Cup of coffee in the big time: NXT UK needed that one

It’s a scatterbrained Monday, which is as good a time as any to hit on a few topics instead of one larger column.

So, let’s dig right in.

• So that NXT UK TakeOver, huh? NXT UK was a brand desperately in need of a show like they delivered over the weekend.

The weekly shows haven’t been particularly inspired and getting a double-dip of uninspired TV every week makes that stand out even more.

But talent isn’t an issue for NXT UK, it’s simply about finding a brand identity and a moment where things start to click.

That’s what TakeOver: Blackpool was. The quality of the wrestling was outstanding and the show felt much more like the UK scene magic WWE was trying to capture when launching this idea.

Also, it’s unfair for anyone to be as good at something at 21 as Tyler Bate is at wrestling.

Oh, and WALTER? That’s the guy they needed to kick things up another notch.

• That awful Nigel McGuinness spot - I don’t get bent out of shape about too many spots in wrestling. It’s a dangerous activity to participate in and basically every move in a wrestling match is a calculated risk with an understanding something could go wrong. A hip toss could, in theory, result in a broken neck and diving off the top of Hell in a Cell could result in little more than a few bumps and bruises.

That’s the gamble of wrestling.

But the WWE Network feature on Nigel McGuinness revived one of the few spots that still turns my stomach:

That moment is up there with The Rock hitting Foley with unprotected chair shots and Foley’s two flights from the top of the Cell against Undertaker as a moment I can’t believe we were ever dumb enough to think was alright.

Thank god wrestling has come to value brains a bit more these days.

• If you want to expand your UK knowledge, here’s an early days fast watch guide for PROGRESS.
• Check out our preview of tonight’s edition of Raw.
• Are you following Carmella and R-Truth’s trip to Stamford?
• Braun Strowman bone chip madness.
• Ronda Rousey is very excited to wrestle Sasha Banks.
• If Chris Jericho returns to WWE it won’t be for a long time.
• Becky Lynch wants you to understand why she talks so much trash.

Another week kicking off, let’s hit it hard.