down in Full Sail for nearly two years before its first Network special. It hasn’t even been three months since NXT UK TV debuted. I hope they’re ready so let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at the path to this event, with the first event taking place in this very building. Each match gets a quick preview.

The announcers, actually in the arena for a change, run down the card.

Tag Team Titles: Moustache Mountain vs. Zack Gibson/James Drake

For the inaugural titles. Moustache Mountain have some British Bulldogs inspired tights for the very nice touch. We see the rather pretty belts for the first time, which is always a nice feeling. Gibson and Bate start things off and the fans are already singing for Bate. An early armbar takes Bate down and it’s time to take the shoes off in hatred of Gibson. Bate gets taken down in a test of strength and bridges up until he backflips out of it in a very unique escape.

Drake and Seven come in so it’s time to drum up a new song. A quick fireman’s carry slam sets up Bate’s middle rope cannonball so it’s back to Gibson, who bails to the floor. Back in and a hurricanrana keeps Gibson in trouble, followed by Seven hitting a crossbody for two. Drake comes in sans tag for a distraction and heads outside, where a suicide dive hurts Seven’s arm. The slowed down Seven gets taken down by a Gibson clothesline and the villains take over.

Drake grabs an arm trap chinlock (Seven: “OW MY ARM!”) and then hits a discus elbow, which actually busts the back of Seven’s head open. Gibson, who the fans still hate, grabs a chinlock of his own as Seven still can’t get out of trouble. Seven and Drake head outside where Seven’s chops don’t have much effect but once back inside, he’s able to drive into the corner for the tag to Bate in a hurry. That was a different kind of hot tag and that’s greatly appreciated.

Bate picks up the pace with a middle rope back elbow to Gibson, followed by an airplane spin to both of them AT THE SAME TIME. I know I say this every time but EGADS that’s impressive. Gibson and Drake head outside so Bate hits a shooting star off the apron for the double knockdown. Bop and Bang hit Gibson and it’s back to Seven for a suplex into the Swan Dive for two. Gibson kicks Seven in the knee and brings Drake back in for a pinfall reversal sequence.

Everything breaks down again and the dragon suplex/clothesline combination is broken up with Gibson’s Ticket To Ride. Helter Skelter into a 450 gets a very close two on Seven and the fans are back into it. Gibson gets the Shankley Gates on Seven and Drake puts another one on Bate at the same time. Just because he can, Bate powers up into a Death Valley Driver to sent Drake into Gibson and Seven for the save.

Bate comes back in and starts throwing the good looking boxing punches. The half dragon suplex/clothesline combination gets two on Drake and the fans aren’t sure what to do now. Bate gets knocked off the apron and onto Gibson’s shoulders, setting up a suicide dive Doomsday Device on the floor to knock Bate cold. Back in and Ticket to Mayhem gives Drake the pin and the titles at 23:52.

Rating: B+. Very good opener and exactly how the finish should have gone. Moustache Mountain are the most over people on the roster not named Pete Dunne and they don’t need to win here to keep that spot. Gibson and Drake are awesome together and it makes a lot more sense to give them the titles to bring them up to the next level. Therefore, when Moustache Mountain, or whoever it is, takes the titles from them, it means that much more. Really intense match here and an awesome opening match.

Johnny Saint and Sid Scala come out to congratulate the new champs.

Earlier today, Jordan Devlin attacked Travis Banks and injured his knee. Banks is still medically cleared.

Travis Banks vs. Jordan Devlin

Banks has a bad knee but he’s fine enough to dive onto Devlin before the bell. Devlin gets in a whip into the steps though and the knee is crushed into the steel over and over. Referees and Scala come out to break it up and it doesn’t look like there’s a match here. Devlin grabs the mic and says he’s the greatest Irish wrestler alive. Hang on though as Scala says there’s a backup plan as they thought Devlin might try something like this.

Finn Balor vs. Jordan Devlin

This is a special one as Balor trained Devlin. They stare each other down and the scared looking Devlin slaps him in the face, earning himself a Sling Blade. It’s way too early for the Coup de Grace as Devlin bails out to the floor. Devlin gets in a shot outside and hits his own jumping double stomp back inside.

Balor is right back with a basement dropkick but a regular version breaks up another Coup de Grace attempt. Back in and Devlin pounds away so Balor chops the skin off his chest. 1916 is blocked with an enziguri so Balor hits him with the Pele for a double knockdown. Another attempt works just fine but Devlin gets up again.

The arm pull into the hard belly to back gives Devlin two of his own. Some shots to the ribs keep Balor in trouble until he knocks Devlin outside. That means the running kick to the chest but Devlin posts him for two with feet on the ropes. A moonsault hits raised knees though and it’s an inverted DDT to knock Devlin silly, followed by the running corner dropkick. Now the Coup de Grace connects to give Balor the pin at 11:46.

Rating: B. That’s exactly what it needed to be as you don’t have Devlin beat a former World Champion. At the same time, there’s no shame in losing to someone that far above you and Devlin got in a lot of offense. Balor was a great choice for the replacement and that’s one of the places where WWE shines. One of the wrestlers on your regional minor league show is hurt? Here’s a former World Champion, who happens to be the opponent’s trainer, as a replacement.

Luke Menzies is here.

We recap Dave Mastiff vs. Eddie Dennis. They’re the two monsters of NXT and Mastiff beat Dennis in their first match. Dennis then attacked him to set up a rematch, which went to a double DQ. That’s kind of a weird way to set up a third match but it could be fun.

Eddie Dennis vs. Dave Mastiff

No DQ. They go straight for the slugout to start with Mastiff hitting a crossbody for the first knockdown. Since it’s anything goes they head outside with Mastiff running him over again and loading up the steps and sending them inside for some fun. Dennis finds a kendo stick though and cracks Mastiff over the back to take over. A Russian legsweep with the stick gets two and it’s time to choke with said stick.

Another big swing is blocked though and Mastiff hits a headbutt (CRACK) to rock Dennis. Mastiff powerbombs him down and loads up the steps but another crossbody is countered into a spinning Rock Bottom (with Dennis’ legs shaking) onto the steel for another two. Dennis brings in a chair but walks into a Regal Roll.

For some reason Dave goes up top though and that means the release Severn Bridge for a rather close near fall. A table is set up in the corner but Mastiff knocks him down and sits on Dennis’ chest. Another Regal Roll on the floor sets up a backsplash as Dennis is mostly dead. Back in and Dennis gets two off the reverse inverted DDT as reality is setting in. Severn Bridge through the table is broken up and Mastiff Cannonballs him through it instead for the pin at 11:53.

Rating: B-. Perfectly watchable power brawl with weapons, though it’s nothing that hasn’t been done before. Mastiff remaining undefeated is the right call and you could put him forward for a one off title shot at some point. I still like Dennis a lot and that kind of look and imposing presence is going to keep him around for a good while.

Kay Lee Ray and Jazzy Gabert are here.

We recap Rhea Ripley vs. Toni Storm. Ripley won the inaugural Women’s Title by beating an injured Storm and there really isn’t any other real competition for her. Storm is healthy and focused now after winning the Mae Young Classic. They’re both prodigies and this could be a heck of a match, or at least a major preview of the future.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm vs. Rhea Ripley

Ripley is defending. Storm goes after her to start and starts firing off the forearms until a faceplant cuts her off. That’s fine with Storm who hammers away even more, setting up a suicide dive onto a bailing Ripley. They don’t head inside just yet though and Ripley kicks her back first into the barricade. Back in and Ripley stomps away as the loud fans continue to be split.

The bodyscissors stays on the weakened ribs and a delayed vertical suplex gets two. A pair of legdrops gives the champ two but the trash talking lets Storm headbutt her for a double knockdown. The slugout goes to Storm and she rolls some German suplexes but Storm Zero is countered. So is Riptide and they go into a pinfall reversal sequence for two each.

Ripley gets the standing Texas Cloverleaf but gets reversed into the hip attack in the corner. Storm gets frustrated at the kickout and gets caught with Riptide for two, giving us Ripley’s great stunned face. A headbutt lets Storm Zero connect for two and they’re both down again. Storm slugs away with forearms and another Storm Zero gives her the pin and the title at 14:49.

Rating: B-. Kind of a flat and out of nowhere finish as they didn’t really build off the near fall from the first Storm Zero. Storm winning the title so soon after Ripley won it for the first time is a bit of a surprise but you can’t go wrong with either of them as the champion. Tyler Bate winning the inaugural title and dropping it to Dunne has gone just fine and Storm is going to be perfectly fine with the title, as is Ripley without it.

We recap Pete Dunne vs. Joe Coffey. Dunne has been champion for over 600 days, having won the title back in May 2017. He’s beaten everyone who has come close to him though Coffey is a big strong guy who could knock Dunne’s head off. Coffey isn’t the biggest star but he’s been built up well over the last few weeks.

