NXT UK Championship (June 2018)

Original Airdate: June 26, 2018 (taped June 19)

From London, England; Your Hosts are Mauro Ranallo and Nigel McGuinness

Opening NXT Tag Team Title Match: Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong v Moustache Mountain: I wish they'd leave the lights up a little higher so we can see the unique architecture of the building more during the matches. Strong and Tyler Bate start off, and they feel each other out through a few reversal sequences. Both guys tag, and Kyle goes after Trent Seven's arm, but Strong messes things up once he tags in, and the challengers hit Strong with a combo. That draws Kyle in, but Bate bodyslams him as he charges, and the challengers knock them around with double teams. Seven ends up getting dumped though, and Strong blasts him with a baseball slide, then rolls him back in for Kyle to put the boots to. The champs cut the ring in half on Seven, but he manages to fight them off in a gallant effort - only for O'Reilly to pull Bate off of the apron just as the tag is about to be made! That allows Strong to hit a battered Seven with a dropkick for two, and the champs get back to working him over. Trent manages to hit O'Reilly with a DDT to get the hot tag to Tyler, and Strong gets thrown around like a dart. Shooting star press gets two, so Kyle runs in, but both heels take airplane spins. Bate gets caught in a sleeper from Kyle, but he escapes by grabbing Strong for a German suplex while still in the hold! Wild! Seven comes in to try a double team, but Strong fights them off, and Kyle kicks Trent in the face for two. The champs go for the total elimination, but Trent ducks, and they end up hitting each other! That allows the challengers a dragon suplex/lariat combo, but Strong dives in to break up the pin at two! Kyle tries to strike at Bate with a series of kicks, but Tyler keeps evading him, so Kyle drills him with a brainbuster instead! That's what we call taking the more direct route. Only gets two, though. The champs with a double team, but Seven busts up the cover, so they dump him to the outside - only to collide with one another as they go for the kill on Bate! Seven hits Kyle with a short-clothesline as Bate dives after Strong with a tope suicida, and a torture rack/flying knee combo crowns new champions at 11:36! Man, hot opener! They were going a million miles an hour here the whole time, and it was just great! *** ½

Killer Kelly v Charlie Morgan: Even when I used to make up wrestler names as a kid, I came up with better shit than 'Killer Kelly.' Feeling out process to start, leading to some stalemates, so they go for the classic stereo kip up spot early on, but totally mess up the timing. Kelly manages to dodge a charge in the corner and hit a snap suplex for two, and she ties Morgan up in a dragon surfboard, but Charlie manages to power out. Kelly responds with a bicycle kick to knock Morgan out of the ring, and she punts her in the face from the apron before rolling Charlie back in to cover for two. Kelly thumps her with some mounted punches, but Morgan pops off a superkick, and dives at her with a springboard somersault senton for two. Clothesline, but Kelly counters with a German suplex, and adds a corner seated dropkick for two. Back to the German, but Morgan counters with a sloppy cradle for two, so Kelly tries another suplex, but Morgan counters with another cradle, this time for three at 7:04. Yeah, this was not good. Lots of awkwardness and poorly executed stuff. ½*

#1 Contender's Fatal Four-Way Match: Travis Banks v Flash Morgan Webster v Mark Andrews v Noam Dar: This is originally scheduled as a Triple Threat match, but UK General Manager Johnny Saint shows up right at the bell, and decides to add Dar to the mix as well - Noam making his return after getting sidelined with an injury back in December. Everyone trades off at the bell, and Andrews hooks Webster in a schoolboy for two, then hits a standing moonsault for two. Dar takes them both out, but Banks corner dropkicks Noam and dumps him, then dives with a tope - only for Flash to come off the apron with a flying headscissors out there! Andrews then dives onto everyone with a springboard corkscrew senton to complete the dog pile, and Mark gives Banks sliced bread WHILE Banks is hitting Webster with a DDT! That was cool as shit! Banks comes off the top with a flying double stomp onto both Webster and Andrews, and starts unloading on both in opposite corners, but Dar sneaks over with a schoolboy for two. He wrenches at Banks' bad arm from the night before, and everyone trades strikes to the face to lead to a quadruple knockout spot. Flash tries a rana off the top on Andrews, but Mark lands on his feet, and SNAPS poor Webster with an inverted rana for two! That was fucking nutso! Dar comes in to slug it out with Andrews, and he ducks a leg-feed enzuigiri, but Mark manages to block a leglock. Dar tries again with a kneebar, but Andrews inches towards the ropes, so banks runs in to crossface him while he's in the hold! Andrews is ready to tap, but Flash stops his arm, and breaks the hold to save him and himself. Banks keeps coming, but Andrews manages a stunner to fight him off, and Mark goes up with a flying shooting star press - only for Travis to dodge! He goes for the kill, but here's Dar to snap his bad shoulder across the top rope before he can, and Noam whacks him with a kick to the shoulder for three at 8:54. All action here, though all these WWE multi-man matches feel like the same tired formula over and over again, and the whole style is desperately in need of an overhaul. Afterwards, the Coffey Brothers run out, beating down Banks to continue the storyline from the previous night. *** ¼

