NXT UK 24

January 9, 2019 – Liverpool, Merseyside

Ligero def. Joseph Connors
Connors and Ligero had cut promos on each other in recent weeks for some reason, so here’s this. Ligero won in 5:21 with a springboard tornado DDT. The energy here was nice and the crowd was game to give them their attention, so I guess it’s my bias showing that this did very little for me. It was both guys operating at a good pace, but neither showed anything new or novel here. **½

Next up is a lot of hype for Takeover, including a Grizzled Young Veterans promo, a video package for the two singles championship matches, and a Dave Mastiff-narrated video for his match against Eddie Dennis. The music on that Mastiff video is really nice.

Travis Banks def. Tyson T-Bone
Banks beat T-Bone in 2:07 with the Slice of Heaven. T-Bone had Huxley at ringside for the match. Jordan Devlin came out about a minute into the match dressed as Banks to try to distract the Kiwi Buzzsaw. It didn’t work, as Banks won the match moments later. Devlin tries to attack Banks but ends up having to retreat. I don’t review squashes, but this did everything it needed to do. A couple segments later they make a match between the two at Takeover official. N/A

There’s a Nigel McGuinness special coming to the WWE Network after Takeover. I was a very big fan of his Ring of Honor run and it seems like that’s what this focuses on, so my Saturday is going to be busy.

Mark Coffey, Joe Coffey & Wolfgang def. Pete Dunne, Trent Seven & Tyler Bate
Gallus beat British Strong Style in 25:31 when Joe Coffey hit Bate with a lariat. Gallus brought the goods as a well-oiled, cheating heel team. Seven was, once again, the ultimate underdog. And that left Dunne and Bate to be the powerhouses we all love them to be. This was a half-step below 2018’s British Strong Style matches, but then Gallus isn’t exactly at the same level as the Undisputed Era when it comes to putting on epic tag matches. Still, they gave this plenty of time, making it feel like a compelling final argument to watch Takeover. ****