NXT UK Inclination 30/01/20 (Imperium vs Andrews/Webster/Mastiff)

By
Mark Blake

Is it really the end of January already? This month has flown by! We’ve had Takeover: Blackpool II, Worlds Collide and the Royal Rumble in the last four weeks. That’s an insane amount of wrestling! And to carry on that insane-ness (it’s a word), I’m back with this week’s NXT UK Inclination. Imperium versus Mark Andrews, Flash Morgan Webster, and Dave Mastiff is the main event for today. And I have a feeling it will have implications on the NXT UK title scene. Enough hint’s let’s get on with the review!

Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan vs The Hunt

I’m sure I’m not the only one that thinks Boar and Primate are being underused and undervalued. I say that as each and every time I see them on NXT UK, they’re on the losing side of the match. Both guys, in my eyes, deserve more than this. At least give them a few wins here and there to make them seem more of a credible threat? As you fans know that as soon as The Hunt was announced, they were going to lose.

Burch and Lorcan, on the other hand, are exactly what The Hunt aspires to be. Take no prisoners, kick-ass team who have ring presence and charisma in spades. Oh, and they hit HARD. Maybe they graduated from the Hero/Ohno school of hard knocks?!

It’s been a while since we saw Lorcan and Burch, and they took no time in reminding people exactly who they are. Nasty chops, vicious uppercuts, all with their usual grit and enthusiasm. And was it me, or did both guys actually act as a team, and less of two guys thrown together? The Hunt did get a little offense in, but it was of little consequence to the result of the match.

Their 2-on-1 Spike DDT on Primate gives the team from NXT the win. Just throwing it out there…who wants to see Gallus and these two go at it??

Winners – Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan

Quick backstage interview with Toni Storm. She agrees that she wasn’t in the right “headspace” to take on and defeat Rhea Ripley at Worlds Collide. She taps her head and says “Kay Lee Ray, still in here. This has to end” and walks away. Could we be seeing a vicious gimmick match to end their feud?

In-ring promo time now with the crowing Eddie Dennis. He treats the live crowd to a highlight reel of him taking apart Trent Seven at Takeover: Blackpool II, laughing manically doing so. As he begins to expand on his evilness, Trent walks out. He immediately calls Eddie “boring, a liar and a cheat”, and suggests that they should have another match together…a street fight! Eddie goes on the offensive and attacks Trent, but the wily veteran saw it coming. He beats down Dennis but the Welsh Dragon escapes the ring and makes for the back.

Tyler Bate and A-Kid are seen at the UK Performance Centre. Tyler tells Kid that he will talk to NXT UK General Manager Johnny Saint about granting the two a match soon. It will be a chance for A-Kid to prove himself against one of the brands best.

Isla Dawn vs Nina Samuels

A competent match here that could have been a good match if it weren’t for a few niggles. You could see that they hadn’t worked much before as the chemistry wasn’t there. That’s not a knock on the women, it happens.

Nina had the majority of the match. Being the sneaky smart one of the two, she worked on Isla’s back, wearing her down. A nice spot where a drop toe hold to the apron outside of the ring was really effective.

But Dawn’s resilience got her not just back in the match, but take the win. A double knee from Nina was dodged by Isla, sending her into the turnbuckles. Ouch! A double knee of Dawn’s own landed on Samuels followed by a half and half suplex gave her a surprising win.

As I said above, it’s such a shame that the chemistry wasn’t there. It would have elevated the match. It was a so-so standard TV match in my opinion.

Winner – Isla Dawn

Interview time again! This time Ilja Dragunov was shown backstage at Worlds Collide. He spoke about Finn Balor’s comments about “not missing”. By the state of Finn’s nose after their match, he definitely didn’t miss. But he is looking forward now and Joe Coffey is now his new focus. He ended the interview ominously by saying that when it came to Joe, “I will not miss”.

Interviewed backstage after their earlier victory, Burch and Lorcan call out Gallus. Did I call that or what?!?

Tyson T-Bone vs Ridge Holland

Being a Brit I can only imagine what a “hoss fight” looks like. And in my eyes, this is it. Both men are big guys, built like the proverbial outhouse, and hit hard. Hitting hard seems to be a theme running through today’s show.

Dueling forearms, strikes and headbutts were on display here. And being a fan of Strong Style, I loved it. But looking back, you know Tyson was in this match to make Holland shine. T-Bone had his moments, But Holland had more. You can see that he’s being rocket strapped and pushed to the moon. With more performances like that, you can see why.

An Alabama Slam (mightily impressive considering Tyson’s size) followed by his Northern Grit finisher, gave Ridge an impressive victory. Telling you all now, by the end of this year, Ridge is going to be main event material.

Winner – Ridge Holland

Match graphics are shown for next week’s show. Tyler Bate got his wish as he takes on A-Kid. Plus Trent Seven vs Eddie Dennis happens too…In a steel corners street fight!

Imperium (Fabian Aichner, Martel Barthel & Alexander Wolfe) vs Flash Morgan Webster, Mark Andrews & Dave Mastiff

Imperium Webster Morgan Andrews
Photo / WWE.com

Having SWSC call upon Mastiff is a masterstroke. Both men are at a serious weight disadvantage to Imperium. And bringing in Mastiff balances that out. Good logical storytelling there. I..AM..SHOCKED 🙂

Barthel took the early going. Keeping Andrews grounded with some great technical ability. Man, he’s so slick! He was always good but since Imperium was formed, Barthel has kicked on another gear.

During the middle part of the match, Mastiff began to exert his size and authority. Throwing around the Imperium boys like they were just boys. I’ve followed Big Dave for quite some time and still get amazed by how powerful he is. But he wasn’t the star of the team, Flash was.

He’s a guy that has taken his licks in BritWres, and always comes back swinging for the fences. I have so much admiration for the guy. And again in this match, he showed what a competitor he is. Especially when Wolfe, The Axeman, hit a German suplex on him. Flash took the bump hard, on the back of his head and neck, and sold it so damn well throughout the rest of the contest. Even after that bump, he still kept hitting his high-risk offensive manoeuvers.

The end was nigh when Andrews and Flash hit simultaneous cannonballs onto Aichner and Barthel outside the ring. Big Dave imitated the Imperium pose in the center of the ring, which brought out the Ring General himself, WALTER. He jumped Mastiff from behind and laid into him, negating Imperium’s biggest threat. Meanwhile, Andrews was launched into the air by Barthel into Aichner’s waiting arms. A brainbuster later and it was game over. Imperium is victorious against Webster, Andrews, and Mastiff.

Winners – Imperium

Imperium stands tall as the show fades to black over Mastiff, Andrews and Webster. And that folks was another NXT UK done and dusted!

One week removed from Worlds Collide and you can see the seeds being sown for future feuds. Burch and Lorcan want to beat up the Gallus firm. Maybe even add the tag team gold to the mix too? Ridge Holland goes from strength to strength, looking all the more dominant. And could WALTER be facing Dave Mastiff in the not too distant future? Once again, exciting times over here on the NXT UK brand.

I’ll be back again same time next week with another Inclination. Don’t forget that we have Tyler Bate taking on hos young protege A-Kid, and a Steel Corners Street Fight between Eddie Dennis and Trent Seven.

So until next week, TA TA from the UK!

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