A Collective Review of WWE NXT UK 2/6/2020 by Lance Augustine

Welcome to the weekly TJRwrestling review of WWE NXT UK. Last week, we saw a solid show with the main event featuring members of Imperium taking on Flash Morgan Webster, Mark Andrews, and Dave Mastiff. It was a chaotic main event and led to a staredown between Walter and Mastiff. It also set up tonights Steel Corner Street Fight between Trent Seven and Eddie Dennis. Let’s get to it!

WWE NXT UK from York, England

The intro video plays and we are inside the NXT UK Arena. The commentators for tonight are Tom Phillips and Aiden English, who welcome us to the program. They show Trent Seven and Eddie Dennis arriving at the building for their big match tonight before going down to the ring for the first match of the night.

Piper Niven vs. Dani Luna

The match begins and both women lock up in the center of the ring. Niven tries to use the power to gain an early advantage but Luna fights her off. Luna tries to use the quickness to avoid the power of Niven and slips out of her grasp. She slides underneath the legs and kicks Niven in the head. She attempts a German Suplex but can’t get Niven up. Niven goes for an elbow but misses and Luna attempts a scoop slam, but again can’t get her up. Niven hits Luna with a scoop slam of her own, followed by a splash for a two count. Niven puts her in a chinlock and as Luna gets to her feet, Niven hits a short-arm clothesline for a two count. Luna attempts a comeback by hitting Niven in the midsection, but Niven snuffs her off with a stiff shot to the head. Niven circles her and pulls her up to her feet and throws her in the corner. Niven charges in but is met with a boot to the midsection. Luna goes to pick her up again but Niven fights out. Luna goes for a sunset slip but can’t get her over and Niven grabs her by the throat and hits the Michinoku Driver to pick up the win in about 5 minutes.

Winner: Piper Niven
Match Rating: 1.25/5 Stars

Collective Thoughts: This was the typical “David vs. Goliath” type of match. Luna tried all she could to hit Niven with some high powered offense, but could never get her up. Niven has some spots where she shined with the power and the Michinoku Driver to end it was a cool way to end it.

After the match, Niven celebrates in the ring as they show replays of the match.

They show a package featuring the NXT UK Tag Team Champions, Gallus. They talk about and accept the challenge thrown out by Oney Lorcan and Danny Birch. They look into the camera and end the package by saying “Gallus in on top”.

NXT Cruiserweight Champion Jordan Devlin is being interviewed backstage. He says that before he won the title he didn’t say he was the best wrestler in Europe, but that he was the best pound for pound sports entertainer on earth. He says that now that he is is the Cruiserweight Champion, that just proves that nobody under 205 pounds can touch him. The interview ends and they go back to the ring for the next match.

A-Kid vs. Tyler Bate

This was spurred on by a friendly confrontation at the performance center last week. A-Kid thought he could hang with the best and Bate wanted to give him the chance to prove it.

The two men lock up, with A-Kid taking Bate down with a waist lock. He locks him in a chinlock as Bate tries to fight out. A-Kid maintains control but Bate eventually escapes and both are back to their feet. They lock hands and Bate shows the quickness to escape. A-Kid follows up with a little athleticism himself in a show of oneupmanship. Bate gets Kid in a headlock, but he reverses by grabbing Bate’s head in a leglock. Bate does a handstand and fights out, but is quickly wrapped up again by Kid. Bate gets to his feet and wags his finger at Kid, before throwing on another chinlock. Kid escapes and both men exchange a series of moves before Kid hits a Northern Lights Suplex for a two count. Kid follows that up by throwing Bate into the corner but as he charges in Bate catches him and hits an Exploder Suplex. Bates then goes for a running Shooting Star Press, but as he goes for the cover Kid catches him and locks in the triangle choke. Bate powers out of it and tosses Kid on his shoulder and does a helicopter spin but kid reverses it into a pinning combination for a two count. Dropkick by Kid knocks Bate out of the ring. Kid climbs to the top and hits a moonsault to the outside on top of Bate. He almost got too much air on that. He rolls Bate in the ring and goes back to the top for a splash, but Bate recovers and hits a dropkick. Bate follows that up with a clothesline and hits the Tyler Driver ’97 to pick up the win in just over 5:50.

Winner: Tyler Bate
Match Rating: 2.75/5 Stars

Collective Thoughts: That was a fun match that I felt like would have benefited from having a little more time. A-Kid really did some cool things throughout and held his own against the NXT veteran Bate. Tyler Bate is always impressive and the Tyler Driver ’97 is a cool looking move. I could see him back in the hunt for the NXT UK Championship eventually. Both men showed great athleticism and overall it was a fun match from start to finish.

