NXT UK had its first ever singles triple-threat match as Travis Banks and Ligero locked horns again… and threw Joseph Conners into the mix too.
We’re still in Hull, and we open with Gallus and Imperium walking into the building… there’ll be negotiations between them tonight. Tom Phillips and Nigel McGuinness are on commentary…
Toni Storm vs. Killer Kelly
This was Toni’s first outing since losing the title at Takeover back in August… and I fear for Killer Kelly here. Tonight may not be the night she breaks her duck…
“What happens if you lose to Killer Kelly?”, posed Tom. Toni sweeps the leg, hits a low dropkick and threw some shots before a running front kick dropped the Portuguese native. Kelly’s back with some crossface punches to her former Killer Storm partner, who then fought out of a chinbar before catching a PK. Toni’s back with a clothesline, but a Storm Zero’s countered… only for Toni to hit a superkick and a snap German suplex, before the Storm Zero finished off Kelly. We’re still waiting. **
Post-match, Toni got the mic, but was attacked by Kay Lee Ray before she could say a word. Piper Niven makes the save, and nary a word was said as Niven offered a handshake… but Storm just slapped it away. There’s your championship roadblock for Piper then…
Backstage, Flash Morgan Webster and Mark Andrews are interviewed by not-Radzi. They reckon they deserve another tag title shot, so Mark appeals to Johnny Saint to prove that they weren’t just a one-hit wonder. I see the sneaky ATTACK! tee under there…
After a break, we see Piper Niven confronting Toni backstage… she said she didn’t need any help, and wanted to be left alone.
The Hunt (Wild Boar & Primate) vs. The Outliers (Dorian Mak & Riddick Moss)
The Outliers have come in from the Largo loop for this. Remember when Riddick Moss was tagging with Tino Sabatelli? Or when Dorian Mak was one-and-done in EVOLVE? They’ve not even made NXT TV, so of course they got crickets…
Moss and Boar start us off, with Boar working the arm before tagging in Primate for more of the same. Boar’s back but gets punched away as Moss took him into the corner and crushed him with a shoulder charge. Generic local heel taunts get Riddick some boos, as Mak then tagged in to charge through him, as the Outliers proceeded to decimate Boar in the corner. Shame the crowd could barely muster a peep. Mak looks impressive, hauling up Boar for a backbreaker for a near-fall, then again with a bearhug as he just ragdolled Boar. Some biting got Boar back into it, before he was wrecked with a chokebreaker by Mak… who opted to celebrate rather than go for a cover. Instead, Moss tags in for a Chris Jericho 1999 cover that gets a near-fall, before he missed another charge as Boar got free and tagged in Primate.
Mak’s back too, as Primate’s flying headbutt and body blows found their mark ahead of a dropkick. A big back body drop awaits Moss, as Primate was a one-man wrecking crew, before Boar returned with a T-bone suplex. A step-up clothesline into Mak in the corner follows, before a barrage of swandive headbutts from the Hunt finished off Mak. I loved that comeback, but man, why give the Outliers so much if they’re one-and-done?! **½
Jordan Devlin vs. A-Kid
Christ, it feels like we’re rushing through this show – although I’m hopeful this one gets some time and repeat the banger they had back in OTT at the start of the year.
“Lets go Ah-kid” chants start the match as Tom Phillips struggles with Yorkshire accents. They start off grappling on the mat before Devlin suckerpunched A-Kid at the stand-off. A-Kid’s back with some roll-ups before his springboard was kicked away by Devlin… and that gave the Irishman something to target. Tyler Bate wanders out to support A-Kid, and suddenly the match is overshadowed… because of course it is. Devlin continues to try and tear off A-Kid’s leg, but the Spaniard’s back with a wonderful springboarded moonsault/DDT. There’s a tonne of shots of Tyler Bate during this match, but he at least provides a distraction for Devlin, who got caught with a tope.
Back in the ring, A-Kid hits a crossbody, but rolls through as his knee was causing trouble. A Northern Lights suplex gets a near-fall, even though the other leg buckled. Devlin’s back with a slingshot cutter for a near-fall, but A-Kid countered a Devlinside with a Destroyer that took Devlin outside… where A-Kid followed with a springboard moonsault. The left knee’s causing problems again though as Tyler tries to gee him up. When A-Kid got back into the ring, he was instantly kicked in the head, as Devlin had easy pickings for some Kawada kicks and a Devlinside for the win. Well, I wasn’t keen on how much *shot of Tyler Bate* was used here, but if they’re using A-Kid to pivot to Devlin/Bate it makes sense… just a shame it overshadowed the match. ***
Backstage, Jinny’s cutting a selfie promo on Piper Niven. She seems more pissed that Jazzy Gabert was ejected from ringside rather than losing her match, as Jinny seems to be pushing that things between the two of them are fine. They’re not.
