Hamilton’s NXT UK Review 12.03.20

Quick Results
Rampage Brown pinned Saxon Huxley in 5:02 (**)
Aoife Valkyrie pinned Aleah James in 4:08 (*½)
Joe Coffey pinned Alexander Wolfe in 12:55 (***¼)
Wild Boar & Primate pinned Eddie Dennis & Mark Andrews in 10:00 (***)

After the Pat Patterson tribute graphic, it’s straight into the titles – instead of a recap of the Heritage Cup final or anything like that – as Nigel McGuinness and Andy Shepherd voice over from the BT Sport Studios.

What we do open with though, is a video package on the Hunt turning on Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster, including the backstage attacks and Eddie Dennis’s verbal barbs.

Rampage Brown vs. Saxon Huxley
They set this up with a segment at the UK Performance Centre last week.

We open with a lock-up as Huxley clamped in a side headlock on Rampage… which quickly led to a shoulder tackle. Wash, rinse, repeat, but this time Rampage knocks down Huxley… they got knocked down himself. An Irish whip took Huxley into the ropes, with a dropkick knocking him down, before Rampage continued to clubber away on Huxley.

Another lariat takes Huxley down for a two-count, as Rampage continued to dominate, but Huxley tries to fight back, only to telegraph a back body drop before he got clotheslined to the outside. Saxon pulls Rampage outside, allowing him to charge Rampage into the apron a few times before they headed back inside.,

Huxley heads up top for a flying clothesline, but it only gets a two-count… he keeps the pressure up, throwing Rampage into the corners, only to get kicked away ahead of a standing uranage. Rampage kicks out at two as Huxley seemed to have the upper hand, but he gets caught up top… he shoves Rampage down, only to leap into a slam, before a Doctor bomb gets the win. A surprisingly even match, but that’s how they do things around here. If Huxley hadn’t done that 50-50 with Jack Starz, I’d not be so down on this… **

“Earlier this week,” Jim Smallman is speaking to Joseph Conners about the Heritage Cup. They’re interrupted by Piper Niven bashing Jinny in the middle of a photo shoot, as all sorts of kerfuffle breaks out.

We get another recap package ahead of tonight’s main event, with Eddie Dennis talking about the relationship between man and beast. They’re at least trying to build this up, but this could have done with a little longer in terms of a focussed build. Like maybe have packages like this in the weeks before the match, and not the show itself?

Levi Muir and Jack Starz are talking about Rampage… of course Saxon Huxley walks by. It’ll be Muir/Huxley soon, eh, as that “better luck next time” comment wasn’t appreciated.

Aoife Valkyrie vs. Aleah James
Aleah actually gets an entrance this time, but starts out having to push out of a side headlock.

She’s charged down, before cracking Valkyrie with a dropkick. A leg lariat from Valkyrie is avoided, as we’re back to the side headlock, with the push-off leading to a ‘rana from Valkyrie, then a headscissors takedown that leads to some pinning combinations from the Irishwoman.

James goes back to the side headlock, taking down Valkyrie, but they’re back up with Valkyrie taking her into the corner. Aleah avoids again, ducking a leg lariat with a Matrix, but a leg sweep and a low dropkick takes her down for a two-count. A surfboard stretch followed, as Valkyrie pulls James into the Axel Dieter Special, but Aleah holds on before she got rolled into a crucifix pin for a two-count.

Valkyrie keeps going, whipping James into the corner, but Aleah comes back with a dropkick for another two-count, then with a Northern Light suplex for another near-fall. That near scare prompts Valkyrie to unload with right hands, before she finally lands the leg lariat, as a running Blockbuster took James down as the Peripeteia (flying axe kick) gets the win. Way too short to be much of note, but solid enough while it lasted. I’m just not a fan of this template of match on this show. *½

Pretty Deadly do a mock interview, interviewing each other as they talk over each other as they convince us they should be getting a tag title shot. I can’t disagree…

Yet another promo package for the main event. It’s starting to get a little Poochie now, with three of these in 23 minutes. They’re giving this the full-on “blow off to a blood feud” treatment…

Joe Coffey vs. Alexander Wolfe
Coffey’s got Vaseline over his eyebrows, to avoid reopening the cut he got against Sam Gradwell a few weeks back. Kayfabe!

Wolfe looks to take down Coffey early on, and does so as they scrap on the mat in the opening seconds. Wolfe gets Coffey’s back, but he’s thrown down as they go back-and-forth with takedowns. Wash, rinse, repeat, as we eventually get past the Brawl for All-like takedowns with Coffey beginning to throw strikes at the German.

A punch to the lower back has Wolfe down ahead of a backbreaker off the ropes. They lock up into the ropes, with Wolfe punching Coffey on the break… and there’s some fresh aggression from the German as Coffey was looking to see if he’d reopened that wound. An Irish whip ends with Wolfe just pulling Coffey top the mat by the arm, which Wolfe continued to work on. Another arm whip yanks Coffey down for a two-count, as Wolfe went on to torque the arm… and all of this reopened the cut on Coffey’s eye.

