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NXT UK TV REPORT (EP. 94)
MAY 7, 2020
STREAMED ON WWE NETWORK
REPORT BY CHAD KOENIG, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Hosted By: Andy Shepherd (from home)
-Andy Shepard announces that this week’s special is not the rise of Imperium. A video went on introduce Walter’s debut and his match with Jack Starz.
(1) WALTER vs. JACK STARZ – From NXT UK TV, January 30, 2019
Starz looked very intimidated by this young behemoth in front of him. He started to strike but Walter wasn’t moving. Walter laid in a neck chop that sent Starz out of the ring. Walter followed and tossed him onto his back on the apron. He rolled Starz back in and he tried to slap his big chest. That didn’t work. A double dropkick from Walter, followed by a powerbomb put this match to bed.
WINNER: Walter at 2:30
(Koenig’s Analysis: Not much here. It was a squash that showed Walter’s power.)
-Nina Samuels and Ashton Smith talking about Walter.
-WWE Money in the Bank commercial
-Video recap of the Walter/ Pete Dunne rivalry, and of the beginning of Walter’s reign as NXT UK Champion.
(2) WALTER vs. PETE DUNNE – From NXT UK TV, May 22, 2019
Note: This show’s match started while it was already in progress.
-The match was already in progress and started with Walter and Dunne outside of the ring, with Walter standing above him. Walter kicked him into the barricade and kicked his jaw on the stairs. As Walter tried to bring him back into the ring, Dunne bent his fingers back. As he made it back into the ring, Walter continued to kick Dunne and keep him grounded, and dominated him around the ring. Walter welcomed a shot from Dunne and he laid in a forearm that knocked Walter to his back.
Dunne started to pick up momentum here. He was sent to the corner and flipped over Walter- kicking him in the head. He went up and kicked Dunne’s knees before wrapping him up in a kneebar. Walter easily escaped and executed a German suplex, but Dunne landed on his feet and kicked the him in the skull. Dunne took advantage of the moment and bent back Walter’s fingers again. Dunne with a crucifix bomb for two. Dunne attempted to lift him, but Walter laid him out a massive lariat, followed by an overhead suplex for a near pinfall. That didn’t work, so he flipped Dunne into a Boston Crab that he fought out of, grounded Walter, and worked his fingers some more. Dunne brought Walter to the turnbuckle and stomped his fingers on the corner post. Walter powered out and went to the top. Dunne dropkicked him and went to the top and put him in a triangle choke. Walter lifted him, but Dunne countered with an insiguri to ground the big man for two.
The two men got up and laid in more strikes on each other. Walter with another lariat for two and headed back to the top, only to be met by a forearm on his way down. Dunne with a Bitter End but couldn’t get a pinfall in so he wrapped up Walter in a triangle. He flipped the triangle to put himself on top and worked on Walter’s fingers some more. Fabian Aichner came down at this point and moved the bottom rope enough for Walter to get his foot up. As the referee was distracted, Marcel Barthel came from the other side and hit Dunne in the head with the title. Ref came back in without seeing the shenanigans. Walter with a powerbomb for the win.
WINNER: Walter in 11:31 (from this program’s match start)
(Koenig’s Analysis: A fantastic match from two of the best. I liked the use of Imperium to help him retain, even though Walter is capable of winning on his own. This is a prime example of NXT UK having some of the best wrestling out there.
-Aichner and Barthel discuss the timing of them as a tag team, Walter coming in, and the addition of Alexander Wolfe.
-WWEShop.com commercial
-Video showing the birth of Imperium and how British Strong Style were they only faction to face want to face them.
(3) BRITISH STRONG STYLE (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven & Pete Dunne) vs. IMPERIUM (Walter & Fabian Aichne & Marcel Barthel) – From NXT UK TV, June 12, 2019
Note: This show’s match started while it was already in progress.
This match was also in progress when it was started. Walter tagged in Aichner while he was fighting Trent Seven. Aichner with a belly-to-back for two. Tag back to Walter, who booted Seven in the ear. Seven started retaliating with some vicious slaps, but Walter with a side slam for two. Tag to Barthel who went in kicking. He kept Seven cornered and beat him down before going back to Imperium’s corner and tagging in Aichner. Some double teaming ensued but Aichner with a kick to the head for two. A tired Seven connected with a jawbreaker and insiguri to get himself a tag to Dunne, while Aichner made the tag to Walter.
Dunne came at his arch nemesis with a couple dropkick to the head and knee. Walter with a strike to Dunne before latching a sleeping. A German followed, but Dunne landed on his feet. An overhead suplex afterwards made sure Dunne didn’t do that again. Both men moved to their corners, with Dunne tagging in Bate, and Walter Aichner.
The two toss each other around the mat. Double teaming followed but Bate tossed Barthel right on top of Aichner. Bate got Aichner up on his shoulders and dumped him outside. He put Barthel up for an airplane spin but Walter disrupted. All of Imperium came in and Bate fought them solely. Quick tag to Barthel, with Aichner putting Bate up for an exploder. Barthel for the pin but he only got two thanks to Dunne’s run-in. Barthel with the tag to Aichner, as he held Bate down for Aichner to go to the top for a double stomp. Kickout at two. Tag back to Barthel and Bate took down both with a double clothesline, and even sent Walter out of the ring with a Pele kick. Tag to Seven, but Dunne and Bate both tagged themselves in while they triple-teamed Imperium. With Bate as the legal man, he went to the top rope and landed on Barthel for two. The crowd was going nuts.
