IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: September 11, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix, Nigel McGuinness

This is where things wrap up for the old era of NXT, with the show moving over to the USA Network next week (for half of it at least as the second half will be airing on the WWE Network for the first two weeks). We’re going out with a champion in action as Shayna Baszler faces Rhea Ripley in a non-title match. Let’s get to it.

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

Rhea Ripley arrives.

Opening sequence.

Damien Priest vs. Boa

Boa tells Priest to run the ropes so Priest knocks him into the corner with raw power. The toss Falcon Arrow sends Boa flying and a discus clothesline cuts off the comeback bid. The cyclone kick and the Reckoning finish Boa at 2:32. Total squash.

Here’s Johnny Gargano to a hero’s welcome, meaning we have to pause for a very long JOHNNY WRESTLING chant. Johnny has heard all of the rumors and everyone is wondering what the future holds for him. The last time he was in this ring, he got knocked cold and woke up to an arena chanting THANK YOU JOHNNY. They built this arena together and Gargano has been around for a long time. He has seen a lot of people coming and going and he has made his decision on his future.

Cue Shane Thorn to interrupt though because he’s sick of Johnny Time. This place is going to be better without him so take a bow and take a walk. Gargano goes to leave but says he isn’t going anywhere and knocks Shane down. Johnny writes NXT and does the NWO 4 Life sign to a roar. That’s probably the best thing for him as he would be banished to nothing on Raw or Smackdown.

Video on the Forgotten Sons.

Pete Dunne vs. Angel Garza

Garza holds up his hand to Dunne before realizing that is a very bad idea. Hold on as Garza….doesn’t get to take off his pants as Dunne pulls him down by the leg. Dunne goes for the fingers but misses the stomp on the arm. Garza offers another handshake but manages to sucker Dunne to the floor. With that out of the way, GARZA CAN TAKE OFF HIS PANTS!

Dunne drops him with a forearm so Garza hits him right back to leave Dunne on the floor. That just earns Garza some chops to the chest and an enziguri in the corner. A big kick to the head gets two on Garza, who rolls Dunne up for the same. Dunne gets caught in the corner for a running dropkick to the leg but Dunne is back with a nasty kick to the head. Garza kicks him in the ribs and tries a moonsault, which is caught in the triangle choke. The finger snap finishes Garza at 8:03.

Rating: C+. This is the kind of match that you almost never see from Dunne as he is so well known for the big epics instead of a regular TV match. Dunne looked rather good, but it’s a weird spot for him to be in as he’s such a big star coming out of NXT UK. Garza got in some offense here and certainly didn’t get squashed, so he probably is in line for a nice spot around here.

The Street Profits are proud of being in Madison Square Garden this past Monday. It’s not the same without the Tag Team Titles though, meaning the challenge is on for next week on USA.

Raul Mendoza vs. Cameron Grimes

Mendoza starts fast with La Majistral for two and a hurricanrana but Grimes dropkicks him out to the floor. Back in and the armbar goes on but Mendoza is back up with an enziguri in the corner. A rope walk dropkick into a running shooting star press gives Mendoza two. Mendoza heads up but has to bail out of the Phoenix splash, allowing Grimes to hit his standing double stomp for the pin at 3:50.

Rating: C. Grimes is someone who did nothing for me in TNA so it’s nice to see what he can do elsewhere. This wasn’t a great match by any stretch but I’ve gotten more out of him here than I ever did elsewhere. Mendoza continues to be one of the most guaranteed completely acceptable performances around here and someone who gets in a good deal on almost every match he has. If they ever need to push him, it wouldn’t be much of a jump whatsoever.

Candice LeRae complains to William Regal about Io Shirai being rewarded for everything she does. Regal agrees and makes next week’s #1 contenders match a four way. If Ripley wins tonight, it might be a five way.

Video on Dakota Kai.

Next week: Strong vs. Dream for the North American Title and Matt Riddle vs. Killian Dain in a street fight.

Rhea Ripley vs. Shayna Baszler

Non-title. Baszler takes her to the ropes to start so Ripley trips her for the early surprise. A standing armbar works a bit better for Baszler until Ripley slams her down for the break. Ripley misses a big boot though and Baszler kicks the leg to tie it in the ropes. Baszler grabs the Kirifuda Clutch in the corner so it’s broken in a hurry, allowing Ripley to dropkick her off the top. Ripley follows her out for an electric chair drop onto the steps. Cue the Horsewomen for a distraction so Baszler can get in a knee. A chair is tossed in but Ripley takes it away and hits Baszler for the DQ at 5:27.

Rating: C+. You can probably pencil in a title match either on USA or at Takeover: WarGames and that’s a good way to go. Baszler has cleaned out the division at this point so bringing in some fresh talent is far from a bad idea. I wouldn’t be shocked if next week’s match became a five way with Ripley winning just to get things to the point faster. Ripley looked like a monster here and is more than ready to at least challenge for the title.

Post match it’s a big staredown.

The Undisputed Era takes credit for NXT moving to USA and promises to fulfill the prophecy next week. Strong says he’ll take the North American Title to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a bit of an odd show as it was much more of a commercial for next week than anything else and in that regard, it worked well. As a show of its own it was nothing of note with only the main event match having any storyline advancement. I’m almost scared of what is going to happen in the next few weeks but there is nothing that can be done about it at this point. Hopefully it still works, because I would hate to lose one of the best weekly shows ever.

Results

Damien Priest b. Boa – Reckoning

Pete Dunne b. Angel Garza – Finger snap

Cameron Grimes b. Raul Mendoza – Standing double stomp

Shayna Baszler b. Rhea Ripley via DQ when Ripley used a chair

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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Hidden Gems #11
Date: 2007, 2011, 2016, 2017

Since it took me the better part of forever to get through with the Christmas stuff, I might as well pick up the pace a little bit here. This time around it’s just a collection of matches and with this, I’ll have everything from 2007 until the present, at least until they add even more stuff to this amazing lineup of stuff. Let’s get to it.

Jamin Olivencia vs. Tommaso
Date: March 10, 2007
Location: Davis Arena, Louisville, Kentucky
Commentators: Dean Hill, Kenny Bolin

From Ohio Valley Wrestling. Jamin is an OVW legend and this is Tommaso’s (Ciampa of course) debut. Just to mess with me, Tomasso has hair and they go with a lockup onto the mat. A rollup gives Tommaso two and Jamin gets his own for the same. Jamin’s shoulder gets two more and it’s off to a headlock for some of the most obvious spot calling I’ve ever seen. Back up and Tommaso hits a Samoan drop and a whip into the corner for two each. The chinlock goes on for a bit but Olivencia gets up an elbow in the corner. Jamin’s top rope elbow misses though and it’s a reverse DDT to finish Olivencia at 3:31.

Rating: C-. There was nothing great or even noteworthy here but they were working at a fast pace and had a lot of energy. Having Tommaso win is a good way to set him up for the future, though he wouldn’t be in OVW for very long. This is another historical curiosity and that’s what this series specializes in.

To FCW!

Grand Royale
Date: January 16, 2011
Location: FCW Arena, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Matt Martlaro, Byron Saxton

The winner gets a Florida Heavyweight Title shot against Masion Ryan, Rotundo is Bo Dallas, Orlov is Alex Kozlov and the other names you don’t know aren’t important enough to talk about. This is a different kind of match as everyone stands on the floor to start and a bell rings. Everyone tries to get in and whoever is in after thirty seconds has a battle royal.

A bunch of them get in and Li is thrown out almost immediately. That leaves twelve names in the ring and a battle royal breaks out. Maddox is sent over the top and grabs the post as Sandow is sent out. The near eliminations continue as Maddox saves himself again. For some reason Hunico tries a springboard and gets knocked out for his efforts. Steamboat is put out and Leakee is sent out after him.

We take a break and come back with Rotund eliminating Mahal, which saves Cannon at the same time. Maddox follows him out as the fans are behind Cannon. We’re down to Woods, Rotund, Cannon, Raines, Rollins and Owens. Rollins is sent out in a hurry and Cannon clotheslines Owens out.

Woods and Cannon fight on the ropes while Raines and Rotundo do the same on some other ropes. Everyone heads to a corner until Woods starts going after Raines. The yet to be named Honor Roll misses Raines, who puts Woods out. Cannon dumps Rotundo but gets tossed by Raines for the win at 15:42.

Rating: D. This was just a battle royal and not a very good one. The problem is that the match didn’t really age well as a lot of the names aren’t that well known and we were never given a list of who was in there, meaning it was a lot of figuring it out as the match went on. It certainly wasn’t great, though the fans stayed into it, which you have to expect in a match like this.

We’ve hit two big developmentals so let’s head down to NXT for the next three matches.

NXT Title: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Eric Young vs. Samoa Joe
Date: October 30, 2016
Location: Palladium Theater, Los Angeles, California

Nakamura is defending and this is an NXT house show so no commentary, though it’s shot like the TV show. Joe gets a nice pop, likely because he’s from Los Angeles. Or because he’s Samoa Joe. Nakamura on the other hand gets a roar and a superstar pop because he was still awesome at this point. If nothing else, it’s cool to see the full Nakamura entrance again. After some Big Match Intros, we’re ready to go.

Nakamura and Joe go nose to nose but Young breaks it up in what might not be his smartest move. Young locks up with Nakamura in the corner and gets the wavy arms treatment and a COME ON as Joe stands back and watches. Young yells at Joe instead and gets punched out to the floor, leaving us with the showdown the fans want to see. Joe works on a wristlock but Young pulls Nakamura outside and screams at him a lot.

Back in and Young hits Joe in the face, earning himself an enziguri in the corner. The Facewash makes it worse but Nakamura is back in for Good Vibrations on Joe. Young gets some much weaker Vibrations of his own but it’s Joe coming in with the snap jabs. That’s broken up again as Young takes Joe’s place and the fans switch between TNA and SUPER ERIC chants.

