By Haydn Gleed, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@haydngleed)
NXT UK TV
Taped March 6-7, 2020 in Coventry, England at Coventry Skydome Arena
Streamed March 26, 2020 on WWE Network
A video package was shown that highlighted Jordan Devlin winning the NXT Cruiserweight Championship and the history between Devlin and Travis Banks…
Gleed’s Ramblings: I love these type of openings as it makes the main event the focus of the show and gets the viewer excited.
The usual music and video opened the show with Andy Shepherd and Nigel McGuinness checking in on commentary…
1. Marcel Barthel and Fabian Aichner defeated Ashton Smith and Oliver Carter Imperium won the match with their finisher on Oliver Carter. In a clearly post produced audio, Shepherd talked about “WrestleMania being too big for one night”…..yeah that’s exactly why it’s happening, Andy. Oh my word, Smith and Carter’s music is so bad and something that you would hear playing in the background of a Nando’s. Nigel seemed to really like it…
Gleed’s Ramblings: There was literally no way I could see Smith and Carter win this match so there was a feeling of just waiting for the finish. That being said, all four men are talented and put together a decent and entertaining enough match. There was another post recorded audio done during this match with McGuinness talking about the possibility of Alexander Wolfe winning the battle royal on the next show that was so badly done it sounded like he recorded it on his phone under some blankets.
Gallus were featured in a video where they were playing cards in a cafe while shining their tag team titles. There was a random gentleman who was seated with them that showed he had a hand of cards with three kings…
Gleed’s Ramblings: Meh.
Tyler Bate and Trent Seven were shown talking about the battle royal and said that it would be everyman for him next week…
Oliver Carter and Ashton Smith were interviewed by not Radzi. The interviewer asked after losing how will they keep their momentum going. They were interrupted by Pretty Deadly, who mocked them by saying, “Well done, lads, good performance.” Carter went to go after them, but Smith held him back. Smith said in a monotone voice: “We. Need. To. Prepare. For. The. Battle. Royale”.
Gleed’s Ramblings: I usually enjoy Ashton Smith’s promos, but this was bad. Saying that, I think a Smith and Carter vs. Pretty Deadly match will be pretty good.
2. Aoife Valkyrie defeated Nina Samuels. Aoife hit her finisher on Nina for the clean victory after an entertaining match…
Gleed’s Ramblings: A battle of the two awesome entrances. Seriously, my two favourites in NXT UK genuinely. Just like the first match, there wasn’t any doubt as to who would win this match, but from a personal point of view I’m impressed with the development shown by Nina Samuels. I believe it was either the first or second episode of NXT UK when Nina and Isla Dawn faced each other and it was awful. If nothing else comes out of NXT UK, it’s shown a good knack of really improving wrestlers. I’m also impressed how they are handling Aoife. They are giving her the big slow build where she is going through the ranks of the division and not straight to Kay Lee Ray. That’s despite there being no credible women in NXT UK, right Rhea Ripley?
A video package was shown of what happened between Dani Luna, Piper Niven, and Kay Lee Ray on the previous episode…
Piper Niven was interviewed backstage where she was asked by Not Radzi why she came to Dani’s aid last week. Piper said that Dani is big and strong enough to stand up for herself, but she doesn’t understand how devious Kay Lee Ray can be. She said she’s seen one friend already taken down by her deviousness (Toni Storm) she won’t see another one. So next week we will have Piper Niven and Dani Luna vs Kay Lee Ray and Jinny.
Gleed’s Ramblings: Despite the traitor now being announced from Camden instead of Cardiff, I’m still very high on Dani Luna and am enjoying the rub she’s getting from the top stars of the division.
Flash Morgan Webster gave an update on Mark Andrews and said they just don’t know how bad it is, but they are doing some tests. He said he promises that he will find out who is responsible and take them down. He said that Mandrews had told him to forget that for now and focus on the battle royal next week…
Gleed’s Ramblings: I said last week that I think it’s going to be revealed that it was Eddie Dennis who attacked Andrews, but I’m also looking at maybe Flash Morgan Webster. Either way the battle of the Welshman, if it does indeed turn out to be that, will be a lot of fun.
3. Noam Dar defeated A-Kid. Noam Dar won with a kick to the crown jewels of A-Kid behind the referee’s back before hitting the Novaroller. After the match, Noam grabbed a microphone and got a lot of heel heat. He mocked the 20 man battle royal and said it’s more 19 dafty’s and one Supernova…
Gleed’s Ramblings: Fascinating match between these two that I really enjoyed. This felt like a match that you would see on the UK Independent scene four or five years ago, which is a compliment as opposed to a complaint. There was fun moments in the match like when Noam avoided a number of moves from A-Kid and played to the crowd as well as the roll back and forth for multiple one counts. I really enjoyed this and it helped that I wasn’t sure until the end who would win this contest. I’ve said it a lot this week but this match was a lot of fun and a good showcase for both.
A video package was shown detailing the history of Walter in NXT UK showing his debut, winning the belt and joining Imperium…
Dave Mastiff, Ilja Dragonov, and Kassius Ohno cut promos backstage about the Battle Royal…
4. Jordan Devlin defeated Travis Banks to retain the NXT Cruiserweight Championship. They made a big deal of the match pre-the bell. They lowered the lighting and had both men standing face to face during their introductions which they usually reserve for UK Takeovers. Nice touch. There was a nasty moment during the match where Travis went for a suicide dive and Devlin moved forcing Travis nearly into the ringside barrier at full pace. Travis at the last minute twisted his body to counter the momentum (and people wonder why Travis always has shoulder injuries?!). Devlin won the match with a rollup and holding onto the ropes. Andy Shepherd closed the show out by talking about the 20 man battle royal for next week…
Gleed’s Ramblings: Banks hits one of the best suicide dives in the business, however he really needs to pull back on it from time to time. An outstanding match that had the crowd on their feet by the end. I did enjoy the story they told with Travis as it’s very much what they did with him in Progress that being an underdog who shows heart and grit. I don’t usually like the “Hulk Hogan no selling comeback” but with Travis it works.
The portrayal of Travis at the moment has the paw prints of former Progress owner and now NXT UK writer Jim Smallman all over it. Devlin is one of the talents of the year so far and is starting to realise the potential that a lot of us knew he had. I would strongly recommend this match. Not only from an in-ring point of view, but you will see why both men have always been high on most people’s radar on the UK independent scene. You will not see a better ten minutes of a match than the last ten minutes of this match on TV this week.
Overall, a fine bounce back by NXT UK from the very ho hum show the previous week. The next show’s battle royal was talked about in between matches like it was the most important thing in NXT UK history, which given the context of what is on the line (a shot at the title) was exactly what should have been done. This made me look forward to the next show (my review of that episode will be available shortly). My pick at this point without seeing the show or spoilers is going to be Ilja Dragunov.
As for this show, there were elements of it I loved and very few moments of cringe. Lots of wrestlers got to speak even in just soundbites in reference to the battle royal next week, but the four matches presented built from the first matchup to the main event in terms of quality and gave the show a nice flow.
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