United Kingdom Title: Joe Coffey vs. Pete Dunne

Dunne is defending and Mark Coffey and Wolfgang head to the back in a bit of a surprise. During the entrances, Vic says Dunne’s 603 day reign is the longest since the beginning of Hulkamania. Not even close but we’ll go with that for a better story than the Glamour Girls holding the WWF Women’s Team Titles for 906 days. Aggressive feeling out process to start with Coffey shrugging off a forearm to the face. Some finger bending has Coffey in trouble but he knocks Dunne away without much effort.

The discus lariat misses so Dunne runs him over and tries a not great looking Regal Stretch. Dunne switches to an armbar and, after hitting five straight knees to get out of a vertical suplex, switches to another armbar on the other arm. That’s broken up as well so Coffey throws him outside with Dunne hitting his face on the apron. Dunne enziguris him but gets slammed onto the ramp for the double knockdown. Back in and Coffey gets two off a sidewalk slam We hit the bearhug on Dunne with an overhead belly to belly keeping him down.

Dunne is fine enough for another enziguri and he flips out of a German suplex for a little showing off. Coffey gets sent outside for a middle rope moonsault and they’re both down again. Back in and the X Plex gives Dunne two but a running headbutt to the back sends him into the cover. A powerbomb gets two on the champ and the fans didn’t exactly react to the kickout. Coffey goes with the Boston crab and Dunne, after nearly looking out, dives for the rope for a break.

Back up and they trade headbutts for yet another double knockdown. Coffey shrugs off a German suplex so Dunne takes him down into a Koji Clutch. That’s broken up with raw power so Dunne knees him in the head and punches him out of the air on another spinning crossbody attempt. The Bitter End gets two so Coffey takes him to the apron for a Batista Bomb and they’re both dead on the floor. Dunne gets back in but looks a bit scared so they go with an exchange of kicks to the head.

The stomps to the fingers have Coffey in trouble but the discus lariat takes Dunne down for two more. Coffey tries it again but gets pulled down into the finger spreading. That’s lifted into a buckle bomb which doesn’t break the hold, so it’s a swinging superbomb to really break things up. Coffey can’t cover though and they both pull themselves up in the corners. The slugout is on again with Dunne getting the better of it and Coffey being out on his feet against the ropes.

Coffey snaps off a German suplex out of the corner for two more and just unloads with right hands to the back of the head. For some reason Coffey tries his own Bitter End but gets countered into another DDT. Dunne hits another one of his own but Coffey rolls away before the delayed cover. Coffey takes him to the top and brings Dunne up with him, only to fall back to the floor in what I think was a botch. Whether it was or not, I don’t remember the last time I saw a spot that made me gasp like that.

He’s fine though and snaps off a reverse slam for two more back inside. They head up top again and this time dive off and into the barricade for what I’m assuming they were trying to do the first time. Back in and another Bitter End gives Dunne two so he grabs a triangle and cranks on the fingers for the tap at 34:48.

Rating: A-. They got a little ridiculous with the kickouts at the end but this felt epic for the most part. At one point the fans were chanting ARE YOU WATCHING VINCE MCMAHON, which sums up how the match should be treated. It was a big time match and while I wasn’t quite sold on Coffey as a serious challenger, there were a few times where they had me believing that they would pull the trigger on an upset. That takes some special work and it was an awesome match. A bit too long with a few too many kickouts, but still an excellent main event for the first Takeover. But who in the heck is supposed to beat Dunne?

Dunne poses…..and here’s Walter (a massive Austrian with some crazy hard chops). So that’s who beats Dunne. Coffey tries to get back in and is kicked square in the face for his efforts. The big staredown ends the show. They had to bring in someone new as there’s no one on the show who is beating Dunne and Walter is as perfect of a choice as they could have made. Yeah Dunne has beaten everyone, but imagine the monster that he can’t beat. That’s where Walter comes in and he’s rather awesome for something like this.

Overall Rating: A. As usual the show is good and in this case they have the classic main event to put it over the top. Nothing on here was anywhere close to bad and they had some historic moments, with Walter’s debut being the highlight. He just comes off like a great monster and that’s the kind of person who needs to take Dunne down. It’s a great show and worth seeing, with the one hour a week of the show being a much better choice than what they’ve been doing. Check this one out as it’s an awesome time.

There’s currently no new show listed on the Network for Wednesday so they might be taking the week off.

Results

Zack Gibson/James Drake b. Moustache Mountain – Ticket To Mayhem to Seven

Finn Balor b. Jordan Devlin – Coup de Grace

Dave Mastiff b. Eddie Dennis – Cannonball through a table

Toni Storm b. Rhea Ripley – Storm Zero

Pete Dunne b. Joe Coffey – Triangle choke with finger spreading

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

So this is something kind of interesting. A few weeks ago, someone asked me to rank the current wrestling shows that I watch from most to least enjoyable. I’ve heard of worse ideas so let’s take a look. Keep in mind that these are only the current shows and the only ones that I watch, so you won’t see many surprises in here.

1. NXT

Like it was going to be anything else. This show is the most enjoyable thing that happens to wrestling fans and one of the best weekly TV shows ever. They never get boring, their worst show is still better than almost anything anyone else produces, and it somehow keeps getting better. They’ve figured out exactly how to do the one hour a week wrestling TV show and I look forward to seeing it every time. This was #1 by a few laps and nothing is in its universe.

2. Smackdown

The more I think about Smackdown, the more frustrated I get at Raw. This show is proof of what WWE is capable of doing and how well they can still put together a big show. While it’s certainly not great, it’s a show that is both entertaining and well done, which is a rare sight on the main roster. The wrestling is good, the promos are better, and there’s a fun feeling here that you don’t get on Monday. Smackdown is very good, and evidence that WWE still knows what it’s doing.

3. 205 Live

If Mustafa Ali was still around, this would have been second. What used to be a terrible show that was little more than a chore to watch has turned into one of the best things going in WWE today. The action ranges from solid to great and it has the best non William Regal boss in WWE with Drake Maverick (must be a British thing). They bring in new talent and have a formula that works very well. Plus Maria Kanellis and that’s never a bad thing.

KEEP GOING!

 

4. Fusion

I know I talk about this show a lot but it’s become a well done wrestling show. It’s nothing that’s going to blow you away but for about fifty minutes a week, you get a nice blend of action in front of an entertained crowd with some talent you might have be overly familiar with. They’ve put something together in just a few months and it’s a perfectly enjoyable show. Check these guys out if you haven’t, as their show goes up on YouTube every Saturday night.

5. NXT UK

This place gets a hard time, but it’s really not that bad. The problem is the way the show is scheduled rather than what they actually do, and that’s not their fault. The other main issue is calling it NXT, which comes with a very heavy burden. It doesn’t offer anything that a show like Progress doesn’t do better, but the WWE production helps a lot. This is far from bad and cutting it back to an hour a week is going to do wonders for them.

6. Impact Wrestling

Yeah seriously. I know the show has the worst reputation in wrestling and a lot of that is justified, but they’ve gotten a lot better in the last year and a half. It’s still not a masterpiece or even a great show most of the time, but it’s watchable and the stories make sense. That’s a fine place for them to be and if they can continue taking the little steps forward, they might be able to rewrite some of their legacy. Just find a way to make the main events feel epic and they’re well on their way.

JUST AROUND THE BEND!

 

7. Ring of Honor

This show is the definition of feast or famine. When they’re on, they’re very on and can produce some of the best shows around. When they’re off though, it feels like a low rent promotion took a TV station hostage and ran their show. The women’s division is still a disaster and some of their other stuff isn’t that much better, but they know how to do the wild matches and athletic displays quite well. It’s a watchable show, but not something I really look forward to most of the time.

8. Main Event

Yes a recap show is somehow not on the bottom of the list. This show actually offers a nice service by showcasing the shortened version of the WWE week. The original wrestling occasionally will be entertaining but this is all about giving you a quick look at Raw and Smackdown. It’s fine for what it is, and that’s all it’s supposed to be.

9. Monday Night Raw

What is there even to say here? I’ve literally never missed an episode of Raw and I don’t remember a time when it felt this hopeless (not bad, but hopeless). It’s like they’re always content with not trying anything and would rather just coast until Wrestlemania season, do the Shakeup, and then get back to coasting again. Feuds go on forever with few people getting elevated, and that leaves you with a bunch of uninteresting people fighting for nothing, because the Intercontinental Title is the top title on the show. Without getting into another Lesnar rant, his absence is killing the biggest wrestling show in the world. That shouldn’t happen, and we’re almost to year three of it being the case. Fix that already, because it’s Raw and not Main Event.

What could be lower than this?

Yeah there’s nothing else here.  Nine shows a week is enough and nothing is beating Raw.

NXT
Date: January 9, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson

It’s time for the final push towards Phoenix with three weeks left before the big show. The main event is already set and you can probably guess some of the other matches from here. That means it’s time for the really good shows as NXT knows hot to get things ready in a hurry, which is what we’ll be getting both this week and next. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here’s Johnny Gargano for an opening chat. He wishes us a happy new year and gets straight to the point: you measure success around here with titles, which is why he’ll be better in 2019. In 2019, he’s going to become a champion, which the fans don’t seem to mind very much. As for Tommaso Ciampa, the moment in the cage was a one off thing and he’s still a piece of garbage with a title Johnny wants.