Joe is back in and kicks the super out of Eric until Nakamura comes back in, meaning it’s Eric heading outside this time. The knees in the corner rock Joe but he’s fine enough to powerslam the returning Young for two. The STF into the Crossface requires a save from Nakamura but Joe blocks the reverse exploder. Young is back up with a belly to back suplex and the top rope elbow for two on Nakamura, though the fans weren’t exactly buying the near fall.

Nakamura gets caught on top but is fine enough to reverse the MuscleBuster into a sunset flip. Joe isn’t happy with being countered and Rock Bottoms Nakamura out of the corner, setting up the non-finishing version of the Koquina Clutch. The backflip rollup gets Nakamura out of trouble and it’s the middle rope knee for Young. With Joe knocked outside, Kinshasa to Young retains the title at 15:07.

Rating: B-. This was straight out of the triple threat playbook with two in and one out for the most part but it still worked well. What mattered here was giving the fans the thrill of seeing Nakamura and Joe while Young was there to take the fall. I don’t think anyone ever really bought the title as being in jeopardy and that isn’t surprising given where this was and the kind of audience they were in front of. Still good though and it’s cool to see a different version of NXT.

Post match Nakamura and Joe go nose to nose but Joe leaves so Nakamura can celebrate for a good while. Nakamura thanks the fans to wrap it up.

Bobby Roode vs. Kota Ibushi
Date: October 30, 2016
Location: Palladium Theater, Los Angeles, California

Same show obviously so no commentary again. Roode gets quite the reception here (duh) but Ibushi gets the “oh dang we’re really seeing this guy” reaction. Just because he can, Roode throws his robe on the ring announcer’s face. They circle each other to start but Roode hits the GLORIOUS pose to offer some frustration. Roode takes him down and does the pose again as they’re taking their time to start here.

A shoulder puts Ibushi down and we hit the BEER! MONEY! Chants. Ibushi knocks him outside and strikes his own GLORIOUS pose, which is just too far for Roode (it’s all he’s got so you have to protect it). That just earns him a hurricanrana to the floor but Roode breaks up a springboard attempt to put Ibushi on the floor. The referee starts the count and EGADS I had forgotten how annoying the “fans count ten on every count” thing was.

Back in and Roode drops a knee to the face, followed by a middle rope elbow to the back of the neck. As usual, Roode doesn’t do anything flashy but he does it so efficiently that it works. A big clothesline takes Ibushi down and we hit the chinlock. That’s broken up through the power of CHINLOCKS CAUSE COMEBACKS and it’s time for the slugout, with Ibushi hitting a dropkick for the double knockdown.

Some kicks to the chest drop Roode and it’s the running shooting star press for two. A springboard missile dropkick sends Roode outside and that’s just not a good place to be. The perfect springboard moonsault takes him down again with the fans insisting that Roode didn’t make the count back in. Speaking of back in, they head back in and Roode grabs a heck of a spinebuster for two. Fans: “THIS IS GLORIOUS!”

A rollup with feet on the ropes gives Roode two but Ibushi is right back with the sitout Last Ride for the same. The fans want them to fight forever because apparently they have that much time to watch these two kill each other. The Phoenix splash misses though and Roode drops him with the Glorious DDT for the pin at 16:14.

Rating: B. I liked this one better than the triple threat as Roode is so efficient in the ring and took Ibushi’s high flying down through better technique and relying on what worked for him. I know Roode isn’t the most consistent performer but the more I watch him, the more I can see what people find appealing about him. He’s not going to get the big push, but he’s perfect for something like this or a midcard push somewhere down the line.

We’ll head to the UK to wrap it up.

United Kingdom Title: Pete Dunne vs. Mark Andrews
Date: June 8, 2017
Location: Brighton Centre, Brighton, England

Dunne is defending and there is no commentary again. This is shot differently though as it’s one or two handheld cameras, meaning we keep seeing shots running around the ring to get a better angle. It’s so strange to see that on a WWE show. They fight over the arm to start until Dunne takes him down and cranks on the leg. Just to show off a bit, Dunne pulls on the arm at the same time.

A rope grab gets Andrews out of trouble and it’s a basement dropkick to put Dunne on the floor. That’s a very bad idea as he forearms the heck out of Andrews and cranks on the arm again. We run around the ring to get a shot of Dunne stomping away in the corner and then working on a hammerlock. There’s a stomp to the arm and the BRUISERWEIGHT chants continue.

Andrews’ legs are fine enough for a hurricanrana to the floor, setting up the big running flip dive. Back in and Andrews hits a jumping double stomp to the ribs but Dunne shrugs off the forearms. A tornado DDT works a bit better for Andrews but Dunne is right back up with kicks to the head. The slugout is on with Dunne getting the better of it, only to have the X Plex countered into a hurricanrana. Stundog Millionaire rocks Dunne again but Fall To Pieces misses. The Bitter End retains the title at 9:38.

Rating: C+. They were working but I don’t think anyone was buying the idea of Andrews as a threat to the title. Dunne had only been champion for a few weeks at this point so he wasn’t losing here. Andrews is the kind of high flier who can get the fans behind him but Dunne is a different kind of wrestler and not losing in this spot.

Overall Rating: C. This was a total mixed bag with all kinds of matches up and down the list. Developmental is a different world from the main roster as you get to see these people trying and seeing what they can do without all of the restrictions that the main roster puts on them. It makes for some fun matches and situations as these shows have their own worlds and continuities. I had a good time with this, though the matches were all over the place both in star power and quality.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

TakeOver: Toronto
Date: August 10, 2019
Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Beth Phoenix, Mauro Ranallo

We’re going north for this one with the second Takeover from Toronto. The second part is rather appropriate as the main event is a rematch (of a rematch) with NXT Champion Adam Cole defending against former champion Johnny Gargano in their second 2/3 falls match. A lot of the show centers around Cole’s Undisputed Era so there is certainly a theme. Let’s get to it.

There is no special narration for the opening video, which is your standard highlight package, though we do watch the crowd watching it from the arena. At least they’re not cutting back and forth between a normal video and the crowd watching shot.

Tag Team Titles: Street Profits vs. Undisputed Era

Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish are challenging for the Era. The Profits won the titles in a four way ladder match in June and the Era say that was a fluke win. The champs have their always high energy entrance as the fans have the red solo cups. Dawkins takes O’Reilly into the corner to start and shouts that O’Reilly thinks he’s a joke. A takedown goes to Dawkins but it’s off to Fish, who gets run over with a big shoulder.

The champs start taking turns on Fish’s arm until a shot to Ford’s face gives Fish a breather. O’Reilly comes in but everything breaks down for a few seconds, with Fish walking into a double flapjack. O’Reilly gets knocked outside and manages to get Dawkins to follow him, allowing Fish to get in a surprise shot to take over for the first time. Some running/sliding knees to the ribs have Dawkins in trouble and O’Reilly adds a Samoan drop.

Mounted palm strikes set up a front facelock but Dawkins wins a slugout with O’Reilly. A backdrop lets Ford come in off the tag and it’s a standing moonsault for two. Ford hits the spinebuster but O’Reilly breaks up a People’s Elbow. Instead, Ford goes with a Rock Bottom for two on Fish. Dawkins gets knocked off the apron, leaving Ford to get caught with an elevated DDT into a wheelbarrow suplex for two.

We settle down to Ford being in trouble, including a superplex from Fish and a top rope knee to the knee. O’Reilly slaps on an Achilles lock with Fish adding a top rope headbutt and the fans are rather nervous. Dawkins comes back in and spinebusters Fish onto O’Reilly for the save. Ford makes the hot tag and everything breaks down.

A spinebuster/super Blockbuster combination gets two on O’Reilly and they’re all down again. The slugout is on with Dawkins and Fish being knocked outside. O’Reilly is sent to the floor as well, meaning it’s a big running flip dive from Ford. Back in and a spear from Dawkins sets up Ford’s frog splash to retain the titles at 15:50.

Rating: B+. I had the Street Profits retaining in my predictions and even I’m surprised that they pulled it off. Every sign pointed to the Era winning the titles here but I’m glad they didn’t. There was no need to have them get the belts back outside of setting up the Era having all of the titles as the Profits needed the win a lot more than the Era. It was a hot opener with an only slightly cooler ending, but the Profits winning is better in the long run.

Ricochet is here.

We recap Io Shirai vs. Candice LeRae. Candice had tried to help Shirai win the Women’s Title but Shirai kept coming up short. Shirai snapped and turned on LeRae, saying that she didn’t need anyone’s help. Tonight is about revenge for LeRae and for Shirai to prove herself.

Io Shirai vs. Candice LeRae

Candice starts the fight before the bell and it’s Shirai bailing to the floor. That means a baseball slide from Candice but Shirai suplexes her onto the announcers’ table to knock her silly. That’s only good for a nine so Shirai keeps pounding her down for a cocky near fall. The early chinlock goes on until Candice fights up with a headscissors, only to have Shirai land on her feet. A camel clutch goes on for a bit but Shirai misses a missile dropkick.

Candice hammers away in the corner and gets two off a brainbuster, setting up an Iron Octopus of all things. That’s broken up as well so Shirai tries the 619, which is countered into a neckbreaker. Candice is sent to the apron though and now the 619 hits the back of her head. That goes nowhere as Candice sends her outside for a suicide tornado DDT, which looked better than expected.

Back in and a top rope double stomp to the back gets two more on Shirai, who is right back with a Crossface. That’s reversed as well with Candice flipping over so Shirai puts her on her shoulders, only to get reverse hurricanranaed for two. Ms. LeRae’s Wild Ride gets two and the fans declare this to be awesome. Shirai catches her on top with a super Spanish Fly for another near fall and frustrated screaming ensues. A double underhook backbreaker plants LeRae again and the moonsault….gets two? With nothing else working, Shirai grabs a Koji Clutch to knock LeRae out at 15:00.

Rating: B. That was a good change of finisher for Shirai as something like a moonsault isn’t befitting a new heel persona. You need to have her do something a bit more sinister and they had set up all of the neck stuff throughout the match. Candice was always going to come up short here and it wouldn’t have made sense to have her win over the newly heel Shirai. They were both working here though and I was buying Shirai being angrier and more aggressive than usual here.

