New Number One Contender
With Ember Moon sent to the outside and beaten down by Peyton Royce, she hit another forearm shot. Liv Morgan battled back, but Royce hit a knee to the stomach. She applies a stretch on the ropes and then Morgan hits a hurricanranna across the ring. A drop toe hold gives Morgan an opportunity to hit a double stomp to the back, followed by a bulldog. Moon hits a few kicks, but Morgan hits her with a tilt-a-whirl headscissors. Royce hits a forearm on the top rope, slowing down Morgan. Moon gets up and hits a sunset superplex on all three women. Billie Kay gets hit with an Eclipse, Morgan throws Moon to the outside and Peyton Royce hits a bridging Fisherman’s Suplex for the win.
Although Ember Moon seemed to only get a few moves in here, it was a solid bout for all three women. I was impressed with the athleticism of Liv Morgan, but the overall technicality and intensity in the ring from Royce made this match from average to above. A nice spot on the ropes gave us a nice reminder of why Ember Moon is going to be really good in time. All women were protected, given enough offense to thrive and really gave these women an opportunity to shine. A solid 10-12 minutes to kick off WWE NXT and Peyton Royce gets a shot at Asuka’s championship. Good start.
Pete Dunne defeated Mark Andrews
Pete Dunne did everything I enjoyed him doing in the WWE United Kingston Championship Tournament. From stretching Mark’s fingers to grabbing his nose and being overall dirty, he reminded us how good he is. Andrews hit a nice moonsault into a arm drag to take out Dunne. Dunne took back control with a submission hold and then stomping on the back of Mark’s knees. He dissects Andrews’ body and continues the assault. Andrews gets up to his feet, springs off the ropes right into a vicious forearm. Andrews kicks out and Dunne wants to put him away. A reverse Hurricanranna knocks out Dunne, which allows Mark Andrews the opportunity to finish him off. A snap German , but a reversal gives Andrews another two count.
Pete Dunne hits a right forearm and a palm strike to the chest. He caught Andrews with a DDT attempt, but Stun Dog Millionaire sets up for a splash from the top. Dunne gets his knees up and then hits Bitter End for the win.
An excellent contest. Pete Dunne and Mark Andrews are two completely different talents, but both so good. Dunne is a brawler, a tough S.O.B who possess the intensity and physicality you want from someone in this division. It separates him from all of the others. Andrews is a stellar athlete and it showed tonight. The smooth reversals, the great timing and 15 minutes of excellent ring work is why these U.K. talents should be featured on NXT television weekly. This match was even better than Bate vs. Seven a week ago, especially since the characters are more developed and seem to connect on a more personal level. People want to invest in Dunne, root for Andrews and cheer both men.
