NXT UK 96

Andy Shepherd introduces us to today’s concept: Superstar Picks

March 3, 1997 – Berlin, Germany

British Bulldog def. Owen Hart {WWE European Championship Match}
Eddie Dennis chose this one. This was the match to determine the first champion. Honky Tonk Man is rather gross on commentary, comparing Stu Hart having trouble deciding who to root for here with Elizabeth Taylor’s failing brain health that made the news that week. I know a lot of people think of this one as one of the best Raw matches of the ’90s, and while it’s good I find that time has been unkind to it. The crowd was behind Bulldog, but not exceptionally so, and the match stayed at mostly the same pace the entire time. Bulldog weakly countered a victory roll to win the title at 9:42 (shown). A more full version (there is still a commercial break in it, though twice as much is shown as here) of the match can be found elsewhere on the WWE Network (Raw 199), and my rating reflects that version. ***½   

April 7, 2014 – New Orleans, Louisiana

Paige def. AJ Lee {WWE Diva’s Championship Match}
Candy Floss picked this one, which was adapted for the movie Fighting with My Family. I wonder why they didn’t have someone stand in for Tamina in the film. The pre-match promo, wherein Lee bragged about her long title reign and was challenged by the new called-up Paige, lasted a lot longer than the match. Paige won the title in her Raw debut match in 1:22 with an ugly Paige Turner. This was a lot more flukey (and sloppy) than I expected it to be. ½*

November 1, 2019 – Brentwood, Essex

Jordan Devlin def. Dave Mastiff
This was a Primate pick. I think this actually aired the day before they said it did here, and the confusion I believe is over it airing on the same day as one of the Saudi shows. Mastiff especially impresses me every time out. He does things that a guy his size really shouldn’t, and his stamina is pretty incredible all things considered. Devlin is a wrestling savante, putting a fantastic performance on around the big man, using every opportunity to stay alive until finally dragging Mastiff off the turnbuckle and hitting the Devlin Side for the win at 12:04. When this aired I said I was willing to guess that this would be better than anything that would be on Crown Jewel later that day. I suppose I win or lose that bet based on how much you liked Cesaro vs. Mansoor. ***¾

June 26, 2018 – RBKC, London

Tyler Bate & Trent Seven def. Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly {NXT Tag Team Championship Match}
Seven chose this gem. Not sure why here they list the day this occurred and not the day it streamed on the Network. The Undisputed Era made a case for being the best tag team in NXT history with this run it was on in 2018, and they didn’t stop at all in the years after. A hot crowd (and probably also Bate’s monstrous thighs) made this feel special in addition to being incredibly fast-paced and action-packed. No Sick Kick though, which is disappointing because I named that move. This wound up being match one in one of the best wrestling match trilogies of all time, in my opinion. Mustache Mountain hit the Birminghammer/diving kneedrop for the win and the titles at 11:53. ****½

Next week they’re doing a retrospective on Kay Lee Ray vs. Toni Storm vs. Piper Niven from Takeover: Blackpool II. I’m not sure I believe that match deserves it’s own episode. Actually, I’m sure it doesn’t.