Here’s an unscheduled Matt Riddle through the crowd to call out Killian Dain for a fight. Dain comes through the crowd and the fight is on with Dain hitting a jumping kick to the head. Referees come out for the save with Dain stomping on Riddle’s bare foot. Riddle doesn’t care and they fight to the stage so Dain goes for the eyes. Some knees to the face put Dain down and Riddle takes care of security, including with a GTS to a guard. Dain uses the distraction to hit a crossbody, only to have Riddle jump on his back for a choke. They dive off the stage with Riddle being crushed through a table to finally wrap up a hot fight.

Evolve Champion Austin Theory is here.

We recap the North American Title match. Velveteen Dream has held the title longer than anyone in its history and Roderick Strong pinned him in a tag match. Then just to mess with what seemed to be an obvious ending, Pete Dunne was added to the mix as a wildcard.

North American Title: Velveteen Dream vs. Roderick Strong vs. Pete Dunne

Dream is defending and goes full Canada with his entrance, complete with an army of Mounties (and yes with the Mountie song of course), who then morph into Toronto Raptors dancers before Dream himself comes out. Strong says the other two don’t matter and it’s Dream being sent outside early on. Dunne clotheslines Strong down and it’s time to go after Strong’s fingers.

Dream is back in and tosses Strong but it’s the big showdown with Dunne. That lasts all of one stare though as Strong comes back in and gets punched in the face by the champ. A Bret Hart pose looks to set up the Sharpshooter but Strong slips away. That just means it’s time for Dream and Dunne to beat him up at the same time, with Dream holding the arm for Dunne’s stomp.

Strong is sent outside so Dream can gyrate the hips, earning himself most of a cross armbreaker. It’s too early for the Bitter End as Dream slips out, only to get crotched against the post (Mauro: “NOTHING BUT NUTS!”). The backbreakers start for Strong and the UNDISPUTED chants get going again. Back in and Dream finally gets the Sharpshooter but Dunne comes off the top with a double stomp to Dream’s back for the save. Dunne starts throwing suplexes and alternates with stomps onto both of them.

Strong and Dream get together to beat him up before fighting each other (duh). Dunne is back up as well and it’s a three way slugout for a triple knockdown. Dream and Strong get their fingers snapped but it’s a Dream Valley Driver to Dunne, an Olympic Slam to Dream and an X Plex to Strong to put everyone down. Dunne catches Dream up top and Strong joins them for an Olympic Slam to Dunne, which brings Dream down with them.

Strong is up first with a backbreaker to Dunne, who tries to grab a triangle. They go into the corner with Dream hitting a springboard Purple Rainmaker to Dunne for the break. You know, because he can do that. Back up and Strong grabs a Stronghold on both of them at once. That falls apart so Dream tries a double Dream Valley Driver, which is a bit too much for him.

Dunne snaps a pair of fingers and hits the Bitter End on Strong but Dream has the referee. The delayed cover is cut off as Dream grabs the referee’s hand at two. Dream gets sent outside as Strong grabs the Stronghold on Dunne. The save doesn’t take long and it’s the Dream Valley Driver on Dunne, with Strong coming back in for End of Heartache. Dream makes another save and steals the pin to retain at 17:25.

Rating: B+. I’m not sure what they’re going to do with the title now as Dream has held the thing for six months and doesn’t really have anyone left to fight for the thing. That being said, NXT knows how to build someone up in a hurry and there is a good chance that they could do just that at a moment’s notice. The cool thing is NXT has all the talent they could need to put together a challenger, but more importantly they know how to do it. The match here was quite good, though it never hit that next level.

We recap Mia Yim vs. Shayna Baszler. Mia grew up in a horrible situation and had to fight from the streets to get here. Baszler doesn’t think anything of her and thinks Yim is just a thug. Shayna has held the title for a long time now and thinks Yim is going to be just another challenger.

Women’s Title: Mia Yim vs. Shayna Baszler

Mia is challenging and comes out with a bunch of people in black with their faces covered to not the strongest reaction. Baszler goes to the arm to start but gets armdragged down a few times. Miz traps the arm between the steps and post for a dropkick and Baszler is in early trouble. Back in and Shayna takes her down for some left handed punches and a stomp on Mia’s left arm.

The champ stays on the arm by wrapping it around the bottom rope and then bending it at a rather disturbing angle. A pull of the hair gets Mia out of trouble so Shayna dropkicks her for two. Back up and they seem to get completely out of sync as they run the ropes for a bit. Mia sends her to the floor and shouts OK before hitting a suicide dive. A tornado DDT gets two but Baszler kicks her in the face for two with the fans not even teasing a reaction to the kickout.

Mia goes up top and traps Shayna’s arm for a super Code Blue and another near fall. Shayna pulls her into the Kirifuda Clutch but Mia pulls the bad arm for the break. A stomp on the champ’s arm (Mia: “This is karma.”) looks to set up a cross armbreaker but Shayna rolls over into the Clutch again. Another pull of the arm gets Mia out, only to have Shayna wrap her legs around the neck for another choke and the tap at 14:42.

Rating: C+. I actually sighed in relief when Baszler retained. Mia tries and has a good story but I could never take her seriously with the name Head Baddie In Charge. She never felt like the big challenger who could take the title and I was almost dreading the idea of her taking the title. The problem now though is who can challenge Shayna for the title as she has almost completely cleaned out the division. That’s where they need to bring some people up, and NXT knows just how to do something like that.

Walter and Tyler Bate are here.

We recap Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole. They’ve fought at the last two Takeovers with Gargano winning the vacant title and then losing it to Cole the next time. The idea here is Cole believes he belongs at the top and Gargano wants to earn his legacy by getting the title back. Each fall has a different stipulation: regular match, street fight, weapons filled cage.

NXT Title: Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano

Gargano, in Wolverine inspired gear, is challenging and the first fall is a regular match. Cole is roughly 18x more popular than Gargano during the Big Match Intros. Feeling out process to start with an early Last Shot and Gargano Escape attempt missing for each. Cole can’t hit the Panama Sunrise either as Gargano sends him outside for a running dropkick through the ropes. Cole’s running knee hits steps and Johnny sends the knee into the apron. Back in and it’s Indian Deathlock to keep Cole’s knee in trouble and an enziguri makes it worse for the champ.

Cole is fine enough to pull Gargano outside for a wheelbarrow suplex onto the apron. Back in and a neckbreaker sets up a triangle choke to Gargano, who gets smart by grabbing the bad leg. An ankle lock is quickly broken up with Cole sending him face first into the middle buckle. The Panama Sunrise still doesn’t work as the leg gives out and Johnny sends him into the corner as well. Gargano’s rolling kick to the head and it’s a fisherman’s driver for two.

Cole misses a superkick in the corner and Johnny stomps on the leg again, setting up the Figure Four. The rope gets Cole out of trouble and it’s a German suplex for two on Johnny. Another Panama Sunrise is countered into a sunset driver to give Johnny two more. Cole STILL can’t get the Sunrise as the leg gives out but he’s fine enough to catch a diving Gargano in a gutbuster.

A Samoan driver gives Cole two and it’s a double clothesline for the double knockdown. Gargano is up first and hits the slingshot DDT for two but the slingshot spear hits a superkick. Cole’s fireman’s carry backbreaker gets two so it’s time for a chair. The referee throws that out and Cole gets in a low blow for two. Cole sits in the chair but Gargano gets up and takes it away, setting up a shot to Cole’s back for the DQ at 20:50.

Gargano shrugs and unloads with the chair as the second fall, a street fight, begins. Cole bails to the floor so Gargano throws the chair at his head and hits the slingshot DDT. They fight into the crowd with Gargano beating Cole all over the place, though he does stop for a picture with a fan’s phone. Gargano hits a superkick and they head back to ringside with Cole being driven through the timekeeper’s area.

They fight onto the announcers’ tables with Gargano backdropping his way out of a Pedigree to send Cole through the Spanish Announcers’ Table in the huge crash. Gargano throws Cole back inside, plus a table and some chairs. The fireman’s carry backbreaker gives Cole two but he stops to wedge a chair in the corner. That’s not a good idea as Gargano lawn darts him into the chair, setting up the Gargano Escape for the tap and the tie at 29:37.

The weapons cage lowers, showing off the barbed wire around the top. There is no escape here and you can only win by pinfall or submission. They slug it out with superkicks slowing down the kendo stick shots, only to have them beat each other senseless with the sticks. Stereo superkicks put both guys down and the fans find this awesome. A reverse hurricanrana sends Cole into a chair for another superkick and a near fall.

Cole gets in a chair shot to the back and a Backstabber with a kendo stick across the throat connects for two. Johnny gets in a blast with a fire extinguisher and hits a tornado DDT onto the open chairs, with Cole’s face hitting the open edge for a rather terrifying landing. Gargano goes up to try and grab a sledgehammer but has to stop for a spinning sunset bomb instead. Cole goes up top and throws a ladder at Johnny, who ducks to avoid a bad case of death.

Now the super Panama Sunrise gives Cole two and another one off the ladder gives Cole two more. The Last Shot in the chair only hits knee though and Gargano grabs the STF with the kendo stick. Cole bites his way to freedom so Gargano sledgehammers him in the ribs. Instead of following up, Gargano loads up two tables and climbs the ladder, only to have to come back down when Cole rolls away.

Instead Gargano hits a super Canadian Destroyer for two as these kickouts are getting comical. Gargano isn’t done and pulls out a bag of tools, including some wire cutters to cut some barbed wire down. Cole climbs onto the top of the cage and gets on the table bridged over the corner, right above the two tables already set up. Gargano puts the wire on his head and they dive off through a table (Mauro: “MAMA F’ING MIA!”), with Cole covering to retain at 51:05.

Rating: A-. This was way past the point of going long for the sake of going long with the kickouts and non-covers being ridiculous more than once. Gargano almost has to go up to the main roster full time now as there is nothing left for him to do. You can find something else for Cole to do as he has a bunch of people to defend against, but after seeing these two fight for about two and a half hours in three matches, I never need to see them together again. Crazy violence (the ending and the DDT onto the chair were nuts) and an awesome match, but it needed to be a good bit shorter.

