Ahead of next week’s huge Battle Royal to determine the next challenger for WALTER‘s NXT UK Championship, a huge title match main evented another incredible episode of WWE‘s United Kingdom brand.
Cruiserweight Classic
https://twitter.com/NXTUK/status/1243282181293846528
Jordan Devlin vs Travis Banks for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship was never going to be anything short of amazing, but the two certainly went above and beyond any expectations that were set in order to head back home with a little extra luggage. Not long into the match, Devlin a tope suicida from ‘The Kiwi Buzzsaw’ that sent Banks careening into the barricade, a spot not typically seen that early into a match – with that in mind, the defending champion set his sights on further damaging his opponent’s back. The former PROGRESS Wrestling World Champion came back into things later on with a multitude of strikes that ended up garnering a huge show of appreciation from the paying audience, later adding both a mammoth lariat and Slice of Heaven to the mix. A Kiwi Crusher was reversed into a rollup from ‘The Irish Ace’, who used the ropes for extra leverage to retain his championship. Cheap tactics to retain his championship, but a truly fantastic match to end off another episode of NXT UK.
The Mat Is Sacred
https://twitter.com/NXTUK/status/1243269984249352193
In the opening contest of the evening, the Imperium tandem of Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel moved towards next week’s NXT UK Championship #1 contendership Battle Royal with a victory over Ashton Smith and Oliver Carter, a victory that didn’t come as easily as you may have initially thought. The European duo traded strikes and technical prowess with their adversaries, with Barthel busting out a PK to Carter, who fired back with a huge superkick. When Smith and Carter utilised some tag team offence later on in the match to wear down Imperium, including a gorgeous assisted 450 splash, it seemed to be leading them towards a victory, but a European Bomb to Oliver Carter secured the win for WALTER’s pals.
Rising Up The Ranks
https://twitter.com/NXTUK/status/1243272530875633665
Since her arrival to NXT UK, Aoife Valkyrie has remained undefeated as she continues to rise through the ranks, picking up a win over Nina Samuels this week thanks to her flying Axe Kick off the top rope. There was some excellent technical wrestling in this one from both competitors, with Nina focusing on the legs of the Irish standout, something that obviously didn’t work out in her favour. Valkyrie eventually fought back with some fantastic offence, including a dropkick through the ropes, with a slap to the face courtesy of Nina doing nothing other than angering Aoife as she hit her finisher for the three count. Although it’s Piper Niven who’s currently chasing Kay Lee Ray for the NXT UK Women’s Championship, expect to see the former Pro Wrestling: EVE Tag Team Champion in the running for the title sooner rather than later.
Supernova vs Sensation
Tisk tisk, @NoamDar……#NXTUK pic.twitter.com/VFl7vpW1hg
— NXT UK (@NXTUK) March 26, 2020
On paper, Noam Dar vs A-Kid seemed like it would be a wonderful match. In reality though, it was even better than originally expected, with both men wowing the crowd in attendance. As expected, neither man could quite the advantage here as the action was simply too quick to keep your eyes on, with ‘The Scottish Supernova’ preferring to keep the Spanish native downed on the mat – a wise strategy, given what A-Kid is usually like. Some pinfalls and submissions were both traded, which saw Kid use his chain wrestling knowledge to escape a kneebar, before taking a low blow from the current Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) World Heavyweight Champion (something that the referee didn’t see). A NovaRolla finished off the Spanish sensation as Dar declared his intentions to enter next week’s Battle Royal, firmly believing he’ll be the one to finish off the monumental reign of ‘The Ring General’.
What Else?
In addition to all of this, Piper Niven made a promise to not let Kay Lee Ray destroy anyone else like she did to Toni Storm in their recent I Quit Match, Flash Morgan Webster promised to gain retribution for Mark Andrews following a backstage assault on him last week, and several competitors announced their intentions to enter the Battle Royal in order to challenge WALTER for the NXT UK Championship, including Gallus, the other members of Imperium, Ilja Dragunov, and Moustache Mountain.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. Be sure to catch all of the NXT UK action via the WWE Network.
