Trent Seven looked to get a measure of payback on Imperium this week, as he took on WALTER in the main event on NXT UK.
We’re still at Download, and I’m streaming on the “old” WWE Network… we open with Media Glen interviewing Trent Seven as he comes off the tour bus. Trent vows to knock WALTER’s head off his shoulders tonight.
Kenny Williams vs. Noam Dar
The culmination of a story arc over the last few weeks, starting when Kenny shrugged off Noam’s requests for help in cheating.
There’s a feeling out process to start as Dar and Williams scrambled to find a body part, but it was Williams who outwitted his compatriot, as he walked over Dar during a pratfall attempt… before he got slapped. Dar slides outside to avoid Williams’ fight back, but he’s met with a dropkick through the ropes as Williams took the fight outside. An attempt to throw Dar back in is met with a rebound lariat for a near-fall, before he grounded Williams with a chinlock. Forearms from Williams follow, before a crawl-through from Dar’s rudely stopped with a superkick. A springboard back elbow’s next as Dar rolled outside and took a tope, before he was knocked off the apron with an RVD-like springboard kick. Another dive keeps Dar on the back foot, as does a leaping back elbow as Williams came down with snow on him ahead of a headlock driver for a near-fall.
A roll-up from Dar nearly snatched him the win, before he ducks a springboard and landed a twisting Fisherman buster for another two-count. Dar tries to force a submission with a double armbar, than an ankle lock, but in the end it’s a pump kick and a rebound lariat that has Williams back in front. Dar looked to throw Williams outside… but he skins the cat, only to get pulled into the Champagne Super-Knee-Bar… but Williams got to the rope just in time. Dar kept up on Williams, who’d loosened his boot as we got an Eddie Guerrero from WrestleMania 20 flashback… Dar threatens to use the boot, only for the ref to remove it, meaning he missed a low blow as a Nova Roller got Noam the win. This was pretty solid once the crowd got into it, but it says a lot about how the crowd connected, chanting for the cheater Dar in this one. ***
“Earlier this week”, Radzi interviewed James Drake and Zack Gibson in the Harry. He interrupted them mid-set, because he has great timing. Gibson took offence as Drake mouthed some of the words, with Zack then telling Radzi to bugger off and find them some new challengers.
They replay stuff from the battle royal a few weeks back, where Xia Brookside thought she’d won… before the 2019 battle royal trope came into play as Kay Lee Ray appeared to win the battle royal, which led to her taking her shot at Takeover: Cardiff next month.
Jinny, Jazzy Gabert & Kay Lee Ray vs. Toni Storm, Piper Niven & Xia Brookside
I’m not quite sure this was the show to be bragging about how all of WWE’s womens divisions were growing… not on a week when women’s matches got a combined 45 seconds on Raw and SmackDown.
Xia Brookside and Kay Lee Ray start… but quick tags took us to Toni and Jinny as the challenger wanted no part of Toni early on. Storm avoided Jinny early, landing a low dropkick as Jinny rolled away to tag in Jazzy Gabert… and my God, we’re cycling tags early as in comes Niven to tease a hoss fight. The tease doesn’t last long as they exchange forearms, before Jinny came in and found herself down on the mat for a wheelbarrow splash and a back senton from Niven. Headscissors out of the corner put Xia on top, but the tables turn when Kay Lee Ray comes in, as Xia’s dropped with a front suplex, keeping Brookside isolated for a spell.
Gabert’s back for a slam and some clotheslines as the bad guys were using quick tags to keep Brookside at bay. Finally, Xia clears the decks with a tornado DDT as Toni Storm tags in… but Kay Lee also hurriedly tags out as Jinny gets ragdolled with a trio of German suplexes. A diving clothesline nearly ends it for the champion, who then helped Niven low bridge everyone to the outside before a low-pe wiped out Jinny and Jazzy. Again, Kay Lee Ray’s making a point of being nowhere near Toni… I like that detail. Xia completes the series of dives as Kay Lee’s disappeared. She’s back as the match broke down a little… then does a runner as Toni Storm went after her. Jinny capitalises with a headbutt, before Jazzy Gabert pulled Xia into the corner, leaving her prone for a facebuster as Jinny took the win. This was all over the place – settling down in the middle, but the opening and closing stretches felt way too scrappy for my tastes. I love how Kay Lee Ray “making life hell for Toni” so far means she’s refusing to engage with the champion. **¼
Trent is warming up… and the live network feed throws a wobbler during a SmackVille promo.
Next week: Dave Mastiff addresses Joe Coffey’s challenge.
Trent Seven vs. WALTER
I swear WALTER’s music sounded a little off this week… he’s met in the aisle with a low-pe as Trent was chopping him before the bell.
After throwing him into the guard rails, Trent takes WALTER inside as the bell rings… but Trent low bridges WALTER again as another low-pe connected. Except this time Trent grabbed his knee on the impact. Back inside, WALTER took advantage, keeping Trent down as chops and forearms made Trent’s challenge a little more problematic. Trent tries to make a comeback with a chop, but WALTER easily scoops him up and dumps him with a slam, as the NXT UK champion was having it all his own way. WALTER pulls Trent into the ropes for some crossface punches, before he swatted away some more hope from Trent and rolled him into a STF.
Eventually making the ropes, Trent’s still on the deck… and is put back down pretty quickly when he pulled himself up, as a big boot waited for him in the corner. Finally Trent fought back, sidestepping a boot to trap WALTER in the corner as a Dragon suplex took the Austrian down, as did a clothesline as Trent was finally starting to chain stuff together. WALTER struck back pretty quickly though as the crowd again got behind Trent. Despairing forearms just served to anger WALTER, whose kicks ended up getting caught as Trent had one last comeback… firing back with more chops, only for WALTER to goozle and slap him down again. A spinning backfist took WALTER outside though as Trent wasn’t quite done… but he took way too long to follow up.
As did WALTER, who got caught on a rare trip to the top rope, before he teased a top rope powerbomb. Trent slaps him away and countered with a superplex for a near-fall, and they’re back outside where WALTER turned the tide with a big boot and a chop, before a powerbomb onto the edge of the ring left Trent in a nasty heap. He’s thrown back into the ring as WALTER hits a second one, but he refuses to make the cover, opting to hit a third powerbomb. Out comes the rest of Imperium to act like bodyguards to stop anyone helping Trent, who’s powerbombed into oblivion as the referee waved off the match. With this not being a title match, there was a little more belief than usual that Trent could win… but despite that opening flurry, WALTER took control for huge swathes of the match – and ended up winning by a proverbial country mile. Trent wasn’t exactly put out to pasture here, but if Tyler Bate’s been out for weeks after his beating, you’d expect Trent to be MIA until at least Cardiff after this. ***¼
The road to Cardiff is underway… and while this was a better-paced show, we’re not quite feeling it. Sure, the women’s trios match hit its points, but it was all over the place, as the big takeaway from here was that WALTER’s put away two-thirds of British Strong Style in singles action. Hmm…