Overall Rating: A. It exceeded my expectations with only the Women’s Title match not being very good, but it wasn’t really close to some of the Takeovers they’ve done before. What worries me the most are the rumors of the move to Fox Sports 1, as this could be the last of the great Takeovers under the classic formula. We can worry about that later though because this was another excellent show. I’m hoping they get the right amount of time and build to the next one so it can have some fresh matches, but what we got here was quite good and a way to wrap up the summer with a great show, though not as great as before.

Results

Street Profits b. Undisputed Era – Frog splash to O’Reilly

Io Shirai b. Candice LeRae – Kofi Clutch

Velveteen Dream b. Pete Dunne and Roderick Strong – End of Heartache to Dunne

Shayna Baszler b. Mia Yim – Leg choke

Adam Cole b. Johnny Gargano – Crash through a table

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

It’s time to go north of the border for the next edition of one of the best series in wrestling history. Takeover has gone from a few specials for the minor league to some of the most must see wrestling events of the year. This one feels a bit different though as the build towards Takeover: Toronto hasn’t been the strongest in the world. Maybe the card isn’t as strong or maybe it feels a bit rushed, but it hasn’t felt as great on the way up. It’s still worth looking at though so let’s get to it.

Candice LeRae vs. Io Shirai

This is a grudge match after Shirai couldn’t beat Shayna Baszler to become Women’s Champion. Instead of blaming herself, she blamed LeRae, who had tried to help even the odds against the Four Horsewomen. Shirai snapped and beat the fire out of LeRae, who came back and did the exact same thing to her. This one is all about the violence and that could make for an intense match.

I’ll take Shirai to win here as she seems like someone who could be quite the challenger for Yim, assuming she wins the title. LeRae vs. Baszler seemed to be the way to go for a long time, but for some reason they never did it on the big stage. Maybe they still could, but I think Baszler is on her way up sooner, meaning that Shirai is a better choice for a challenger and the win here would get here there. LeRae will work as hard as she always does, but Shirai is going to be too much for her.

Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler(c) vs. Mia Yim

It makes sense to go here next. Baszler has dominated the NXT women’s division like no one other than Asuka in the title’s history. If she can somehow make it another three and a half months as champion, she will actually surpass Asuka’s record for most combined days as champion. However, in doing so, she has run through almost everyone there is to defeat, save for Yim, who is being billed as the underdog who has fought through everything to get here. That sounds like a setup and I think I know where this is going.

Yim winning the title seems to be the most likely ending here as Baszler may not be long for NXT. There is nothing left for her to do down there other than set records and given that she is in her late 30s, there is no reason to leave her down in NXT any longer. There are all kinds of reasons for her to come up to the main roster and putting Yim over for the title makes a lot of sense. Granted I’ve been saying this for months and have been wrong every time, but it has to connect at some point.

Tag Team Titles: Street Profits(c) vs. Undisputed Era

It’s Roderick Strong/Kyle O’Reilly representing the Undisputed Era here and that means we might be in for a big story. The idea seems to be the Undisputed Era holding all of the titles at the same time and you can’t do that with two of the titles missing. Unfortunately that means we can’t have the Street Profits holding the titles any longer, which is going to take away some of the spark that she show has had. They’re as entertaining as you can get, but I’m not sure what happens here.

The more I think about it though, I don’t think the titles change hands. NXT isn’t the place to have transitional champions and the Street Profits have only held the titles for about two months. I just can’t imagine NXT making the Undisputed Era three time champions, especially for the sake of setting up the group as the Four Horsemen of NXT. Odds are I’m wrong here and it’s more hope than anything else, but I’ll go with the champs retaining.

North American Title: Velveteen Dream(c) vs. Roderick Strong vs. Pete Dunne

This was set up as a singles match with Strong challenging Dream, but Dunne was thrown in to shake things up a bit. That’s exactly the case too, as I would have bet on Strong taking the title but now I have no idea where things are going. I can’t imagine Strong losing, I can’t imagine Dream losing and I can’t imagine Dunne losing. That’s a very impressive way to build to the match and they’ve done it well here.

I’ll go with Strong winning here as the Undisputed Era has to do something and get some extra gold. The Dream is ready to do something else as he has far longer than anyone else in history. Dunne is a complete wildcard though as he’s someone you could see as one of the top stars in the entire company one day. I don’t know if he’s going to be around NXT full time though and that leaves you with Strong, who needs his big singles win. I’ll take Strong here, but I’m completely lacking certainty.

NXT Title: Adam Cole(c) vs. Johnny Gargano

This might be why I’m not wild on the whole show. At the end of the day, we’ve seen this match headlining the last two Takeovers and Gargano has been in the main event scene for going on two years now. Eventually you need something fresh and it doesn’t feel like that is the case at the moment. The match is 2/3 falls as well, making it feel even longer.

I think they’ll stick with Cole here as Gargano is much better as the challenger instead of the champion and tends to lose the big matches. He’s already been there once and that’s about all he needs to cement his legacy. The build for it has been good (the final video from this week’s TV was outstanding) but both guys are ready for something new and there are more challengers for Cole than Gargano. It will be entertaining, but Gargano loses in the end, as he should.

Overall Thoughts

Here’s the thing about NXT: even if the show is one of the weakest in the history of Takeover, it’s still going to be one of the best shows of the year. That’s just how NXT works and they’re incapable of having a truly bad show. It’s going to be a great time and likely a blast, but you never can tell just how things are going to go. I’m more into the show than I was three days ago so the go home episode did well, but they’re going uphill this time around.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: July 31, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, Beth Phoenix

With less than two weeks to go before the next Takeover, it really feels like this show has snuck up on us. The show should be fun, but it hasn’t had the most amount of time to build up. Last week’s major announcement saw Pete Dunne added to the North American Title scene though and that’s never a bad thing. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Jaxson Ryker vs. Tyler Breeze

Ryker goes with the power to start by throwing Breeze around so Breeze punches away and stomps Ryker down in the corner. That just earns him a release Rock Bottom as Ryker starts in with the power. A backbreaker gets two and then a backbreaker gets nothing as it’s almost all Ryker so far. Breeze hits a quick knee though and a victory roll finishes Ryker at 3:21.

Rating: D+. The fluke ending was a surprise but if it means we don’t have to deal with Ryker as the unstoppable monster for as long, it’s going to be an improvement. Breeze has needed a win like this and it’s nice to see WWE treating him like something that matters instead of a punching bag on the main roster.

Post match the beatdown is on but Fandango makes his return and cleans house.

Breakout Tournament Semifinals: Bronson Reed vs. Cameron Grimes

Reed shoves him down to start and we’re already in the chinlock. Grimes is right back up with a headlock so Reed shoves him off and hits a hard elbow. The clubbing forearms in the corner put Grimes on the floor and Reed is dim enough to chase after him. Back in and Grimes hits a running clothesline before grabbing an armbar. Since it’s just an armbar, Reed is out in a hurry with a powerslam and a Samoan drop. The backsplash gets two with Grimes having to put a foot on the rope. It’s off to a slow motion slugout with Reed taking the straps down but walking into the standing double stomp to give Grimes the pin at 5:55.

Rating: C. I wasn’t a big fan of Grimes when he was in TNA and he’s managing to turn me around a little bit here. I never would have guessed on that one and yet he’s making it work. Reed is someone who can go somewhere with his size and power so he’s going to be fine. This tournament has improved after what seemed to be a dull future. Nice enough match here and Grimes has impressed me.

Quick look at Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole.

Matt Riddle wants Killian Dain to fight him face to face. He’ll get to do that next week.

Here’s a ticked off Shayna Baszler for a chat. Mia Yim has been sending a message by attacking Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke and Baszler has heard it. That’s why Yim has lost before she’s even gotten on the plane to Toronto. Next week, Baszler is putting the street rat to sleep. Cue Mia to say Baszler looks really unfamiliar right now. Mia has nothing to lose so the street right is bringing a fight Shayna can’t rain for. Baszler promises to prove that Mia is street trash and holds up the title. I’d still prefer Candice LeRae in this spot but as long as they don’t call Mia the Blazian Baddie or Head Baddie in Charge, she’s fine.

Candice LeRae wants to face Io Shirai at Takeover. William Regal: “Can’t blame you.” The match is made and Regal asks her to go home.

Pete Dunne vs. Roderick Strong

Strong takes him to the mat to start but Dunne slips out and it’s a staredown from one knee each. Back up and Strong takes him into the corner for some right hands but you just don’t do that to Dunne. Pete fights out of the corner and stomps on the arm, followed by a kick to the elbow. Strong’s arm is fine enough to catch Dunne on top and hit a torture rack backbreaker to take over.

A regular backbreaker gets two but Dunne is back up with some kicks to the leg. Strong hits a dropkick to cut him off but bangs up his own leg in the process. They head up top with Dunne throwing him down and hitting a middle rope missile dropkick to a kneeling Strong. Dunne flips over Strong out of the corner and hits the X Plex. The PK gets two and Dunne kicks him in the head again.

A sitout powerbomb gets two and they’re both down. Strong heads outside so Dunne goes to the middle rope, allowing Strong to drop him back first onto the apron. The belly to back faceplant gives Dunne two but he’s right back with an enziguri. The Bitter End is blocked and Strong hits the Angle Slam. Dunne grabs a DDT and they’re both down again.

They slug it out with Dunne getting the better of it and heading up top for a sunset bomb….which doesn’t quite work as Strong lands on Dunne instead of the mat. Strong is fine enough to hit a jumping knee to the face and a Tiger Driver 99 for two. The Strong Hold attempt is countered into a triangle choke and Dunne bends the fingers for the tap at 16:03.

Rating: B+. Dunne has as much star power and potential as there is around here and it’s very nice to see him getting a chance in regular NXT. If he’s sticking around for good, it seems like a matter of time before he’s on the main roster and tearing it up there too. This was a rather good performance from both guys with Dunne getting a win to reestablish himself around here.

