BRM Reviews the 4/2/2020 NXT UK (best battle royale ever?)

[Big Red Machine]

KAY LEE RAY & JINNY vs. PIPER NIVEN & DANI LUNA- 5.75/10
This was a good little character-establishing match for Luna, where she was portrayed as eager but ruled by her emotions a little too much, which was contrasted with the calmer, veteran presence of Piper Niven. To everyone’s shock, the two egotistical heels managed to work together flawlessly, which I liked. They might be egotists, but they’re also practical people.

GALLUS VIDEO PACKAGE- snore
It’s the same generic stuff we always get from them.

XIA BROOKSIDE vs. AMELE- 1.25/10
This really probably should have just been a squash instead of letting Amale get any offense in.

#1 CONTENDERSHIP BATTLE ROYALE- 8.5/10
Yes, really. For a battle royale. It’s possible to have an awesome battle royale if you treat it as important and the wrestlers deliver. This match was treated as extremely important. It was given nearly half an hour, and at least the last ten minutes or so were the final four and below (and of course, those wrestlers- Tyler Bate, Ilja Dragunov, Joe Coffey, and Alexander Wolfe- delivered big time).
The next important thing they did was make sure that there was almost no geeks in this #1 contendership battle royale. There were no Curt Hawkins and Heath Slaters whose presence in any sort of #1 contendership match (even a big battle royale) you couldn’t fathom and who felt like they were just there to inflate the numbers in the match and get eliminated. Almost everyone felt like you could justify their presence in a #1 contendership match where you have to go through a large group of opponents. Even guys at the lower levels like Ashton Smith and Oliver Carter they made a clear effort to build up a bit over the past few weeks in preparation for them being in this match. The only one who I couldn’t justify was Amir Jordan.
The final thing they did to make this feel important is treated it like an important story nexus. The end result of this match will be much more than just “Wrestler X won and is now the #1 contender.” Dar eliminated Devlin, presumably setting up for a Cruiserweight Title shot. The feud between Ridge Holland and Joseph Conners picked up when Conners came out and distracted Holland, leading to his elimination, and then those two brawled. I can see Kassius Ohno getting ganged up on and eliminated right away leading to a storyline for him. This is a match whose consequences will be felt far more widely that just in the resulting title match.
One other thing I have to comment on is the big “Kofi Kingston” spot that A-Kid got to do. I usually don’t like those, but I liked this one because it didn’t seem completely ridiculous like the “he technically isn’t touching the floor” stuff we usually get in the Royal Rumble. I think that’s because he didn’t wait around on the outside and get ready for his big jump, but was constantly moving the whole time (or, rather, Saxton Huxley was, because A-Kid had him in a sleeper) and was leaning on Huxley to force him back towards the ring, then choked him out to the point where he was down to all fours so A-Kid could slip back onto the apron.


Anyway, this was very good episode of NXT UK, mostly on the strength of probably the best battle royale you’ll ever see, so go check it out!

[XIV]

My only problem with the Battle Royal, was the winner.

[Big Red Machine]

My only problem with the Battle Royal, was the winner.

May I ask why?

Hidden text.

And whether you've seen any of their matches in wXw?

[XIV]

My only problem with the Battle Royal, was the winner.

May I ask why?

Hidden text.

And whether you've seen any of their matches in wXw?

Yes and Yes.

My Problem is that I don't feel he's the guy who should be facing WALTER right now. It's tricky, because he's taken the big guys in recent months Dunne / Bate / J Coffey...

I guess it's a personal thing. I just don't see him getting the belt.

[Big Red Machine]

My only problem with the Battle Royal, was the winner.

May I ask why?

Hidden text.

And whether you've seen any of their matches in wXw?

Yes and Yes.

My Problem is that I don't feel he's the guy who should be facing WALTER right now. It's tricky, because he's taken the big guys in recent months Dunne / Bate / J Coffey...

I guess it's a personal thing. I just don't see him getting the belt.

I don't see him getting the belt, either. But there isn't anyone else I see getting it at the moment, either, so in that case, I think they're right to go with the guy who can give us the fresh match-up with a guaranteed high level of quality while really building someone else up on the undercard (perhaps by having them run through Imperium).

[XIV]

May I ask why?

Hidden text.

And whether you've seen any of their matches in wXw?

Yes and Yes.

My Problem is that I don't feel he's the guy who should be facing WALTER right now. It's tricky, because he's taken the big guys in recent months Dunne / Bate / J Coffey...

I guess it's a personal thing. I just don't see him getting the belt.

I don't see him getting the belt, either. But there isn't anyone else I see getting it at the moment, either, so in that case, I think they're right to go with the guy who can give us the fresh match-up with a guaranteed high level of quality while really building someone else up on the undercard (perhaps by having them run through Imperium).

Then I think we can at least agree that they need to use whatever time they have this new WALTER feud going on to build a legitimate contender for the belt.

[Big Red Machine]

Yes and Yes.

My Problem is that I don't feel he's the guy who should be facing WALTER right now. It's tricky, because he's taken the big guys in recent months Dunne / Bate / J Coffey...

I guess it's a personal thing. I just don't see him getting the belt.

I don't see him getting the belt, either. But there isn't anyone else I see getting it at the moment, either, so in that case, I think they're right to go with the guy who can give us the fresh match-up with a guaranteed high level of quality while really building someone else up on the undercard (perhaps by having them run through Imperium).

Then I think we can at least agree that they need to use whatever time they have this new WALTER feud going on to build a legitimate contender for the belt.

Balor.

[XIV]

I don't see him getting the belt, either. But there isn't anyone else I see getting it at the moment, either, so in that case, I think they're right to go with the guy who can give us the fresh match-up with a guaranteed high level of quality while really building someone else up on the undercard (perhaps by having them run through Imperium).

Then I think we can at least agree that they need to use whatever time they have this new WALTER feud going on to build a legitimate contender for the belt.

Balor.

YES.