BRM Reviews the 10/29/2020 NXT UK (ILJA VS. WALTER!)

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Big Red Machine
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BRM Reviews the 10/29/2020 NXT UK (ILJA VS. WALTER!)

Post by Big Red Machine » Oct 31st, '20, 17:19

AOIFE VALKYRIE vs. DANI LUNA- 4.25/10
This was a lot more even than I was expecting. This is probably the right call because while Valkyrie getting the push right now, they’re pushing her as still being undefeated in UK, so all that really matters for her is that she wins cleanly and uncontroversially. Letting Luna get an even amount of offense in won’t get in the way of that.

HERITAGE CUP TOURNAMENT QUARTERINFALS VIDEO PACKAGE- fine

EDDIE DENNIS “MEDIATES” BETWEEN MARK ANDREWS & “FLASH” MORGAN WEBSTER- fine
As you would expect, this was Dennis trying to stir sh*t up between the babyfaces but the babyfaces didn’t buy it. Fortunately, Dennis had a back-up plan. He had Pretty Deadly come out to flank him. And then The Hunt came out to reinforce Andrews & Webster… and then, when Eddie gave the signal, they turned on them. So yeah. It was the same angle they did the previous night on NXT with Pete Dunne turning on Kyle O’Reilly. This one wasn’t quite as obvious because The Hunt being pals with Andrews & Webster had been established previously… but the way they established it was by having them be present at the scene of both backstage attacks, which I (and I assume many others) took as a tip-off that they were actually the attackers.
The talking here was significantly weaker than on NXT, though. Buck is a heel who can make you angry. Eddie Dennis is mostly just tiresome when he talks for too long. He does a good job with his character, but they need to cut his promos down.
Pretty Deadly apparently weren’t in on the whole plan, as they seemed to disapprove of the sneak-attack (which seems out of character for two generic arrogant heels), but they didn’t go help the babyfaces, either. They just walked off.

PIPER NIVEN INTERVIEW- fine
The interviewer asked her what her “plan” was now. She gave the obvious answer, which is that she is still going after Kay Lee Ray. She said “words fade, but injurie can last forever,” so I assume this feud will be going in a more violent direction.

VARIOUS PEOPLE INTERRUPT A SID SCALA INTERVIEW- very bad
First are Pretty Deadly. Scala asks them if they were in on Eddie’s plan and they say no. They are here to see Sid because they want a shot at the tag titles. Then some other guy I don’t remember seeing before walked up and said that the real news is that he was back. He called himself “the Thunderstorm,” but I assume that’s a nickname. He had something written on his jacket, but the angle was never right for me to be able to read it.
They all walked away, at which point Mark Coffey & Wolfgang of Gallus showed up and asked Sid of they heard him right, and which of them was going to “do something about that.” I was confused as to what was happening here. I didn’t think Scala had booked a match, but maybe he did. The options are:
1. Scala has booked a title match and Gallus are unhappy about it because they don’t want to wrestle Pretty Deadly at all, and are probably going to now go attack them backstage.
2. Scala has booked a title match and Gallus are unhappy about it because they don’t think Pretty Deadly deserve a title shot, but would be happy to beat them up in a non-title match.
3. Scala has booked a non-title match and Gallus are unhappy that it isn’t a title match because they want to defend their titles (this seems least likely to me, but if my memory serves me, they did seem to be turning Gallus babyface before the shut-down).
4. Scala has not booked a match at all, and Gallus are unhappy because they want to beat Pretty Deadly up.
There is no reason for a viewer to be confused about what someone is angry about at the end of an interview segment (unless, of course, that confusion is your goal, which it should only be if you’re trying to establish some sort of mystery).

JORDAN DEVLIN vs. LEVI MUIR- no rating, meh squash
This was a squash that could have been shorter. Devlin won with the cloverleaf, then cut a promo telling the Cruiserweight division that their real champion was back, and if anyone wanted a title shot, they’d have to come to the UK to get it.

Booked for next week is all three members of Gallus against Pretty Deadly and also the other guy who showed up in that segment, who is apparently Sam Gradwell. I don’t know if Gallus are going to be happy about this or upset.

NXT UK TITLE MATCH: WALTER(c) vs. Ilja Dragunov- a PERFECT 10/10!
Are absolutely sure this one was worked? These two jut bea the living sh*t out of each other. WALTER worked over Ilja’s neck for most of the match and he just kept coming but Ilja just kept coming back and WALTER pretty much had to choke Ilja to death to put him down.


For all practical purposes, this was a one-match show, and that match delivered above and beyond even my high expectations for it, so this was an awesome show.
Hold #712: ARM BAR!

Upcoming Reviews:
FIP in 2005
ROH Validation
PWG All-Star Weekend V: Night 2
DGUSA Open the Ultimate Gate 2013
ROH/CMLL Global Wars Espectacular: Day 3

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NWK2000
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Re: BRM Reviews the 10/29/2020 NXT UK (ILJA VS. WALTER!)

Post by NWK2000 » Nov 1st, '20, 21:43

Big Red Machine wrote: Oct 31st, '20, 17:19

NXT UK TITLE MATCH: WALTER(c) vs. Ilja Dragunov- a PERFECT 10/10!
Are absolutely sure this one was worked? These two jut bea the living sh*t out of each other.
This undersells it. There are plenty of wrestling matches in which the guys beat the shit out of each other for real. But there was hatred from bell to bell. Walter's special gift is that he does little strikes where normal WWE wrestlers wouldn't do them, little kicks to a downed opponent that is the missing piece to the illusion of it being a real fight. You put someone like Ijla opposite him who ALSO does stuff like that, and has the added benefit of looking like a complete madman but in a Mick Foley way where he can make himself loveable but that doesn't hurt his credibility, you get absolute fucking magic. I haven't felt jubilation in a match like this since Okada vs Shibata at Sakura Genesis, and no one almost died for real at the end!

Also can I gush about the WALTER promo that played before the match, "I respect Ilja smash cut to WALTER beating the shit out of him.". Because in WALTER's fucked up interpretation of life, that is respect.
NWK Reviews is closed for business for now.

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Big Red Machine
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Re: BRM Reviews the 10/29/2020 NXT UK (ILJA VS. WALTER!)

Post by Big Red Machine » Nov 1st, '20, 23:04

NWK2000 wrote: Nov 1st, '20, 21:43
Walter's special gift is that he does little strikes where normal WWE wrestlers wouldn't do them, little kicks to a downed opponent that is the missing piece to the illusion of it being a real fight. You put someone like Ijla opposite him who ALSO does stuff like that,
This was what I enjoyed so much about the Misawa vs. Kawada match I recently watched from 1992. You might want to check that one out.
Hold #712: ARM BAR!

Upcoming Reviews:
FIP in 2005
ROH Validation
PWG All-Star Weekend V: Night 2
DGUSA Open the Ultimate Gate 2013
ROH/CMLL Global Wars Espectacular: Day 3

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Serujuunin
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Re: BRM Reviews the 10/29/2020 NXT UK (ILJA VS. WALTER!)

Post by Serujuunin » Nov 6th, '20, 12:00

I was wondering how you’d rate this match. I’m not 100% on the WALTER train yet, but this was something special. It had the feeling of pure brutality that a lot of matches just don’t have, and they didn’t even have to use anything to get there! If WWE could make their feuds blow off like this, it would be amazing.

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