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NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool was held on January 12, 2019 at the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool. This event has not only been the first pay per view of WWE in 2019, but also it will be the first of many editions of the British brand of NXT.
On this occasion, the three NXT UK titles were in dispute. First, we saw the coronation of James Drake & Zack Gibson (best known on the independent circuit as 'Grizzled Young Veterans') as the first NXT UK Tag Team Champions. Then, we saw Toni Storm become the new NXT UK Women's champion. Finally, Pete Dunne successfully defended his title for the nineteenth time after defeating Joe Coffey.
This show not only had spectacular matches, but also two appearances that caused surprise and astonishment to all the spectators. First, we saw the appearance of Finn Bálor, who appeared to face Jordan Devlin, a wrestler whom he knows very well since he trained him from his beginnings in Ireland. Devlin had attacked and injured Travis Banks, who was his rival for that night.
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Johnny Saint, general manager of NXT UK, and his assistant warned Devlin that he would face a new challenge due to his actions. That challenge was nothing more and nothing less than the first WWE Universal Champion.
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The second surprise of the night occurred at the end of the show. After the successful defense of Pete Dunne, the 'Bruiserweight' was celebrating when the music of Walter began to sound. The Austrian giant entered the ring and looked defiantly at the WWE United Kingdom Champion.
Joe Coffey, who re-entered the ring, received a big boot from Walter. Everything seems to indicate that Pete Dunne vs. Walter will be the main event of the next edition of NXT UK TakeOver.
In a show of this magnitude, almost all the matches were up to the circumstances, but only a few will be remembered over the months. Here are the five three matches of NXT Uk TakeOver: Blackpool.
#3 Rhea Ripley vs Toni Storm
In the fourth match of the night, we saw the victory of Toni Storm on Rhea Ripley. In this way, the winner of the Mae Young Classic 2018 got the NXT UK Women's Championship for the first time.
The match, that lasted 14 minutes and 50 seconds, went from less to more from the start. Storm showed great capacity of resistance and strength. Proof of this was the execution of three German Suplexes in a row and a Suicide Dive at the beginning of the match. Ripley was no less and executed impeccable moves like Vertical Suplex, Body Slam and the Riptide (Pumphandle Powerbomb).
After successive lariats by Ripley, Storm responded with a headbutt and two Strong Zeros in a row that gave her finally the victory.
#2 Moustache Mountain vs. James Drake & Zack Gibson
In the first match of the night, we saw a tag team match for the inaugural NXT UK Tag Team Championship: Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) vs. James Drake & Zack Gibson. The victory went to Drake & Gibson after 23 minutes and 45 seconds.
The start was slow, with Bate dominating Gibson. Seven distributed numerous chops to Drake's chest. The first big moment of the night was a Suicide Dive by Seven on Gibson and Drake, who were at ringside.
After a skirmish at ringside, the action returned to the ring with Drake dominating Seven with numerous Backbreakers. Seven began to bleed after receiving an elbow to the head. Bate received the tag and the audience went crazy. The former WWE UK Champion carried his two rivals with an impressive Airplane Spin.
Drake and Gibson were close to getting the victory. Gibson applied a Brainbuster to Seven, who then received a 450° Splash from Drake. Then, Gibson carried Bate onto his shoulders at ringside and Drake launched himself at Bate with a Suicide Dive. Finally, Drake and Gibson applied a Helter Skelter on Seven and got the victory.
James Drake & Zack Gibson became the first NXT UK Tag Team Champions. These two wrestlers had already been Tag Team Champions two times at PROGRESS, one of the two British wrestling companies that are WWE allies.
#1 Pete Dunne vs. Joe Coffey
The main event of NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool was a duel for the WWE United Kingdom Championship that ended in Pete Dunne’s victory over Joe Coffey. Dunne won this title on May 20, 2017 and his reign has already exceeded 600 days. Due to the duration of this match (34 minutes and 15 seconds) we could see the best of the arsenal of both wrestlers.
There were many moments to stand out in this match. On Dunne's part, we saw a Moonsault, German Suplexes and a lot of kicks at Coffey's head trying to escape a submission. On the other hand, the best of Coffey were two Powerbombs. The first was on the edge of the ring and the second from the top rope.
Throughout the match, Dunne made a total of three Bitter Ends (Pumphandle reverse STO). After the execution of the third, Dunne tried the pin but Coffey managed to get rid. Then Dunne applied his characteristic submission to the fingers of his rival, who ended up surrendering.
In this way, Pete Dunne retained his title and continues to hold in his possession the most important title of NXT UK. Dunne had previously successfully defended his title against WWE superstars such as Kyle O'Reilly, Roderick Strong, Johnny Gargano, Adam Cole and Ricochet.
