NXT UK TakeOver Blackpool II: 5 Ups And 3 Downs

1. 62 Minutes

Joe Coffey has, over the space of two matches, now put on over an hour of UK TakeOver main events. He went north of 30 with Dunne a year ago, just shy of that again with Walter, and while the former there is critically regarded as the weakest title defence on the UK Championship so far, this one might well take that particular crown.

That this can be true of a main-event with Walter in it almost beggars belief. His schtick is well worn, yes, but that's because, throughout every major promotion in Europe and against virtually every single opponent, it works brilliantly. He will physically batter you, purpling your chest in the process, and either a heroic underdog gradually finds something within themselves to overcome him, or they don't.

For the opening 10 minutes at NXT TakeOver Blackpool II, Joe Coffey, a man who is received across the country as a solid, dependable, but unspectacular upper-mid-carder, physically battered him. His headliner status in ICW felt like a reward for his years of reliability and popularity with sections of the crowd, but in NXT UK it's merely a product of there simply being nobody else.

Interference spots and a brutal ref bump occasionally reengaged the crowd, but as Walter retained with a side headlock they could barely muster a polite clap. Despite hoovering up every single champion in the UK independent scene over the last two years, NXT UK still can't elevate its own title picture beyond that first Dunne/Bate match 3 years ago.