By Jason Powell
WWE UK Championship Special
Norwich, England
Steamed on WWE Network
The event opened with footage of Tyler Bate winning the WWE UK Championship tournament. Some of the participants in the tournament were shown talking about how the tournament has affected their careers.
Shots aired of the live crowd while the broadcast team of Jim Ross and Nigel McGuinness checked in. It was made to look like the duo was on the entrance ramp in the venue. They listed a couple of matches before going to the ring for the opener…
Ring entrances for the opening match too place. Wolfgang was out first. Ross said Wolfgang was the biggest man who would appear on the show and his career has skyrocketed at age 35. A Wolfgang video package aired with footage of his matches in the UK Title tournament along with post tournament comments. He said he would prove that he is the last true King of Scotland. Joseph Conners was out next and he also received a video package. He spoke about being “this close” to winning something he’d worked eleven years for. He said it’s not about where you start, it’s about where you finish…
1. Wolfgang vs. Joseph Conners. The lights in the venue were dimmed so that you could only make out the faces of fans in the first couple rows. Wolfgang paused with a vertical suplex before putting Conners down and covering him for a two count. There were dueling chants for the wrestlers with Wolfgang having more fans behind him.
Conners had a stretch on the offensive before Wolfgang made a comeback that included a splash in the corner. Wolfgang sold rib pain from Conners’ offense. Cornners went to the ropes and leapt at Wolfgang, who caught him with both knees on the way down. Wolfgang went up top for The Howling finisher, but Conners rolled outside the ring to avoid it.
Conners performed a powerbomb for a two count at 10:00. Wolfgang continued to sell rib pain. Conners went to the middle rope and leapt at Wolfgang, who speared him. Wolfgang performed his top rope senton finisher and scored the pin…
Wolfgang defeated Joseph Conners in 11:00.
Powell’s POV: A good match. Wolfgang sold the ribs consistently, and they did a nice job of setting up the finisher by having Wolfgang set up for it a few times before he actually hit the move. I also liked the call of Ross in terms of questioning the strategy of Wolfgang going up top early rather than using his size advantage in more traditional ways.
An ad aired for WWE Backlash… Backstage shots were shown of Mark Andrews and Tyler Bate…
2. Rich Swann and Dan Moloney vs. TJP and Brian Kendrick. Ross noted that Moloney is from Birmingham, England, and McGuinness said it was a big opportunity for him. There were dueling chants for Kendrick and Moloney as they started the match. The fans sang “TJ is a wanker.” Ross asked about the word wanker. McGuinness said it was a very, very rude name. Ross asked if they would lose their jobs if McGuinness explained it and told him to never mind. Funny.
There was a comical spot with TJP standing with his back to the ring and thinking he was working over the arm of Moloney, not realizing that Moloney had fed him the arm of Kendrick instead. Swann checked in and was backdropped by his partner onto both opponents at ringside. He overshot it, but the live crowd didn’t seem to mind.
Later, Swann performed a summersault into a scissors kick and got a two count on Kendrick. A short time later, Moloney broke up Kendrick’s Captain’s Hook on Swann. The crowd fired up as Moloney threw punches at Kendrick. He played to the crowd and Kendrick was able to escape. Ross said he needed to be more focussed, yet chalked it up to him being young and living his dream. Kendrick caught Moloney with an inside cradle and held the tights for the win…
TJP and Brian Kendrick beat Rich Swann and Dan Moloney in 11:30.
Powell’s POV: A fun tag match. I don’t believe the broadcast team addressed TJP and Kendrick teaming together not long after their feud over the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. Meanwhile, the small venue setting is a fun throwback to the territory days. The crowd may be small compared to an average WWE crowd, they are vocal and created a really good atmosphere.
An ad aired for the Bring It To The Table show… Footage aired of Charly Caruso interviewing Trent Seven after having his shoulder wrenched by Pete Dunne. Seven was holding his arm in pain. Dunne showed up and wrenched the arm of Seven again…
Ross and McGuinness spoke on camera about the angle. McGuinness said Dunne would continue to do this unless there are repercussions… Video packages on Dunne and then Seven were shown…
3. Pete Dunne vs. Trent Seven to become No. 1 contender to the WWE UK Championship. Dunne was introduced as the Progress Wrestling Champion, and he bit on the end of the belt while it hung from his mouth. Seven came out with his elbow wrapped to sell the angle. Ross noted Seven’s right arm was injured and stressed that it was key because Seven is right handed.
Dunne smirked while offering a handshake prior to the match. Seven declined. There were dueling chants for the wrestlers. The broadcast team spoke about Dunne having a tattoo on his knee. Ross assured Nigel that he would not be getting a tattoo on his kneecap.