NXT North American Title Match: Adam Cole v Wolfgang: Wolfgang thumps on him in the early going, but Cole manages a neckbreaker for two, and he stomps a mud hole in the corner. Another neckbreaker is worth two, but Adam gets caught in a double knee gutbuster out of the corner for two, and Wolfgang drills him with a European uppercut. Wolfgang grabs a waistlock for a pair of no-release takedowns, but an attempt at a front-powerslam is thwarted when Cole escapes to the apron. Wolfgang responds by knocking him to the floor, but Adam manages to fire off an enzuigiri as the challenger goes after him. Cole dives off the middle rope on the way back in, but lands in another gutbuster as he does, and Wolfgang corner whips him. Stinger splash follows, and Wolfgang goes up for a flying axehandle, but Cole superkicks him on the way down. Cole fires off a clothesline and a bicycle kick, but a waistlock gets reversed, so Adam throws an enzuigiri instead - only for Wolfgang to duck. Cole responds with a lungblower for two, and hits the enzuigiri on the next try, followed by a fireman's neckbreaker for two. Suplex, but Wolfgang manages to counter with a slam - only to miss a 2^nd rope flying moonsault. That allows Cole to drill him with a pair of big boots, but Wolfgang throws a clothesline to cut him off. He goes up for a flying somersault senton splash, but Adam lifts his knees to block, and uses a suplex-neckbreaker to set up a kick to the back of the neck for three at 10:16. Good outing here. ** ¾

Aleister Black and Ricochet v EC3 and Velveteen Dream: Ricochet and Dream start, but Dream doesn't want to waste his time with anyone but the champ. Black obliges, but Dream stalls, and then passes to EC3 before the first contact is even made. Black decides to mess with them right back by sitting down and staring at EC3, and he manages a takedown when EC3 goes at him. Unfortunately for the champ, he ends up in the wrong corner, and it's double team time. He manages a blind tag to Ricochet, who comes in with a flying bodypress to get rid of Dream, and a headscissors leads to a dropkick to send EC3 to the outside. That leads to both Black and Ricochet taunting the heels by both sitting down in the ring and staring at them, and the dust settles on Ricochet and EC3. Ricochet tries a springboard, but Dream pulls the carpet out from underneath, and Ricochet wipes out on the apron. EC3 quickly capitalizes by bashing his face into the apron a few times, and Dream hits a flying axehandle on the way back in, then dumps him right back to the outside again. Dream teases a dive, but then backs off, instead deciding to pass to EC3 to hit Ricochet with a vertical suplex for two. EC3 works an overhead wristlock, but Ricochet fights him off with a dropkick when the heels try a double team - only for the referee to miss the tag while distracted by Dream! They continue cutting the ring in half on Ricochet, but he's so springy that they can't contain him, and he fights off several double teams long enough for the hot tag to Black! He hits both heels with a double springboard moonsault press, but Dream blocks the Black Mass, and delivers a rotating spinebuster. Dream goes up, but a miscommunication with EC3 sees him get tripped off the ropes before he can dive, and Black cradles EC3 for two. EC3 gets things under control with a clothesline on Black for two, and they do a combo, but again are on different pages. That allows Ricochet to come in, and everyone ends up down, looking up at the lights. Black tries to suplex Dream in from the apron, but ends up getting dumped to the outside, and Dream plants Black with a DDT for a dramatic two. Ricochet comes back with a schoolboy on Dream for two, but a springboard misses, and Dream schoolboys for two! Dream with a cartwheel death valley driver, and he passes to EC3 to hit Ricochet with a fireman's cutter, but Ricochet escapes, and hits a shooting star press for two. He comes off the top, but EC3 dodges, and drops him with a reverse STO. He's spent, and looks for the tag, but Dream walks out on him, and EC3 eats the Black Mass at 15:33. They did a nice job of building up how poorly EC3 and Dream were working as a team, but that ending still didn't work for me at all. Like, why walk out right when you might be able to get the win? Especially after you've already invested fifteen minutes into it. Blistering action in general, though. *** ½

