By Liz@Ms_Deathwish
This week brings us another show from the Cambridge Corn Exchange. The commentary team of Nigel Mcguinness and Vic Joseph announce tonight’s main event featuring inaugural NXT UK Champion Tyler Bate and NXT UK Championship Tournament entrant, Wolfgang.
Ligero Vs Mike Hitchman (Wild Boar)
The first match this week pits Ligero, the luchador from Leeds, against the “Wild Boar” Mike Hitchman. Both competitors certainly have a striking look, with Ligero sporting his instantly recognisable horned luchador mask, and Hitchman coming to the ring with tusked mask and blacked out eyes. I’ve yet to see Hitchman perform so I’m interested to see if his in-ring style is as intimidating as his presence.
Hitchman removed his mask to show a toothless face which, paired with his black, full sclera contacts, makes him look like a monster from Lord Of The Rings. The bell rings and both superstars put their different styles into practice to try and out-maneuver the other. Mike Hitchman tries to hit hard, with force and power, while Ligero makes use of his speed and athleticism.
In the first instance, speed wins out with Ligero hitting some nice Lucha Libre-style moves. However, it’s not long before the power game comes to the fore, allowing the Wild Boar to nail Ligero with a brutal shoulder barge in the corner, followed by a ferocious exploder suplex. After an unsuccessful pin attempt, Hitchman attempts to ground the high flyer, with a series of mat-based holds. Ligero manages to escape with a quick reversal, allowing him some space to put his quickness into action and build some momentum with an aerial assault.
Hitchman takes him out of the air, hitting a powerful back senton, following up with an inverted tumbleweed in the corner. It appears that the Boar’s raw power and viciousness will win the day for an instant, however in the end Ligero’s speed proves too much for Hitchman as he is put away by a beautiful springboard tornado DDT.
This was a great showing from both performers. Ligero impresses again, proving that the UK has some excellent luchadors, adding the excitement of that high-flying style to the UK roster. I’m definitely intrigued by Mike Hitchman. His look alone is enough to strike fear in most people, and his raw and vicious style definitely backs that up. I look forward to seeing him perform again.
Dakota Kai vs Killer Kelly
This next match finally introduces us to some of the NXT UK women’s division. We have NXT regular Dakota Kai against Portuguese native Killer Kelly. You may recognise Killer Kelly from this year’s Mae Young Classic, where she went out to Japanese legend Meiko Satumora in the first round. She performed really well against Satumora and I was looking forward to seeing some more of her. I’m also a big fan of the adorable “Captain of Team Kick” Dakota Kai. Both women are known for their striking ability so this promises to be a great “strong-style” match-up.
Dakota comes out first to a positive crowd, showing her popularity with a UK audience. The response is a little less enthusiastic for Killer Kelly, but I think this is more due to Dakota being more well known rather than anything negative against her. Next to Kai’s chirpy, “rave-kid” persona, Killer Kelly looks intense and intimidating, making for an interesting pairing.
This match starts off an even footing, with both women exhibiting some skill in mat-based grappling. They exchange kicks and strikes, before Killer Kelly goes for the surfboard submission hold, adding a modified dragon sleeper to add to the tension. Dakota manages to escape her opponents clutches, only to be knocked back down with a suplex, followed by a basement drop kick in the corner of the ring. Killer Kelly continues to look dominant, dishing out a series of powerful kicks and a textbook release German suplex.
Dakota Kai regains control of the match by utilising her impressive kicking ability. She hits Kelly with an innovative back heel kick and some brutal looking face-wash kicks. Earning her moniker of “Captain of Team Kick”, she seems to rain down kicks from all angles, before picking up the win with her modified inverted back-stabber, coined the “Kai de grace” by Nigel Mcguinness.
This was a great debut match on NXT UK for these women. They showed off their skill, power and charisma perfectly. Women’s wrestling is going from strength to strength all over the world at the moment and in no place is that more apparent than the UK.
“Shoes Off If You Hate Gibson”
If you have never seen Zack Gibson enter a wrestling ring, you’re in for a treat. I could talk about his in ring ability, the fact he won the NXT UK championship tournament, or the fact he took the UK Champ Pete Dunne to the limit in his title match opportunity. However, arguably more impressive than all of that is the crowd reaction to him.
He enters the arena to a deafening chorus of “boo”. It’s louder than anyone I’ve seen. Louder even than anyone my husband has seen and he’s been watching wrestling since the 80s. You know you’ve made it as a heel when the crowd responds so passionately. They REALLY hate him.
He starts off talking about how awesome he is, as they do, and how everyone else is terrible. He moans about the audience, he moans about the fact he had to wrestler other matches before his title shot. He whips the crowd up into even more of a frenzy with every word. It’s not long before the quintessentially British chant of “shoes off if you hate Gibson” starts to echo round the walls of the Cambridge Corn Exchange. This is coupled with nearly everyone there raising their shoes above their heads and waving them around. The first time I saw this I was in hysterics. I have no idea where it came from but I love it. I spoke last time in my review of my love for the British crowds and this right here is the stuff I’m talking about.
