A phenomenal match between Will Ospreay and Robbie X takes centre stage as NGW’s weekly show followed up on the Destiny Rumble.
We’re back in Hull this week as the Gen-X league gets another match, this time featuring Will Ospreay as he makes his return there for the first time in over two years (depending on what timeline you want to use!) First though, we’ve got a recap of the Destiny Rumble from last week’s mammoth episode, featuring Liam Slater’s fight against the odds.
Robbie X vs. Will Ospreay
Ospreay was last in NGW as part of the Davey Boy Smith Memorial Cup, going out in the first round to eventual winner Zack Gibson in a match taped in December 2014. A LOT has happened since then.
I’m pretty sure there’s been some over-dubbing when it comes to Ospreay’s entrance, as his newer theme’s used here… and there’s not much audible crowd reaction too.
The usual ten minute time limit has been eschewed here, as an “executive decision” was made to double it, and Ospreay’s firing right out of the gate, booting Robbie in the face, before running into a back elbow and a low-pe as X took him outside. Yep, they’re going fast and furious!
Ospreay puts the brakes on as he was about to get sent into the ring post, before he embarks on a lap of honour before hitting an apron dropkick to knock Robbie down. Back inside, it’s all Ospreay as he keeps chopping Robbie while the Gen X timer pops up rather frequently as X was taken into the corner for a Shibata-esque dropkick.
The number of replays they’re showing is starting to get a little overboard too, but hey, it’s underscoring the Ospreay highlights. Yep, there’s the ticket again as Ospreay’s locked in an Octopus, before we head to a commercial break after a slingshot senton into the ring from the Aerial Assassin. We’ve got a buffer for some reasons as Gilligan Gordon’s got some weird segment as he brags about “picking an underdog to win the Destiny Rumble”. Oh God, he’s coming back as an overbearing-yet-vague manager isn’t he? He dots around the screen as random stock market tickers scroll, and he hints on his pick for the winner of the Davey Boy Smith Memorial Cup II.
Back from commercial, and Ospreay’s still in control, tying up Robbie X in a Tequila Sunrise mixed with the Lasso from El Paso, but Robbie X makes it to the ropes, before a grounded chinlock form Ospreay gives them another chance to show replays a-plenty!
Robbie finally breaks free and mounts a comeback, connecting with a nice dropkick as Ospreay came off the ropes, but he’s quickly lifted into the corner for a Cheeky Nando’s (or “that trademark kick” because, y’know, product placement…), only to escape and take down Ospreay for a face-washing boot. A brainbuster follows as Robbie gets a near-fall, but he struggles to keep up the momentum, nailing a death valley driver and a standing shooting star press for a near-fall despite some Ospreay elbows.
Yep, more replays, but in fairness the pace here is getting too quick to call, and Ospreay ends up taking Robbie outside for a Sasuke Special! Replays! Back inside, Ospreay lands a springboard forearm for a two-count as we cross past the regular ten minute time limit. The diving corkscrew kick misses as Ospreay returns to the bicycle kicks, before Robbie delivers a German suplex as a prelude to… him running into a standing Spanish fly!
Ospreay gets up first and climbs the ropes, only to get caught with a gamengiri… but he slips out and hits the Cheeky Nandos – which actually gets called as such – for a near-fall. So much for product placement! The OsCutter’s blocked, because Robbie X knows the move, but his X-Express variant is kicked away before Will flies with a corkscrew senton for another two-count!
Ospreay tries to hit the OsCutter out of the corner, but a sunset bomb from Robbie stops it as he follows up with a sit-out powerbomb for a near-fall… only to secure the shock upset with the X-Express handspring stunner seconds later! PHEW! That was a hell of a good sprint… perhaps a little too much in the way of replays and time limit tickers for my taste, but I guess they had way too much for the fans not used to this to sink their teeth into.
Watch. This. Match. ****
Next week, we’ve got the start of the Davey Boy Smith Memorial Cup II, with Jake McCluskey vs. Zack Gibson on tap…
So, we’re back to the one match show, but what a match, eh? I fear this is going to go well under the radar of everyone because of the promotion, but it deserves to be seen by many.