The wrestlers fought to ringside. Dunne threw a nice forearm shot and then worked over the bad arm by slamming it into the ring steps. Dunne controlled the majority of the offense and continue to target the arm of Seven, who had a comeback for a near fall. Ross and Nigel questioned what type of condition Seven would be in for the UK Title match if he won this match.
Dunne regrouped and ended up doing the finger breaking spot on the floor. The wrestlers traded shots on the apron. Suddenly, Seven performed a dragon suplex on the apron that elicited “holy shit” chants from the crowd. Both men barely beat the count back to the ring. Ross said he wasn’t sure what they would have done as far as a title match if both men had been counted out.
Back inside the ring, Seven went for a dragon suplex from the ropes, but Dunne landed on his feet. Dunne performed an enzuigiri. Dunne ran the ropes and Seven turned him inside out with a clothesline for a two count. Dunne came back with a Kimura lock. Seven broke it with a snap dragon suplex and then hit a spinning back fish. Dunne regrouped and hit The Bitter End and scored the pin…
Pete Dunne defeated Trent Seven in 14:50 to become No. 1 contender to the WWE UK Championship.
After the match, Dunne took the mic and said, “I told you people would get hurt.” Dunne said he will take what is rightfully his at NXT Takeover: Chicago by any means necessary…
Powell’s POV: A very good match and easily the highlight of the show thus far. Dunne is terrific in the ring and from a character standpoint. He is a star. I look forward seeing more of him and I also hope we’ll hear Ross crank up his disdain for Dunne’s heel antics. Nigel did a good job of establishing that, but Ross has been great over the years at putting over heels by acting turned off by their actions.
An ad aired for WWE 24 featuring Finn Balor… A video package aired on the main event. Mark Andrews said this is the more important match of his career. Bate spoke about putting their friendship aside. Andrews spoke about exploiting the inexperience of Bate…
4. Tyler Bate vs. Mark Andrews for the WWE UK Cruiserweight Championship. By the way, there’s a British ring announcer, but he hasn’t been named. Dot Net staffer Haydn Gleed checked in and said he believes the ring announcer is Andy Shepherd, which makes sense because he worked the tournament shows. The crowd was hotter for Bate than Andrews (or at least they liked singing songs about him more than Andrews). The wrestlers kept it mat based for the first ten minutes of the match with tension building between the two friends.
At 12:00, Andrews performed a flip over the top onto Bate on the floor. The broadcast team noted that it was the first high risk spot of the match. Andrews also performed a standing moonsault back inside the ring for a two count. Bate performed a suicide dive of his own. Back inside the ring, Andrews performed a huracanrana for a good near fall.
Andrews connected with a move on the apron. He followed up with a backflip off the apron and turned it into a DDT on the floor. Andrews got a two count in the ring and showed frustration over not getting the three count. Andrews set up for a huracanrana on the ropes, but Bate crotched him and then knocked him off the ropes with an uppercut. Bate covered him for a two count.
Andrews fired up with some strikes in the ring, but Bate knocked him down with a left hand. Andrews ran into another uppercut. Bate performed an airplane spin and came to a woozy stop before Andrews performed a great reverse huracanrana for a good near fall. There was another great near fall off a shooting star press by Andrews. The crowd chanted “fight forever.”
Andrews put Bate down with a cutter. Andrews went up top and went for another shooting star press, but Bate put his knees up. Bate performed a summersault kick and followed up with the Tyler Driver for the win…
Tyler Bate pinned Mark Andrews in 24:15 to retain the WWE UK Championship.
After the match, a referee was helping Andrews to the back when Dunne came out and punched Andrews. William Regal came out and shook his finger at Dunne. Regal entered the ring and Dunne followed. Dunne and Bate had a staredown. Dunne looked at the title belt and offered Bate a handshake, but Bate passed. The show ended with the broadcast team hyping the UK Title match for NXT Takeover: Chicago while Dunne and Bate continued their staredown with Regal standing behind them…
Powell’s POV: A hot main event in front of a vocal crowd. This was really fun. The semi main event was just as fun in its own way and it sets up what should be a terrific match between Bate and Dunne in a rematch of the tournament finals. This was a good 100-minute special. The first two matches were solid setup matches, and the last two matches are totally worth going out of your way to watch if you haven’t watched the show already. Dot Net UK staffer Haydn Gleed will be by with an audio review of the show for members later today.
Join Zack Zimmerman for live coverage of NXT Takeover: Chicago on Saturday, and Jason Powell for live coverage of WWE Backlash on Sunday. Dot Net Members will hear exclusive audio reviews of both shows.
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