Ciampa did have a good idea though: Gargano winning the North American Title. Ricochet has told Johnny to come get it, so here’s Ricochet to interrupt. The fans deem Ricochet a champion, which certainly seems to please him. If Johnny wanted a title shot all he had to do was ask, but now he’s just going to take it? Is he going to take it from his face or after an attack in the parking lot?

Ricochet seems to agree to the match but here’s Ciampa to interrupt. Johnny cuts him off in a hurry and here’s Aleister Black on the screen. He promises to make Ciampa fade to black in Phoenix and then appears behind Ciampa for the beatdown. In the melee, Gargano kicks Ricochet in the face and looks down at him. I love seeing these stories merged together like this.

At Takeover, the Undisputed Era defends against the War Raiders.

Nikki Cross vs. Bianca Belair

Third match between the two after they fought to a double DQ and a no contest. Cross starts fast with a crossbody (always nice to have a namesake move) but Belair is right back with a dropkick. A backdrop puts Cross on the floor but she ties Belair up in the ring skirt and hammers away. Belair is fine enough for a gorilla press into a standing moonsault for two back inside and it’s off to an abdominal stretch. A backbreaker gives Belair two but her suplex is countered into a DDT for the same.

Cross hits another crossbody and a reverse DDT for two more and it’s time for the creepy smile. Belair is right back up with a spear for two of her own but a splash hits knees. The Purge sends Belair bailing to the floor so Cross follows her with a jump onto Belair’s back. The drop down onto the ramp gives us a very close double nine count as they both dive back in. Belair gets sent shoulder first into the post for two more as the fans are VERY pleased with this so far. They’re both down again so Cross goes up but misses a high crossbody, setting up KOD for the pin at 10:38.

Rating: B-. These two work well together and the result wasn’t a surprising one. You don’t want to have Belair lose when she’s getting a title shot later this month. It’s not like having Cross lose here does any real damage to her as she’s on her way to the main roster sooner rather than later. Good way to end the rivalry here as Belair finally has to work for a victory.

The Street Profits talk about evolving last year (ha) and don’t like being locked out of a building. There have been a lot of those in 2018 but they get one open, just like they’ll be doing in 2019. They have big plans this year and they’re going to beat every team in front of them.

Marcel Barthel/Fabian Aichner vs. Hector Kunsman/Stanley Watts

Oh come on I have to watch Barthel here too??? The jobbers don’t even get first names to start as Barthel takes Kunsman down with a hammerlock. It’s off to Watts (Mauro: “No relation to Cowboy Bill.”) to work on a wristlock but Barthel punches him in the face. Aichner holds Watts up but has to kick out of a sunset flip.

Kunsman comes back in and slugs away at both guys until a spinebuster into a penalty kick cuts him down for two. A baseball slide crushes Kunsman again but he kicks Aichner in the face. Watts comes back in and scores with some shots of his own, only to have Aichner powerbomb him into a German suplex (with a nasty landing) to give Barthel the pin at 4:31.

Rating: C. The match was entertaining but it’s a really bad sign when these two “stars” had this much trouble against a pair of jobbers. I haven’t liked Barthel since he debuted in NXT UK and it wasn’t much better here. The team isn’t working but I have a feeling they’re going to be pushed for a long time because there aren’t many teams over in the UK at the moment. Lucky us.

Ricochet wants Gargano now because Gargano superkicked all the respect away.

We look back at Kassius Ohno destroying Matt Riddle last week.

Keith Lee is Riddle’s friend and what Ohno did isn’t standing. Next week, Ohno can learn a lesson about respect and bask in Lee’s glory.

EC3 vs. Adam Cole

The Undisputed Era is here in full force. Feeling out process to start with an exchange of nothing holds until EC3 knocks him out to the floor. An Era distraction lets Cole get in a jumping enziguri and a whip sends EC3 shoulder first into the steps. Back in and Cole starts on the arm with an armbar, only to get suplexed right back down. A back elbow to the jaw puts Cole down and the EC3 elbow keeps him in trouble.

Cole is right back up and goes after the arm again, including a running big boot. The Backstabber gets two as Bobby Fish is having a ball playing cheerleader/coach on the floor. A heck of a clothesline with the good arm turns Cole inside out for two but the suplex onto the knee gets two. Cole can’t get a cross armbreaker as EC3 powerbombs his way out, drawing in the rest of the Era. That’s enough for Cole to hit a superkick into the Last Shot for the pin at 7:55.

Rating: C+. I liked this one more than I was expecting to as both guys were working here. The ending was fine and keeps EC3 looking strong, even if it was a little easy to guess. The Undisputed Era could be an even bigger deal in 2019 and it wouldn’t make sense to have them lose in their first match of the year. Nice stuff here, with EC3 looking better than usual.

Post match the Era comes in for the beatdown until the War Raiders run in for the save and the real beatdown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Good matches throughout the card, a few matches announced for Takeover and a hot finish. That’s about as good as you can get for an hour (well, unless NXT is really cranking it up that week) and I had a really easy time watching this. Takeover is going to be a blast again, because that’s just what happens on that show. Really efficient night here, as tends to be the case.

Results

Bianca Belair b. Nikki Cross – KOD

Marcel Barthel/Fabian Aichner b. Hector Kunsman/Stanley Watts – Powerbomb into a German suplex to Watts

Adam Cole b. EC3 – Last Shot

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: January 9, 2019
Location: Liverpool Olympia, Liverpool, England
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness

It’s FINALLY the last of the double shots as this is the go home show for NXT UK Takeover: Blackpool. The card is all but set so this is going to be a bunch of final touches for the card. That should be pretty easy to do, though it’s going to mean a lot of talking. In this case that might be better, as the matches around here are hit and miss. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a look at Gallus vs. British Strong Style tonight.

Opening sequence.

Ligero vs. Joseph Conners

Conners tries to drive him into the corner to start but gets caught with a running hurricanrana. A rollup gives Ligero two as this fast pace doesn’t seem to favor Conners. They fight to the apron with Ligero getting posted to give Conners his first breather. A heck of a clothesline gives Conners two as the fans are behind Ligero. Imagine that: cheering for the fun guy instead of the latest fighter from the UK.

A slingshot suplex gets two and we hit the chinlock. The expected comeback works as expected as Ligero comes back with clotheslines. A fireman’s carry slam gets two on Conners but he hits a double stomp out of the corner. Not that it matters as Ligero is right back up with a springboard tornado DDT and the pin at 5:19.

Rating: D+. Ligero isn’t great but egads Conners is one of the least interesting people on a show that isn’t interesting as a whole. The wrestling was fine but the story of Conners being upset that he isn’t being treated well is about as boring as you can get. It’s not like they have the next Rey Mysterio in Ligero, but he’s better than Conners by several miles.

James Drake and Zack Gibson deserve the shot and the titles, which they’ll get on Saturday in Blackpool. Of course they’re confident, to the point that they’ve cleared off their mantles for the titles.

Dave Mastiff thinks Eddie Dennis is jealous because Mastiff handed him his first loss. There’s one undefeated monster around here and that’s Mastiff.

Travis Banks vs. Tyson T-Bone

T-Bone has Saxon Huxley in his corner. Some early forearms to the back have Banks in trouble but he dropkicks T-Bone into the corner. That means a running double stomp and the fans are rather pleased. Hang on a second as he’s Jordan Devlin in Banks’ gear, though the distraction isn’t enough for T-Bone to take over. Banks superkicks him down and chases Huxley off the apron. The Slice of Heaven gives Banks the pin at 2:06.

Post match Devlin comes in for the beatdown but gets kicked out to the floor.

Video on Toni Storm vs. Rhea Ripley, focusing on their first match where Ripley won the title over an injured Storm.

Takeover rundown, including Devlin vs. Banks being added in not much of a surprise.

Gallus vs. British Strong Style

They have a crazy amount of time for this. Joe and Bate start things off with a test of strength. Bate gets taken down but does the always impressive bridge, with Coffey not being able to break it down. Now it’s Bate fighting up and almost getting Bate down until a knee to the ribs cuts him off. Back up and Bate hits a dropkick into a nipup for the staredown, drawing in the other four for a big staredown.

We settle back down for a tag to Wolfgang, which draws all six in for another glaring session. It’s off to Mark vs. Dunne with a running clothesline hitting Mark, drawing all six in again. Gallus gets sent outside for a nice reaction from the fans and a breather for the villains. Back in and Dunne takes Mark down by the arm and bends the fingers back for painful measure. There’s a surfboard double knee stomp as Dunne doesn’t seem to be having much trouble here.

