Takeover: Blackpool LD

[klunderbunker]

Am I the only person who watches this show?

[klunderbunker]

Bate is scary at times.

[smarkmouth]

Am I the only person who watches this show?

Definitely a highlight of my week, but I'll be catching this one later tonight.


Bate is scary at times.

I obviously don't have context to what you're specifically referring to, but I've reached out to a physicist to explain Bate's thighs to me. Still waiting on the results.

[klunderbunker]

That's the right choice for the opener.

[klunderbunker]

Cool choice for a replacement.

[Spidey]

Great crowd.

[Spidey]

Not enough commitment to the whole camera shaking with Mastiff. F+

[klunderbunker]

You don't get matches with two people this young and good too often. Must be a British/Australian thing.

[Yer Maw]

Tag match was awesome.

[Yer Maw]

Didn't expect that. Good match.

[Spidey]

Right on

[klunderbunker]

Good match but the finish felt flat.

[Spidey]

Gorgeous belt. Shame it has to be gnawed on.

[Yer Maw]

I'm Scottish so I want to like Coffey but he's just so boring.

[Spidey]

This took a while to get going, didn't it?

I'm new to this style obviously.

[Spidey]

Had to double check to make sure Omega wasn't in this.

[klunderbunker]

Yep this works.

[klunderbunker]

Takeover: Blackpool
Date: January 12, 2019
Location: Empress Ballroom, Blackpool, England
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness

I’m not sure what to think about this. First of all, it’s cool that NXT UK is starting to do something like this. You can only go so far with a TV show and nothing else so having a special like this helps. At the same time though, NXT was down in Full Sail for nearly two years before its first Network special. It hasn’t even been three months since NXT UK TV debuted. I hope they’re ready so let’s get to it.

Click on the link below for the full review.

Someone Give This A Chant That I Can't Understand Because I Don't Speak English! (http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/01/12/takeover-blackpool-someone-give-this-a-chant-that-i-cant-understand-because-i-dont-speak-english/)

[Yer Maw]

I agree with the rest KB but the tag match should have been an A

[Jack-Hammer]

I just caught the replay of TakeOver: Blackpool and it was an extremely fun show overall.

Mustache Mountain vs. Zack Gibson & James Drake was a great way to start things off. The match had a ton of energy and the fans were hanging on everything that went on. Bate and Seven are great babyfaces while Gibson & Drake came off like a couple of shits, which is what they needed to do. The NXT UK Tag Team Championship belts, by the way, look great. There are a few minor complaints I have, mostly to do with the red jewel pieces on the center plate being off center but, overall, I love how they look. Having Gibson and Drake pick up the win was a smart move, in my opinion, as MM are so over with fans that it'll feel like an even bigger deal when they finally best the heels and take the titles. I give it 4.25 to 4.5 stars.

Finn Balor vs. Jordan Devlin was a fun, 3.5 star bout that ultimately accomplished what it meant to: it gave fans a nice surprise by Finn Balor showing up, Devlin looked strong & was elevated even in defeat all while still coming off like a fun heel. You had to know that Balor was going to win, which is only right as Devlin was his student while Balor was the first Universal Champion in WWE, the longest reigning NXT Champion and a multiple time Junior Heavyweight Champion in New Japan, but Devlin got in a lot of offense and looked strong.

Dave Mastiff vs. Eddie Dennis in a no DQ bout wasn't something I was looking forward to, but they won me over as both worked really hard to deliver a strong 3.5 star hoss fight. Dennis was particularly impressive as he landed several really big power spots on Mastiff, which was all the more impressive by the fact that Dennis, though about 6'5", probably on weighs about 220 lbs. or so whereas Mastiff is billed at 322 lbs., but could easily be 350, and he's a very squat and compact guy who's probably only about 5'8". They made use of kendo sticks, chairs, the bottom half of the ring steps and even a table with Mastiff picking up the win. I don't see Mastiff as a main eventer, though he's someone who could be a fun one off challenger for the UK Championship. I could also see him as a contender for a mid-card title, when/if they ever decide to use one, or as part of a dominant hoss tag team at some point.

Rhea Ripley vs. Toni Storm was an entertaining but, probably also about 3.5, maybe 3.75 stars. Both girls worked hard to deliver a fun, physical match that kept the live crowd invested. Toni Storm has the look, energy and charisma to be a major player and I really like how Rhea Ripley has reinvented herself since her appearance in the first Mae Young Classic. She seemed like another blonde fitness Barbie then but she's ditched that image by adopting more of a badass rocker/biker chick. She's also put a little meat on her bones, though she isn't out of shape or anything like that by any means, but, again, she no longer looks like a little blonde fitness Barbie doll running around in a halter top and short shorts. The ending was kind of flat but putting the title on Toni was a good choice. It wouldn't have bothered me if Rhea had kept the title for a while longer but, as of right now, Toni is easily the strongest female babyface on the roster and there are a couple of heels, besides Rhea, that could make for some interesting challengers.

Pete Dunne vs. Joe Coffey was a very strong 4.5 star main event. No major complaints, mostly just nitpicky stuff such as the match dragging some for probably the last 7 or 8 minutes and I don't know what they were trying to do with the top rope shenanigans. I'm also not a fan of kicking out of finishers more than once in a match, such as Coffey kicking out of the Bitter End twice. However, as I said, this is pretty minor stuff all in all as these two delivered a very physical bout that featured great action and storytelling. As far as the second Bitter End kick out, I have to admit that, for a split second, that made me feel that Dunne was on the verge of losing before he almost immediately transitioned into mounting Coffiey and began to pull on his fingers for the submission win. Walter showing up at the end of the match was a nice surprise, I was just about to log out, I didn't recognize the change in music at first, but stopped when I saw Dunne's expression change. The UK fans are obviously very familiar with Walter as he's one of the biggest stars in UK wrestling right now, or in all of Europe for that matter. I'm not hugely familiar with him, I've seen some stuff on YouTube and all, but he's been impressive overall, though I do think he's another example some writers going more than a little overboard with their praise. As I said, he's looked impressive but I haven't seen anything out of this big guy that, quite frankly, couldn't be duplicated just as easy, or easily, by someone like Big E.

All in all though, a strong first TakeOver for the NXT UK brand. There wasn't a bad match on the show and it as bookended by two fantastic efforts. I give it an A- overall.

[#AbsoluteUnit]

Rhea really let me down.

[smarkmouth]

Oof. Pete, Joe, we know you're agile for men your size, you've nothing to prove. Leave the Spanish Fly for the 205 Live guys.