BRM Reviews the 10/15/2020 NXT UK

[Big Red Machine]

HERITAGE CUP TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINAL MATCH: Dave Mastiff vs. Joseph Conners- 3.5/10
Mastiff offered a handshake at the bell but Conners ignored it. Mastiff won by knockout early in the third round. We needed a knockout at some point early on to make it feel like a believable finish for later on, and given the “blah” quality of the wrestlers involved here, this was probably the best time to do it.

JORDAN DEVLIN VIDEO PACKAGE- great!
First things first: Yes, they’re using him again.
Using the fact that he can’t back to the US to essentially have an NXT UK Cruiserweight Championship which he insists is the real title is probably the best way to handle the situation. It should lead to a big match when things are able to be back to normal.

ASHTON SMITH & OLIVER CARTER BANTER BACKSTAGE- fine
The important news here is that Carter has a match against Eddie Dennis next week.

ISLA DAWN vs. PIPER NIVEN- 4/10
A solid win for Piper. I like Isla Dawn, but at this point, they’ll have to do a lot of work to get me to see her as anything other than an undercard-level wrestler. She’s just been there for too long without any sign of upward mobility.

KENNY WILLIAMS PROMO- fine
He’s with Amir Jordan, training for his Heritage Cup quarterfinal match, which will be next week against Trent Seven.

TRENT SEVEN VIDEO PACKAGE- fine
He’s never done a rounds match before. What kind of British wrestler is he?!

ILJA DRAGUNOV & PETE DUNNE vs. IMPERIUM (Alexander Wolfe & WALTER)- 8.75/10
Ilja pinned WALTER in a WONDERFUL, hard-hitting tag team match. More shows need to just give their main event the twenty-plus minutes this got. Doing this sort of thing will go a long way towards making your show feel can’t-miss.

This was a GREAT episode of NXT UK. Mostly on the strength of the main event, but great nonetheless. I am REALLY looking forward to Ilja vs. WALTER now.

[Serujuunin]

Before this main event I wasn’t sold on Ilja bring the guy to pin Walter, but I definitely find it more believable now. It’s taken a chunk out of Walter’s armor, and, to me, he feels a bit more vulnerable now than before. I’m sure it’s a new thing for him so I’m interested to see where this goes.