Bate comes in to keep up the pace until a cheap shot from Wolfgang lets Mark grab a suplex. It’s back to Joe for a double underhook crank until Bate fights him off and dives over for the tag to Seven. House is cleaned with Seven hitting a backdrop on Wolfgang, followed by a suicide dive for good measure. Everything breaks down and Mark gets caught in a dragon suplex. Wolfgang kicks Seven to the floor though and Joe sends him into the steps to put the good guys in trouble again. A spear gives Wolfgang two and it’s back to Mark for the stomping.

We hit the front facelock for a bit before it’s back to Joe. They head to the corner with Seven catching him on top with a superplex, allowing the next hot tag off to Dunne. That means an X Plex to Joe and a kneebar to Wolfgang but he’s still able to crawl over for the tag to Mark. Dunne triangle chokes him so Mark tags Wolfgang, whose Howling is countered into an armbar. That’s broken up as well so this time it’s Bate coming in to clean more house. Joe misses a charge so Bate hits a running shooting star for two. The longest airplane spin I’ve ever seen plants Joe but Bate collapses from dizziness.

Bop and Bang is blocked but the second attempt gives us a double knockdown. Mark and Seven come in with Mark kicking him in the arm. That means the Seven Star Lariat doesn’t get a cover so everything breaks down again. We’re left with Mark vs. Dunne, but Joe picks up the UK Title to distract Pete. One heck of a powerbomb plants Dunne for two and it’s Bate coming back in for the rebound lariat on Joe.

Pete and Joe are left alone for the slugout with Dunne stomping on both hands. Joe’s spear is blocked with a knee to the head and there’s the Bitter End, but Wolfgang tagged himself in to run Pete over. Bate comes back in for a hurricanrana to put Wolfgang on the floor. Everyone joins him so Bate hits a huge corkscrew dive to take them all out. Back in and Bate kicks Wolfgang down but walks into Joe’s discus lariat for the pin at 25:28.

Rating: B. Well that was very long though it was quite good at the same time. It could have been shortened a bit though and that’s almost never a positive sign. It makes a lot of sense to give Joe the big pinfall before Saturday though and having him pin Dunne would have felt like a giveaway to the title match’s finish. Good main event here, though trimming off five minutes wouldn’t have been a bad idea.

Overall Rating: C+. This was basically a repeat of the first show with one match carrying the show but not well enough to make the entire show work. They did a good job of setting up Takeover though and that’s the point to a show like this. It would have been better if they had swapped things around with more of the focus on the big show on the second hour instead of the first but, as usual, these shows weren’t scheduled to go back to back like this. Good show, but the main event is all that’s worth seeing.

Results

Ligero b. Joseph Conners – Springboard tornado DDT

Travis Banks b. Tyson T-Bone – Slice of Heaven

Gallus b. British Strong Style – Discus lariat to Bate

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: January 9, 2019
Location: Liverpool Olympia, Liverpool, England
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness

We’re coming up on the first Takeover and that means a few more things have to be pieced together. One such thing is the other half of the Tag Team Title match. We’ll take care of that tonight with the other semifinal match in the Tag Team Title tournament, with Flash Morgan Webster/Mark Andrews vs. Zack Gibson/James Drake. I think you know where this is going so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Jamie Ahmed/Dan Moloney vs. Amir Jordan/Kenny Williams

Jamie cranks on Jordan’s arm to start but Williams comes in to jump over Ahmed to start in on his arm. It’s already back to Jordan for two off a splash and a running forearm in the corner. A cheap shot from the apron lets Ahmed hit a clothesline for two and it’s off to Moloney to keep Jordan in trouble. It’s off to a hammerlock for a bit until a backdrop allows the hot tag to Williams. A springboard back elbow drops Ahmed and it’s time for some kicks to the face. Jordan makes a blind tag as Williams dives onto Moloney. The Swanton finishes Ahmed at 3:59. Williams and Jordan are shocked that they actually won something.

Rating: C-. Williams and Jordan looked good here but we’ve already established that they’re not going to win anything against a bigger name team. You have to build them up somehow though and this worked well enough. Their stunned look was a nice touch too as they haven’t had any significant success coming into this win so they’ll take anything they can get here.

We look back at Joe Coffey destroying Pete Dunne to end last week’s show.

Here’s Gallus (with Wolfgang playing Batista as the Coffey Brothers have matching shirts and Wolfgang is in a vest) for a chat. Joe says no one likes them and they’re fine with that. Next week (or later today if you live in the real world) it’s finally Gallus vs. British Strong Style. Dunne is going to be lucky to be able to walk out of the ring and make it to Blackpool because this is their kingdom. The group pose takes us out. Nothing to say here, but Joe has good delivery.

Earlier today we had a press conference (with the invisible press) for the Women’s Title match at Takeover. Toni Storm is proud of winning the Mae Young Classic but winning the title would mean even more. Rhea Ripley, with her feet on the table, isn’t worried about Toni because she’s beaten her before.

Toni was injured in the first match and that’s going to motivate her to win the title. She lists off all the women she beat in the tournament, with Rhea just saying “didn’t beat me”. Rhea doesn’t take kindly to her win being called a fluke because she’s the face of NXT UK. The fight is almost on with Johnny Saint holding them back as Rhea says Storm will never be champion. The press conference bit was kind of dumb but at least it was different.

Joseph Conners doesn’t think much of Ligero, who he faces next week.

Isla Dawn vs. Xia Brookside

We actually get a handshake to start as the fans aren’t sure who they like more here. A wristlock gives us a standoff so Dawn takes her down into a quickly broken armbar. Dawn slips out of a headscissors and works on the legs, which just seems to annoy Brookside. Back up and Brookside dances out of a crossarm choke to put Dawn in one of her own. Dawn reverses into the same thing before it’s off to a pinfall reversal sequence for some near falls each. Brookside tries a victory roll but Dawn uses the Owen Hart counter by sitting down on it for the pin at 4:59.

Rating: C-. This didn’t have the time to go anywhere but Brookside continues to be all kinds of charming and adorable while Dawn is the kind of person who could be built back up into something bigger down the line. They’re going to need some fresh challengers after Takeover and while Dawn has already lost a shot, it’s not like they have any better options at the moment.

Video on Dave Mastiff vs. Eddie Dennis. Eddie promises to put him down for good in Blackpool.

During the break, Jinny jumped Dawn, who seemed more surprised than anything else.

Damien Weir vs. Jordan Devlin

Devlin works on the arm to start and flips him over into an armbar on the mat. Weir gets taken into the corner where Devlin says this is just having fun because Weir isn’t in his league. That earns Devlin a right hand but it’s a release Rock Bottom into the standing moonsault. Weir gets his back bent over a knee and it’s off to the double arm crank. A victory roll gives Weir two so Devlin kicks him in the head. Devlin scores with a slingshot cutter and the hard belly to back suplex makes it worse. Ireland’s Call finishes Weir at 4:49.

Rating: D+. Just a squash here though Devlin is starting to separate himself from the rest of the midcard pack. They need to get to a big match for him already and having him vs. Travis Banks before Takeover would be perfectly fine. Neither of them is near the top of the show but you have to have some midcard feuds in there somewhere.

Post match Devlin grabs the mic but Banks comes in to chase him off. The proposed fight doesn’t happen tonight.

Moustache Mountain is ready for either team in Blackpool.

Tag Team Title Tournament Semifinals: Flash Morgan Webster/Mark Andrews vs. James Drake/Zack Gibson

The winners get Moustache Mountain on Saturday. Drake and Andrews start things off but it’s quickly off to Gibson to knock Webster off the top. A Doomsday Device gets two on Andrews and we’re only about 45 seconds in. That’s followed by a middle rope elbow/backbreaker combination on the floor as Andrews is still in serious trouble. Back in and we hit the chinlock, followed by a heck of a chinlock from Drake.

Gibson grabs another chinlock but Andrews finally kicks the villains into each other, allowing the hot tag to Webster. That brings the fans right back into it and Webster clotheslines Drake down to hammer away. A running flip dive drops Gibson on the floor, followed by the Baba O’Reilly Buster for two on Drake. Gibson counters a monkey flip with an armbar but Webster knocks him outside without much effort.

An assisted standing 450 gives Andrews two on Gibson but Webster gets pulled to the floor. Ticket to Ride is good for two on Andrews, who hurricanranas Drake into Gibson for a breather. Webster comes in with a Swanton to both guys and a reverse hurricanrana gets two on Drake. That puts everyone down and the fans are very pleased. Gibson heads outside and catches Andrews’ dive, reversing it into Helter Skelter on the ramp. Back in and another Ticket to Ride finishes Webster at 8:19.

Rating: B. This was looking pretty boring to start but my goodness it picked up steam as they got going. I was expecting Webster and Andrews to just be the spunky challengers who were little more than a roadblock for Drake and Gibson but they turned it into a rather good match with everyone working hard and giving us the obvious ending, but not before a great effort.

Overall Rating: B-. The main event helped a lot here and it made for a rather good show. That’s what they need as we get closer to Takeover, which isn’t the most thrilling show in the world. They can make something out of it though, and that’s the best effort they can get in at the moment. Drake and Gibson advancing should promise us a good Tag Team Title match as well and that’s what Takeover needs. Nice show, with one rather good development.

