NXT UK Takeover: Blackpool

Moustache Mountain vs James Drake & Zack Gibson

Super hot opener that was probably the best match on the show. Some nice early sequences, including Tyler Bate bridging ridiculously out of a double-knucklelock and rolling through, just insane strength. I loved Zack Gibson pulling Drake out as he got fired into the ropes to break the Moustache Mountain momentum, just a lovely bit of heeling that drew monster heat. Moustache Mountain remain in control, until Trent Seven hits a low tope, hurting his shoulder in the process. Drake & Gibson work a nice control, not always focused on the injury, but not neglecting it either. Loved Drake hitting a pescado to land a double team backbreaker on Seven on the floor. A big Drake forearm to the back of Seven’s head seems to open him up, looks nasty. Trent gets the hot tag, and Tyler is tremendous in the roll, just so entertaining. He hits a ludicrous but entertaining  double airplane spin on Drake and Gibson, takes both men out by hitting an exploder on Drake to the floor, landing him on Gibson, then follows up with a shooting star press. Great nearfall as Gibson stops a MM double team with a codebreaker from nowhere on Bate, and a Drake 450 on Seven gets two. They work a neat double Shankley Gate spot which I really loved – Gibson locks Seven’s injured shoulder in the move, and when Bate tries to break it up, Drake downs him and locks HIM in the move, putting both MM members in jeopardy. However, because it’s not Drake’s move and because Tyler’s shoulder wasn’t already injured, Bate is able to power up and drop Drake onto Gibson, saving Seven in the process. Bate is taken out with an insane Doomsday Device tope on the floor, and a Seven dive sees him getting laid out. Back in, with Bate still down, the Ticket To Mayhem gives Drake & Gibson the win. Great stuff.

Finn Balor vs Jordan Devlin

This is to replace a Devlin/Travis Banks match that gets called out due to a knee injury Devlin inflicts on Banks. Strange one this, I think Banks/Devlin would have been a better match (they had a banger at Fight Club: Pro in Sept 17), but as a big marquee match, this has the edge. It’s worked really evenly, which allows Devlin to look good going head-to-head with a former Universal champion, looked very much on Balor’s level. A good chunk of this match is based around Balor going for the Coup de Grace, but Devlin having it scouted and avoiding the move, including dropkicking Balor to the floor in an early big bump. Devlin works Balor’s torso nicely, slamming his back to the apron, hitting a double stomp in the ring and locking in an abdominal stretch. Every time Balor takes control and plays to the crowd, Devlin is ready to cut him off, and even gets a great nearfall with his feet on the ropes. Ultimately, Balor is just too much and the fourth attempt at the Coup de Grace finally hits, giving Finn the win.

Eddie Dennis vs Dave Mastiff

Had big hopes for this going in, and it was really fun. It worked as a showcase for Dennis’s often-overlooked raw strength and for Mastiff’s ever-surprising agility. Early on, Mastiff hits a lovely crossbody at top speed, like a freight train hitting Dennis. Liked Eddie going for a kendo stick under the ring, keeping it hidden from Mastiff until the last moment and striking him. Eddie starts with the impressive power spots, catching another Mastiff crossbody and hitting a swinging slam onto the steps (loved him selling the effort by trembling his knees too). The Severn Bridge looks insanely impressive, especially as there’s a little extra lift he has to do to get Mastiff over his head for the drop. The fact Dennis also hits the Next Stop Driver makes this a really impressive show of power. Mastiff hitting the Finlay Roll on the exposed concrete was a nasty looking bump and his attempt at a split legged moonsault looked neat. In the end, Mastiff avoids a second Severn Bridge, hits a German suplex and hits a cannonball to plant Eddie through a table for the win. Loved this.

Rhea Ripley vs Toni Storm

Ripley is pretty cagey to start this, spends a bit of time leaving the ring, so it’s nice to see Storm take her out with a tope out of frustration. Loved Ripley grabbing Storm’s hair as she tries to get back in the ring, kicking her in the head whilst she’s stuck on the apron. The commentary brings up Storm’s prior back injury, and a lot of Ripley’s offence focuses on this – neat looking body scissors, big delayed suplex and a pair of slams. Ripley does oversell getting pushed into the corner by Storm’s legs from the floor and an in-ring punch sequence looks pretty terrible, but this is decent on the whole. Ripley’s inverse Texas cloverleaf looks great still. Storm gets Storm Zero for the victory.

Pete Dunne vs Joe Coffey

This goes over half an hour, and just about manages to fill that time without it falling off a cliff. This starts cagily, worked on the mat, with Dunne throwing in a few nice touches, punching the exposed torso of Coffey in order to distract him and lock on submissions. Both guys play to their strengths, Coffey uses his power advantage by hitting a big pop-up powerslam on the ramp and locking in a big bearhug. Dunne, in contrast, knows he’s quicker than Coffey, thus he evades him via running moonsault in the corner, flips out of a back suplex then hits a big moonsault to the floor. Dunne keeps locking in a range of subs, but Coffey plans him with a sitout powerbomb on the apron. Great nearfall after Coffey hits a discus clothesline for two. Dunne locks in another submission, but Coffey breaks it by climbing to the top rope and throwing Pete off. Great spot. We maybe get a few too many kickouts near the end, drawing things out when it could have happily ended 5 minutes earlier, and the spot where they seemed to tumble from the top rope doesn’t look too good, but they do convincingly make you think Coffey has a chance of winning and also make him look good by surviving so much. The Bitter End only gets two, but Pete locks in one last submission, wrenching the fingers for the submission. Big main event that just about delivered.