The latest NXT UK special this week saw a retelling of last year’s Tyler Bate vs. WALTER epic, complete with inputs from the men in the match.
We open with the regular NXT UK titles, and it’s back to Andy Shepherd’s living room. This week, we’re looking back to NXT UK Takeover Cardiff, the first of what they’re calling “NXT UK’s Most Brilliant.” First up, a video starting at Tyler Bate’s family home in Dudley, as they show a collection of medals, and a fair helping of merchandise. His mum Jill speaks, as does Trent Seven, as we get a photo of Tyler winning the “trainee of the month” award from October 2011. That’s quickly followed by BEARDLESS TRENT AND TYLER. That photo never won’t jar me…
They recap Tyler signing with WWE at the age of 19, showing the initial press conference parade for the UK Championship Tournament. Which he, of course, won. Tyler recaps the years since being a “search” to find who he is, while Trent’s back to tell us that he, Pete Dunne and Tyler carried the foundation of NXT UK on their shoulders.
Next we go to Hommersum, Germany. Apparently WALTER’s home town, which is impressive given he’s billed from Austria. We see WALTER training as he tells us that when he signed with WWE, he wanted to stay true to himself and his German base… and then turns to kayfabe as he spoke of his embarrassment of British Strong Style. WALTER compares himself to Tyler Bate… and then we’re off to the wXw training academy as this slice of Prime Target continues. It’s WALTER bullying some wXw academy trainees, including Andre Cartier and Anil Marik, and hey, there’s Norman Harras too. We go to “archive” footage of Imperium mugging Trent Seven and Tyler Bate on NXT UK TV last year, followed up with WALTER bragging about it and Tyler being shaken up. That gave Tyler some impetus as he promised it was WALTER’s “turn” to suffer…
Cue sweeping shots of Cardiff, Tyler Bate laying down in a half-build Hangar ring (I assume, for Fight Club Pro), and arty shots from the UK Performance Center as we go to a break… and then we get a replay of the match from Cardiff.
Except first, we’ve talking head Johnny Moss bigging up the match, and now, it’s over to new-old footage… with some picture in picture stuff of WALTER and Tyler analysing. Tyler admits to being a little scared, while WALTER in comparison said he thought the two were a lot more even than others would have thought.
WWE United Kingdom Championship: Tyler Bate vs. WALTER (c)
We started off with WALTER getting peppered with kicks as Tyler Bate tried to force the issue early on. Picture-in-picture WALTER comments on Tyler having a low centre of gravity, which’d be tricky for him to overcome, as a Test of Strength from WALTER led to him pushing Bate to the mat, before he broke the neck bridge… which just gave Tyler a chance to live up to his nickname. Here comes picture-in-picture Tyler to talk through his tactics, and we’re back as more kicks from Bate end with WALTER ragdolling him to the mat with a headlock takedown, as Cardiff discovered the delights of alliteration. Tyler escapes and after floating out of a powerbomb, went for a Tyler Driver early, but he’s countered with a back body drop before he tried. Bate managed to Andre slam WALTER on the first attempt. That’s not how that usually goes, as we go to the break…
But first, Amir Jordan’s got some weird filter on his video as he’s freaking out over the slam we just saw. On the other side, Isla Dawn gives her memories from the match so far, as we return a little later in the match as Tyler met WALTER outside with a tope, only to get caught and chopped. An apron powerbomb’s next, as was a boot through the ropes as WALTER quickly took the upper hand, nearly booting Tyler into the crowd before he just threw him into the ring post with a powerbomb.
WALTER returns to the ring as someone came to audibly check on Tyler. My speakers may have been a little low, which is why I was openly asking myself “wha’ you sayin’”. If you know, you know! Nevertheless, Tyler rolls back in before the count of ten, but WALTER sticks on top of him… with Bate reducing to some desperation attacks. Picture-in-picture WALTER explains this as him being focused, as he was combining physical and mental attacks on the challenger.
