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