By Haydn Gleed, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@haydngleed)
NXT UK TV
Taped January 17-18, 2020 in York, England at the York Barbican
Streamed February 27, 2020 on WWE Network
The show opened with a video package highlighting the feud between Toni Storm and Kay Lee Ray. Storm told Ray that she was stupid to make this an I Quit match. Ray said she will make Storm leave with nothing and leave her crying again…
Gleed’s Ramblings: This has been a feud spotlighted since last June so the I Quit format is completely warranted. The video was very well put together and it’s got me excited for the main event, which is the whole point.
The broadcast team was Tom Phillips and Aiden English…
1. “The Grizzled Young Veterans” Zack Gibson and James Drake defeated “The Hunt” Wild Boar and Primate. The match was built from a promo last week where Gibson said The Hunt are like York in that they are just there and nobody would miss them if they disappeared…
Gleed’s Ramblings: The match was pretty formulaic and the result was never in doubt, but they did make The Hunt look good at points. With GYV being spotlighted in NXT it feels their UK appearances might be limited, however having the odd match like this keeps them in the hunt (no pun intended). If it doesn’t work out in America then they will be back in the title picture. The Hunt continue to be, in all fairness, exactly what Gibson said which is just there, but considering Wild Boar is a veteran of the UK Indie scene and Primate has had a catalogue of injuries (including retiring at one point) this is the perfect position for both.
A video package was shown on former fake professional rugby player Ridge Holland. A graphic touted that he will be in action next week…oh goody…
A video was shown promoting the blood money show… uh I mean the Super ShowDown event (it’s taking place as I’m writing this review and I have no interest in watching it)…
2. Kassius Ohno defeated Jack Starz. The announcers talked about how this match was built from Kassius Ohno mocking Jack Starz for the way he was training last week in the Performance Centre.
Gleed’s Ramblings: Starz continues to be the guy that gets beat up by everybody but they are gradually giving him more and more offence, and Kassius Ohno is doing a great job of giving rub to the NXT UK roster as a whole. I don’t know if I completely missed the segment where Kassius mocked Starz from last week or if my memory is getting worse. If anyone out there remembers seeing it, please let me know.
Radzi was backstage with Isla Dawn and asked her how she assess the women’s division in NXT UK. Isla said it’s so good at the moment and it’s an honour to be part of it. She said she will be facing Valkerie next week and we don’t how she will fare against the white witch Isla Dawn…
Gleed’s Ramblings: A short and sweet promo hyping a match for next week. Clearly the highlight of the segment was Radzi.
Travis Banks cut a selfie promo. He said that Alexander Wolfe got in his face, so he begged Johnny Saint for a match next week with the buzzsaw against the wolf…
Gleed’s Ramblings: Another short segment again hyping a match for next week.
3. A-Kid defeated Brian Kendrick. The announcers hyped the match by saying that Kendrick mocked A-Kid on social media after his lost to Tyler Bate a few weeks ago, which led to this match. A-Kid won with a crushing DDT…
Gleed’s Ramblings: I’m not totally against hyping a TV match via social media, especially when the announcers talk about it. I only have an issue when a match is done via social media, but to the casual viewer it’s just a match out of nowhere and the social media aspect is ignored. Anyway, a good match with A-Kid again looking like someone that is going to wow crowds and bring kids into the arena. I love the fact that someone as experienced as Kendrick appears to not have any issue with putting over a young lad.
A video package was shown on the Walter and Dave Mastiff match for next week with Dave saying he’s more than prepared for the match…
Gleed’s Ramblings: As well as presenting a decent show, they have also hyped next week all within the first two thirds of the show. That, in my mind, is how you should promote a wrestling weekly show. Get the plugs in to get people hooked for next week and not overshadow the main event that they’ve been building up to.
4. Kay Lee Ray defeated Toni Storm in an I Quit match to retain the NXT UK Women’s Championship, and Toni Storm can not challenge for the title while Kay Lee Ray is champion. The end of the match came when Ray tied Storm’s hands behind her back and put her neck first into a chair. Ray stood on it putting massive pressure on the neck. Ray also jumped off the top tope to apply more pressure. Toni gave up after Piper Niven begged her to quit…
Gleed’s Ramblings: The main event was great for many reasons. You had the intensity early on which given the nature of this feud was warranted along with the usual “toys” of tables etc. When Ray got the duct tape I was worried about a flat finish, but the way she was placed in the chair looked brutal. The selling by Storm with Niven clearly upset at ringside along with Sid Scala and Johnny Saint coming down mid-moment with concern etched all over their face as well was heart wrenching.
What the match under delivered in terms of insane craziness that these two were known for on the UK Independent scene, it made up for with pure raw emotion. I give a lot of flack to Tom Phillips, but credit where credit is due, he and Aiden English sold the brutality of the moment well by saying very little yet beng soft spoken when they did speak. Great stuff. Overall, the main event carried this weeks show but nothing prior to that was bad, which heightened the effectiveness of the main event match and story.
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