| NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff | |||
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| Promotion | WWE | ||
| Brand | NXT UK | ||
| Date | 31 August 2019 | ||
| City | Cardiff,Wales | ||
| Venue | Motorpoint Arena Cardiff | ||
| Attendance | 3,600[1] | ||
| WWE event chronology | |||
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| NXT UK TakeOver chronology | |||
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| WWE in Europe chronology | |||
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NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff was a 2019professional wrestlinglivestreamingevent produced by the American promotionWWE. It was the secondNXT UK TakeOver event and took place on 31 August 2019 at theMotorpoint Arena Cardiff inCardiff,Wales. The event aired exclusively on theWWE Network and was held for wrestlers from the promotion'sNXT UKbrand division.
Six matches were contested at the event. In the main event,Walter retained theWWE United Kingdom Championship againstTyler Bate. Other matches includedMark Andrews andFlash Morgan Webster defeating defending championsZack Gibson andJames Drake and Gallus (Mark Coffey andWolfgang) in atriple threattag team match to win theNXT UK Tag Team Championship, andKay Lee Ray defeatedToni Storm to win theNXT UK Women's Championship.
TakeOver was a series ofprofessional wrestling shows that began on 29 May 2014, whenWWE'sNXTbrand held theirsecond live special on theWWE Network.[2] TheNXT UK brand debuted in June 2018 and subsequently adopted the TakeOver name for their live WWE Network specials, beginning withNXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool in January 2019.[3] Announced on June 1, 2019, TakeOver: Cardiff was scheduled as the secondNXT UK TakeOver event. It was held on 31 August 2019, at theMotorpoint Arena Cardiff and was named after the venue's city ofCardiff,Wales.[4][5]
The card included six matches that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayedheroes,villains, orless distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the NXT UK brand, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television programme,NXT UK.[6][7]
On the 19 June episode ofNXT UK,Kay Lee Ray won a battle royal for an opportunity to faceToni Storm for theNXT UK Women's Championship at a time of her choosing by last eliminatingXia Brookside.[8] On the 17 July episode ofNXT UK, Ray interrupted Storm and announced that their title match would take place at TakeOver: Cardiff.[9]
On the 3 July episode ofNXT UK duringMoustache Mountain's (Trent Seven andTyler Bate)NXT UK Tag Team Championship match,Imperium interfered and attacked and injuredTyler Bate. On the 31 July episode, Bate returned and attacked Imperium and aWWE United Kingdom Championship match betweenWalter and Tyler Bate was made for TakeOver: Cardiff.
On the 7 August episode ofNXT UK,Gallus andMark Andrews &Flash Morgan Webster wanted to faceGrizzled Young Veterans (James Drake andZack Gibson) for theNXT UK Tag Team Championship. Later in that episode, Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan had to prove themselves in order to make the match atriple threat tag team match at TakeOver: Cardiff. Webster defeated Gallus' Mark Coffey on the 14 August episode, and Andrews defeated James Drake on the 21 August episode, making it a triple threat tag team match at TakeOver: Cardiff.
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Commentators | Vic Joseph |
| Nigel McGuinness | |
| Ring announcer | Andy Shepherd |
| Referees | Joel Allen |
| Chris Roberts | |
| Chris Sharpe | |
| Tom Scarborough | |
| Interviewer | Radzi Chinyanganya |
The event opened with Noam Dar facing Travis Banks. Dar performed a Nova Roller on Banks to win the match.[10]
Next, Cesaro faced Ilja Dragunov. Cesaro performed a Pop Up European Uppercut and a Neutralizer on Dragunov to win the match.[10]
After that, The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson and James Drake) defended the NXT UK Tag Team Championship against Gallus (Mark Coffey and Wolfgang) and Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster. Andrews performed a Shooting Star Press on Gibson and Webster pinned Gibson to win the titles.[10]
Later, Joe Coffey faced Dave Mastiff in a Last Man Standing match. In the end, Coffey and Mastiff fell off a production crate through a table. Mastiff could not stand by a ten count, meaning Coffey won.[10]
In the penultimate match, Toni Storm defended the NXT UK Women's Championship against Kay Lee Ray. Ray performed a Rope-Hung Gory Bomb and a second Gory Bomb on Storm to win the title.[10]
In the main event, Walter defended the WWE United Kingdom Championship against Tyler Bate. Walter performed a Powerbomb onto the ring apron and a Powerbomb into the ring post on Bate. Bate performed a Tyler Driver '97 on Walter for a two-count. Bate performed a Corkscrew Senton Bomb on Walter for a two-count. Walter performed a Diving Splash on Bate for a two-count. Walter performed a Folding Powerbomb on Bate for a one-count. Walter performed a Lariat on Bate to retain the title.[10]
Larry Csonka of411Mania gave it an 8.5 out of 10, stating "NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff 2019 was a tremendous success and a vast improvement over their first TakeOver effort. Cesaro came off like a big star, the title changes made sense, there was a ton of quality wrestling and Walter vs. Bate was an instant classic. If you haven't followed the brand, make time to catch this show".[11]Dave Meltzer of theWrestling Observer Newsletter also gave the event high marks overall and ranked each match as follows: 2.5 stars for Noam Dar vs. Travis Banks, 4 stars for Cesaro vs. Ilja Dragunov, 4.5 stars for the triple threat NXT UK Tag Team Championship match, 2.5 stars for the Last Man Standing Match, 3.25 stars for the NXT UK Women's Championship match and 5.25 stars for the United Kingdom Championship match.[12]
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times[10] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1UK | Rhea Ripley defeatedPiper Niven bypinfall | Singles match[13] | 8:45 | ||||
| 2UK | Kassius Ohno defeated Sid Scala bypinfall | Singles match[13] | 10:00 | ||||
| 3 | Noam Dar defeatedTravis Banks bypinfall | Singles match[14] | 13:56 | ||||
| 4 | Cesaro defeatedIlja Dragunov bypinfall | Singles match[15] | 12:26 | ||||
| 5 | Mark Andrews andFlash Morgan Webster defeatedZack Gibson andJames Drake (c) andGallus (Mark Coffey andWolfgang) bypinfall | Triple threat tag team match for theNXT UK Tag Team Championship[16] | 20:17 | ||||
| 6 | Joe Coffey defeatedDave Mastiff | Last Man Standing match[17] | 16:03 | ||||
| 7 | Kay Lee Ray defeatedToni Storm (c) bypinfall | Singles match for theNXT UK Women's Championship[18] | 9:52 | ||||
| 8 | Walter (c) defeatedTyler Bate bypinfall | Singles match for theWWE United Kingdom Championship[19] | 41:43 | ||||
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