Post match Velveteen Dream comes in and teases a belt shot to Dunne but smiles at him without really loading it up. Strong stares at Dream and leaves, allowing Dunne to snap Dream’s fingers and hit the Bitter End to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The main event helped this show a lot as the build to this Takeover is still lacking a little bit. What they have is working well enough but nothing really pops off the page. Dunne helps that a lot because he feels like a bigger star than almost anyone else in NXT. That’s the case because he’s been very well protected over the years and believe it or not, that does wonders for anyone and it’s done that for Dunne. Next week can fix some of the problems, but Toronto just isn’t clicking as well as it could.

Results

Tyler Breeze b. Jaxson Ryker – Victory roll

Cameron Grimes b. Bronson Reed – Standing double stomp

Pete Dunne b. Roderick Strong – Dunne bent Strong’s fingers back

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT UK
Date: May 22, 2019
Location: Braehead Arena, Glasgow, Scotland
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness

It’s time for a big one as we have Pete Dunne vs. Walter II for the United Kingdom Title. The first match was the biggest match in the history of NXT UK and now Dunne wants his chance to get the title back. That’s all but a guarantee for some shenanigans but the question is what kind. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Fatal Four Way Qualifying Match: Travis Banks vs. Joseph Conners

Banks takes him down by the arm to start before heading outside early on. Conners sends him into the steps so the fans get behind Banks with the KIWI BUZZSAW chants. The chinlock cuts those off as the energy isn’t exactly here yet. Banks fights up and sends Conners to the floor again, this time for a heck of a suicide dive.

The Slice of Heaven misses back inside though and a running sunset buckle bomb (nice) gives Conners two, plus some polite applause. We hit the pinfall reversal sequence into a standoff as the fans get behind Banks all over again. Back up and Conners sends him into the corner but Banks comes out with the Slice of Heaven. The Kiwi Crusher finishes Conners at 8:27.

Post match Banks promises to run through Dave Mastiff, Jordan Devlin and Joe Coffey to becoming #1 contender. The match is in two weeks.

Nina Samuels is proud of how she manipulated Toni Storm into the title match. Now it’s time for her masterpiece next week when she wins the title in her series finale.

We recap Mark Andrews vs. Noam Dar from two months ago when they beat the heck out of each other and were too injured to finish.

Noam Dar vs. Mark Andrews

Of course Dar gets the big home country reception. Feeling out process to start with Andrews missing a kick to the head for a standoff. Andrews takes him down again though and a standing moonsault gets two. Dar grabs a very spinning backslide for two and it’s off to the quickly broken ankle lock. Instead Dar hits a bicycle kick for two but Andrews is right back up with a jumping enziguri. Stundog Millionaire sends Dar outside for the running flip dive with Dar’s knee giving out. That would be goldbricking though and Dar hits a quick Nova Roller for the pin at 5:50.

Rating: C-. Well that was a little shorter for the sake of the heel turn at the end, which isn’t the most interesting thing in the world. Their first match was quite entertaining and this one was more of an angle than anything else, which doesn’t do much for me. At least we got something out of it though and they didn’t waste time until getting to the ending.

The Grizzled Young Veterans don’t care about Moustache Mountain calling them out for a title shot because the champs decide when they defend their titles.

Here’s Rhea Ripley for a chat. She knows how much people want to see her wrestle tonight but it’s just not going to happen. Rhea has been told that Piper Niven is something of a big deal here in Scotland but she sees Piper as a wannabe superstar who reeks of fear. All Piper can do is talk about her and as soon as Piper steps in the ring with her, nightmares become reality. Short and to the point here.

Kassius Ohno is rather happy that he gets his update from Sid Scala and Johnny Saint this week. Since Saint isn’t here, Scala gives him Jack Gallagher for next week, which seems to work for Ohno.

Next week: Nina Samuels vs. Toni Storm for the Women’s Title.

United Kingdom Title: Pete Dunne vs. Walter

Pete is challenging and gets powered into the corner to start. That’s reversed into a series of rolls on the mat into a standoff. Dunne takes him to the mat this time and tries for the arm stomp but has to duck the chop. Back up and Pete grabs a headlock, which is reversed into one from the champ as they’re firmly in first gear. The sleeper is blocked and Dunne grabs the leg to send Walter outside.

Dunne follows though and this time it’s the big chop to give Walter his first real advantage. A kick to the arm doesn’t do much for Dunne as Walter kicks him in the face to take over again. There’s a whip into the barricade and Walter stomps him on the steps. Back in and Dunne is in trouble but he sneers up at the champ anyway. That just earns him some hard stomps and a reverse chinlock as things stay rather slow.

Dunne fights up and drops Walter with a single forearm as the fans are behind Pete (or Peter actually). A middle rope dropkick to the knee takes Walter down again and it’s off to a kneebar. Dunne can’t get it in all the way so he kicks Walter in the arm instead and hooks something like an Octopus hold while pulling on the finger. A crucifix bomb gives Dunne two and annoys Walter so much that he hits a rather hard clothesline.

The Boston crab stays on Dunne’s back but Dunne gets out again. Some stomps to the head have Walter in trouble this time and a double arm crank is broken up as well. Walter’s fingers are tied in the buckle and Dunne dropkicks the hand for a bonus. Dunne’s super hurricanrana brings Walter back down for two but he’s back up with a chop between the shoulder blades.

A German suplex rocks Walter, who is fine enough to explode into a clothesline for two on Dunne. The top rope splash is punched out of the air and Dunne grabs the Bitter End. The fingers are bent back….and here’s Fabian Aichner to push the rope toward Walter. With the referee on the floor with Aichner, Marcel Barthel runs in to hit Dunne with the belt. Walter’s powerbomb retains the title at 16:33.

Rating: B+. It’s good and a hard hitting brawl but it was a far cry from what they did in New York. The problem here was they went from the slow start to beating the tar out of each other in the span of a few seconds and it didn’t have the smoothest transition. The ending is a good way to move things forward while also keeping Dunne strong for the future. It’s a very good TV match, but not a great, classic one.

Walter, Aichner and Barthel post to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. They weren’t messing around here with a huge main event, a match to set up the #1 contenders match and a heel turn in the middle. They’re setting things up for the future and when you add that to the good stuff this week, it’s a heck of a show. This place is officially on a roll and the new villains vs. British Strong Style will work just fine for the time being.

Results

Travis Banks b. Joseph Conners – Kiwi Crusher

Noam Dar b. Mark Andrews – Nova Roller

Walter b. Pete Dunne – Powerbomb

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT UK
Date: April 17, 2019
Location: Brooklyn Pier 12, New York City, New York
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness

We’re back stateside again with a batch of shows taped from Axxess. That means things could be all over the place as there is usually something big on the episodes for the sake of making it feel special. I’m not sure what to expect from things here though and that can make things a little more interesting. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Coffey Brothers vs. Raul Mendoza/Humberto Carrillo

As usual, commentary focuses on how good looking Carrillo is. Mark armbars Mendoza to start before taking him down for an early stomping. It’s off to Joe vs. Carrillo with Humberto’s handspring elbow connecting for one. A moonsault misses and Joe’s running headbutt to the ribs has Carrillo in trouble in the corner. Joe slaps on a seated full nelson and even puts Carrillo face first onto the mat to make it even worse. That’s a simple hold but it does look rather painful.

Carrillo powers out (impressive) so it’s a butterfly swing into the butterfly suplex to give Joe two. Mark comes in and gets punched in the face, allowing the quick tag to Mendoza. A running enziguri staggers Mark again and a springboard missile dropkick takes him down. Carrillo comes back in and stereo suicide dives drop the Brothers. Back in and a moonsault from Carrillo into Mendoza’s 450 gets two on Mark with Joe making a save. Joe uppercuts Mendoza into another enziguri and All The Best For The Bells gives Joe the pin at 5:34.

Rating: C+. Not too bad at all here with the Coffeys being a good power team and Mendoza/Carrillo continuing to impress every time they’re in the ring together. That’s the kind of match that is going to work every time and I’m always glad to see more from Mendoza and Carrillo. These four had chemistry together and it was a rather nice match.

Kassius Ohno doesn’t like the suggestion that things haven’t been going well for him, even though things haven’t been going well for him. He’s here to show the real European style to these so called veterans of the British scene. Like Ligero, who is famous for wrestling a crazy amount of matches. Ohno is quality over quantity and it would only take one match to show Ligero what a real wrestler is like.

Wrestlers want to see Pete Dunne vs. Walter II. Jordan Devlin doesn’t care and gets into a staredown with Walter.

Kona Reeves vs. Dave Mastiff

If I’ve ever wanted to see Mastiff crush someone, it’s right here. Reeves actually manages to get him into the corner and makes it clear that he is in fact the finest. A shoulder block doesn’t have much effect on Mastiff, who wrestles Reeves to the mat in a bit of a surprise. Some elbows to the head rock Reeves again but he knows to get away before the Cannonball can launch.

Reeves snaps him throat first across the top and slaps on the chinlock, which keeps Mastiff down longer than you might have guessed. Back up and Mastiff runs him over with a crossbody, setting up a release German suplex. Now the Cannonball can finish Reeves for good at 4:36.

Rating: D. I know WWE doesn’t like admitting defeat on talents but my goodness how could they possibly see anything left in Reeves? His gimmick is saying his nickname over and over again and his work isn’t anything above below average. Mastiff is something entertaining though and has gotten a little better than the run of the mill monster.

Flash Morgan Webster and Mark Andrews are ready for Moustache Mountain and want to bring the Tag Team Titles to Wales.

Wolfgang cuts off Mastiff’s interview and have to be broken up. Mastiff threatens to have him for dinner.

Kacy Catanzaro vs. Rhea Ripley

Rematch from last year’s Mae Young Classic where Ripley eliminated Catanzaro. Kacy tries to stay away from Ripley to start but gets tossed into the corner with ease. A hair pull down puts Catanzaro on the mat and Ripley hammers away, though she has to stop and yell that she knows the rules. The delayed vertical suplex gives Ripley two and we hit the chinlock. Back up and Catanzaro starts to try to speed but her crossbody is countered into a suplex, which is countered into a small package for two on Ripley. Catanzaro gets caught in the corner again and this time it’s Riptide for the pin at 3:29.

