NXT UK Takeover: Blackpool II

January 12, 2020 – Blackpool, Lancashire

Eddie Dennis def. Trent Seven
I would never have expected this to be the opener. Dennis is being called the dragon now, and his dragon-style gear is pretty goofy for a guy of his size. It’s very bright and feels like something more appropriate for a Rey Mysterio type, or at the very least not a guy with an unpredictable psycho gimmick. NXT UK seems to be dead set on getting Dennis over as a big deal, which I don’t understand when you have guys like Dar who are way more interesting without a spot on this show. That said, Dennis performed well enough here, so we know he can be relied upon not to shit the bed in a big show setting. Seven’s ultimate underdog status helped too, as did the match’s brevity (not counting the Matt Riddle vs. Kassius Ohno “match,” this was the shortest match on a Takeover special in over two years). Seven hit Dennis with a Razor’s Edge to the floor (after the referee wouldn’t let him hit the move into an exposed turnbuckle) and then hit the Next Stop Driver for the win at 8:17. In the end, this felt like Seven getting squashed, which I hate. The match was fine, but really should have been the popcorn match and not the opener. **¾ 

Kay Lee Ray def. Piper Niven and Toni Storm {NXT UK Women’s Championship Triple Threat Match}
This is the first time this title has been defended since KLR won it in August, which is absurd. WALTER also hasn’t defended his title since August. You know what might make people more excited for the weekly NXT UK TV show? Well title defense every other month might do the trick! This was an improvement over the women’s match in Cardiff. Whereas there the story was stronger than the action, here they were able to integrate the story (of Storm’s wavering allegiance to her friendship with Niven and of KLR’s manipulation of both opponents) with some really nice action that rarely relied on shortcuts. It is annoying though that every triple threat match in NXT ends in the exact same way. Here, Storm hit a Frog Splash on Niven, and then KLR snuck in and hit a thrust kick on Storm before pinning Niven at 15:58. Give me a different finish! ***¼ 

Tyler Bate def. Jordan Devlin
It was clear from the opening moments that these two wanted to do something special here. And they accomplished it. Devlin was mean as all get out here, beating the piss out of Bate with fists, kicks, and headbutts at every opportunity. Bate had the crowd on his side, which is what drove him to victory because his typical offense wasn’t doing the trick. What I’m most impressed with is that all of the high-risk opportunities these guys took paid off. There was a moment when Devlin and Bate were up top, Devlin grabbed Bate by the neck and switched positions with him on the turnbuckle so that he could hit a Spanish Fly. That’s insane and I can[t believe they pulled it off and it almost seemed like a shot at Joe Coffey and Pete Dunne’s double gaffe last year. Bate won in 22:23 with a tornado DDT, the Tyler Driver ‘97, and a corkscrew senton. Phenomenal. In an alternate universe, Bate won the title in Cardiff and this was the main event of this show and it was completely acceptable as such. I really hope Devlin doesn’t get lost in the shuffle again after this. ****½ 

Mark Coffey & Wolfgang def. Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner, Zack Gibson & James Drake, and Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews {NXT UK Tag Team Championship Ladder Match}
Gibson & Drake made me so happy early on here, when they opted to grab chairs instead of a ladder so they could beat everyone up before trying to win the match. That’s the kind of thing that’s missing in most ladder matches. From there it was spot-spot-spot-spot-spot nonstop, which is less novel but at least the spots were dope. They really didn’t take any time to breath here, so you never had time to do anything but be wowed by what you were seeing. It got a little silly near the end and it went a few minutes longer than it needed to, putting it on the level of the four team ladder match from Takeover: XXV. You do have to appreciate that when Flash Mandrews’ stereo table spot went wrong, they adjusted and hit a double drive onto Wolfgang for a wild visual. The finish was pretty cool, as Wolfgang speared Aichner through a table and Coffey knocked Barthel out of the ring onto everyone else before grabbing the belts at 24:59. ***¾ 

WALTER def. Joe Coffey {WWE United Kingdom Championship Match}
This was just the match it needed to be. Coffey came out of the gate strong and wild, showing WALTER how damaging he could be. When WALTER gained control, Coffey never begged off. He walked right into WALTER’s devastating offense and asked for more. WALTER spent more time on his back than you’d probably expect, but he never looked weak and generally maintained control throughout the match. I was skeptical that the crowd would get invested here, but every time Coffey was close to losing they willed him back to his feet. Also appropriate for this match was Alexander Wolfe and Ilja Dragunov getting involved after the referee got knocked out. Dragunov accidentally knocked Wolfe into Coffey, giving the title challenger a leg injury. All the madness played right into the gang leader brawl background of the match, and I have to say I liked it quite a bit. It furthers the elevation of Dragunov and gives him Coffey as a roadblock on his way to WALTER, I presume. The finish was a few minutes past the peak of the match, but that sacrifice at least made Coffey look very strong. WALTER made Coffey tap at 27:32 with a choke hold. ****

Imperium celebrate as the show begins to end, but then the Undisputed Era rushes in through the crowd to attack. Tune in next week when these teams fight at Worlds Collide. That was a great stinger.