Bate celebrates the win in the ring as they go to the replays. The two men shake hands in the middle of the ring in a show of good sportsmanship. Kid leaves the ring as Bate remains and celebrates his win. As Kid heads to the back, he is passed by Joseph Connors who has a mic and says that Bate was the first NXT UK Champion and he knows that because he was there. He says that ever since then, Bate has thrived while he has been forgotten about. Connors said that this is a mistake that needs to be corrected. He says he is going to show Bate, and the entire NXT UK roster, just how worthy he is. Both men have a staredown before they go to a package showing Trent Seven getting ready for his matchup tonight.

The show a replay of the main event match last week highlighting the standoff Dave Mastiff and Walter. Mastiff is shown after the show upset and looking for Walter in the backstage area. He continues yelling and looking for Walter as they go to the ring for the next match.

Pretty Deadly (Sam Stoker and Lewis Howley) vs. Ashton Smith and Oliver Carter

Smith and Howley start the match for their respective teams. Smith slaps on a headlock but Howley fights out and throws him into the ropes. Smith knocks him down with a shoulder block but Howley grabs his ankle and pulls him to the ground. He leaps over him but Smith gets back to his feet and Howley attempts a crossbody, but Smith catches him and lifts him into a Delayed Vertical Suplex. He covers Howley but only gets a two count. He pulls Howley over to his corner and makes the tag into Oliver Carter, who comes in with a Sunset Flip for a two count. Howley recovers and kicks him in the midsection and hits a shot, before making the tag to Sam Stoker. Stoker charges in but Carter hits a drop toe hold that takes him to the mat. Carter makes a tag to Smith and he starts to go to work on Stoker. Smith hits some shots, but Stoker fights out and takes the advantage. He works on the arm of Smith before making the tag back to Howley. They attempt a double team clothesline but Smith ducks under and takes out both men with a clothesline of his own. He hits Howley with a back body drop but Howley gets back to his feet and hits a dropkick that sends Smith out to the apron. A distraction by Stoker leads to Howley kicking Smith in the back and knocking him into the guardrail. Stoker rolls him back in the ring and Howley goes for a cover and gets a two count. Stoker gets the tag back in and Pretty Deadly hit a series of double team moves on Smith. He tosses Smith out to the apron again but Smith reverses his attempted move and sends Stoker spilling to the outside. Smith is in the middle of the ring and looking to get the hot tag, which he does. Carter comes in and his a house of fire taking out both members of Pretty Deadly. He hits Howley with a superkick hits a slam for a two count. He tosses Stoker to the outside and Smith joins him in the ring and they toss Carter over the top. Pretty Deadly slide back in the ring and hit a combination elbow/crossbody taking out both guys with Howley covering Smith for a two count. Stoker jumps out to the apron so Howley can tag him into the match officially. He comes in, but Smith recovers and hits Howley with a superkick. He follows that up with a superkick to Stoker as Carter comes in to hit a Spinning Heel Kick on Stoker in the corner. Carter picks him up and hits an Electric Chair Neckbreaker to pick up the win in about 6 minutes.

Winner(s): Ashton Smith and Oliver Carter
Match Rating: 2.75/5 Stars

Collective Thoughts: That was a good back and forth tag team match between two up and coming teams. Both teams worked together well and had some nice double team moves. Smith really stood out to me with his athleticism for being a bigger guy. The finisher that Carter uses looks really cool as well, so that doesn’t hurt either. Pretty Deadly have a lot going for them as well and I think both of these teams have a bright future ahead of them.

After the match, Smith and Carter celebrate in the ring but are attacked from behind by Pretty Deadly. They throw Carter out of the ring and they hit Smith with an assisted gutbuster. Carter gets back in the ring to make the save, but Pretty Deadly hit him with a shot to the face before leaving the ring.

Ilja Draganov is shown working out at the performance center and he is asked about his response to Joe Coffey. He said that he has been there to help Coffey, and that he better be ready because he is ready for fight.

The NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray makes her way down to the ring. She grabs a mic and says that just in case anyone has any doubts, at Takeover she proved she is the absolute best. She said that she has started to understand Toni Storm a little bit better. She says she gets it now because having the championship is intoxicating. Just as she says that Toni Storm was sitting at home watching her, she is interrupted by Storm herself. Storm comes down to the ring and says that she was robbed of her title at Takeover: Blackpool II. Ray tells Storm not to be upset, because it isn’t a good look for her. Ray says that having the title is an addiction and to consider this an intervention. Ray says she is going to give her another opportunity at the title, but is going to prove that Storm isn’t good enough to beat her. She says it’s going to be an I Quit match, and if Storm doesn’t beat her she will never get another shot as long at Ray is champion. Kay’s music hits and leaves the ring as Storm looks on with hesitation.

