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NXT UK TV REPORT (EP. 106)
July 30, 2020
STREAMED ON WWE NETWORK
REPORT BY CHAD KOENIG, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Hosted By: Andy Shepherd (from home).
-Andy Shepard introduces this “best of” show.
– Joseph Connors picks this match for himself and talks about him being the best in NXT UK. Odd choice being he lost the match.
(1) MARK ANDREWS vs. JOSEPH CONNORS (from NXT UK TV June 28, 2019)
They lock up and Connors goes right for the wrist. The crowd is silent. Andrews swept his legs out for a quick one count. Andrews tripped him again from the mat and Connors ducked, rolling him up for two. Connors got another near pinfall after a neckbreaker. He then continued the pounding by getting Andrews in in the corner and connecting with a hard lariat for two. A suplex followed for a second pinfall attempt.
Connors was doing a lot of bad-mouthing now and pulled Andrews to to Apron. He rammed Andrews head onto the hard corner. Andrews got up and into the ring, answering back with a series of strikes that sent Connors outside. Obligatory through-the-ropes dive oton Connors before rolling him back into the ring for two.
Connors rested on the ropes while Andrews came at him and hit his back with a 619. He went to the top to splash onto Connors before he rolled away and countered with a buckle bomb and a standing suplex for two.
As Connors moped around the ring, chants of “you suck” were thrown at him. Connors went to attack but was countered by a cradle for two. Connors then countered a backslide that Andrews turned into a Stundog Millionaire. He went to the top rope for a shooting star press for the victory.
WINNER: Mark Andrews in 6:17
(Koenig’s Analysis: A fast-paced match that spotlighted Andrews speed. I don’t get why this was the match that he picked because, as I said, he lost the match. And this wasn’t his best match. This should have been a match that Mark Andrews introduced.)
-Summer Slam commercial
-A promo for A-Kid in a series of training montages. He says that even though he is young, he knows enough about everyones strengths and weaknesses. He closed his promo with “Hasta La Vista”.
-Isla Dawn introduce the next while kneeling in high grass. Not much was said. Quality was poor.
(2) ISLA DAWN vs. XIA BROOKSIDE (from NXT UK TV, January 9, 2019)
Brookside starts the match with a handshake. Dawn welcomes it. They exchange and counter wrist locks early on. Dawn finally grounded her but Brookside countered with head scissors. Dawn tried to split Brookside’s legs apart but she countered and rolled Dawn up for two.
Back on their feet, Dawn applied a straitjacket that Brookside sexily slid her way out of. That was again reversed. Brookside escaped and again put Dawn in a straitjacket. They then countered roll up pinfall attempts until Dawn was able to sit down long enough for a win.
WINNER: Isla Dawn at 5:00
(Koenig’s Analysis: This match was awful. These two are green as can be. It was a boring series of slow reversals that almost mirrored each other’s performance. I’m saving you five minutes. Just fast forward.)
-Jeff Hardy: Chronicle commercial
-Undertaker: The Last Ride commercial
-A vignette on Dani Luna. She said that after five matches in NXT UK she was already facing the champion Kay Lee Ray. She looks forward to showing the NXT UK universe that she is something new and something special.
-Noam Dar vignette where he is at home talking in his signature heel way about NXT UK and climbing to the top. He ended the video with “Happy Birthday to me!”, which leads me to believe that this was made on July 28th.
(3) NOAM DAR vs. PETE DUNNE (c) (from October 17, 2018)
(taken from my initial review of the debut episode)
-The crowd was great for this. The early part of the match saw Dunne display his signature joint manipulation, cranking on Dar’s limbs. Dunne would go to the top tope, but Dar ran from behind and toppled him to the floor. Back in the ring, Dar lifted Dunne for a supple that he countered into and X-Plex, stunning both of the wrestlers.
They continued with some spectacular mat wrestling that yielded a “This is wrestling!” chant from the attentive crowd. They continued to go 50/50 at a breakneck pace until the end of the match where the two countered each other with more joint manipulation, climaxing when Dunne broke Dar’s fingers before pinning him to retain the Championship after landing a Bitter End.
WINNER: Pete Dunne at 11:37
(Koenig’s Analysis: This was one of the best matches of the year. The crowd was hot, loved Dunne and hated Dar. The match was a clinic between two masters of the British style.)
Follow Chad on Twitter & Facebook @ChadFromAlbany
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