Results

Kenny Williams/Amir Jordan b. Jamie Ahmed/Dan Moloney – Swanton Bomb to Moloney

Isla Dawn b. Xia Brookside – Rollup

Jordan Devlin b. Damien Weir – Ireland’s Call

Zack Gibson/James Drake b. Flash Morgan Webster/Mark Andrews – Ticket to Ride to Webster

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

So it’s the beginning of the year and that means it’s time to look at some End of the Year Awards. WWE has its own version and since we live in a random and chaotic universe, we don’t have the Slammys anymore. What we do have are the NXT Year End Awards and WWE has their own version of nominees. The nominees are rather lengthy but I’ll take a look at them and see how ridiculous they might be.

Female Competitor Of The Year

Nikki Cross
Shayna Baszler
Kairi Sane
Ember Moon
Bianca Belair

Well they’re starting with an interesting one. As is going to be the case with a lot of these awards, I’m going to go with the person who had the most success. That eliminates Cross and Belair, who didn’t win any titles throughout the year and didn’t make a huge impact in the ring. Moon was Women’s Champion to start the year and was on the main roster before the middle of April.

That leaves you with Sane and Baszler and this might as well be a coin flip. I’m going to go with Baszler though, as I love her character work and can see her doing big things for a long time to come. Sane was awesome too and found her footing, but I think Baszler was just that much better. It’s a case where I’m not going to argue with a pick for Sane though, as they were both that good.

Male Competitor Of The Year

Tommaso Ciampa
Johnny Gargano
Ricochet
Aleister Black
Velveteen Dream
Andrade Cien Almas
Adam Cole
Pete Dunne

…..I’m going to need coffee. Egads this is already a tough one and we’re only on the second award. I’ll eliminate Dunne for the simple fact that he doesn’t wrestle full time. What he does is great, but he doesn’t do enough of it. Dream is out as well as while an incredible performer, he has a bad record in the bigger matches. Almas had a heck of a first quarter of the year, but it’s just a quarter and that’s not enough. If I have to eliminate someone else from here it would be Cole, just because everyone else is that much better.

That leaves you with Ricochet, Black, Ciampa and Gargano and…..egads I have no idea. I think I’ll go with Gargano, who had the in-ring work and the character work to put him ahead of everyone else. Ciampa was a better heel than Gargano was either a face or a heel but Gargano was significantly better in the ring. Ricochet has every bit of star power you could ask for and Black showed range that I never would have bet on from him, but this year goes to Gargano for the overall package.

Overall Competitor Of The Year

Nikki Cross
Shayna Baszler
Kairi Sane
Ember Moon
Bianca Belair
Tommaso Ciampa
Johnny Gargano
Ricochet
Aleister Black
Velveteen Dream
Andrade Cien Almas
Adam Cole
Pete Dunne

So this is a mixture of the men and the woman and it’s still Gargano. I’m not sure why we still have the other nominees when this should just be the male winner vs. the female winner.

Continued on next page.

Tag Team Of The Year

Undisputed Era
War Raiders
Street Profits
Heavy Machinery
Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch
Moustache Mountain

Did we really need the Street Profits on there? Moustache Mountain had a great match in England and a really solid rematch in the States, but it wasn’t enough to make them the team of the year. Lorcan and Burch had a heck of a run but the lack of titles and longevity hold them back. Heavy Machinery is the same, though they were a lot of fun that I wasn’t expecting.

That leaves the War Raiders and the Undisputed Era, which is really just the case because I need two teams here. This is the Undisputed Era’s win by a mile, as they’ve dominated the Tag Team Title scene from the beginning of the year to this day in an absolute landslide. Maybe War Raiders will get there one day, but there’s no competition in this one and I think everyone knows it.

TakeOver Of The Year

Philadelphia
New Orleans
Chicago II
Brooklyn IV
WarGames II

Talk about a pick em. As usual there isn’t a bad one in the bunch but I’ll keep this a little more simple and go with New Orleans. Maybe it was me being in the arena for the show, but this was an incredible night with an amazing opener and an even better main event. I’ll go with this one, but holy flaming corndogs this could go to any of the options and I’m not going to try to point out flaws that don’t exist.

Match Of The Year

WarGames Match (TakeOver: WarGames)
Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas (NXT Championship Match, TakeOver: Philadelphia)
Moustache Mountain vs. Undisputed ERA (NXT Tag Team Championship Match, NXT TV, July 11, 2018)
Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa (Unsanctioned Match, TakeOver: New Orleans)
NXT North American Championship Ladder Match (TakeOver: New Orleans)
Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler (NXT Women’s Championship Match, TakeOver: Brooklyn IV)
Ricochet vs. Velveteen Dream (TakeOver: Chicago)
Aleister Black vs. Tommaso Ciampa (NXT Championship Match, NXT TV, July 25)
Pete Dunne vs. Zack Gibson (WWE U.K. Championship Match, NXT TV, Aug. 22)
Aleister Black vs. Adam Cole (Extreme Rules Match, TakeOver: Philadelphia)
Pete Dunne vs. Kyle O’Reilly (WWE U.K. Championship Match, NXT TV, June 13)
Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan vs. Undisputed ERA (TakeOver: Chicago)
Nikki Cross vs. Bianca Belair (NXT TV, Sept. 12)
Ricochet vs. Pete Dunne (North American Champion vs. WWE U.K. Champion Match, NXT TV, Sept. 19)
Ricochet vs. Pete Dunne vs. Adam Cole (North American Championship Triple Threat Match, NXT TV, Oct. 10)

Well that’s quite the list and I’m not going to bother to try and break these things down. Instead I’ll go with the best options, which for me would be Gargano vs. Almas, Gargano vs. Ciampa I, the New Orleans ladder match and Black vs. Ciampa. The others are all great, but you can only have so many options here and you have to go with the best of the best for something like this.

Out of the shortened list, I have to go with Ciampa vs. Gargano from New Orleans. It had the build, it had the interest, it had the hype and it more than delivered in the top spot on the card. The ladder match was an incredible spot fest (a good thing in this case), Gargano vs. Almas was an incredible wrestling spectacle and Black vs. Ciampa was some incredible storytelling (though not as good as Black vs. Gargano in the cage, which should be on the list as well). Gargano vs. Ciampa was the story of the year though and for me, they never topped their first match.

Rivalry Of The Year

Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa
Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler
Aleister Black/Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa/Nikki Cross
Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas
Moustache Mountain vs. Undisputed ERA
Ember Moon vs. Shayna Baszler
Ricochet vs. Velveteen Dream

….are they kidding? Moving on.

Continued on next page.

Breakout Star Of The Year

Bianca Belair
Lacey Evans
Rhea Ripley
Dakota Kai
Lars Sullivan
Ricochet
War Raiders
EC3

When I posted the NXT review on another site, I received the following comment:

“Here are the nominees for Breakout Star of the Year:

Ricochet

Shortened to reflect the real list.”

He was right. The others are all good to great, but Ricochet debuted in April and became one of the top stars in the promotion in his first match. He’s the North American Champion, could win the NXT Title in the new year (tell me him winning the title in New York wouldn’t be incredible) and has apparently been moving tickets at house shows. There were some great newcomers in 2018, but Ricochet is on another planet.

Future Star Of NXT

Matt Riddle
Keith Lee
Mia Yim
Fortunate Sons
Dominik Dijakovic
Io Shirai
Candice LeRae
Marina Shafir/Jessamyn Duke
Kona Reeves

Let it go with Reeves as it’s just not going to happen. I don’t know what they see in that guy but it’s not working. The Fortunate Sons are a great idea but it’s not working at the moment. Unless they fix something, that’s just not happening. It’s a bit too early to tell with Shirai but they could strap a rocket on her back at the drop of a hat. I don’t think LeRae/Yim are going to be top stars, but they can be solid midcard/upper midcard acts for a long time to come. It’s WAY too early to tell with Shafir/Duke/Dijakovic, though you know the plans are there for all of them.

That leaves you with the two best options of Lee and Riddle and I’m going to need a minute here. Riddle is clearly a big deal already and someone that WWE wants to push to the moon and back, though every time I see Lee I don’t know what to think. The guy does things that just shouldn’t be possible and makes them look easy. That’s not normal and he’s one of the most impressive things I’ve ever seen, but I have to go with Riddle. He’s the kind of prodigy you never see and it would be insane to not make him a star. This one goes to Riddle, and while Lee is close, it’s not close enough.

Sweet free toasters from a bank it was a heck of a year for NXT. They somehow got better and better over the course of the year. I know we keep saying that they can’t keep it going and then they blow that away. If they come close to that in 2019, I have no idea how good it could actually get. It’s awesome to watch every single week and these awards show you just how good things really were and still are in NXT.

