Welcome back to a momentous edition of NXT UK Inclination. Momentous I hear you ask. Oh yes! Momentous for two reasons. One – The first ever I Quit match took place in NXT UK. and secondly – I am now over the man flu! Yes, I have bested the flu virus and am once again back to “normal”. Add some Kassisus Ohno/Chris Hero worship to this review and I’m a very happy chappy. Enough chit chat, let’s get to steppin’….to the review!
Grizzled Young Veterans vs The Hunt
In last week’s show (right here for your reading pleasure) The Hunt called out GYV for some disparaging remarks Gibson and Drake had been making about the team. And if you saw the promo, you know that Boar and Primate are looking to take their frustrations out on GYV.
And as expected, The Hunt came out of the blocks fast. James Drake was stalling to begin with until Boar got his hands on him! Primate joined in until Zack Gibson stormed into the ring and helped Drake out. It didn’t help much as The Hunt was in complete and utter control of the match in the early goings.
https://twitter.com/NXTUK/status/1233046519017807874
But as usual, due to nefarious means, GYV took over control of the match. Keeping Boar from tagging out, they wore him down with quite a few backbreakers, seemingly targeting his back. But, to me at least, The Hunt has turned a corner. I’m not sure if it’s due to their ability, or the fact they had great opponents, but Boar and Primate looked great here. One cohesive unit, hell-bent on destruction. Except that the destruction didn’t result in a win though.
A blind tag resulted in Zack Gibson hitting the Ticket To Ride for the win. As I said, The Hunt looked great, best they’ve ever been. But they never looked like putting away the first-ever NXT UK Tag Team Champions.
Winners – Grizzled Young Veterans
Quick hype promo package for NXT UK’s next big thing…Ridge Holland!. He gets better each and every week folks. Within three years, he’ll be in the US on NXT/Raw/SmackDown. Mark my words…
https://twitter.com/NXTUK/status/1233048819660738560
Jack Starz vs Kassius Ohno
I really feel for Jack. Every time I see him on NXT UK he seems to be on the receiving end of an ass-whupping! Which is a shame as Jack really is talented. You can see it in small doses in these matches, much like today’s match.
Ohno/Hero is one of my most FAVE wrestlers in the world. You all know that I’m just reiterating the fact before I gush all about him in the review 🙂 …
https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1233049791904567297
Kassius began the match as he has done recently. In a very technical style. Think World Of Sport style with a new age twist and some trash talk. A Wristlock into a Cravate onto Jack to start the match. But as usual, Ohno began to showboat and nearly lost the match to a quick roll-up from Starz! Who in turn began to showboat. Maybe he wasn’t expecting to still be in the match at this point? Who knows…A crushed hand in the steel steps was Jack’s reward.
From there it was all Ohno. Zeroing in on the injured hand with a hammerlock/backbreaker which was genius! A few more minutes of pain and it was all over. The Kassius Clutch was slapped on and Jack instantly tapped out, saving his injured hand more damage.
Winner – Kassius Ohno
A couple of quick promo videos are next. First up is Isla Dawn talking about Aoife Valkyrie’s debut. And how after they face next week, everyone will be talking about Isla Dawn.
https://twitter.com/NXTUK/status/1233054265389780993
Next was Travis Banks. The Kiwi Buzzsaw has had enough of Alexander Wolfe and wants to shut his mouth next week in a match.
A-Kid vs The Brian Kendrick
Oh wow! Now, this is how you make someone. A-Kid has been on the fringes of NXT UK over the past few months, showing flashes of talent here and there. Tyler Bate has been championing him recently and even had a match with his young protege. But I think it took a ring general veteran such as Kendrick to really push Kid over.
The match began with a great technical start. Much like the Ohno/Starz match earlier but quicker and more intense. And surprisingly Kid was on top for most of the early exchange. Countering anything Kendrick was throwing his way. But the wily veteran soon took control as he rammed A-Kid throat first to the top rope. Nasty vicious move from Kendrick to show that he had enough of the young whippersnapper.
https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1233052789317742593
Kendrick had targeted Kid’s neck and went to town on him. Neck crank through the ropes, strikes to the throat, even throwing him neck first into the turnbuckle. Everything was about the neck. Until Kendrick mistimed his run and checked himself. Giving Kid time to hit a Moonsault off the steps onto him. Back in the ring for a tilt-the-world armbar on Kendrick but he made the ropes.
The match went on and somehow both men were on the top turnbuckle. Kendrick hit a great Butterfly Suplex but garnered only a two. He instantly transitioned into The Captain’s Hook and was so close to getting the submission win. But Kid launched himself at the ropes and through some twisty magic space flying, hit a great flip DDT for the win.
Winner – A-Kid
I Quit Match
NXT UK Women’s Championship
Kay Lee Ray (c) vs Toni Storm
When I see matches that I think are spectacular, I add them to my Best Of 2020 so far list. And this is headed onto my list. What a match. The story going into the match, the sheer brutality and surprising technicality of both women. The guts and willpower of both performers was amazing and I tip my cap to both Toni Storm and Kay Lee Ray.
In an I Quit match, you don’t need the confines of the ring. And as soon as the bell rings, both women brawl to the outside. Using all the “furniture” they can find at ringside, both women beat the tar out of each other. No tie-ups and hold/counter hold here yet. Just two women that want to tear each other apart for the NXT UK Women’s Championship. And what a match to highlight just how prestigious the title is.
https://twitter.com/NXTUK/status/1233056636375306240
The match goes just short of 11 minutes and about 3 minutes of it is spent in the ring. And that was the opening bell and the finish! Outside they performed moves such as German suplexes, STF’s, Tornado DDT’s, Gory Special’s, Octopus holds…they went all out for the crowd. And it’s such a shame that the crowd was mostly mild for this match. I get that it may have been at the end of the day’s TV tapings, but c’mon! This match rocked and could have gone up another level if they were behind it more.
The finish is as brutal as it gets. Back in the ring and Storm is down. KLR finds some tape under the ring and binds Toni’s hands behind her back. Hard strikes to a defenseless Toni. Ray decides that’s not enough, and goes to get a chair! She puts Toni’s head in the chair and screams at Storm to quit. Even as Sid Scala and Johnny Saint run to the ring, Toni refuses to quit. Even when Piper Niven is begging Toni to quit, she doesn’t. KLR has no option but to Pillmanize Storm’s neck. It looked disgustingly brutal. But still no sign of quitting. So KLR goes to the top rope to jump down, but Toni quits. What a fight. No way was that a match.
And STILLLLL NXT UK Women’s Champion, Kay Lee Ray
https://twitter.com/Kay_Lee_Ray/status/1233067792468971520
If it wasn’t for that damn crowd, this would go down as one of the best NXT UK TV episodes. Such a shame….But moving on, who steps up to KLR now? Is Piper next in line for a Pillmanizing? And next week we have Dave Mastiff facing off against WALTER for the NXT UK Championship. Another big week next week, in more ways than one 😉
So until next week…TA TA!
