WWE United Kingdom Championship Special (May 2017)

Original Airdate: May 19, 2017 (Taped May 7)

From Norwich, Norfolk, England; Your Hosts are Jim Ross and Nigel McGuinness. Do I sense an old school green screen here, like it's an episode of RAW from 1994? Also, who came up with that terribly unimaginative show title?

Opening Match: Wolfgang v Joseph Conners: The ring is really under lit tonight, and this whole building has an ugly, industrial feel to it. Feeling out process to start, until Wolfgang gets annoyed, and throws a leg lariat, then a backelbow. Stinger splash misses, however, and Conners tries a suplex, but can't get the bigger Wolfgang up, and gets reversed with a hanging vertical version for two. Really extended hang time on that one, Davey Boy would have been proud. Wolfgang with a slam to setup a trip to the top, but Joseph recovers, and shoves him down to the floor. Conners adds a baseball slide before rolling Wolfgang in for a slingshot splash for two. Baseball slide against the post knocks Wolfgang back to the outside, and a slam on the way back in gets two. Mat-based abdominal stretch is applied, but Wolfgang reverses a whip into the corner, and hits a backdrop. Bodypress in the corner sets up a flying axehandle for two, but the ribs give him trouble, and Conners is able to knock him back. He goes up with a 2^nd rope flying bodypress, but Wolfgang catches him in a double-knee gutbuster! Wolfgang goes up, but Conners has made his way to the apron to prevent a dive, and he hits Wolfgang with a sloppy slingshot DDT (called an 'interesting takedown' by the announcers) for two. Wolfgang tries firing back with a press-slam, but the ribs trouble him, and Conners counters with a sitout uranage for two. He keeps hammering the ribs, but another try at a 2^nd rope flying bodypress is countered with a spear, and Wolfgang hits a flying somersault senton splash at 10:50. Nothing special, but it was what it needed to be as an opener. * ¾

Brian Kendrick and TJ Perkins v Rich Swann and Dan Moloney: These guys need better wrestler names. Are they here to do my taxes, or shooting star presses? Kendrick and Perkins control Moloney in the early going with quick tags, but they get cocky, and Perkins ends up wrenching his own partners arm, in a cute comedy spot. That allows Dan to take over on Perkins with a big boot on the apron for two, and he passes to Rich for a tandem atomic drop. TJ bails, so Brian runs in, but he eats an atomic drop as well, and Dan backdrops Rich out onto both guys. The lighting is driving me mad here. Inside, Perkins blind tags during a criss cross, and Kendrick snaps Swann's throat across the top rope. He adds a snap suplex for two, but Dan gets the tag after a less than meaningful heat segment. He comes in with a pop-up flapjack on Perkins for two, and Roseanne Barr the door, we've got a kettle on! Brian hooks Dan's ankle to allow TJ a spinkick, and things settle back down with them cutting the ring in half on Moloney. Hot tag to Swann, and he hits Kendrick with the somersault fameasser for two. Up he goes, but Brian follows for a superplex, so Rich counters with an inverted atomic drop off the top. He goes for the kill, but Kendrick grabs the Captain's Hook, and Moloney is forced to save. He tags in to unload a ten-punch in the corner, but Perkins saves, and this thing needs to get to the finish already. And they do, as Perkins helps Kendrick counter a hotshot into a cradle at 11:29. This was certainly energetic, but kind of all over the place. *

