NXT UK TakeOver Blackpool II: 5 Ups And 3 Downs

4. The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From The NXTree

The best thing on NXT Proper by an absolute mile is the women's division, but the triple threat match for the UK Women's Championship would easily slot in amongst the best offerings we'll see over the Atlantic this year. Massively helped by putting some of the build on The USA Network, it's not often that NXT UK has a championship match that has *both* a compelling narrative and genuine belt prestige, but this did.

While the result wasn't anything that's going to inspire people to tune in to the weekly show (we've discussed what should have happened) for a one-off exhibition of the brand, the division and the three women in question, it worked from start to finish. The frenetic opening should have been what opened the show, the near falls managed to avoid the usual threeway cliches, and the evolving story of friendships being broken and mended in the ring was storytelling at (almost) its finest.

Despite the high-profile acquisitions of Toni Storm and, previously, Rhea Ripley, NXT UK has found a genuine star in Kay Lee Ray. She looked at home in a team with Baszler, Shirai, and Belair in 2019, so here's hoping she can help elevate her colleagues to that sort of level in 2020.