The other members of both teams were fighting outside of the ring when a man in a dark hoodie came to the ring. While Aichner and Seven were fighting, the knocked the ref out of the ring who was distracted by this figure. Bate and Barthel were in the ring as this person came in and stared them down. He removed the hood to expose Alexander Wolfe, who then power bombed Bate. Aichner looked at Wolfe glowingly and pinned Bate as Walter rolled the ref back in. Imperium for the win.
WINNER: Imperium at 9:43
(Koenig’s Analysis: Another incredible showing by all in these two great factions. This brought Alexander Wolfe into the mix to add some extra strength to Imperium. A great way to bring in a heel.)
-Alexander Wolfe in a selfie video explaining how joining Imperium was the best decision in his career, and that he shares the same beliefs as Imperium, and how he also feels that the mat is sacred.
-Money In The Bank commercial, highlighting Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre.
-Andy Shepherd introducing a video showing Undisputed Era attacking Imperium, and setting up their match at World’s Collide in Houston, TX. It was brought up how early in the match, Wolfe was deemed unable to compete due to a kick that he took, which then made it four on three.
(4) IMPERIUM (Walter & Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner & Alexander Wolfe) vs. UNDISPUTED ERA (Adam Cole & Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong)
Note: This show’s match started while it was already in progress.
As this match was shown, it started with Marcel Barthel getting beaten by Undisputed Era in their corner, with Bobby Fish as the legal man. He tagged in Cole, who then hit a neck breaker for a near pinfall, followed by a backbreaker for another two count. Tag in to O’Reilly who continued to beat Barthel down. As O’Reilly taunted Imperium, Barthel came from behind with a Russian leg sweep, allowing him to tag in Walter. He cleared out Undisputed Era and pounded on O’Reilly. O’Reilly countered a powerbomb with leg scissors that he fairly easily escaped. Strong came in to help, but Walter picked them both up for a stunning double German suplex. Quick tags to the other members of Imperium to double team, but Barthel was the legal man who got the two count on O’Reilly. Aichner was tagged back in and kept O’Reilly locked in a rear chin lock for a while before pounding him down some more and tagging in Walter. Walter slammed him to the mat and landed an Earthquake bomb. O’Reilly tried to fight back but was met with a vicious slap to the chest, knocking him down for another near pinfall. Tag to Aichner and back to Barthel who kicked O’Reilly into the corner. Another tag to Walter. O’Reilly crawled under his legs and tagged in Strong.
Strong went right for the other members of Imperium before exchanging chops with Walter, but one lariat made Strong weak. Aichner came at Strong after he was tagged in but was met with a pair of leg submissions that he battled out of. Both rolled to their corners and tagged in Barthel and Fish. Double teaming from Imperium ensued, giving Barthel a two count on Fish. Imperium tried to follow up with more of that, but Fish caught Aichner mid- act and tossed him into Barthel in the corner. That gave him a chance to make a tag to Cole. He went after Barthel and connected with an insiguri, followed by a neckbreaker for a pinfall that was broken up by Walter. After that, the other three members of Undisputed Era swarmed Walter and beat him into the corner and tossed outside. They set up an announce table to toss him through, but Walter powered through all three men. The numbers caught up though, when Strong suplexed Walter through it.
Back in the ring, Barthel was tossing Cole around. Aichner came in and assisted with a brain buster. Cole super-kicked both men and hit Barthel with a neckbreaker for two. Cole tagged in Strong who landed a gut buster for two. Quick tags followed to Fish and O’Reilly. O’Reilly went to the top with a knee and into a leg lock. Barthel made it to the bottom rope, but it was Aichner’s moonsault from the top that broke up the move. Tags made to Cole and Walter. The latter started clearing out all of the members of Undisputed Era but was grounded momentarily by a superkick from Cole. In exchange, Walter connected with a big chop to Cole’s chest. Walter dragged Strong back into the ring and went to the top, connecting with a frog splash. Cole (the legal man), from behind with a knee to the head and a pinfall broken up by Imperium.
All seven bodies were on the mat at this point. The crowd started with “This is awesome!” chants. All of the men stand up and go face-to-face in a four on three standoff (remember Alexander Wolfe was taken out before the point where this match started airing). All seven men brawl in and out of the ring.
Going back into the ring, with legal men Fish and Walter, Fish missed a dive from the top and was kicked into the opposite corner. Walter with a massive powerbomb and the winning pinfall.
Winner: Imperium at 20:40
(Koenig’s Analysis: This was an amazing and fast-paced match. You couldn’t blink without missing anything. Walter shined in this as the dominant member of Imperium, but one thing that’s great about this faction is the fact that he doesn’t completely overshadow the other members, and they act as a well-oiled machine.)
-Walter in a selfie video saying that he was proud of what he has revisited from the past year, and that Imperium are just getting started. He noted that they step into the ring for the greater good of wrestling, and waits for the next challenge, as well as to continue his rivalry with Finn Balor, which was sidelined due to the COVID pandemic.
-NEXT WEEK: NXT UK Superstar Picks
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