Rating: D+. Catanzaro is an intriguing name with her insane athleticism but she’s just so small that there’s only so much she can do when Ripley is that much bigger. Ripley squashed her here and looked dominant all over again, which is probably going to be the case with most of her matches against anyone not named Toni Storm or Piper Niven.

Post match Ripley puts her in the Cloverleaf.

Post break Ripley yells at Catanzaro, saying that’s what she had to expect. Piper Niven comes up and scares Ripley off.

Jinny has nothing to say about her loss.

Next week: Kassius Ohno vs. Ligero. Also, Moustache Mountain vs. Flash Morgan Webster/Mark Andrews.

Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Amir Jordan/Kenny Williams

Non-title and the fans take their shoes off in protest of Gibson in America too. Before the match, Gibson says the same things he says almost every week and makes it clear that this is non-title, because that’s as close as Jordan and Williams will get to the titles. Gibson takes Jordan down by the arm to start and then does it again for good measure. Drake comes in for a forearm to Jordan, who flips forward and monkey flips Drake over in a big crash.

Williams comes in for an arm shot of his own so Gibson pulls Drake to the floor for a breather. It’s back to Gibson, who goes for the arm again but gets rolled up for two instead. A springboard back elbow to the jaw has Gibson in even more trouble as the champions can’t keep any momentum going. Drake tags himself back in though and it’s a basement dropkick to the knee, followed by a second to the head.

A running dropkick knocks Jordan off the apron and it’s a slingshot elbow into a backbreaker on the floor to make it even worse for Williams. Back in and the chinlock goes on as the fans get behind Williams as much as they can. A snap suplex gives Drake two and it’s another chinlock until Williams jawbreaks his way to freedom. Gibson gets kicked in his recently injured ear but Drake pulls Williams right back into the chinlock.

This time it’s broken up with ease and since Gibson is on the floor, the hot tag brings in Jordan to pick up the pace. A neckbreaker gives Jordan two and Gibson is still down, even waving Drake off when he comes over for a tag. Williams comes back in for a springboard back elbow, drawing Gibson off the floor to make the save. Jordan gets a blind tag and it’s the Swanton Bombay for two with Gibson pulling Drake to the floor. That’s enough for the champs, who take the countout at 10:35.

Rating: D+. The chinlocks killed this one and they would have been much better off by cutting two minutes out of the match. While I didn’t really care for the match, it’s a huge improvement over having Jordan and Williams steal a quick pin to set up the title rematch. Countouts can be the company’s friend in this situation but WWE never seems to remember that. Also, the champs need challengers and this is one way to set those up, especially when they don’t have a deep division in the first place. That being said, I’d be a little more hesitant to already tease a split between Gibson and Drake, unless Gibson is getting a huge push.

Pete Dunne talks about losing the title after nearly two years. He’s not leaving the title behind because it’s an extension of him. People were so used to him being the champion that they forgot about the chase. He’s been everywhere in WWE over the last two years and Walter gave him the fight of his life. Now he knows what to expect and he knows he can get the title back. Since he gave Walter a chance, give him the same courtesy. Give him a rematch. Great promo here with the video backing it up.

Overall Rating: D. Well so much for this one being a big show with something special. This was a rather dull episode with the wrestling not working and the guest stars, save for Mendoza and Carrillo, being rather lifeless. It takes something special to get a boring Catanzaro match but this show managed to make it happen. I wasn’t feeling this one, but the good thing is that NXT UK has become a good enough show that this is a one off misfire instead of a trend.

Results

Coffey Brothers b. Raul Mendoza/Humberto Carrillo – All The Best For The Bells to Mendoza

Dave Mastiff b. Kona Reeves – Cannonball

Rhea Ripley b. Kacy Catanzaro – Riptide

Amir Jordan/Kenny Williams b. Grizzled Young Veterans via countout

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Takeover: New York
Date: April 5, 2019
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

We’re finally in the big city for what might be the best show of the weekend (I’m looking at you ROH/G1. Impress me.) with a new NXT Champion guaranteed in the main event. Other than that we have all title matches up and down the card with the United Kingdom Title on the line as well. I guess I can deal with this if I have to. Let’s get to it.

We open with a look at the history of Takeovers (and Arrival) before getting to tonight’s card. The history was rather quick and that’s fine in something like this.

Tag Team Titles: War Raiders vs. Aleister Black/Ricochet

The Raiders are defending and come out with vikings beating on drums because they’re awesome that way. Ricochet and Black won the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic to get the shot. Black and Rowe start things off and they actually go technical with Rowe taking him down but not throwing a right hand at a downed opponent. Back up and Black puts his foot on the side of Rowe’s head as the mind games continue. They bump fists and it’s off to Hanson vs. Ricochet, much to the fans’ delight.

Ricochet goes with the speed and sends Hanson outside, leaving Rowe to take a dropkick. Black moonsaults to the middle and has a seat next to Ricochet as the NXT chants go up again. Back in and the pace quickens with Hanson sitting on Ricochet’s chest in the corner, setting up a slam to drop Rowe onto him again. With Ricochet mostly crushed, Rowe starts in on Black’s arm but the second tandem slam is cut off with a legsweep.

Ricochet already comes back in for a kick to the head and a springboard clothesline drops Rowe. Black’s elbow to the face gets one and we hit a seated abdominal stretch as the fans go nuts over something in the crowd. They chant YOU DESERVE IT until Rowe fights up and throws Black down with a slam. Hanson comes in to clean house, including the running clotheslines in the corner. Ricochet has had it with the beating and FALL AWAY SLAMS HANSON for your WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT/MAMA MIA spot.

Black and Rowe slug it out with Black kicking him in the head but getting kneed out of the air. A knee strike of his own sets up a heck of a German suplex for two on Rowe and the fans get to breathe while applauding. Hanson and Ricochet come back in for a flip off until Ricochet scores with his own kick to the head. That’s fine with Hanson, who hits a Tajiri handspring elbow (he shouldn’t be able to do that) for his own near fall. Ricochet knocks him off the top but it’s a blind tag, allowing Rowe to knee him into the corner.

Rowe throws Hanson into Ricochet in the corner and it’s a springboard clothesline/German suplex combination for two more with Black coming off the top with a double stomp for the save. Hanson gets sent outside and moonsaulted by Black, who takes a suicide dive from Rowe (whose feet got a little caught on the ropes). Ricochet busts out a corkscrew Space Flying Tiger Drop but it’s Hanson with a Cannonball off the top because it’s ok if he kills everyone.

Ricochet and Rowe dive back in to break up the count and it’s Black coming in as well. Rowe growls at him and takes a sweet Black Mass, knocking him silly. The 630 connects but Hanson shoves Black onto the cover for the save. Another 630 misses and Hanson blasts Black with a clothesline on the floor. Back in and Thor’s Hammer hits Ricochet and Hanson suicide dives onto Black. Fallout to Ricochet retains the titles at 18:39.

Rating: A. Yeah that was incredible and an instant classic with all four doing things that shouldn’t be humanly possible. Hanson alone is an athletic freak and their power moves are more than enough to carry them as far as they need to go. Ricochet and Black are going to be fine as they have solid chemistry, though Black still seems more like a singles star. Anyway, outstanding opener as the bar has been set.

Post match, hands are shaken and Black/Ricochet get the big sendoff to the main roster. Well they certainly deserve that.

Piper Niven and Toni Storm are here.

We recap Velveteen Dream vs. Matt Riddle. Dream finally won the big one by winning the North American Title back in February but Riddle showed up to get a better look at the belt. Dream didn’t like someone taking his spotlight and the match was made.

North American Title: Matt Riddle vs. Velveteen Dream

Dream is defending. Riddle comes out in a pinstripe jacket and Dream…..is the Statue of Liberty, sitting on a throne carried by four men ala Macho King Randy Savage. There certainly are some similarities. The fans are split (of course) and Dream doesn’t like that posing on the corner. Riddle starts kicking at the knee and Dream is completely dominated when he tries to take it to the mat. A springboard armdrag into an armbar has Dream bailing to the ropes as the champ is in early trouble.

They go to a back to back test of strength until Riddle flips over him and reverses a monkey flip into a cross armbreaker. That’s broken up as well so Dream gets smart by stomping on the bare foot. Dream gyrates the hips and gets gutwrench suplexed for his efforts. Riddle picks him up again and gyrates his own hips, allowing Dream to get out and hit a dropkick. With Riddle outside Dream tries a dive but lands in a German suplex on the floor. Back in and Riddle sends him flying with an exploder suplex but it’s too early for the Bromission.

The threat of an armbar sends Dream bailing to the ropes for the break and he’s right back up with a release German suplex. Riddle doesn’t sell German suplexes though and it’s a jumping knee into a fisherman’s buster for his latest near fall. Some forearms in the ropes show some frustration from Riddle so he counters what looked to be a powerbomb into a triangle. With that broken up, a GTS into a German suplex gives Riddle two. Kicks and knees to the chest make Dream HULK UP, meaning it’s a big boot and clothesline to the floor.

There’s the ax handle as we get both sides of the Mega Powers. Dream hits a Fameasser but dives into a jumping knee. A Codebreaker of all things gives Dream two but his running knee is countered into an ankle lock. Riddle switches feet to block Dream kicking him in the face but Dream is right back with a superkick. The wind up DDT sets up the Dream Valley Driver and Dream goes up.

The Purple Rainmaker is countered into most of the Bromission, sending Dream bailing to the ropes. Riddle takes him into the corner for a release German superplex into a corkscrew Swanton for a crazy hot near fall. A superkick doesn’t work for Dream as Riddle knees him into the Bromission but Dream flips back over for the pin at 17:33.

Rating: A. Well those were some of the best near falls I’ve ever seen and they actually got me on the finish. Riddle teasing the heel side during the match because his athleticism couldn’t get around Dream’s creativity and unorthodox style. This was an incredible match and the kind of match that Dream needed to win to really establish himself. I’m surprised that Riddle got pinned so soon, but he didn’t lose much at all from this. Great match as Dream steals another show.

