The Thread Killer

Great news everybody! If you skipped this show, at Stomping Grounds you get to see Rollins vs. Corbin and Kofi vs. Ziggler AGAIN!

50 Man Battle Royal. So many guys in there, it's practically impossible to keep track of what's going on. This is the first time I've seen AoP or Sin Cara in ages. There are some guys in there and I have no idea who they are. Best part so far was the song from Elias and Titus running down the ramp and all the guys in the ring already holding their arms up, telling him to slow down. Uh, the guy who won...I assume he's from Saudi Arabia but I literally have no idea who he is. Mansoor? The fans have gone mental for this guy. Some kids were actually crying. So yeah, based on his post-match promo this guy is from Saudi Arabia and he's the big home town hero.

Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler for the WWE Championship is up now. They fought and Kofi won. That's 10 minutes of my life I will never get back. If you've ever seen these two fight before, you've seen this match.

Now it's time for Lashley vs. Strowman. I guess now we find out how far into the doghouse Strowman really is. These guys are massive and yet they're moving faster than Triple H and Orton did. This is your typical "two big guys slugging it out" match, lots of trading slams and clotheslines and clubbing forearms and shoulder-tackles, that kind of thing. Kind of plodding. Crowd is dead again, after being up for the previous match. A very weak "Get These Hands" chant breaks out, but then dies. Strowman wins with a powerslam. They tried hard, but it really wasn't much of a match and nobody seemed to care.

I think the oppressive heat helped make what was already going to be a slow-paced match even slower.

Thanks brother. I am so tired of this whole ordeal, I just want to get the damn surgery and get it over with. I've been sick and off work since the first week of December, it's really wearing me down.

It's funny, he was certainly giving Heyman the stink eye on the way up the ramp, I assume blaming him for tripping and dropping the case. It's possible. Then again, after he beat Heyman over the head with the contract a couple of weeks ago, I thought they were going somewhere with that, and they did not. Those two have an odd dynamic. Heyman constantly gushes all over Lesnar, who acts like he doesn't care that Heyman is even there. It kind of reminds me of that old Warner Brother's cartoon with the big bulldog who is always marching around looking mean, while the little dog runs in circles around him telling him how great he is.

Wait, up next is Triple H vs. Randy Orton. I was led to believe this was the Main Event, I feel cheated. They're actually show a video package outlining the history of this rivalry, which Cole tells us is one of the greatest in WWE history. Based on the (very long) video package, I am unsure who is supposed to be the babyface or heel in this match. Based on the reaction of some of the wrestlers, it must be very hot in that ring. Orton was mopping the sweat off his face with his ring jacket before the match started. Triple H comes down riding his three wheel motor cycle. Very...slowly. I fear this match is going to be all kinds of awful. Triple H's beard has become truly epic. Lots of deliberately paced old school wrestling to start this match and so help me gawd, the fans are clapping and cheering. They are chanting "this is awesome" I shit you not. Orton sucker punches Trips, and Cole declares it's "vintage Orton." Later, Orton hits a DDT, which Cole also declares is "vintage Orton." Later still, Randy Orton slaps on a rear chinlock in the middle of the ring, which truly IS vintage Orton. The Thread Killer takes a break in the middle of the match because his Mommy came to visit and brought him takeout Chinese Food. Match continues, Cole proclaims that this match is a classic. Triple H goes for the pedigree, which Orton counters into an RKO. Triple H kicks out. Fans chant: "one more time." Orton gets a constipated look on his face, and sets up for the punt kick. Triple H blocks, counters into a pedigree, which Orton kicks out of. Fans once again chant: "this is awesome." Well, say you want about these guys and this match, but the fans are eating it up, while they sat on their hands during Balor vs. Andrade, for the most part. Triple H slams Orton on the announce table four times. I assume the table is supposed to break, but it has not. Triple H takes a breather and rolls Orton back in. RKO by Orton and he gets the pin on Triple H.

Now Lars Sullivan vs. all three members of Lucha House Party. I resent the fact that a talent like Gran Metalik is being wasted in crap like this. How is anybody ever supposed to take you seriously after you've been in a match where you have to team up with two other guys to fight one dude? Cole tells us that not only is Sullivan brutal, but he's also cerebral. Um, okay. Fans don't give a damn about this match, one little bit. This is basically the lucha guys being scrappy and Sullivan no-selling everything, so far. Crowd is pretty much silent. Sullivan has a busted lip, which I don't know how that even happened. Sullivan is shoving these guys around with one arm. Lucha House Party tries to get the crowd to chant "Lucha!" The fans do not comply. This mess is going on far too long. To quote Shakespeare: "If it were done when 'tis done, then it is well it were done quickly." All three Lucha guys now attacking Sullivan at the same time, and they get disqualified? WTF? They head up the ramp, but Sullivan goes after them and attacks. Cole says this is like a horror show. Truer words have never been spoken.

