BRM Reviews the 1/23/2019 NXT UK

[Big Red Machine]

OPENING SEGMENT- meh
Pete Dunne comes out to cut a promo but is quickly interrupted by Gallus. Joe Coffey cuts a promo saying that Dunne may have won their battle at TakeOver: Blackpool, but they will be the ones who win the war. He got in the ring and was going to get in Dunne’s face when the lights went off. Thankfully, instead of someone appearing via magic, it was just the beginning of WALTER’s usual entrance. Maybe it’s just me, but they appear to have severely turned down the crowd volume so that we could hear WALTER’s entrance music.
Joe Coffey wanted to fight WALTER but his brother and Wolfgang held him back. They feigned like they were going to leave, but then tried a surprise attack that utterly failed, partially because they attacked one at a time like dumb AI. Yet again I am forced to comment on Moustache Mountain not coming out to back Dunne up. Dunne and WALTER had another face-off, but I guess Johnny Saint got tired of it and ordered them to just play Dunne’s music and WALTER got the hint to leave the ring. If this doesn’t build to WALTER teaming with Dunne against Gallus then this segment really didn’t do anything.

SID SCALA MAKES AN ANNOUNCEMENT- It was about the Worlds Collide tournament thingy (though it was useless because they didn’t explain it at all). Also, Drake & Gibson walked into the building and Scala wanted them to give an interview to the gathered press but they said they didn’t want to talk right now. Also, whoever was filming this needs to learn to HILD THE F*CKING CAMERA STRAIGHT!

NINA SAMUELS vs. LANA AUSTIN- 3.5/10
They talked up Lana Austin as a mother of three whose children were so exciting to see her wrestle. I believe the last time WWE did something like this it was during the Mae Young Classic when Xia Brookside’s legendary father Robbie was going to see her wrestle live for the first time… and they basically squashed her. Austin lost, too, but at least she got to make something of a showing of it.

The announcers told us that Nina Samuels was annoyed when Jazzy Gabbert and Kay Lee Ray were spotlighted in the crowd during TakeOver: Blackpool because she thinks she should be the one being spotlighted. An excellent motivation to start pushing her up the card, while also setting her on a collision course with at least one of those two. I always enjoy it when you can take something that normally has no real storyline value (like spotlighting incoming talent or visiting dignitaries in the crowd at TakeOvers) and finding a way to give it some real storyline relevance.

MOUSTACHE MOUNTAIN INTERVIEW FROM AFTER TAKEOVER- meh

TONI STORM INTERVIEW FROM AFTER TAKEOVER- great!

EDDIE DENNIS vs. JAMIE AHMED- 4/10
Dennis remains angry. Ahmed is yet another generically angry bearded man. I feel like that’s 95% of the male roster in NXT UK.

Per Johnny Saint’s Tweet, we’re getting Moustache Mountain vs. Fabian Aichner & Marcel Barthel. I’m having trouble coming up with a clever name for the latter pairing that doesn’t involve the work “Axis.” Anyone care to lend a hand?

Also for next week, WALTER will have his first match in NXT UK.

JORDAN DEVLIN vs. TRAVIS BANKS- 8/10
These guys were having an awesome match that ended in a double count-out. I think Nigel McGuinness summed up my feelings perfectly when he said “Oh, come on!”

POST-MATCH SEGMENT- fine
They kept brawling afterwards and wound up in the crowd, so between that, the count-out finish, and the fact that Devlin attacked Banks in the lobby of the arena before TakeOver: Blackpool, I assume we’re getting Falls Count Anywhere Match next.


This was an okay episode of NXT UK. I shouldn’t have a problem with the finish of the main event, but when you consider that this was me finally getting to see a match I was promised a week and a half ago but then bait-and-switched out of, a non-finish is pretty annoying here.