#1 Contender's Match: Pete Dunne v Trent Seven: Okay, enough with the undercard shit, let's get to the good stuff. Winner of this gets a shot at the UK Title at the upcoming NXT Takeover card in Chicago. Feeling out process to start, with Dunne dominating early on, but getting grounded in a chinlock. Pete escapes by going after Trent's bandaged arm, and Seven is forced to bail. Pete follows to continue to abuse the arm on the outside, and that trend continues on the way back in as well. Seven manages to knock him to the outside for a tope, but another shot to the arm cuts off any potential comeback, and Pete puts the boots to the part. Bitter End, but Trent counters with a lariat for two, so Dunne German suplexes his ass. Seven responds with a suplex-powerslam for two, but a charge in the corner ends badly for his arm, and Dunne saito suplexes him for two. Crash landing gets two, and Dunne goes back after the arm, but Seven is in the ropes to save himself. He bails, but Pete is on his tail, and whips him into the barricade out there. More abuse to the arm, but Seven is able to hit a dragon suplex on the apron to shake him off. Wild! Both guys beat the count in, and though Dunne took the move, he's still in better shape. He goes to the top, but Seven is able to crotch him up there for a dragon superplex - only for Pete to back flip onto his feet, and deliver an enzuigiri! He starts firing up, but runs into another lariat, and Seven hooks the leg for two! Dunne goes back to the arm with a kimura lock, but Trent powers out, and hits another dragon suplex. Backfist sets up a slam, but Dunne counters with the Bitter End at 14:47. Perfect, Pete will be right at home in Chicago with the rest of the cast of Shameless. Dunne's aggressive work of the arm was good stuff, but the overall match fell a little flat for me. That's not to say that it was bad (it wasn't), just a little flat. ***

Main Event: WWE United Kingdom Title Match: Tyler Bate v Mark Andrews: They shake hands at the bell, and Mark quickly sets the tempo with a schoolboy for two during the initial lockup. Bate slows it down to a (very European) feeling out process, and a reversal sequence ends in a stalemate. That leads to some aggression as both guys shove each other, and Andrews wins another reversal sequence by countering a sunset flip with a seated dropkick for two. He works the champ's arm, but Tyler escapes an octopus hold, and backelbows Mark down for two. Bodyslam sets up a somersault senton splash for two, and he traps Andrews in a painful looking rocking horse. Mark won't quit, so Tyler nicely shifts the hold into a cradle for two. He keeps hammering his challenger in the corner, but Mark sends him to the outside with a rana, then drives after him with a somersault plancha! Back in, Andrews victory cradles him down for a double-stomp, and a northern lights suplex is shifted into a standing moonsault, but Bate counters with a schoolboy for two. Andrews cuts him off by dodging another somersault senton splash, however, and he finishes his earlier thought with the standing moonsault for two. Excellent sequence there. Andrews ends up on the outside after missing a charge, and Bate is on him with a tope, but Andrews counters the Tyler Driver with a bridging northern lights suplex - only to have Bate bridge up at two into the Driver, leaving Mark to scramble with a rana into a cradle for two to counter! They messed up the final counter a bit, but another great sequence. Mark charges, but gets backdropped onto the apron this time, so he changes gears with an enzuigiri out there, followed by an insane sliced bread on the apron! Holy shit! He tries rolling Tyler right back in to cover, but the champion wisely rolls back to the floor before that can happen. Andrews responds with a springboard moonsault press, but Bate catches him, so Andrews shifts it into a tornado DDT on the floor instead! Nice! He drags Bate's limp body back in to win the title, but Tyler has a shoulder up at two! Andrews takes him to the top for a rana, but Bate crotches him on the ropes to block, then knocks him off with a 2^nd rope flying corkscrew backelbow for two! Yeah, baby! Slugfest goes Bate's way, so Mark tries to slingshot at him, but gets blasted with an uppercut, then into an airplane spin! Mark escapes with an inverted rana for two, and both men are left looking up at the lights after that one! Mark claws his way to the top rope, but he's slower than usual, and Bate manages to crotch him up there. He tries to bring him down with an exploding gutbuster, but Andrews counters with a rana off the top, then adds a standing shooting star press for a dramatic two count! He tries to pull Bate to his feet for a finisher, but Tyler throws a superkick to shake him off - only to have a vertical suplex countered with the Stundog Millionaire! Mark goes up for a flying shooting star press, but Bate uses his knees to block, and poor Mark is in a bad way! Tyler isn't much better off, but manages a koppou kick, and the Tyler Driver retains at a blistering 24:15! Started off kind of slow, but man, did they work up into a lather! Jaw dropping sequence on top of jaw dropping sequence, but also not strictly a spotfest. Both guys sold wonderfully throughout, and really got over how battle worn they were by the end. **** ¼

BUExperience: The undercard is essentially a total write off, but the main event is what the term ‘main event’ was created for, and absolutely worth seeing. The semi-main is good too, and overall, on a four match card, that’s more than enough.

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