Thanks brother. Look like I am due for heart surgery next month, assuming this show doesn't kill me first.

Now up is Shane with Drew McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns. Shane comes to the ring and is already soaked in sweat and looks like he is about to have a coronary, seriously. Reigns is facing Drew again at Stomping Grounds...they're doing that after the match those two had at Wrestlemania? Which explains why Drew is out here, or is Shane his manager now? Man, has McIntyre ever cooled off since coming up from NXT. I thought he was poised to have a really big run but that shows what pairing up with Dolph will do to cool you off. Hey, the fans in Saudi Arabia really love Reigns, maybe that's why Vince insists on coming here. Lots of pyro, I guess they can afford it. I know it's been said time and again, but Shane's strikes are SO BAD. Oh my gawd, Michael Cole actually said "That's vintage Shane!" Shane is gassed early and has to slap on a rear chinlock. Cole explains this is strategy because Shane knows he has to keep Roman grounded. Presumably due to Roman's high-flying style. When Roman throws the Superman punch and misses, it looks like he's doing some kind of modern interpretive dance. Cole actually exclaims: "What a match!" Damn does Roman ever over-use that Superman punch. He's tried to throw it about five times already. Fans start chanting CM PUNK! Drew interferes, hits Roman with the Claymore Kick, and Shane gets the win. Yep.

Next match is Andrade (with no Zelina Vega surprisingly ) vs. The Demon. Balor gets the Demon entrance, surrounded by guys in full body black leotards, waving their arms in the air. That was something. Surprisingly, Balor was not wearing his pro-LGBTQ gear for some reason. Crowd was pretty dead for this match at the start, but it was a solid match and they actually started to come alive toward the end. Andrade is really damn good. Michael Cole is kind enough to explain to us that Andrade incorporates styles from all over the world, like Lucha Libre and Japanese style. Because Cole is an expert on such things. Balor wins. Fairly good match. Lots of hype for the 50 Man Battle Royal happening later.

I'm watching this show because I've been confined to my bed for the past six months by illness and I'm bored out of my skull. This show passes my very strict criteria for watching something in that...it's on TV. Plus, the Main Event is Triple H vs. Randy Orton and how often do you get to see a match like that? I know nobody else is watching this because OUTRAGE but I stopped caring about stuff in my mid-thirties, unfortunately. Opener is Seth Rollins vs. Baron Corbin for the Universal Championship. Rollins is very popular with this crowd, lots of chants for him. Match was structured somewhat differently because it was based around Corbin trying to work the supposedly injured and wrapped ribs of Rollins. Corbin ostensibly executing manoeuvres which worked the midsection (and some of them almost hit the intended area) which Rollins sold kind of a bit. Corbin has a really weird habit of sliding out of the ring, running around the ringpost and then sliding back in. Not sure what that is supposed to accomplish. Corbin is arguing with the referee constantly, getting in his face shouting loudly. He does it one too many times and Rollins rolls him up from behind for the win. After the match, here comes Brock with a steel chair and Heyman with a referee and the MITB case. Corbin attacks Rollins to soften him up, but as Heyman enters the ring he trips and drops the MITB case. This distracts Brock, and Rollins hits him with a low blow. Rollins steals the chair and beats the living hell out of Lesnar with the chair. Announcers point out that the bell never rang and Lesnar gave the case to the ref, so this does not count as a cash-in. Rollins caps things off with a curb stomp on Lesnar on top of the MITB case. Full credit to Lesnar, he is selling the hell out of this beating. Match was what you would expect from Rollins vs. Corbin. Post match angle was done pretty well. They show a close up of Lesnar as he heads up the ramp, and dude is covered in serious red welts.

It is, but during a recent conference call when he was asked about this, Trips was quick to point out that this was something that had been in the pipeline for a long time and they had booked the date and venue before AEW announced All Out. In this case, I honestly don't think they booked an NXT UK Takeover as counter-programming to AEW. If anything, I would bet they are upset about it. WWE has outright admitted that NXT appeals to the hardcore fans in their base, and they have to know after the success of All In and Double or Nothing, most of the hardcore fans will not be watching an NXT UK show. Although technically, due to the time zone differences, I think you could probably watch both. The first NXT UK streamed live as it happened in the UK, and then later it re-ran in the "prime time" slot. I've seen some fans online doing the whole "LOL WWE is trying to use NXT UK to compete with AEW" thing, but in this particular case I really don't think that's true. I think this is just a simple case of bad timing all around. If/when WWE does decide to counter-program AEW I am guessing they will come out firing with something a bit more appealing than NXT UK. Having said all that, I liked the first NXT UK Takeover, and I'll be watching this one. But I know I'm in the minority.

