Ladies and gents, NXT UK TakeOver Blackpool II is on the horizon! I hope you’re all bright-eyed and bushy tailed for this one. It’s coming up at noon Eastern Time, several hours earlier than usual for WWE. Not really a problem with the WWE Network being on-demand and all though. And to me, it’s worth it to watch live, no matter how inconvenient it is for my post-Wrestle Kingdom sleep schedule! We only get a scant few chances to see this brand at full power, and every time, it’s been a true delight. Tonight should be no different. So let’s get into the previews!
WWE United Kingdom Championship: Walter (c) vs. Joe Coffey
Now this one is gonna be brutal. It’s gonna be ugly in the best of ways. Joe Coffey is shaped like a barrel made of muscle and fights like it too. Though he does have some shock agility to him, he usually prefers to beat people senseless. That’s cool because Walter is the master of this style. Effectively he’s what Coffey wants to be when he grows up. Perhaps the most impressive thing about either man is that in spite of the respective weight they lug around, they have quite a bit of stamina, especially crazy in Walter’s case.
Coffey competed for a strong 30 minutes against Pete Dunne at the inaugural NXT UK Takeover. Walter one-upped that at the next one with an incredible 40 minute bout with Bate. So what I’m saying is you maybe shouldn’t expect this to be the length of a Lesnar/Goldberg, even though it may well be exactly as explosive! The two of them should have an awesome battle for sure.
This match is a year in the making.
This stems from the first Takeover Blackpool, twelve months ago to the day of this sequel event. Looking back on it, I kinda feel bad for Joe. As epic as Walter’s debut appearance was, it really did demolish the star-making performance Coffey put on immediately beforehand. His match with Pete Dunne greatly exceeded every expectation I had, and totally reformed how I looked at him. He’s a worthy headliner and, in his own, represents this brand very well.
But there’s this underlying little meta tinge to this, that if Walter hadn’t signed with WWE, Coffey would’ve almost certainly won this title already. But now that Walter has the gold, it’s exceedingly difficult to see anyone taking it from him. He’s that kinda champion.
Honestly you gotta love the UK title, it’s the most exclusive championship in WWE. And if Walter has the kind of reign I expect him to, it may go down as the most exclusive title in modern pro wrestling. It’s second-ever champion Pete Dunne famously held the gold for two weeks shy of 700 days. And as crazy as it may seem, I wouldn’t be at all shocked if Walter actually cleared that mark. He’s just, that kind of champion, that kind of dominant, unstoppable force.
I see us as being in oldschool mode with this championship. You don’t name a UK champ thinking about who will take it from him later. You pick the best guy and run with him until someone better comes along. And we could be waiting on that one for years to come. Walter over.
NXT UK Takeover Blackpool II will also include:
NXT UK Women’s Championship: Kay Lee Ray (c) vs. Toni Storm vs. Piper Niven
