May 19, 2017
(taped May 7, 2017)
#WWEUK
City: Norwich, England
Venue: Epic Studios
Commentary: Jim Ross, Nigel McGuinness
Ring Announcer: Andy Shepherd
Video
Clips from the UK Championship Tournament in January and of some of the superstars that competed. Everyone wants Tyler Bates’ title.
Video
A closer look at Wolfgang.
Video
Another look at Joseph Conners. Did you know he’s missing part of his ear?
Match 1
Wolfgang vs Joseph Conners
(referee: Jason Ayers)
Result: Wolfgang wins via pinfall after The Howling
Time: 11:01
Match Thoughts
Pretty good match. Wolfgang didn’t fly as much as he seemed to during the UK Title Tournament, but he still got a little in during this match. Conners went after Wolfgang’s midsection which had a lot to do with that. I like the match. It was a good opener.
Match 2
TJP & The Brian Kendrick vs Dan Moloney & Rich Swann
(referee: Drake Wuertz)
Result: Brian Kendrick pins Dan Moloney with an inside cradle (and a handful of tights)
Time: 11:31
Match Thoughts
Another pretty good match. There was a little bit of comedy in this one, and it felt like it meandered somewhat, but it was a fine match.
Backstage
From night one of WWE’s two nights in Norwich, Charly Caruso asks Trent Seven about his arm which was injured during his match with Wolfgang. Seven says it’s not broken, and there’s no way he’s going to pass up a chance at a title shot. Pete Dunne walks up and slams Seven’s arm into the wall.
Video
Pete Dunne made a name for himself in the UK Title Tournament.
Video
Trent Seven might look suave, but he’ll beat people up.
Match 3
UK Title Number One Contender Match
Pete Dunne (Progress World Champ) vs Trent Seven
(referee: Drake Wuertz)
Result: Pete Dunne wins via pinfall after a Bitter End and becomes the number one contender for the UK Title
Time: 14:46
Match Thoughts
Good match. Trent Seven went into the match with an injured right arm, and Dunne focused most of his attacks on Seven’s arm. There were a lot of big, hard-hitting moves in this one. This was a hard fought match that made both guys look very good.
Ring Area
After the match, Pete Dunne gets on the mic and says he told everyone that people will get hurt. At NXT Takeover: Chicago, Dunne says he will take the UK Title “by any means necessary.”
Video
Tyler Bate is the WWE UK Champ. Mark Andrews had his chance to show the world how good he is taken away from him at the UK Title Tournament.
Match 4
UK Title Match
Mark Andrews vs Tyler Bate (UK Champ)
(referee: Jason Ayers)
Result: Tyler Bate wins via pinfall after a Tyler Driver 97 to retain the UK title
Time: 24:15
Match Thoughts
Great match! Bate really dictated the pace and the style for a good amount of time to start the match. Andrews was kept grounded, and even though he held his own with Bate’s technical style, it felt inevitable that Bate would eventually take over and win. Later in the match, Andrews started to add some speed and high flying and was able to begin to turn the match to his favor. The pace picked up considerably and led to a nicely done and exciting finish.
Ring Area
After the match, Pete Dunne comes out and attacks Mark Andrews on his way to the ring. William Regal quickly comes out and stares down Dunne. Dunne enters the ring and stares at Tyler Bate and Regal glares in the background.
Show Impressions
I liked the show. It felt a little odd at first. The production value was considerably less than any other show produced by WWE. The commentary was dubbed in and McGuinness and Ross were shown in a very obvious green screen setup. The ring area itself seemed darker than usual. But this was essentially a house show that they taped and aired, so any production shortcomings are understandable and really don’t mean anything. They don’t detract from the matches.
The matches were good and got considerably better as the night went along. It’s unfortunate that this was taped so far in advance and they’ve already been advertising Pete Dunne versus Tyler Bate at NXT Takeover so two of the matches were already spoiled, but they were still a lot of fun to watch. I’d like it if WWE did more stuff like this, airing house shows. It would make house shows seem more important and might drive more ticket sales at the same time.
Match of the Night
Mark Andrews vs Tyler Bate
Tyler Bate manages once again to steal the show with his opponent. This was a great match and easily the best of the night.