 

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
Date: January 2, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

It’s getting close to Takeover time and the show is starting to come into focus. With some of the matches already set, the rest of the card can be put together over the next few weeks. As tends to be the case in NXT, you can probably guess what’s coming but the journey is the most entertaining part. Let’s get to it.

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

This is a special two hour edition as we look at the NXT Year End Awards. Well so much for seeing what we’ve got coming up.

In Memory of Gene Okerlund.

Opening sequence.

We go to Cathy Kelley at WWE Headquarters to hype up the Year End Awards nominees being announced tonight.

And we’ve got a Best Of show. As usual, full versions of the matches will be listed even if clipped versions are shown.

From Takeover: New Orleans.

North American Title: EC3 vs. Lars Sullivan vs. Adam Cole vs. Killian Dain vs. Ricochet vs. Velveteen Dream

Ladder match for the inaugural title with EC3 and Ricochet making their in-ring debut. Cole is the heavy crowd favorite here but they’re not opposed to some of the others. The fans deem this awesome at the opening bell and it’s EC3 bailing to the floor. Ricochet is thrown outside with Dream and Cole following, leaving the battle of the monsters in the ring. Actually never mind as they both go outside to surround EC3, which doesn’t take much effort.

That allows Ricochet to dive off the top with a shooting star onto the giants though and the fans go even nuttier than they were just a few seconds ago. The first ladder is set up but Dream catches Ricochet before he can go anywhere. Ricochet flips around into a headscissors and a dropkick in an incredibly smooth sequence. Dream breaks up a springboard and goes up, drawing in Cole for a save this time around.

EC3 comes in with a jawbreaker and a Hennig necksnap to Cole but it’s Sullivan time again. A pair of powerslams later and both normal sized guys are gone, leaving Dain to knock Sullivan outside. Dain isn’t done with a HUGE suicide dive taking Sullivan out. Cole, Ricochet and EC3 manage to get Dain down and it’s a big brawl with the monsters down. That doesn’t last long either though as it’s Sullivan throwing a ladder at them and wiping everyone out without much effort again.

Dream gets gorilla pressed onto the ladder and Sullivan goes up, drawing some incredible booing. Ricochet can’t sunset bomb him off so EC3 and Dream help, along with Cole punching Sullivan in the face to FINALLY put him down. Now it’s Dain shoving Cole down though and backdropping Ricochet onto the ladder. Cole and EC3 get together to take out Sullivan and Dain in a smart move. With the monsters down, a ladder is bridged between the announcers’ table and ring, which can’t possibly end well.

Hang on though as EC3 does Cole’s pose and that’s just not cool with Cole, who AA’s EC3 onto the ladder. A series of superkicks put a bunch of people down and here’s the REAL pose. Sullivan is up to push the ladder over but this time it’s Dream getting up and cleaning house. Dream even shoves a ladder into a charging Sullivan’s face to cut him off, setting up a HUGE Purple Rainmaker off the ladder (with his head above the belt) to crush Sullivan.

The writhing in pain means Dream’s climb is rather slow and EC3 powerbombs him off one ladder and into another. A TKO off the ladder drops Cole as well but it’s Dain back in to kick EC3 down. He puts a ladder onto EC3 and drops a Vader Bomb, followed by a second with Cole on his back to make it even worse. It’s finally time for Sullivan vs. Dain but Ricochet runs back in….and is tossed back and forth between the two of them like a ball. With Ricochet thrown away, the big men slug it out until Sullivan powerslams Dain down to get the better of it.

Ricochet makes another save and climbs up but Sullivan shoves the ladder over, only to have Ricochet moonsault off (as the ladder is falling back) onto Cole and Dain outside. You know, because of course he can do that. Back in and Ricochet hits a shooting star onto EC3 onto the ladder, because he hasn’t taken enough abuse so far. Dream is back up though and bridges a ladder into the standing ladder, with Ricochet standing on the platform. That means a Death Valley Bomb to drive Ricochet into the ladder and everyone is down again.

Sullivan and Dream are up first with the former putting Dream on the bridged ladder. A Freak Accident puts EC3 through Dream through the ladder, leaving EC3 with a look of physical shock on his face. Not to be outdone, Dain drives Cole through Ricochet through a second bridged ladder to put all six down even longer this time. Sullivan and Dain crawl back in and go up the ladder, only to have EC3 and Cole come in with a ladder of their own to climb next to them.

Naturally Dream and Ricochet are up on a third ladder and Cole gets knocked down. Ricochet and Dream go down with EC3 falling as well, leaving a battle of the monsters. Sullivan gives Dain a huge Freak Accident off the ladder and goes up again, drawing even more booing. Cue Ricochet to springboard in and land on Sullivan’s back, dropping two ladders down in the process. Ricochet goes up but Cole turns it over and pulls down the title at 31:15.

Rating: A+. Well that was incredible. I mean really, what else can you say? This never felt longer than it needed to be and was one insane spot after another. Coming in and during the match, it always felt like all six could have won, meaning that nothing felt like a waste of time. Cole winning is one of several acceptable choices and no one comes out of this looking worse than when they came in. Just an amazing spectacle and one of the best things I’ve ever seen in NXT, or any promotion for that matter.

Quick look at Ricochet winning the title from Cole at Takeover: Brooklyn IV.

Here are the nominees for Breakout Star of the Year:

Ricochet

Dakota Kai

Lars Sullivan

Rhea Ripley

War Raiders

Lacey Evans

EC3

Bianca Belair

Video on the rise and split of DIY. The fact that this is still going strong nine months later is remarkable.

From Takeover: New Orleans again.

Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Unsanctioned match, meaning anything goes and it’s pinfall or submission only with Gargano’s NXT career on the line. Ciampa comes out to no music, looking as carved up as you could imagine him being. The fans are all over him with some rather vulgar chants and Ciampa is reveling in soaking them all in. Ciampa gets on the corner and says that its his show and his moment. Fans: “F*** YOU CIAMPA!” He even closes his eyes to listen to the chants. Gargano’s music gets a heck of a reaction and you can feel the energy here. In a nice touch, the referee has a black shirt on instead of the usual referee gear.

They stare each other down at the bell and now it’s on with wild punches. That’s how it should start as there’s no reason for this to be about wrestling. The slingshot spear puts Ciampa down and Gargano stomps a heck of a mudhole in the corner before taking it to the floor. Ciampa gets sent over the barricade and Gargano dives right at him to get even more. This time Ciampa gets something out of it though by dropping Gargano ribs first across the barricade.

Gargano tries a piledriver on the table but Ciampa hits him with a monitor. That’s followed by a suplex to take Gargano off the table and to the floor with a sick thud. Ciampa gets creative by slamming Gargano onto the table cover as the pace slows. They get back inside with Ciampa’s face looking more and more evil by the second. Gargano uses the sneering break to get up for a slugout until a belly to back suplex cuts him off for one. A modified Texas Cloverleaf (more like a Liontamer) has Gargano in more trouble until he makes the rope….which means nothing here, as it shouldn’t.

Gargano crawls over the apron to force the break so Ciampa stomps on the back of his head, followed by applauding himself. The fans call Ciampa a rather mean British term and it’s made even worse as he steals a plant’s crutches. Back in and Gargano takes the crutch away and hits the rolling kick to the head to send Ciampa out to the apron. The slingshot DDT is blocked so Ciampa loads up an Air Raid Crash to the exposed concrete.

To prevent a bad case of death, Gargano reverses into a powerbomb onto the same concrete. Fans: “YOU DESERVE IT!” Thank goodness, as I was worried about the fans cheering Ciampa for being too good of a villain. Somehow that’s not enough to end Ciampa so Gargano unloads with crutch shots. Ciampa backdrops him to the floor to save himself and Gargano hits his back on the apron. He’s fine enough to crutch Ciampa in the head though and the slingshot DDT gets two.

Gargano pulls the turnbuckle pad off but can’t hit the Lawn Dart. Instead he’s sent to the apron and the slingshot spear is kneed out of the air. A torture rack powerbomb gives Ciampa two more before he goes old school with the Meet in the Middle knee to the back of the head. That’s only two again and frustration/disbelief sets in. Back up and Gargano grabs the beard so he can hammer on Ciampa even more. A reverse hurricanrana is more like a Backstabber as Gargano can’t get Ciampa over.

Not that it matters as he grabs the Gargano Escape instead, even rolling back into the middle of the ring for good measure. Ciampa rakes the eye for the break, drawing a heck of a heel reaction from the fans. With nothing else working, Ciampa chokes with his wrist tape but Gargano grabs it and they slug it out (great touch as they’re attached here, just like they always have been).

Gargano gets the better of it but a low blow cuts him off. A crutch to the back and Project Ciampa (a powerbomb onto knees) give Ciampa two and they’re both spent. Ciampa pulls himself up and says this is his so Gargano slaps him in the face. A superkick has some more effect and now the Lawn Dart sends Ciampa into the buckle. The low superkick (and a GREAT one at that) gets two in an incredible false finish. They head up top and it’s a SUPER PROJECT CIAMPA (onto Ciampa’s bad knee) for two in an even better false finish that I bought even more than the previous one.

