SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
NXT UK TV REPORT
OCTOBER 31, 2019
TAPED IN ESSEX, ENGLAND
STREAMED ON WWE NETWORK
REPORT BY CHAD KOENIG, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
(1) JINNY & JAZZY GABERT vs. RHEA RIPLEY & PIPER NIVEN
– Niven and Jinny start the match. Niven grounded Jinny quickly right before tagging Ripley in. Ripley followed with three rip-chord clotheslines before Jinny rolled out of the ring. Ripley and Niven stalked Jinny outside and Ripley carried her to the apron, tossed her in the ring, threw her into the turnbuckles and took her out with a dropkick to the face. Ripley was then sent to the mat by a right hand from Jinny when Jazzy interfered on the apron. Tag to Jazzy. Jazzy took Ripley down but only landed a one count. Tag back to Jinny and she does the same thing to Ripley. Ripley dodged a roundhouse and countered with a roll up for the two. Jinny got up and wrapped herself around Ripley in an octopus hold to no avail. Hot tag to Niven while Jazzy gets the tag as well. The 2 powerhouses ran into each other with neither party budging. Niven hit the ropes and took her to the mat with a cross-body. Jinny ran in and got swooped up and slammed onto her partner before the short stack of women felt a running senton by Niven. Niven tossed out Jinny and was hit by a spear from Jazzy. A two count ensued before being broken up by Ripley. Jinny and Jazzy double team but get left outside of the ring. Ripley flipped over the top rope onto both ladies, rolled Jazzy in, and was finished off with a Michinoku Driver from Niven.
WINNER: Rhea Ripley & Piper Niven in 6:09 via pinfall
(Koenig’s Analysis: This match has been hyped for a few weeks and I actually thought that it would have been, and deserved, a main event spot with a little more time. I love all of the characters in the ring and although I enjoyed the match, I would have liked a little more.I don’t see Niven and Ripley working much together in the future as Ripley has been a mainstay recently on US NXT shows, but they have great chemistry.)
– Promo for the next match- the debut of A- Kid, who is touted as “the first Spanish- born WWE Superstar” which I find shocking.
– Smackdown on Fox commercial
(2) A-KID vs. KASSIUS OHNO
The match started out with some lock-ups before Ohno took the much smaller A-Kid to the mat with an armlock. A-Kid rolled Ohno’s shoulders to the mat for a two count. The keep the match on the mat for while, with Ohno using leg holds and head scissors to wear out A-Kid, who countered out. They make their way back to their feet and A-Kid took him down with a pair of dropkicks. More armlocks and rest holds from Ohno. He eventually sent A-Kid to the mat and landed a senton followed by a two. Ohno continued to use his strength and arm holds before A-Kid pounced to the top rope and landed a hurricarana. Standing dropkicks followed. One landed. One missed, sending A-Kid to his back. Ohno missed a senton, bringing him to the ground where A-Kid countered with an arm bar. Ohno then got a 2 count after a roll-up, followed quickly by an armbar that Ohno powered out of, bringing A-Kid outside of the ring. Ohno followed him out and the two exchanged strikes. A-Kid used the ropes to land a kick to the larger veteran, knocking him down and keeping him outside of the ring for the 10 count as A-Kid narrowly missed the count, giving him his first win. Ohno attacked A-Kid and held him in a Kassius Klutch before Tyler Bate ran in for the save.
WINNER: A-Kid in 6:47 via countout
(Koenig’s Analysis: A-Kid is green and Ohno was helping get him over. Too slow and too many rest holds for my liking. Curious to see how this kid does.)
– NXT Heavy WWE Shop commercial
– Backstage interview with Killer Kelly, saying she is cleared to compete and ready to pick a fight.
(3) ROY JOHNSON vs. JOSEPH CONNERS
– They start off by hitting the ropes and exchanging blows. Connors put Johnson in the corner and hit with a flurry of kicks. He went outside of the ring and stretched Johnson into the post. He continued to work on Johnson in the corner with some baseball slides. Eventually Johnson fought back and landed a back elbow. Backbreaker from Johnson brings the action to the mat. Johnson lifted Conners onto his back, but countered with an eye gouge which put him back into the corner, followed by a reverse neck snap. Conners wins with a Don’t Look Down.
WINNER: Conners in 4:01 via pinfall
(Koenig’s Analysis: I had zero emotional investment going into this match as neither has been on NXT UK in a while- particularly Johnson, who has been absent for 2 years. Conners is a bland heel with a good look. He needs a bit of a revamp.)
– NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray comes out as Connors exits the stage. She talks about Toni Storm being gone and how Xia Brookside wants a title shot. She insulted her, which is obviously setting up Ray’s next feud.
– Next Week- “Up Close with Piper Niven”
– Crown Jewel commercial
– Promo from Gallus
– Next Week- Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster
(4) DAVE MASTIFF vs. JORDAN DEVLIN
Devlin attacks out of the gate, and the two exchange strikes before Devlin slides outside of the ring. Mastiff grabs his leg as soon as he gets back in and flips him right to his face. Mastiff continued using his power to keep Devlin down before eventually hitting Mastiff in the arm with the rope, stunning the big man while Devlin refreshed.
Devlin continued to work on the injured arm. He grounded Mastiff with a leaping knee strike and continued torturing the arm for a couple of minutes before Mastiff powered out and slammed him to the mat. When the two go to their feet, they exchanged forearms before Mastiff landed a huge belly to belly. Mastiff with a senton and two count. Devlin attempted to pull Mastiff up but he didn’t have the power so he landed a couple of headbutts that seemed to do equal damage to both wrestlers. A whip to the corner then sent Devlin right over the turnbuckle onto the floor. Mastiff made his way out to do some work on Devlin and roll him back into the ring. Devlin grounded Mastiff again after using the rope on his arm again before landing a moonsault from the top rope. Two and a half. He went up for a second moonsault but was met with a pair of knees as he landed. Devlin made it to the corner, but Mastiff was ready and hit him with a cannonball, and his lifeless body just slid out of the ring. Mastiff rolled him back in and lifted Devlin to the top top rope where it looked like he was going to finish him off. However Devlin wiggled his way out and landed an enziguri and a Devil’s Inside for the win.
WINNER: Devlin at 12:22 via pinfall.
(Koenig’s Analysis: A tremendous match. i know this did have a lot of arm holds in it, especially early on, but this match told a better story. Moves and holds were sold well. Dave Mastiff is a great, young big man and Jordan Devlin is one of the top cocky heels in all of NXT.)
– As the show was closing, Tom Phillips announced that there was a developing story occurring backstage and the camera switched to correspondent Alicia Taylor. Alexander Wolfe was trying to recruit Ilja Dragunov into Imperium, stating that it could be “very good for his career. Or very bad” if he didn’t.
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