He starts on Noam Dar, the Scottish Supernova who put in an excellent performance against Dunne last week. He is mid-rant when Dar’s music hits and he arrives on stage. Suddenly the crowd’s mood changes and Dar is greeted by cheers and support. Shortly after, NXT UK general manager Johnny Saint marches out behind Noam Dar. He orders both men out of the arena and to his office. No pomp and splendour, no frills, just the hard-nosed boss telling off his employees. Both of them slunk off out the back like school-children who had been ordered to the headmaster’s office.
I’m hoping this segment is building up to a rivalry between these two. They both have such charisma, I think it would be brilliant. Noam is settling into his baby-face role while Gibson embodies the heel persona so spectacularly I’m not sure he could ever be anything else. I would definitely recommend tuning in to see what these two get up to in the coming weeks.
Ashton Smith vs Tucker
The following match is between Ashton Smith and another wrestler I’m seeing for the first time, Tucker. Smith has impressed me in the past with his athletic ability so it will be good to see more from him.
This match feels a little like it is filling time, it doesn’t last long. It seems like an excuse to showcase Smith’s ability, which is impressive to be fair. It starts off with a general back and forth between the two men. Some grappling and strikes, giving neither a real advantage. Tucker tries to outsmart Smith by feigning an injury and then catching him off guard, which gives him the upper hand for a while and allows him to attempt a pinfall. A few minutes later, Smith uses his long legs to regain control of proceedings with a powerful pump kick. He knocks his opponent off centre with another series of kicks, showing his impressive striking ability, before picking up the win with his rip-chord DDT finisher, the Ashdown.
This was a decent match for what it was. Both athletes showed competence and potential and I will happily look forward to seeing them again.
Following a Danny Burch promo, where we are informed of his NXT UK debut next week (a must see for any NXT fans), comes the announcement that next week’s main event will be Zack Gibson vs Noam Dar. Next week’s show is certainly shaping up to be something you don’t want to miss.
Tyler Bate vs Wolfgang
Wolfgang enters first as the accompanying howls fill the arena. Known as “The Last King Of Scotland”, Wolfgang has held many championships in his career, but is probably most known for his time with Insane Championship Wrestling in his home country. He has held the Heavyweight title there and earned the name “The Regulator” as he was considered the man to beat for any new talent coming to the company.
Tyler Bate strolls out to a standing ovation and his upbeat music. Wolfgang doesn’t look too impressed by the popular superstar from The Midlands, who plays up to the crowd with his trademark swagger. Tyler has his own plethora of chants, many of which we hear tonight including “big strong boy!” and “we love you Tyler”.
As the bell rings the size difference is apparent, but Bate is incredibly strong for his size and not to be taken lightly. The first part of the match pits Tyler’s technical ability against Wolfgang’s power and strength. Wolfgang comes out looking stronger, but Bate is not one to back down and encourages him to attack.
They both engage in a mutual show of strength, giving us the theatrical performance of the big man easily getting the advantage, then the underdog coming back and proving he is just as strong. Tyler again uses his technical skill to escape from the holds and nails a nice dropkick. Wolfgang regains control and embarks on a focused attack on Tyler’s mid-section. This tactic is a great way of disabling your opponent. If you can’t breathe, you can’t fight. He tosses him around the ring, hanging him on the top rope with a blow to the ribs. He continues this targeted assault with a huge bear hug, wrapping Tyler up in his big, burly arms and squeezing the life out of him. Wolfgang looks increasingly dominant and in control for the better part of this match.
Tyler begins his comeback by introducing Wolfgang to his closed fists (christened Bop and Bang). He looks every inch the boxer or bare-knuckle fighter as he unleashes a flurry of precision punches, forcing his opponent on the defensive. Bate shows his creativity with some innovative offence, one of the things that makes him such a joy to watch. Eventually, following three slingshot clotheslines, he gets the Scottish brute down to his knee. He uses his signature aeroplane spin, an impressive feat by itself considering the size of his opponent, and picks up another pin attempt. Wolfgang scores a nearfall of his own with a ridiculous release German suplex and spear combination. Tyler attempts to pull off his finisher, but it takes a missed Swanton Bomb from Wolfgang before he is able to pick up the win with the Tyler Driver 97.
Excellent match from these two bastions of the UK scene. Two consummate professionals who work brilliantly together. I would love to see Wolfgang with the gold at some point in the future. I’ve not seen a huge amount of him, but what I have seen shows he is definitely championship material. Tyler is always excellent to watch, with his matches against Dunne ranking in the upper reaches of “match of the year” whenever they set foot in the ring. For such a young lad, he has a very bright future ahead of him.