Ciampa takes the brace off instead and loads up the big running knee, only to get hit in the knee with the brace to cut him off. Gargano gets the crutch again and bends it down a bit….only to stop when Ciampa begs off. They sit next to each other (in a callback to their match in the Cruiserweight Classic back in 2016) but Ciampa swings with the brace. That misses though and it’s the Gargano Escape again. Gargano switches to an STF, using the brace to pull on Ciampa’s face for the tap at 36:59.

Rating: A+. And that might be the best match NXT has ever produced. This was a complete roller coaster with both guys looking like they wanted to kill the other, going from one great bit of violence to the next. Some of those near falls were great too, with the possibility that either of them could have won at different points. That being said, Gargano winning was the right call no matter what, as he was the hero in the end.

The emotion here was awesome too, with some perfect callbacks to the deep history between these two. I’ve seen this match a few times now and it does not get old, nor does it ever feel long. It’s an incredible performance and one of the best things I’ve ever seen in wrestling. Absolutely see this, but do yourself a favor and watch a lot of the earlier matches to set it up first. That’s the extra stuff that puts it over the top, making it one of the best things NXT has ever done.

Quick look at Ciampa winning the rematch at Takeover: Chicago which sent Gargano on a downward spiral.

Clips of Aleister Black winning the NXT Title from Andrade Cien Almas, also from Takeover: New Orleans.

From July 25.

NXT Title: Tommaso Ciampa vs. Aleister Black

Ciampa is challenging and still has no music. He even breaks up Black’s pre-match poses like a real villain. They lock up hard to start with Black getting the better of a technical exchange on the mat. It’s almost weird to see Ciampa wrestling but it makes sense because his hatred is at Johnny Gargano alone. A small package gives Black two as they’re still firmly in first gear. The hanging DDT is quickly broken up and Black hits his first kick to the chest to keep Ciampa down.

More kicks have Ciampa on the floor and Black moonsaults into the seated position so he can mock Ciampa’s wave. Back in and Ciampa gets in his first real shots to put Black on the floor for a whip into the steps. Now it’s Ciampa’s turn to mock Black’s pose because what’s good for one devil is good for another. Ciampa stays on the back with a backbreaker and an abdominal stretch.

Nigel is right there to talk about how this will weaken the Black Mass because it’s based on core strength because Nigel actually knows how to analyze a match. A Texas Cloverleaf switches over to the legs but Black is in the ropes pretty quickly. Black is fine enough to escape a super White Noise and a collision gives us a double knockdown, continuing the odd theory of one move balancing out a long stretch of offense.

More kicks have Ciampa in trouble and the standing Lionsault gets two. A hard kick to the head is good for the same and some kicks to the chest (Black: “TWEET ABOUT THIS!”) rock him even more. He’s fine enough to hit a top rope DDT for two but Black is right back with kicks to the head. A big spinning kick to the head sets up a German suplex for a near fall and Ciampa bails to the floor. Black misses a moonsault though and Ciampa sends him into the cameraman.

Back in and the hanging DDT gets a VERY close two so it’s time to pull the ring mats up. The referee starts yelling so Ciampa comes back in, only to be shoved into the referee, knocking him to the floor. Black Mass connects but there’s no one to count. Ciampa goes for the eye and grabs the title but here’s Gargano to superkick him. Gargano tries to take the belt away, sending it square into Black’s head. Ciampa sends Gargano outside and a lifting sitout Pedigree (Christopher Daniels’ Angel’s Wings, a FAR better finisher than that lame neckbreaker Ciampa was using) finishes Black at 22:18.

Rating: A-. It’s basically Shawn/Bret/Undertaker at Summerslam 1997 and that’s not a bad place to be. You could easily get to a triple threat from here and for once I like that idea instead of going with the trilogy. Black vs. Gargano could be awesome on its own and you could really milk the build to Gargano vs. Ciampa III where Gargano goes back to his normal self (how fitting of a first line to his theme music: “Be yourself, can’t be no no else.”) to defeat the evil once and for all.

The match itself was a great piece of drama with Black knowing he had the big weapon ready to win in the end but getting caught by outside interference and Ciampa being evil enough to take him down. Black is kept very strong as he knocked Ciampa cold and didn’t lose clean, making this another near perfectly booked match.

Recap of the Whodunit story to find out who attacked Black.

From Takeover: WarGames II.

Matt Riddle vs. Kassius Ohno

Knee to the face beats Ohno in six seconds.

Ohno wasn’t happy and jumped Riddle a few weeks later.

Here are the nominees for Tag Team of the Year:

Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch

Street Profits

Heavy Machinery

Moustache Mountain

War Raiders

Undisputed Era

From Takeover: Chicago II.

Tag Team Titles: Undisputed Era vs. Danny Burch/Oney Lorcan

Roderick Strong and Kyle O’Reilly are defending and have Adam Cole in their corner. The fans are behind the champs here (well duh) as Strong headlocks Lorcan to start. It’s off to O’Reilly for a headlock takeover and some right hands to Burch’s head but Burch easily wins a slugout. Everything breaks down and Kyle gets suplexed onto Strong before the champs are sent to the floor.

That’s enough for the hot tag off to Lorcan and it’s time for the running uppercuts. Lorcan nails a big running dive over the top and alternates chops to both champs. The double elevated DDT gets two on Strong but a Doomsday Device is broken up with Lorcan being shoved hard onto the apron. O’Reilly scores with an enziguri on Burch and the cross armbreaker goes on. Somehow that’s rolled over so Burch can grab a rope and the fans are NOT happy that he survived. Geez guys give the bald guys a chance.

The High/Low is broken up and Lorcan is back up with a double Blockbuster off the apron. Now the Doomsday Uppercut gets two as Cole pulls Strong out at the last second. That means an ejection and the fans now hate the referee too. Strong saves another elevated DDT but Lorcan suplexes his way out of a guillotine choke.

A blind tag brings Strong back in so Lorcan powerbombs him down as the referee tells them they have one minute left. The champs get caught in a double submission with O’Reilly having to kick Lorcan off a half crab to break up Burch’s Crossface. A slugout actually goes to the champs and the High/Low ends Lorcan at 15:59.

Rating: B. This was getting close to the great level and that’s a very solid place for an opener. They were also smart to let the fans cheer for the Undisputed Era early on as you know they’re going to be the most popular guys on the card all night long. Burch and Lorcan looked great here and they might have their day later on. This was all it needed to be though and you can probably have War Raiders waiting on the champs in Brooklyn.

Burch and Lorcan get a standing ovation post match.

Here are the nominees for Rivalry of the Year:

Andrade Cien Almas vs. Johnny Gargano

Shayna Baszler vs. Ember Moon

Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Undisputed Era vs. Moustache Mountain

Velveteen Dream vs. Ricochet

Aleister Black vs. Nikki Cross vs. Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano

Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane

Here are the nominees for the Future Star of the Year:

Matt Riddle

Mia Yim

Keith Lee

Forgotten Sons

Candice LeRae

Marina Shafir/Jessamyn Duke

Kona Reeves

Dominik Dijakovic

Io Shirai

Here are the nominees for Match of the Year (only a sampling listed here but the full list is from WWE.com):

WarGames Match (TakeOver: WarGames)
Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas (NXT Championship Match, TakeOver: Philadelphia)
Moustache Mountain vs. Undisputed ERA (NXT Tag Team Championship Match, NXT TV, July 11, 2018)
Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa (Unsanctioned Match, TakeOver: New Orleans)
NXT North American Championship Ladder Match (TakeOver: New Orleans)
Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler (NXT Women’s Championship Match, TakeOver: Brooklyn IV)
Ricochet vs. Velveteen Dream (TakeOver: Chicago)
Aleister Black vs. Tommaso Ciampa (NXT Championship Match, NXT TV, July 25)
Pete Dunne vs. Zack Gibson (WWE U.K. Championship Match, NXT TV, Aug. 22)
Aleister Black vs. Adam Cole (Extreme Rules Match, TakeOver: Philadelphia)
Pete Dunne vs. Kyle O’Reilly (WWE U.K. Championship Match, NXT TV, June 13)
Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan vs. Undisputed ERA (TakeOver: Chicago)
Nikki Cross vs. Bianca Belair (NXT TV, Sept. 12)
Ricochet vs. Pete Dunne (NXT North American Champion vs. WWE U.K. Champion Match, NXT TV, Sept. 19)
Ricochet vs. Pete Dunne vs. Adam Cole (NXT North American Championship Triple Threat Match, NXT TV, Oct. 10)

From August 22:

Bianca Belair vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Purrazzo has wrestled all over the indies and had a few appearances with NXT a few years back. The fans seem very pleased to see her as some early headlock takeovers are escaped with a nipup and a handstand. A headscissors into a Fujiwara armbar doesn’t work so Purrazzo tries it again, only to get caught in a gutbuster to put her in trouble. Belair crashes down onto Purrazzo’s back and we hit the full nelson.

