Tiffany’s Takes: WWE NXT UK (4/24/19)

Tiffany’s Takes visits the UK today with NXT UK! (UK in product, since it was taped in New York!)

This week, NXT UK is still in the Big Apple, so let’s see how the folks from across the pond are handing the notoriously tough New York crowd.

Kassius Ohno vs Ligero

I had such high hopes for this match and I ended up very disappointed. This match just didn’t come together for me, there were a lot of weird and stupid spots, Ligero hit an senton oddly and ended up hitting his head on the ring steps. It was just not a good match and the fact that Ohno won didn’t help. The crowd was just about dead by the end of it. I hope Ligero bounces back, but that was disappointing.

Jordan Devlin

So, the Irish Ace will be getting a shot at the NXT UK Champion, WALTER, but in a non-title match, which sucks. Devlin’s definitely been the standout in the promotion since it started and the fact that he’s getting denied a title shot because they want to protect Dunne vs WALTER II is dumb. Give Devlin a title shot, you cowards!

European Alliance at Axxess

Someone should tell Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel that just because the fans at Axxess aren’t wrestlers, by and large, doesn’t mean that the squared circle isn’t as sacred to them as it is to the WWE locker room. I’m guessing the point is to make Aichner and Barthel the stereotypical ‘Foreigners who don’t get American culture’ type of heel tag team, but it didn’t come off very well.

Toni Storm

I like Toni Storm, and I’m slowly warming up to her again after a lackluster Mae Young Classic performance, at least in my opinion. Her promo was fantastic and I like that she doesn’t discount the NXT UK Women’s locker room and gives them all props. The fact that she singled out Piper Niven seems to indicate that Piper will be getting a title shot sooner or later, but we’ll see.

Kay Lee Ray vs Xia Li

KLR wasn’t happy about being left out of Storm’s promo, but I think that can be explained since KLR hasn’t been in NXT UK that long. The match with Xia Li was much better than the Ligero/Ohno debacle. KLR plays a heel very well, and her mocking Li’s much shorter stature played well to the crowd. Li did an excellent job in this match, I thought, she’s definitely still working on incorporating her skill-set with American wrestling, but she’s amazing to watch. KLR won this round, but her eyes are set on that NXT UK Women’s Championship.

Piper Niven

I’m definitely on the Niven bandwagon. As a plus-sized woman, it’s always nice to have representation, especially a plus-sized female athlete that can move like Niven. I loved her comment about Ripley being a bully and I’m REALLY hopeful that we’ll see them lock up sooner than later.

Grizzled Young Veterans

I’ve been watching wrestling for thirty years and a lot of things have changed, but one thing that hasn’t is self-deluding heels and GYV is definitely that. Never mind that they chose to get themselves counted out when it looked very likely that Williams and Jordan were going to beat them fair and square last week, they’ve decided that Williams and Jordan haven’t earned their spots and don’t deserve to be in the locker room. It’s so out of touch, it’s actually hilarious. If I were a betting woman, I’d say Lucky Bad Boys will be Tag Champs sooner or later.

Welsh Airmen vs Mustache Mountain

So, we finally got our friendly match between Mustache Mountain and the Welsh Airmen and it was AWESOME! Normally, I hate babyface vs babyface matches because it’s hard to pick who to cheer for, but both teams did an AWESOME job and made each other look fantastic. Since it seems likely that Mustache Mountain will be getting another crack at Grizzled Young Veterans, I’m not surprised they won, but it would’ve been nice to see Andrews and Webster get that big win.

Overall Thoughts

A fabulous episode of NXT UK. Almost all the matches were great, except for Ohno vs Ligero, and the segments meant something and built future storylines.

I am still miffed about the Devlin situation because it feels like Devlin got shafted on the title shot he definitely earned by being the standout talent of the men’s roster. Hopefully, this match with WALTER will get him an actual title shot instead of a half-assed non-title match.

Stay tuned because my trip through the NXTs continues with NXT US featuring Johnny Gargano vs Roderick Strong! Always use your head, and not as a battering ram.