They might be tied with The Young Bucks. They're pretty infamous for vanity searching on Twitter and whining when people say mean stuff about them, preemptively blocking people, etc. I don't think they've ever dragged anybody backstage and tried to intimidate them, but then again...who would be intimidated by The Young Bucks?

I gotta be honest with you, I was one of the biggest Impact boosters on this board, trumpeting how great they've been since Callis & D'Amore took over and urging people to give them a chance...but a lot of that went out the window when Brian Cage won the title and Elgin showed up. I've always thought Cage was overrated, plus his goofy steroid monster meets futuristic gladiator look is SO DUMB. And I've never liked Michael Elgin one little bit. The thought of the two of them working any type of program made me cringe - never mind having it in the Main Event for the World Championship of all things. I haven't bothered watching any of their TV since the last PPV, I only checked out the angle with Moose & The North against Dreamer, RVD and Sabu on YouTube. Based on what you are saying I may check them out again, but Michael Elgin as a Main Event guy? Damn, that's a hard sell.

I thought this was a really solid show, I really enjoyed it a lot. There were no 5 Star classics, but there were no duds, either. The match I enjoyed the least was the Main Event, but it was still entertaining enough...I just get the impression that Shawn Michaels is laying a lot of these matches out and is trying to do so using the blueprint of some of his Wrestlemania "epics." I'm still an old school style "less is more" guy, and I've never liked the use of multiple finishers, especially the same move over and over again. I think the Superkick has become the most overused move in Pro-Wrestling today. Also, I'm not a huge fan of Adam Cole, admittedly. To me, he's a lot like Bobby Roode. He's a solid worker and a fair promo. He's not actively bad, but he's somewhat bland and unremarkable and he's been pushed beyond his ability. But I guess somebody important sees something in him. I really like The Undisputed Era, and I am not keen on seeing them called up and turning into the next Sanity...where they disappear for months, are never used and end up disbanding. I know they are more talented than Sanity, don't get me wrong...but since when has talent and ability determined how well NXT acts perform on the main roster? I especially like Fish & O'Reilly, but I don't want to see them get called up either. WWE already has The Revival, who many (myself included) consider the best active Tag Team in wrestling today - and they're doing back shaving skits with them. I don't want to see Fish & O'Reilly suffer the same fate. Selfishly, I'd rather see them overstay their welcome in NXT. And like I said earlier in this thread, Strong is pretty much doomed if he gets called up. Hell, most of these guys are. Look at Gargano. He's awesome. He's been in some of the best matches in all of Pro Wrestling over the past couple of years, but with his size, look and promos skills do you honestly think Vince would do anything with him? He's already doing the undersized scrappy underdog gimmick with Ali, Ricochet and Rey to a degree, not to mention he has smaller guys like Cedric and Buddy Murphy on the main roster and he's doing exactly jack shit with those guys. I don't think I've even heard of either of them getting any TV time since the so-called "brand split." Gargano is awesome but he's pretty much doomed if he gets called up again. I am trying to hard to look at NXT exactly the way they are promoting it, as an alternative to the main roster and a separate brand altogether. That's the only way I can enjoy this stuff, to not focus on what is invariably going to happen to these guys when they get promoted. Looking at it independently and in the larger picture, I'll be honest, and I know a lot of people will disagree with me, call me a troll or tell me I'm crazy - but as an overall show I preferred this Takeover to Double or Nothing. I freely admit, there was nothing on this show that was anywhere near as good as Cody/Dustin, but there was nothing anywhere near as bad as the gawd awful Battle Royal either. Dream/Breeze wildly outperformed my expectations. I guess I'd pretty much written Tyler Breeze off and I wasn't prepared for how much Velveteen Dream had improved. I'd take the Ladder Match from this show over that Young Bucks spotfest any day, and the Main Event of this show was better than Omega vs. Jericho II, as far as I'm concerned. I found the AEW PPV to be wildly inconsistent, whereas this show maintained quality throughout. That's just my opinion. But it seems to me that some people went into this show determined not to like it, just as some people went into Double or Nothing determined to love it, regardless of the quality. I know it looks like nobody is going to agree with me, and that's fine...but I think this show was damn good.

What the hell is with all the running around in this damn match? Are Cole and Gargano wrestling or playing tag?

Yeah that was really odd.

The best thing about the NXT UK Takeover Blackpool show was NO MAURO. Vic Joseph and Nigel did a fine job.

Sweet, they announced another NXT UK Takeover in August. The first one was pretty solid.

True, but damn she got whupped with that kendo stick afterwards. Damn.

Yeah, it's bad enough that he sucks, but he's dragging his coworkers down with him. He must be stopped.

The women's match wasn't an all time classic, but it wasn't half bad either. This show is actually over-achieving at this point.

One of the many things I hate about him is how he won't even let the other announcers talk. He's constantly talking over them or screaming while they're trying to say something. I'm amazed Nigel hasn't decked him.