Travis Banks vs. Ligero vs. Joseph Conners
Incredibly, this was the first singles three-way on NXT UK. Such restraint! This was taped about a fortnight after Southside closed down… and could well have been a Southside main event had these guys stayed on the indies.
Banks and Ligero make a beeline for Conners, stomping on him in the corner before chops and kicks kept Conners down. He’s got new snakeskin-ish gear by the way, with “AM I WORTHY/I AM WORTHY” on the side. I’m hoping that first one is just a question mark that’s hidden, rather than a gear botch… A pair of superkicks sent Conners outside as Banks and Ligero proceeded to have a match, trading pins like it was the end of their draw. Would a double-pin in a three-way mean the other guy wins? Conners rolls them into a double-pin when they went for the same spot from that first match, but they kick-out as Conners started to build some momentum. On the outside, all three men continue to go after each other.
Back inside, Banks gets a near-fall with a stomp, before he took Conners into the corner with a shotgun dropkick. The Kiwi stays on Ligero though, who replied with an O’Connor roll, only for Conners to hit a slingshot DDT to break it up. A double neck-snap gets Conners some near-falls as he actually started to get some chants ahead of a short-arm lariat on Ligero. Conners keeps up with chops and elbows to Banks in the corner, but a superplex effort was blocked as Banks… got caught with an armdrag by Ligero, sending the Kiwi into Conners. Banks and Ligero head onto the apron, trading chops before Conners got lifted onto the apron by Ligero. He shoves the masked man into the post, then hit a push-down stomp onto the ring steps.
Conners tries for a tope, but Banks’ uppercut stops him in mid-air, before he took Conners back inside for a Slice of Heaven. The Kiwi Krusher follows, but Ligero splashes onto Banks to stop the pin, as he followed up with a C4L DDT to Banks, only for Conners to hit a diving boot and a Don’t Look Down on Ligero. Banks’ double stomp off the top broke it up, as all three men were again left laying. Banks and Ligero get back to their feet to trade chops, before Banks springboarded into Ligero… and we’re back to the flash pins. Ligero’s sent outside and dropped to the floor, while Banks leapt into Conners for a clothesline… Conners shoves Banks into Ligero again, then stole the win with Don’t Look Down. The biggest win of Conners’ NXT UK career so far, although this three-way was perhaps a touch *too* breathless, with a lot of stuff happening so quick the crowd didn’t register. Still, an entertaining main event. ***¼
Conners points to the “I AM WORTHY” part of his tights, then shouted at the turnbuckles as we faded away…
Kassius Ohno selfie promo time! He’s reflecting on his match with Tyler Bate – and says he’s lost sight of why he came to NXT UK in the first place. Ohno’s going to renew his focus on British and European wrestling, ditching his big strikes in the process. This’ll be grand…
We end with a “negotiation” between Gallus and Imperium. Sid Scala and Johnny Saint are going over it, but it’s Sid who does the talking. Joe Coffey and WALTER head out individually to have a natter. Coffey says Imperium will get hurt, but WALTER just wants to know what he wants. Coffey’s mad at how WALTER overshadowed him at the first NXT UK Takeover… literally. He wants a title shot, but WALTER isn’t going to give it to him too easily. He wants Imperium to have a tag title shot in return, in addition to Ilja getting a no-DQ match with Alexander Wolfe. Joe refuses to negotiate that because Ilja isn’t Gallus… so WALTER withdraws. Just as well Ilja’s here to demand that they agree to it. Next week we get the tag title match, then at a “future date” we’ll get the Ilja/Wolfe no-DQ match… which means we get WALTER/Coffey in the main event of Takeover: Blackpool 2. The Hull crowd seemed happy, and that’s a much easier negotiation than anything else that’s happened in the UK in the past few years. Should we get Joe and WALTER to hammer out Brexit (or the lack thereof), then?
We’re not done though – Alexander Wolfe was hiding under the ring, and Imperium rush ringside to beat up Ilja, with Wolfe powerbombing Ilja through the table to end the show. Where was Gallus?
NXT UK this week was a slight step up from last week, in that the action was at least note-worthy and hinted at stuff for Takeover. Yeah, some of the direction may not be setting the world on fire, but this is a step up from the wheel spinning of the past few months.