By Haydn Gleed, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@haydngleed)
NXT UK TV
Taped September 1, 2019 in Cardiff, Wales at Motorpoint Arena
Streamed September 11, 2019 on WWE Network
Before the show they had a KFC advert for products that are not available in the UK, doesn’t make sense to me why they chose before this show to advertise that. Anyway, the arena looks really dark around the areas where there were lots of fans the night before for Takeover. There was about 7-8,000 fans at Takeover and less than 2,000 at these TV tapings the next night, but you wouldn’t be able to tell by watching the TV show…
The terrible NXT UK music and video aired. The broadcast team of Vic Joseph and Nigel McGuinness immediately checked in and promoted the NXT UK Tag Team Championship match…
Imperium came out for a promo. Marcel Bartel had the mic to begin with the crowd chanting “You Still Sick” and “Tyler Bate”. Marcel said that their arrival in NXT UK was necessary. Your champions just like your nation is a symbol of weakness. He said you may not understand why you need us but you will learn and accept our rules.
Alexander Wolfe said Imperium are here to protect the honour of the mat and we are here to protect the honour of our sport as the crowd chanted British Strong Style. He continued by saying that if you are not willing and you reject then you will endure pain and suffering.
Walter grabbed the mic and said at NXT UK Takeover he disposed of Tyler Bate. We disposed of British Strong Style and there’s no one left to step up to the group of supreme athletes. He said that we all need to accept that we are your future. He said that he is your WWE UK Champion and this is the era of Imperium.
Gleed’s Ramblings: This promo felt pointless as it didn’t setup the next story or give hints of what is to come. It felt like I’d heard it before (and I don’t mean because I attended these tapings).
1. Marcel Barthel and Fabian Aichner defeated Danny Jones and Harry Green. Pretty much a squash match with Jones and Green getting minimal offence. After the match both Walter and Alexander Wolfe beat up Jones…
Gleed’s Ramblings: Jones and Green are two youngsters from Dragon Pro which is where Mark Andrews, Nixon Newell, Flash Morgan Webster and Wild Boar came through so it’s a great local promotion. Although they didn’t get to show much of what they can do here, there is a nice buzz locally for these two Welsh lads.
Highlights aired of Kassius Ohno against Sid Scala from last week. This led into a backstage promo from Sid, who said his return to in-ring competition was tainted by Ohno’s underhanded tactics. He said that Johnny Saint has authorized a rematch. He said Kassius walks around saying he’s the best British wrestler, so next week they will have a British rounds match. Sid looked into the camera and said next week he will be ready (I’m looking forward to how this match plays out on TV)…
Vic Joseph said that Noam Dar has called a press conference for later tonight because he has huge news…
2. Jordan Devlin defeated Ashton Smith.
Gleed’s Ramblings: This was one of the best matches at the TV tapings and certainly the best Ashton Smith has looked. They really need to get behind this guy as he has a ton of potential and charisma. I’m not saying he should have beaten Devlin, but they could have continued the story it felt they were starting to tell at Download where he needs a win to start the momentum by beating someone on his level. I’m also slightly surprised that they didn’t have Devlin cut a promo on the Welsh crowd at some point to get heat by reminding them that Ireland beat Wales in rugby the night before, but by the time this aired it would have been dated. This was a good match, but it does feel that both men are directionless at the moment and I hope that changes soon.
Radzi tried to get a word with Toni Storm, but he said that no one had seen her all day. Nina Samuels came into the shot and said that there’s a spotlight to fill and she’s here. She said that everyone is talking about NXT UK Takeover but that’s in the past but she wants to show that she is the future of the NXT UK Women’s division… A graphic touted Tegan Nox’s NXT UK debut next…
They lied and instead showed a video package explaining the British Rounds gimmick for next week. They had comments from Nigel McGuiness, William Regal, Robbie Brookside, and Johnny Saint. They built it up well. They also talked about the rules. One of them (not saying who) actually pretty much gave away the finish of the match…
3. Tegan Nox defeated Shax. There was a huge ovation for Nox and a “welcome home” chant. She hit a Shining Wizard and that was the match. The pre-match lasted longer than the match.
Gleed’s Ramblings: This was exactly what you should do to introduce a local hero and a potential huge star.
After the celebration, Kay Lee Ray came out to the ramp with microphone in hand. Ray mockingly said everyone put your hands together for the returning hometown hero. Ray said she became the NXT UK Women’s Champion at Takeover, but after the show no one wanted to talk about that, they wanted to talk about he little girl with the shiniest wizard returning home. She said if Nox did it again she’d do the same to her as she did to Toni Storm. Nox shouted Oi and said if Ray wants a fight they could have one anytime and anywhere…
The Noam Dar press conference aired. Dar thanked everyone for coming. He said he was the man of the night at NXT UK Takeover and in the last two weeks he’s matured a lot and put things in perspective. He said that’s why he’s here today (pause) to announce (pause) he is the best ever. He took questions from “a member of the media” who asked him if he called a press conference just to tell everyone that he is the best? Noam smiled and said yep.
Trent Seven was on a phone at the back. They jawed at each other with Trent telling him that he’s being incredibly arrogant. He had a phone call and said it was Drake Maverick and he begged him to take him back to 205 Live as they don’t want Noam in NXT UK. Noam stormed out (I actually got a huge kick out of this).
4. Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster defeated “The Grizzled Young Veterans” Zack Gibson and James Drake to retain the NXT UK Tag Team Titles.
Gleed’s Ramblings: This was another good match with these four men, but obviously didn’t hold a candle to the great three way tag match at NXT UK Takeover. I agreed with Darren Gutteridge in our audio review when he said that the tag team title win was going to be a great moment at Takeover, but they would probably lose the titles the next night at the tapings. As such, this was somewhat of a surprise. I’m not sure where they go with any of these four men moving forward but I am looking forward to seeing what is next.
Overall, a decent enough show. The stuff we didn’t see at the TV Tapings was really good and I loved the Noam Dar press conference, which sets up a feud between himself and Trent Seven. The opening promo was what it was and was rather a flat way to start the night, and the Devlin vs. Smith match made me worry that the mid-card purgatory that was my main criticism of NXT UK at the start might be coming back. The Tegan Nox debut and confrontation with Kay Lee Ray was fun and the main event was a very good match.
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