Using a neck crank, WALTER wears down Bate some more, before a rear naked choke ended with a rope break… and somehow a comeback from Tyler, who unwisely tried to lift up WALTER for an airplane spin, only to fall flat on his face and into a crossface. Some clubbing forearms in the ropes send Tyler spilling outside, was WALTER continued to pick his shots, bullying Bate. Back inside again, WALTER stretches Bate, before he began to toy with his challenger… who just looked to be spent at this early juncture as we went to an advert…
Flash Morgan Webster’s got his quarantine beard going as he gives his takes as he marvels over Tyler’s strength… and we return a little later on as WALTER was marvelling over Tyler’s resilience in picture-in-picture. Bate escapes a suplex by kneeing his way free, before Tyler somehow got the move off in the end. Uppercuts help Bate build momentum, as did a Koppo kick, before Bate tried for a German suplex… then an Exploder. Only the Exploder paid off as Tyler hit a standing shooting star press for a near-fall.
Tyler tried to build up into a Tyler Driver, but again WALTER back body drops free before a shotgun dropkick to the back sent Tyler careering into the corner… only for the challenger to somehow rebound as he countered a powerbomb into a Code Red out of nowhere for a near-fall. Bate heads up top next, but WALTER rolls onto the apron to save himself… except he charges at Tyler in the corner, which led to Bate teasing a superplex to the floor, which gets blocked with a chop as WALTER. The champion tries to follow up off the top rope, only to get caught and brought back into the ring with another Exploder!
Bate keeps up with some boxing on his knees, allowing him to keep WALTER down as he tried to work over the Austrian’s legs… but it’s not enough as the champion still was able to swat him away with ease. WALTER’s back to offer more thought from the picture-in-picture window as he chopped through Bate, who somehow was able to punch out WALTER… who lands on top of Tyler for a Kamala-style pin. A rotten piece of luck.
WALTER’s back to his feet and lands a flurry of palm strikes, but Bate goes back with low dropkicks before a rebound lariat’s caught and turned into an Exploder for a near-fall. Somehow, Bate has enough left in him for an airplane spin… and here comes picture-in-picture Tyler to talk over things as WALTER gets his way to the ropes… but gets caught in the corner as Tyler pulled him out into a Burning Hammer. A homage to Trent Seven, according to 2020 Tyler…
WALTER rolls outside, where he’s caught with a tope to the back from Bate that turned into a bulldog, which picture-in-picture WALTER talks over as he recalls how the match became more of a struggle for him. Tyler follows in with another tope and a deadlift German suplex that almost led to the title change. They keep going, with Bate somehow working his way into a Tyler Driver, but WALTER’s able to kick out as commentary was losing their collective minds. A Spiral Tap forces Bate nearer, but he then went back to the striking game, and quickly found himself right back on the defensive as a big boot had him down and in WALTER’s clutches. A rear naked choke has Tyler fading away, even though he fell onto his back to try and break the hold.
WALTER reapplies, but Bate gets to his feet and climbs the ropes to escape… but he’s back in danger with another rear naked choke over the ropes, that he broke by pulling WALTER over the top rope… only to get chopped in the back. The ante gets upped big time by WALTER with a sleeper suplex on the apron, dropping Tyler down to the floor before he went up top for a big splash… but unlike Pete Dunne, Tyler kicks out! Another sleeper suplex followed for a two-count… then a powerbomb, which Tyler manages to kick out of at one?! That’s the worst thing he could have done though, as WALTER stares on in disbelief, before a big lariat spun Tyler inside out for the win. By God, they went one better than Wembley – helped by a clearly defined good guy and an obvious bully, the crowd were roaring behind Tyler every step of the way… but in the end, with no outside help or interference of any kind, WALTER proved his superiority in the end. ****½
We’ve more picture-in-picture comments, with a reflective Bate suggesting his preparation wasn’t good enough, despite being happy with the effort he put in. “What matters isn’t the loss, but the lesson learned,” ruminated Bate, as he battled with the mixing of WALTER’s music to close the show. Next week: NXT UK Hidden Gems, with Matt Riddle and Shayna Baszler on the graphic. Hey, they’re going to air some dark matches from last year’s tapings in Plymouth!
In terms of new content, this was a blend of content from the Prime Target special and the match itself. Not massively must-see if you saw this match last year, but for newbies to Tyler Bate and WALTER, it was enough to kill an hour with some good wrestling… even if the “through their eyes” format was perhaps a little too raw in the current conditions. When things get back to normal, I’d like to see a more “director’s commentary”-style version that doesn’t quite have as many distracting flash cuts in…