Coffey blocks a suplex and hits one of his own, but Wolfe goes back to the arm… only to get pulled out of the corner as he set up for a stomp off the middle rope. Shoulder tackles from Coffey see him build up momentum, ahead of a belly-to-belly suplex, then a splash into the corner, as a crossbody off the top takes Wolfe down.

Coffey looks for a Boston crab from there, but instead goes in for some ground and pound before Wolfe kicked Coffey away. Wolfe tries to pick him up, but the lower back gives out… before he kneed away a spear from Coffey, then threw in a twister suplex for a near-fall.

Wolfe tries to follow up with a German suplex, but he’s backed into the corner as Coffey went for the springboard crossbody again. An uppercut stops that as Wolfe responds with a death valley driver for a near-fall… and when Wolfe tries for the German suplex again, Coffey retaliates with clotheslines. They’re kicked away, as Wolfe again goes for the suplex, finally deadlifting the Scotsman for a near-fall.

From there, Coffey manages to hit back with Awra Best for the Bells, but Wolfe spills outside after the move… Coffey rushes to roll him in, but Wolfe gets a foot on the rope to keep the match alive. He rolls onto the apron and drags Coffey there for another scrap, with Coffey clotheslining Wolfe back in, before an enziguiri knocked Coffey down to his knees.

Elbows keep Coffey on the apron, but he slingshots back in with a shoulder tackle before the leaping spear to the back knocked Wolfe down. Awra Best for the Bells lands to the back, then to the front, and that’s it. A pretty enjoyable “big lads match” for the brand, even though it took me a while to figure out Coffey was meant to be the good guy. I guess? ***¼

Afterwards, Wolfgang and Mark Coffey come out to celebrate like football fans… so I guess that’s what’s making them the good guys?

Jordan Devlin’s in front of the neon sign for a vignette. He’s looking for challengers because he’s not been able to defend his Cruiserweight title. Starting next week, he’s throwing out an open challenge to anyone for the title… under 205lbs.

Next week, in addition to that open challenge… we’re getting the Supernova Sessions.

The Hunt (Primate & Wild Boar) vs. Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster
The Hunt get a fog-filled entrance – I kinda dig it as they’ve gone for the “beastly” vibe for these guys since their repackaging. Andrews and Webster storm the ring and attack before the bell, throwing the Hunt outside for dives.

Primate charges at Webster on the outside, but gets thrown into the guard rails as Webster and Andrews went to work on Boar. A dropkick knocks him off the apron as a plancha from Webster left him out. A standing moonsault from Andrews back inside gets a two-count, but Primate trips Andrews and causes a distraction as the Hunt began to take control.

Primate’s in after Andrews took a back suplex, throwing some shots before Boar returned to land an elbow drop. Elbows keep Andrews down, but he flips away and fought back with palm strikes, only to walk into a uranage as Boar gets a two-count. A tag brings Primate back in, as he lifts Boar into assisted back senton for a two-count, with Boar continuing to stay on top of Andrews with some falling headbutts.

A monkey flip from Andrews offered hope, but he had to hit an enziguiri… knocking Boar into the corner for a tag, before the Stomp 182 wheelbarrow stomp got him free to tag in Webster. The moonsault press out of the corner takes down Primate, who’s then chopped into the corner… then thrown onto the apron for a springboard dropkick.

Webster followed that up with a flying ‘rana off the apron to Boar, before a cannonball off the apron took down Primate. Boar’s back inside, but Webster hits a Pedigree-like move to drop him onto Primate, as Andrews returned to hit a standing shooting star press after he’d helped Webster hit an Asai DDT. That gets another near-fall, before Webster tagged in… but he took too long to set up a double-team, and the Hunt’s back in with suplexes.

Boar’s back with a pop-up powerbomb on Webster, then a cannonball, before Flash’s headbutt knocks Boar into the corner. Tags bring in Primate and Andrews, with the latter hitting a leaping stomp before a satellite DDT took down the Hunt in one go. Webster’s back for some topes con giro to the Hunt, before they returned to the ring as a monkey flip into a bicycle knee almost got the win – but Eddie Dennis rolls in Boar to help break up the pin.

Boar lifts Webster to the outside – but Andrews is the legal man, and gets clotheslined by Primate as the Hunt begin to double-team. Primate hands Andrews off to Boar for a slam that gets another two-count as Eddie began to bark more orders at ringside… but Flash is back to launch into Boar with a crossbody.

Primate tries to take down Andrews, but eats a Stundog Millionaire before Andrews went up top… and after dealing with Boar, gets crotched by Eddie Dennis. Webster goes to have a word, and gets clotheslined by Boar for his troubles, as Primate spears Andrews to the mat. A death valley driver/powerbomb combo follows, and that’s it! Enjoyable for what it was, but it absolutely didn’t hold the blood feud dynamic that they built this up to on the show. A big win for the Hunt – and I guess if Gallus are good guys, this puts them towards the top of the pile for a title shot? ***

6.6

The final score: review Average

The 411

An enjoyable, if underwhelming show from NXT UK this week - the match templates for the undercard do nothing for me, in particular the 4-6 minute long even match with guys they’re preparing for a push (and on that note, where on earth have WALTER and Ilja vanished to since their match five weeks ago?). As for the main event, it was decent, but overall felt a little underbaked. Perhaps this is just the first chapter - but I guess we shall see.