Collective Thoughts: That was a cool back and forth exchange setting up a big I Quit match for the title. Both of these women are submission wrestlers, so both will thrive in that environment. Kay Lee Ray is an extremely confident champion and holds herself well. It should be a good match when it happens.

They make the match between Gallus and Oney Lorcan and Danny Birch official for next week.

They show Eddie Daniels making his way to the ring, as the referees are taking off the turnbuckle pads for the main event.

Steel Corners Street Fight
Eddie Dennis vs. Trent Seven

I said this in my review last week, but I don’t think I can remember a match like this ever taking place.

Seven storms to the ring and starts to get the early advantage on Dennis. Scoop slam by Seven followed by a legdrop. Daniel’s rolls to the outside but Seven is in hot pursuit and rolls him back in the ring. Dennis rolls to the outside of the ring once again, but Seven follows him out and hits some chops to the chest. He goes for another one, but Dennis counters and throws him into the stairs. Dennis takes part of the stairs and throws them near Seven. He goes to powerbomb Seven while on top of the stairs but Seven counters and hits a DDT on the top of the stairs. He tosses Dennis into the crowd and they fight among the fans. Seven punishes him with some more chops. He attempts to throw Dennis into the barricade but Dennis reverses it and throws Seven into them. He follows that up with a Seven Bridge powerbomb from the outside of the barricade onto the stairs. That was a crazy looking bump. Dennis rolls Seven into the ring and goes for a cover but only gets a two count. He continues to stomp on Seven and hits a stiff elbow in the corner. He whips Seven into the corner, but Seven reverses and Dennis slides underneath the bottom rope. Both men are outside the ring again, and Seven hits a chop that sends Dennis over the barricade. He follows him over but Dennis tosses him over the announce table. Dennis tells English and Phillips to move and tears apart the announce desk. Dennis slams the head of Seven into the side of the desk, and both men climb on top of it. Dennis goes for a Seven Bridge through the table, but Seven fights out and hits the Birminghammer off the announce table through an additional table set up beside it. Damn! That was a cool spot. Dennis gets to his feet and makes his way back to the ring as Seven is still feeling the effects of that move. Seven rises to his feet and clotheslines Dennis over the barricade and climbs to the top of the barricade but misses a twisting corkscrew senton. Both men are slow to get to their feet, but when they do Dennis pulls the side of Seven’s face into the exposed turnbuckles. They climb up on the apron with both men exchanging blows, before Dennis grabs the head of Seven and slams it into the turnbuckle. Dennis follows that up with a boot to the face, but Seven recovers and hits him with a a pair of open back hand slaps. Both men almost go into the exposed corner, with Seven finally throwing Dennis side first into it. He throws him to the other side, before hitting the Birminghammer again in the ring and picking up the win in about 11 minutes.

Winner: Trent Seven
Match Rating: 3.25/5 stars

Collective Thoughts: That was a war from the beginning. Seven started the action off quickly, but Dennis recovered nicely and both men ended up having a good outing. Seven took some hellacious bumps, between the Seven Bridge Powerbomb on the stairs and the Birminghammer through the table. Dennis held his own and showed a mean streak working on the head and neck area of Seven. The back and forth between both men really took it up a notch, and while it wasn’t a classic, it was definitely a hard hitting and different style of match then we have been used to seeing. The crowd was into the match too, which always brings it up a notch. A solid way to end the show.

After the match, Seven celebrates in the ring and has a staredown with Dennis on the outside as the show goes off the air.

Overall Show Grade: 6.5 out of 10

This wasn’t a bad episode of NXT UK, but didn’t have anything that blew me away. The matches were solid throughout the night, especially the main event which was just a war from start to finish. The A-Kid/Tyler Bate match was one that would have benefited from having a little bit more time but still was a good match given the little time they did get. Kid held his own and Bate put him over in a big way even in a loss. I could see those two doing battle again in the near future. The tag team match always wasn’t too shabby and showed some great teamwork from both teams. I think that Ashton Smith and Oliver Carter will be in the hunt for the NXT UK Tag Team Titles soon enough. The face off for the Women’s Title was also cool, although I got a bit of a nostalgia feel from it because something similar happened on NXT US this week as well. I do think the I Quit match between the two will be a very good match when it does happen, though. It was another solid outing for the NXT UK brand overall.

What did you think of this week’s epsiode of WWE NXT UK? Loved it? Hated it? Still haven’t watched it yet? Either way, follow me over @collectiveheel on twitter and let me know your thoughts. Support the site. Support each other. I’ll see you guys soon enough with some more Collective Thoughts.