NXT Women's Title Match: Shayna Baszler v Toni Storm: This was nearly the final of the first Mae Young Classic. Baszler tries to shoot early, but Storm cuts her off with a front-facelock. She tries to hold on with that, but Baszler easily outwrestles her into a headlock on the mat. Toni manages a headscissors to escape, but Baszler again outdoes her on the mat, and it's back to the headlock. Storm escapes, and uses a front-facelock into a takedown, but Baszler rubs her face into the canvas as she escapes, smearing Toni's makeup. Oooh, it's on now. Storm knocks her to the outside with a kick, and the challenger dives after with a tope, then starts unloading with forearms until she draws a bloody nose. Storm tries a running big boot, but ends up hitting the barricade instead, and Baszler slams her on the floor. Toni beats the count, so Baszler toys with her for a bit before clipping the leg, and going to work on it. Storm is damaged, but manages to take advantage of Baszler's arrogance by snapping off a German suplex. She hits a hip attack in the corner, but a trip to the top rope ends badly when Shayna gutwrench superplexes her down for two. Baszler goes after the leg again with a grapevine, leaving Storm scrapping with her fists to escape, and she manages an air raid neckbreaker for two. Toni looks for a follow-up, but Baszler swipes at the leg to buy time, and whacks her challenger with a bicycle kick for two. Chinlock/bodyscissors clutch looks to finish, but Storm counters with a bridging cradle for two! Nicely done! She goes for another air raid, but Baszler grabs her in the clutch, and we're done... no wait, Toni makes the ropes! Baszler responds by holding on to it as they spill out of the ring, and she leaves a battered Storm out there to get counted out at 12:08. I liked that finish! It didn't have anything to do with all the legwork, but it worked in context, with Baszler thinking on her feet, and realizing that while Storm may have the energy to fight through getting her shoulder up, she won't have enough in the tank to beat the count. And then afterwards, Shayna kicks the crap out of her and puts her in the clutch again when Storm tries to soak in some cheers, because she's a horrible person. *** ¼

Main Event: WWE United Kingdom Title Match: Pete Dunne v Zack Gibson: Feeling out process to start, which quickly spills to the outside, where Gibson damages the champ's arm with a trip into the barricade. Back in for a saito suplex, and Gibson unloads with mounted punches, then starts cranking on that arm. Pete grabs a handful of Gibson's nose to force an escape, so Zack armbar suplexes him, but Pete shows his disdain for the challenger by slapping the taste out of his mouth. Gibson responds with an armbar/crossface clutch, but Dunne escapes, and drills Zack with a headbutt! Dunne with the x-plex for two, so Gibson tries a German suplex, but Pete back flips onto his feet to block, and grabs a guillotine choke. Gibson tries to counter with a spinning brainbuster, but Dunne counters back with a double stomp, so Zack wisely rolls out of the ring to avoid getting pinned. Dunne is on him with a 2^nd rope flying moonsault press, but Pete aggravates his arm on the landing. Gibson tries to get away from him, but Pete cranks at the ankle, so Zack throws him shoulder-first into the steps to derail that train of thought. He tries for the spinning brainbuster on the floor, but Dunne counters with an x-plex out there, and both guys have to scramble to beat the count in. Pete pulls him to his feet by the ear, so Gibson throws a mulekick to shake him off, and he unloads in the corner. Dunne just won't give up, so Gibson keeps stomping him until Pete's just a pile in the corner, but Dunne still keeps coming anyway! Zack doesn't know what to make of it, but figures what you don't understand you should attack, only to lose a slugfest! Gibson tries a double knee gutbuster, but Dunne powers through, and throws an enzuigiri. Gibson tries a clothesline, but Dunne powers through that as well, and throws his own - leaving both men looking up at the lights. They stagger up and start trading headbutts, but that predictably ends badly for both. No one wins with a headbutt, after all. Gibson is up first and goes for the arm, but Dunne starts prying at the fingers, and hits a German suplex. Bitter End looks to finish, but Gibson kicks out at two! He swipes at the arm and dives with a 2^nd rope flying double knee gutbuster for two, and he cranks on the arm to try and finish, but Dunne falls into the ropes to save himself. Gibson goes up again, but this time Pete follows with a superplex - only to have Zack counter with a spinning brainbuster off the middle for two! Awesome! He slaps on the overhead wristlock right in the middle of the ring, and Dunne looks to be done! He manages to make the ropes, but the damage is done, and he looks to be on the verge of defeat! Gibson shows no mercy, putting the boots to the champion, but he wastes time trash talking again, and Dunne wrenches his fingers. Gibson tries to think fast by pulling himself up to the middle for a dive, but Dunne dodges, and the Bitter End retains at 17:45! Great match to cap things off, with hard work from both, and lots of drama throughout. **** ¼

BUExperience: One thing this crew does so well is that not only doesn’t the show not overstay its welcome, but the matches themselves don’t either. Everything was perfectly balanced here – to the point, but also not coming off as rushed. Another great night of NXT action!

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