More respect is shown post match.

Earlier today, Kushida signed with NXT and he’s in the crowd here.

We recap Pete Dunne vs. Walter for the United Kingdom Title. Dunne has held the title for nearly two years and is out of big challengers so Walter, a rather large man, is here to give him the fight of his reign. This should be amazing.

United Kingdom Title: Pete Dunne vs. Walter

Vic Joseph replaces Watson on commentary and Dunne is defending. Feeling out process to start with Dunne not being sure what to do with someone this size. Walter tries a choke but Dunne goes to the fingers to escape and even avoids a chop. Another chop misses and Walter tells Dunne to bring it. The champ gets slammed down into an armbar and now the chops start connecting, with Dunne looking a bit scared. Back up and a big boot keeps Dunne in trouble as Walter lays him on the top rope.

In a scary sight, Walter climbs the ropes as well and stands on Dunne’s throat as it’s one sided so far. They go back inside with Walter chopping his way out of a leglock and putting on a Boston crab. Dunne makes a rope and goes for the finger again so Walter boots him in the face to the floor. Back in and Dunne goes with the kicks to the head, allowing Dunne to moonsault onto the big man. For a change of pace, Dunne goes up top and, after bending the finger again, hits a slow motion sunset sitout powerbomb for two.

A top rope double stomp to the floor has Walter in more trouble but they’re right back inside. Dunne tries a moonsault over him but slips, allowing Walter to shotgun dropkick him down. Walter’s powerbomb, with Walter coming off the mat for the cover, gets two and they’re both a little spent. Walter chops him and gets slapped in the face, earning him another chop and a kick to the face. Dunne is picked back up but gets pushed back down in a test of strength for another stomp.

Another powerbomb is countered with an enziguri and they’re both down with the fans applauding. Dunne heads up top with his back to the ring, meaning Walter is right back up with a sleeper superplex (Who does that?) for two more. Somehow Dunne is alive and snaps both fingers, setting up a crucifix bomb for two. The fans are split as Dunne stomps at the side of Walter’s head so Walter kicks right back while still on the mat. Dunne has to flip out of a sleeper and kicks at the head even more.

Dunne traps both arms with the legs and bends the fingers back (FREAKING OW MAN!) but Walter gets a foot on the rope. A heck of a clothesline knocks Dunne off the top but Walter’s splash is countered into an attempted finger snap. That’s broken up with raw power though and Dunne is down again. Dunne won’t let go of the hand, even as Walter stomps him in the head.

A huge lariat breaks the grip but Dunne nails one of his own and hits the Bitter End for another two. They go to different ropes and pull themselves up because it’s time to slug it out. Dunne absorbs the chops so Walter kicks him in the head for no cover, sending Nigel into a near fit. Walter goes up top but Dunne is up again and tries a triangle. That’s reversed into a super jackknife bu Walter STILL doesn’t cover. A top rope splash FINALLY finishes Dunne at 25:30.

Rating: A. I need a nap. That was one of the hardest hitting fights I’ve ever seen with both guys beating the fire out of each other as only they could. The fingers and chops were used a bit too much but my goodness what more could you want? They had to take the title off of Dunne eventually and this was the only way that it could have gone. Walter is one of the few guys who could conceivably beat him and they just happened to get there in another classic.

Edge and Beth Phoenix are here.

We recap the women’s Title match. Shayna Baszler is out of one on one challengers so it’s Kairi Sane, Io Shirai and Bianca Belair at the same time. Belair’s “being undefeated is a mindset” promo still makes my head hurt.

Women’s Title: Bianca Belair vs. Io Shirai vs. Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler

Shayna is defending and it’s one fall to a finish. Shirai and Sane are sent outside early on and it’s Belair having to flip out of Baszler’s Kirifuda Clutch. Back in and everyone goes after Baszler as Sane and Shirai start teaming up. As expected, they’re left alone and have to fight each other but Shirai flips out of a headscissors. Shayna and Bianca take their places and it’s Baszler grabbing the hair, only to have Belair pull her face first into the post. A running elbow gives Sane two on Belair and it’s a baseball slide to Baszler.

Shirai springboard missile dropkicks Belair but walks into a fall away slam. Baszler is back in to clean house and load up a gutwrench superplex on Belair, which is turned into the Tower of Doom (you knew that was coming). Shirai launches Sane over the ropes onto Belair and Baszler, followed by the middle rope moonsault for a bonus. Back in and Belair gets caught between Shirai and Sane until Baszler pulls Sane outside. That means a gorilla press to send Sane onto both of them, leaving Baszler to come back in.

The double chickenwing slam is countered into the Kirifuda Clutch but Belair powers back up for the KOD. Shirai dives in for the save and hits an X Factor. Back to back moonsaults hit Baszler for two with Sane making the save. That gives us Shirai vs. Sane with Shirai being slammed onto Baszler. The Insane Elbow hits Baszler with Shirai DIVING back in for what might have been a late save. Belair catches Sane on top and hits a double KOD on Sane and Shirai but it’s Baszler coming back in to kick Belair down. The Kirifuda Clutch makes Belair tap at 15:30.

Rating: B. Thank goodness as Belair was getting way too close to winning and I can’t handle hearing that many of her inane promos. Baszler winning is interesting because who is left to beat her? Candice LeRae would make the most sense, but that seems like a long way off. Maybe we’ll get there someday, but Baszler is going to need something to bridge that gap. Anyway, easily the worst match of the night and it was quite good.

We recap the main event, with the original plan of Tommaso Ciampa defending the NXT Title against Johnny Gargano being shelved because Ciampa needed neck surgery. Therefore, Adam Cole won a five way match, earning himself the spot in the title match against Gargano in a 2/3 falls match.

NXT Title: Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano

The title is vacant coming in and it’s 2/3 falls. Cole sends the Undisputed Era to the back so he can do this on his own. The fans are behind Cole and it’s off to the mat about a minute and a half in. Gargano works on a hammerlock but gets reversed into a headlock. Back up and it’s an armdrag into an armbar to to keep Cole in trouble. That’s broken up and Cole bails to the floor where he manages to catch Gargano with a jumping enziguri. A hard knee to the face rocks Gargano and we hit a chinlock.

Gargano fights up again so Cole pulls him right back down into a dragon sleeper. That’s broken up too and it’s a double crossbody for a double knockdown. They bring it up another gear with Gargano nailing a belly to belly, setting up the rolling kick to the head. The slingshot spear gets two and a tornado Downward Spiral is good for the same. Cole is right back with the Backstabber out of the corner for two of his own. They fight over a small package and it’s Cole up first with a jumping enziguri. Another exchange of rollups goes nowhere so Cole hits the Last Shot for the first fall at 13:54.

The second fall begins and it’s a German suplex into another Last Shot for a very close two. Gargano spears him to the floor but walks into the fireman’s carry backbreaker. Back up and Cole can’t get a superbomb so Johnny reverses into a super White Noise (Ciampa move) for two of his own. With that not working, Gargano hits a slingshot DDT onto the apron but breaks the count, allowing Cole to post him twice in a row. Back in and Johnny grabs the flipping armbar (Ciampa move) before switching over to the Gargano Escape for a very fast tap and the tie at 20:52.

We pause for a second as Gargano has a cut on his head but it’s not a bad one. Gargano’s discus lariat sets up a swinging kick to the head but the brainbuster to the knee gives Cole two. The Lawn Dart sends Cole into the middle buckle for two so it’s double enziguris and double superkicks for a double knockdown. Cole is up first with a straitjacket suplex but Gargano is back with a reverse hurricanrana. The low superkick sends Cole outside and Gargano is crushed again. He goes out to get him and it’s a wheelbarrow suplex into the apron to put Gargano down again.

Back in and Gargano’s slingshot spear is blocked with a superkick, setting up Cole’s middle rope Canadian Destroyer for a very close two and the fans are losing it again. Gargano rolls outside and Cole tells him that he fails so Gargano throws him over the announcers’ table. The table is cleared out but Cole hits a Fairy Tale Ending onto (not through) the table instead. Cole wants the countout so Johnny dives back in at nine, right into a low superkick for another near fall.

The next Canadian Destroyer is countered into the Gargano Escape and here’s Roderick Strong for a distraction. Kyle O’Reilly breaks the hold as Cole is tapping and the referee goes down. High/Low from Fish and O’Reilly gets an even closer two so Gargano backdrops Cole onto all three of them. The Era gets beaten up on the floor but it’s two more superkicks into the Last Shot from Cole….for two. Another Last Shot misses and the Gargano Escape makes Cole tap for the title at 38:15.

Rating: A-. Yeah it worked and while it needed to be Ciampa, this was the best ending they could have had given what they had. Gargano FINALLY overcoming the odds to win the title was the feel good ending that the show needed, especially with Gargano defeating the entire Era to win. Some of the near falls were a bit much and there were a few too many superkicks, but they nailed the ending and that’s what mattered most.

Candice comes out to celebrate and they go into the crowd to hug their parents. They walk to the stage….and it’s Tommaso Ciampa….to hug both of them to end the show.

Overall Rating: A+. Oh like it could be anything else. Those first three matches are as great of a three match stretch as you’ll find and that’s more than enough to carry whatever else was on the show. It got the big ending, the various classics and absolutely nothing close to bad. What else can you get out of a three hour and fifteen minute show? Another incredible show and that’s just what you get from these shows.

Results

War Raiders b. Ricochet/Aleister Black – Fallout to Ricochet

Velveteen Dream b. Matt Riddle – Rollup

Walter b. Pete Dunne – Top rope splash

Shayna Baszler b. Bianca Belair, Io Shirai and Kairi Sane – Kirifuda Clutch to Belair

Johnny Gargano b. Adam Cole – Gargano Escape

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

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

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

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

We’re under two days away from Takeover: New York and I believe that’s close enough to start getting excited. The show, as always, looks awesome and with a special imported match this year, we could be in for something even better than usual. There isn’t a bad looking match on the card and if things go well, it’s already going to be the show of the year. Let’s get to it.

Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler(c) vs. Bianca Belair vs. Kairi Sane vs. Io Shirai

We’ll start off with a confusing one as it depends on which wrestling story you go for. First of all you have the idea that when everyone else cancels themselves out, the champion, and best performer (maybe) at the moment, in this case Baszler, retains. At the same time though, there is the chance that we could have Baszler showing up on the main roster either over the weekend or next week. You could go either way, or cut it down the middle and have Baszler retain and show up on the main roster.

I think I’ll go with Belair winning, which I hope doesn’t lead to her talking more often. She’s an incredible athlete but she’s also one of the most annoying talkers I can remember in a very long time. Baszler can move up to the main roster while Belair feuds with the Sky Pirates or some of the other upcoming stars in the division. It might not be the most appealing choice, but it’s the one that makes the most sense.

North American Title: Velveteen Dream(c) vs. Matt Riddle

You know what I love the most about NXT? Ok maybe not the most but it’s certainly up there? It’s almost impossible to know who is going to win any given match. This one is a real tossup and it comes after a four way tossup. Dream is crazy over, but Riddle isn’t going to lose this soon in his NXT career. That and Dream just doesn’t win on the big stage most of the time.

That being said, I’ll take Riddle, as Dream might be on his way to the main roster (egads I hope not though). It’s what makes the most sense at this point and that’s usually the way NXT likes to go. These two could have an incredible match with Riddle playing by the rules (mostly) and Dream being so out there that it messes with Riddle’s mind. Either way, the fans are going to be going nuts and it should be awesome. But yeah, Riddle wins in the end.

Tag Team Titles: War Raiders(c) vs. Aleister Black/Ricochet

Can I please have an easy match on this show? Not everything has to be so well put together that it’s hard to figure out. Black and Ricochet are going to get a SmackDown Tag Team Title shot on Sunday. Now with that being the case, do you really want them to lose on an NXT show in a Tag Team Title match? If they do, why aren’t the War Raiders getting the shot at WrestleMania? Then again this company doesn’t tend to think that way so it’s anyone’s guess.

I’ll go with the War Raiders retaining here, as Black and Ricochet are locked in on the main roster and there’s no good reason to give them the NXT Tag Team Titles and expect them to be defended. Unless we’re getting some insane title unification deal (which I don’t think we are), the money move would be to make the War Raiders look even more dominant, as they’ve held the titles for a few months now but barely defended them.

United Kingdom Title: Pete Dunne(c) vs. Walter

Just take my money now. I’ll even up it to $19.98 for this one. These two are going to have one of the hardest hitting, knockdown drag out fights you’re ever going to see and it’s going to be awesome. Dunne is the kind of guy who would rather die than lose but he’s come close to being beaten before. How do you get around a monster like Walter? I’m not sure it can be done at this point.

Hence why I’m going with a new champion. Dunne has had an all time title reign and somehow doesn’t feel like he’s outgrown the title or is ready to move on from it, which is perhaps the most remarkable thing about the entire reign. He has to lose at some point though and if it’s not to Walter, who else could it be to? This is where the title change goes down, with Dunne fighting until the bitter end.

NXT Title: Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole

Let’s pause for a second and mourn the missing of what could have been the greatest blowoff in WWE since….I’ll get back to you on that. This was going to be Gargano FINALLY winning the title from Tommaso Ciampa and ending their war once and for all but the pesky neck injury is going to stop us from seeing it for the time being. This is for the vacant title and it’s 2/3 falls, which is kind of NXT’s signature match for a cool change of pace.

And I’m taking Cole winning the third fall after some kind of a distraction from Ciampa. That final match is going to happen and NXT is smart enough to keep Gargano hot until he’s back (they did it before), provided we don’t get something stupid like Cole being called up. Gargano is at his best when he’s chasing something and is foaming at the mouth to get it, so having him lose again and move on to something else is the right call. Also Cole is a great long term champion and could hold the title for months without much of a problem.

Overall Thoughts

Yes. Do I need to explain this any further than that? This could be one of the most entertaining shows of the year (it will be) with this crowd around them. NXT just gets these things and it’s going to be an incredible show with five matches that could all be classics. Just let them do their thing and be handed the weekend, because I don’t think it’s classified as stealing anymore when it’s expected of you.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT UK
Date: March 27, 2019
Location: Coventry Skydome Arena, Coventry, England
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness

We’re down to two shows before Wrestlemania weekend, meaning we’re in for the build towards Pete Dunne defending the United Kingdom Title against Walter in what should be an incredible showdown. I’m not sure what else we’ll be seeing, but at least we should be in for some entertaining stuff, which has become the norm around here. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Jordan Devlin vs. Dan Moloney

Devlin takes him into the corner to start and offers a clean break before sneaking in a chop. We hit the armbar for a bit, followed by a standing moonsault for two on Moloney. An elbow to the jaw sets up a cobra clutch as Moloney can’t get anything going. Back up and a slingshot cutter keeps Dan in trouble. A headbutt rocks him again, setting up the hard Saito suplex for the pin on Moloney at 4:29.

Rating: D+. They’re building Devlin up quite well, as there’s a pretty wide gap between the title contenders and the rest of the roster. Giving Devlin a step towards that top tier is a good idea, as the promotion needs some fresh talent at the top of the card. Devlin has been on a roll for a long time now and makes as much sense as anyone else.

Here’s Kassius Ohno to a chorus of booing. He’s new around here and wants to speak from the heart. Ohno reads an apology from his phone, wishing his deepest condolences to Ashton Smith’s friends and family. He shouldn’t have revived Smith and then knocked him out again….but he just couldn’t help himself.

It’s really gratifying to knock someone out over and over again. He could have gone anywhere he wanted but NXT UK chose him. When he came here to make an impact, he saw some guy from New Zealand trying to make play British wrestler. If Travis Banks tries to go against Ohno, the Kiwi Buzzsaw will be smashed to bits. Ohno did well here, as it takes a lot to overcome the whole being Kassius Ohno thing.

Video on Dave Mastiff.

In two weeks: Toni Storm defends the Women’s title against Jinny.

Jinny is in India for the WWE tryouts because WWE chose to send her there instead of Toni. She’s more marketable and better in the ring than Toni, and she’ll prove it in two weeks.

Xia Brookside vs. Rhea Ripley

Rhea throws her down a few times with very little effort. Xia goes with a jumping headlock and Rhea can’t quite power her way out of it. The second attempt at a power escape works a bit better and a hard forearm to the back gives Ripley two. A delayed suplex keeps Brookside’s back in trouble but she’s right back up with a bulldog into a headscissors.

Double knees in the corner let Brookside send her outside and it’s a high crossbody to a very strong reaction (much better than I was expecting). Back in and a middle rope Codebreaker gives Brookside two more but Ripley has had enough. A hard toss into the corner sets up the Riptide to put her away at 7:22.

Rating: C+. This was a very nice surprise with Ripley selling a lot for the still young Brookside. Much like the men’s division, the women’s division has a strong top group but needs a lot more than what they have at the moment. You can only get so far with the same two people so adding Jinny and a few more, like Brookside down the line, would be a good idea. Brookside getting this kind of a reaction is a really good sign for her future though and hopefully she can go somewhere.

Post match Ripley says she’s the most dominant woman in NXT and no one can compete with her. That’s a REALLY bad thing to say and here’s Piper Niven (Viper) to chase her off. Piper says Ripley isn’t the most dominant woman around here anymore.

Isla Dawn is excited to have a fellow Scotswoman on the roster when Kay Lee Ray (I think) comes up to say she’s not Isla’s friend because they’re both from Scotland.

Video on Walter, showcasing a lot of his success in Progress. The destruction of Jack Starz’s chest is disturbing with the broken blood vessels.

Trent Seven doesn’t like Joe Coffey calling him the dead weight of British Strong Style. He’s coming down Moustache Mountain with the Trent Seven Army behind him, waiting for Coffey.

Marcel Barthel and Fabian Aichner don’t like Kenny Williams and Amir Jordan dancing around. They’re ready to take those two out because that mat is sacred ground and they’re ready to be successful.

Mark Andrews vs. Noam Dar

Dar takes him tot he mat to start but has to spin out of a wristlock. A missed kick to the head sends Dar into the corner and it’s an early standoff. Andrews has some more luck with a headscissors into an armbar, though it doesn’t last long. Dar knocks him to the apron instead and a baseball slide sends Andrews to the floor.

Back in and Dar crotches him on the top for two, followed by an armdrag into the ropes. Andrews fights up by kicking him away, setting up the knees slide into an enziguri. There’s the double stomp to the ribs so Dar rolls to the floor, leaving himself open for a suicide dive. A standing corkscrew moonsault gets two back inside but Dark picks the ankle for the ankle lock. That’s broken up as well and a middle rope moonsault to the floor takes Dar out again.

Rating: B. The ending is a shame for multiple reasons (including the most obvious) as they were having a heck of a match before the injury. This was your awesome cruiserweight match and while I’m not a big Dar fan, hopefully the injury isn’t all that bad and he’s back in the ring sooner rather than later.

Post match they’re both taken out on stretchers but they do give double thumbs up each.

Next week: Trent Seven vs. Joe Coffey.

Here are Sid Scala and Johnny Saint for the contract signing between Pete Dunne and Walter. Scala hypes up the match and Walter signs while staring Dunne down. Dunne says Walter doesn’t have to say anything because he wants this match even more than Walter. In New York, Walter will learn that NXT UK belongs to the Bruiserweight. Dunne signs but Walter calls him Peter and says he could put Dunne through a table whenever he wanted to. Dunne’s time is up and the reign of the Bruiserweight ends in New York City. The staredown ends the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The ending segment was good with the intensity dripping off these two guys and that’s about all that mattered on the show. The rest of the card worked well enough and they’re building some stuff up for the future. If that’s the big thing they take away from the American version, they’re going to be in good shape. Just blow the roof off the place in New York (as you know they can) and it’s a successful Wrestlemania season.

Results

Jordan Devlin b. Dan Moloney – Saito suplex

Rhea Ripley b. Xia Brookside – Riptide

Mark Andrews vs. Noam Dar went to a no contest

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

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

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