Back up and some elbows to the ribs have Purrazzo in more trouble as the EST chants begin. Belair’s standing moonsault misses and a basement dropkick connects. The Fujiwara armbar goes on but Belair fights up and hits a torture rack into the faceplant (kind of a reverse Samoan driver) for the pin at 5:40.

Rating: C-. This was exactly what it needed to be with the fans getting a little taste of Purrazzo as Belair goes over strong in the end. Purrazzo is going to be fine around here with her skill level (at 24 years old) and charisma so everything is going to be fine. Belair is likely coming for the title sooner rather than later.

Clips of Johnny Gargano vs. Aleister Black from Takeover: WarGames II.

We look at what seemed to be a DIY reunion in the cage match from two weeks ago.

Gargano isn’t sure what to think of what happened in the cage but he beat Black, which helps him become the hero at the end of the story.

Here are the nominees for Male Competitor of the Year:

Adam Cole

Pete Dunne

Andrade Cien Almas

Ricochet

Velveteen Dream

Johnny Gargano

Aleister Black

Tommaso Ciampa

Here are the nominees for Female Competitor of the Year:

Ember Moon

Nikki Cross

Kairi Sane

Bianca Belair

Shayna Baszler

Matt Riddle vs. Kassius Ohno

Riddle misses an early jumping knee so it’s off to some kicks in the corner, followed by some running forearms. Ohno can’t block an exploder suplex and a backsplash crushes him all over again. Back up and Ohno hits a few shots of his own before giving Riddle a flipping backsplash of his own. A loud kick to the head rocks Riddle again but he somehow scores a German suplex. Ohno scores with a jumping knee to the head of his own and the cyclone kick gets two. Riddle isn’t having this though and kicks him down, setting up the Bromission, with some slaps to the chest, to make Ohno tap at 6:05.

Rating: C-. It was hard hitting with Riddle winning as he should have. Riddle needs to move on from Ohno now though as there isn’t anything left for him to do there. The first match didn’t mean anything other than a surprise so this was the right way to go for the rematch. Ohno is still fine for the role, though they might want to have him win something along the way so these things can mean something.

Post match Ohno looks devastated and near tears. Riddle offers him a fist bump but Ohno sadly walks away. He turns around and gets back in though, eventually giving Riddle the fist bump….and sending him into the post. Another posting on the floor sets up some whips into the steps, followed by a rolling elbow. A fist bump to the unconscious Riddle ends the show. This was rather long and didn’t need to happen as the feud should be done instead of continuing.

Overall Rating: B. With the matches you got to see on here, either in nearly full or shortened form, you can’t go wrong. It was a great year for NXT as things somehow got even better than they had been before, which I didn’t think was possible. It’s an outstanding collection of matches with a few things that didn’t need to be there but were harmless for the most part. NXT is incredible, but I’m pretty sure you already know that.

Results

Matt Riddle b. Kassius Ohno – Bromission

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

It’s time for a big fight this week as Dave Mastiff is facing Eddie Dennis again in a rematch of the monsters. These two are some of the best big men in the promotion and I’m impressed by how well Mastiff has turned out. I like Dennis more for his overall presentation, but there’s something so classic about Mastiff that he’s working for me too. Let’s get to it.

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

In Memory of Gene Okerlund.

Opening sequence.

The announcers preview the show.

We look at Toni Storm saving Deonna Purrazzo from Rhea Ripley a few weeks back.

Last week, Storm and Purrazzo agreed to a match this week.

Toni Storm vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Feeling out process to start with a battle over a wristlock. Toni takes her down into a front facelock and a bodyscissors before countering the counter into a headlock. Purrazzo’s headscissors doesn’t work either and it’s a standoff. Back up and Purrazzo kicks the offer of a handshake away and it’s time to strike it out. A kick to the face gives Toni two and it’s off to the STF.

Purrazzo reaches over for the rope in a hurry and avoids a running hip attack in the corner. That means a Pentagon arm snap for one on Storm and it’s time to start wrapping the arm around the ropes. With that not going anywhere. Purrazzo Downward Spirals her into the Koji Clutch. Toni rolls her up for two to escape but comes up holding her elbow. She’s fine enough to hit a Backstabber and now the hip attack connects.

The bad arm breaks up Storm Zero so Storm headbutts her down for two more. Purrazzo pulls her into something like the Rings of Saturn with Storm having to stretch to get her foot on the rope. Some trash talk fires Storm back up and she spins out of another armbar attempt. A snap German suplex sets up Storm Zero to finish Purrazzo at 9:48.

Rating: B-. The arm stuff was a good way to go here and it was a smart move to have Storm get a big win to give her some momentum heading into Blackpool. Purrazzo is going to stay over through pure talent and one day she can get a title shot to pay some of that off. Storm is the star right now though and it makes sense to give her the shot at Ripley.

Speaking of Ripley, she comes out for the post match staredown.

Sid Scala announces Flash Morgan Webster/Mark Andrews vs. James Drake/Zack Gibson for the other Tag Team Title tournament semifinal. Drake and Gibson have more than earned that spot already.

Josh Morrell vs. Mike Hitchman

Hitchman throws him around to start and it’s an early armbar to keep Morrell down. A wheelbarrow throw keeps Morrell in trouble and there’s a backsplash for good measure. It also gets two but I didn’t want to leave the good measure part out. The nerve hold goes on for a bit until Morrell comes up with a Pele and a standing Swanton for two. A sunset flip is good for the same but Hitchman fireman’s carry slams him into the corner. Hitchman drops a top rope splash for the pin at 2:59. Morrell looked fine in a small dose but Hitchman needed a win to give him some more credibility.

Joseph Conners talks about being sold a lie two years ago when he joined NXT UK. A lot of other people were too but there’s no WE in NXT UK. It’s all about yourself and if he has to break every new toy around here, so be it. Anytime Conners would like to become interesting, so be it as well.

Travis Banks doesn’t like Jordan Devlin calling him out for not loving his country. If that’s a challenge, Banks is in.

Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel want in the Tag Team Title tournament but that’s a big negative because they haven’t had a good attitude since arriving.

Dave Mastiff vs. Eddie Dennis

Dennis charges straight at him for some kicks to the ribs and Mastiff is in early trouble. An elbow to the face cuts off a charge though and a running crossbody crushes Dennis. Mastiff hits a running dropkick and ties Dennis up in the ropes for some elbows to the head. Dennis needs a breather on the floor but manages to pull him down into a Razor’s Edge.

That’s escaped to prevent a bad case of severe pain and it’s the Regal Roll to crush Dennis again. A missed charge sends Mastiff into the steps though and they both have to dive back inside at nine. Back in and they slug it out with the referee getting shoved, drawing the double DQ at 4:13.

Rating: C-. It’s a nice story with the two monsters fighting to a draw, but it doesn’t work as well when Mastiff had already beaten him coming into this one. There should be a third match at Takeover and that’s something they both deserve, though it would have been better to have both previous matches go to a draw. Either way, nice brawl here and they were smart to keep it short.

Post match the fight continues until Johnny Saint comes out to announce a No DQ match at “NXT UK Blackpool Takeover.”

We look back at the end of last week’s show with the brawl between British Strong Style and Gallus. Next week it’s a six man tag.

Saint and Scala are in the ring for the contract signing between Joe Coffey and Pete Dunne. Coffey talks about how Takeover is going to be the clash of two giants. Everything around them is all his and soon the UK Title will be as well. Dunne has been the champion too long now and he has to be wondering why that’s the case.

The only reason is that Joe hasn’t been here, but now it’s time for the Iron King to claim his throne. Coffey signs so Dunne breaks his fingers, pulls out his own pen (like a proper Englishman) and signs as well. Dunne: “You talk too much.” Mark Coffey and Wolfgang come out for a distraction and Joe powerbombs him through a table to end the show.

Odd note: this show ran about 47:00 but the video on the Network currently lasts over an hour, with the last thirteen minutes being a mini Seth Rollins documentary. They can’t schedule the show to start airing on time and now they can’t even edit it down properly.

Overall Rating: C. The Takeover card is mostly together at this point and it’s certainly looking fine. There isn’t one big match that I really want to see but Coffey vs. Dunne has been built up much better than I was expecting. The contract signing worked well and Dennis vs. Mastiff could be fun under the right circumstances. They’re very slowly building up some better characters though and that’s fixing the biggest problem. It’s not there yet, but at least it’s a small step.

Results

Toni Storm b. Deonna Purrazzo – Storm Zero

Mike Hitchman b. Josh Morrell – Top rope splash

Dave Mastiff vs. Eddie Dennis went to a double DQ when both shoved the referee

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

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

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

In Memory of Gene Okerlund.

Opening sequence.

Travis Banks vs. Jamie Ahmed

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jinny vs. Candy Floss

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

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

Tag Team Title Tournament Semifinals: Moustache Mountain vs. Gallus

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results

Travis Banks b. Jamie Ahmed – Slice of Heaven

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

Jinny b. Candy Floss – A Touch of Couture

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

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