5 Surprising moments from NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff

Thank you Tyler Bate.

NXT UK can easily be a forgotten brand in the WWE. But the quality of all the title divisions is always strong, the storylines are long term and well thought out and the crowds are always electric. The massive Cardiff crowd was fantastic on Saturday night. They were into the exciting show all night long.

The second NXT UK TakeOver show was an excellent one from top to bottom. You had a wonderful match from a WWE Superstar, a unique Last Man Standing Match, two surprising title changes and a main event for the ages.

With all of this in my mind after I worry about the state of Tyler Bate’s poor chest, I present my list of the top five most surprising moments of NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff.

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#5 Joe Coffey wins the Last Man Standing Match

That is one way to use the ring rope

Dave Mastiff lost. That is a truly real shock in itself. He has been portrayed as a monster face for over a year and to see him lose in a Last Man Standing Match is a true surprise from Saturday night.

The match itself was a unique brawl. The spot that broke the top rope was surprising and lead to a majority of the match occurring outside the ring instead. The dueling chairs spot was particularly entertaining. But the ending with Coffey kicking away the box Mastiff was using to stand up was quite unique.

Joe Coffey really needed a big win to get his momentum back but to see it come at the expense of Mastiff was an interesting choice. You have to wonder when Dave Mastiff goes from here.

#4 Cesaro wins an NXT UK TakeOver match

This is going to get dizzy really quickly for all involved

I don’t know why we all seem to occasionally forget that Cesaro is amazing. He has been one of the best all-round performers in WWE for many years. Cesaro showing up to have any match in Cardiff was a really good idea. Using him to help put over a newer talent like Ilja Dragunov on Saturday night was an even better idea.

The match was a fast-paced and hard-hitting 13-minute encounter. The crowd loved seeing and counting to forty as Cesaro did his wonderful swing again. I hope he can beat a hundred swings in the near future. Ilja Dragunov looks like a real rising star as he kicked out of a lot of Cesaro’s brutal offensive maneuvers during the match.

But seeing Cesaro, who hasn’t had a lot of success on the main roster recently, winning a major match and looking like a star was a wonderful surprise in Cardiff. Hopefully, we will see more of Cesaro in the NXT UK brand. Who doesn’t want to see Walter versus Cesaro? Take my money now.

#3 Kay Lee Ray wins the NXT UK Women’s Championship

Well that was an anticlimactic end to a title reign

Well, that was quite underwhelming.

Toni Storm is one of the better female wrestlers in the WWE today. A lot of NXT UK fans were looking forward to this very personal rivalry occurring at NXT UK TakeOver. After a very quick second Gory Bomb, Kay Lee Ray picked up a very abrupt pin. The crowd seemed shocked at how the ending happened so easily. It is doubtful they liked the result of the match as well.

Ray and Toni Storm hit some power moves in their match but the whole match seemed very slow-paced. It is a shame to see Toni Storm’s reign end in such an unimpressive fashion. Hopefully, it will lead to Storm joining the main NXT brand. Just wish it had a better swan song if that is the case.

Where will Kay Lee Ray go from here? The NXT UK roster isn't exactly loaded with credible babyfaces. Hopefully, Kay Lee Ray will perform strongly as a champion going forward.

#2 Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster win the NXT UK Tag Team Championships

It is so rare to see the home team actually win in the WWE

I have always wondered what home-court advantage would be like. We saw it for the Welsh Tag Team on Saturday night. It was fun to see a British crowd so behind Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster.

The Triple Threat match was an excellent and exciting match the entire time. Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster were pulling off some amazing high flying moves. They had many near falls against the Grizzled Young Veterans. Gallus was less of a factor in the entire match.

The crowd erupted when Team Wales pulled off the victory. It seems like that the WWE would keep it on the heel team but it was a good moment to see the babyface team win one for Wales. It was certainly the best match for both Andrews and Webster in their short WWE careers. The United Kingdom tag division looks strong going forward. They have stolen the show for two straight TakeOvers now.

#1 Walter and Tyler Bate put on a classic title match

That really looks like a stiff chop. But I believe Tyler Bate got the worst of it on Saturday.

Tyler Bate is only twenty-two years old. That is unreal.

A lot of people were expecting a good championship match based on their past encounters in Progress Wrestling. I would say the 42-minute match lived up to the hype. Tyler Bate showed a lot of heart. He played the classic babyface role as he fought through Walter’s many vicious chops. I mean how red was Bate’s chest?

The last twenty minutes had an incredible pace. The feats of strength for Tyler Bate pulled repeatedly on the much bigger Walter was impressive. Seeing the many believable near falls was exciting. The crowd was great throughout the entire match.

The Walter clothesline was an excellent ending for the match. Walter looked like the dominant, unbeatable heel of the NXT UK division. Who can take him down?

They sure played it like it was Bate’s final match in NXT UK. If it was we should thank British Strong Style for really carrying the brand for the last few years. It was quite the swan song to this era.