Hot on the heels of WWE announcing the first international Performance Center in London, the NXT UK brand held its first TakeOver event on Saturday.
The UK developmental system has been airing episodes on WWE Network since October, but this will still be the first time some fans see many of these men and women outside the UK Championship Tournament and Mae Young Classic.
The success or failure of this show will likely affect how often WWE holds these events. We might see a handful of UK TakeOvers every year if management is happy with how things went.
Not only did we get matches for the UK Championship and UK Women's Championship, but we also got to see the first UK tag team champions crowned at the event.
Let's take a look at everything that happened at NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool.
The popular duo of Tyler Bate and Trent Seven came out first to a raucous ovation to take on James Drake and Zack Gibson to see which team would become the first tag team champions in NXT UK history.
The crowd was on its feet cheering and chanting before Gibson and Bate even made contact. British crowds have always been energetic, and this was no exception.
While the atmosphere helped, the wrestling in the ring was top notch. Bate and Seven controlled most of the action during the first few minutes, but an attack outside the ring allowed Drake and Gibson to turn the tables.
The action in this bout was solid from start to finish. Both teams worked like well-oiled machines, and the fans loved every second of it, especially whenever Bate was in the ring.
The final sequence of near-falls and counters made it hard to tell who was going to win, which made for a more exciting conclusion when Gibson and Drake finally pinned Seven to become the first NXT UK tag team champions.
People will be talking about this match for some time. It was that good.
Grade: A+
Notes and Highlights
Bate and Seven went old school with their attire to pay homage to The British Bulldogs.
The NXT UK tag titles are beautiful. They are the coolest-looking tag titles in the entire company.
If there is such a thing as a pro wrestling prodigy, Bate is it. His technical ability is off the charts.
Seven has slimmed down a bit. He looks good.
Bate performing an airplane spin with Gibson and Drake on his back at the same time is so much more impressive than it sounds.
It looked like Seven had some blood in his hair, but it was hard to tell where he might have been bleeding from.
Drake took out Bate with a suicide dive while Gibson had him on his shoulders at ringside in an amazing spot.
Jordan Devlin was shown attacking Travis Banks during the pre-show, so Banks came out of the gate hot with a suicide dive as Devlin made his way to the ring.
They fought at ringside for a few minutes, and The Irish Ace went after Banks' already-injured left knee by stomping on it against the steel steps. The Kiwi Buzzsaw was helped to the back while Devlin gave a promo in the ring.
Johnny Saint and Sid Scala announced an immediate replacement for Devlin, and it was the man who trained him before coming to WWE, Finn Balor.
The first universal champion took control immediately with some precise strikes, but his former student was able to hit a questionable low blow to reverse the momentum in his favor.
Knowing each other as well as these two do allowed them to put on a good show, but it was going to be hard for anyone to follow the tag title bout. It's too bad the story of student vs. teacher wasn't given more of a storyline.
Devlin had the upper hand for most of the match, but Balor was able to put him away with the Coup de Grace.
Grade: B+
Notes and Highlights
The mask and jacket Banks wears to the ring are cool. They give him an interesting look nobody else can copy without being obvious about copying it.
WWE bringing in Balor to spice up the event was a smart move, but you have to feel for Banks. He is a great talent who deserved better at the first NXT UK TakeOver event.
People were calling Devlin "Bobblehead Balor" during the UK title tourney. Is that still a thing?
The third match of the show was the only one with a stipulation, as Eddie Dennis and Dave Mastiff looked to settle their differences under No Disqualification rules.
Mastiff used his significant size advantage to dominate his opponent early on, but a few shots from a kendo stick put Dennis in control.
This was a slow, methodical performance. They focused more on making each spot look painful than trying to cram as much as they could into the minutes they were given.
Exchanging a fast pace for high-impact moves helped this match stand out, especially since both competitors had several chances to show off their impressive athleticism.
Dennis may have been the one to bring a table into the ring, but it was Mastiff who put his opponent through it to score the win in a brutal and entertaining encounter.
Grade: B+
Notes and Highlights
Other than his height, Dennis doesn't look that intimidating. He needs to change up his look if he is going to be taken seriously as a dangerous heel.
Dennis managing to hold up Mastiff before slamming him on the steel steps was an impressive show of strength.
Toni Storm defeated Rhea Ripley to win the second Mae Young Classic, and Ripley beat Storm to become the first NXT UK women's champion, so this was seen as the rubber match in their feud.
As expected, the crowd was rooting for Storm from the moment she stepped out onto the stage. She went after Ripley with a flurry of forearms and punches right away.
It took the champion a little while to regain her composure, but once she did, the Australian Superstar began to put her compatriot through the wringer.
A few of their exchanges weren't quite as smooth as you would expect, but the frenetic pace of the match helped make it feel more competitive and personal.
Both women kicked out of each other's finisher as they were building toward the conclusion. After a physical back-and-forth contest, Storm hit her finisher a second time to get the pin and become the new NXT women's champion.
Both of these women are going to be big stars on the main roster someday, and we will look back at matches like this as early signs of their greatness.
Grade: A
Notes and Highlights
Storm looked slightly emotional at the response she received during her entrance. It might have something to do with how much support she has been shown by the pro wrestling community after she was the victim of a nude photo hack.
Red, black and white seems to be the most popular color scheme in the UK. Mastiff, Storm and Moustache Mountain all used it.
It looked like Storm may have connected more than she intended with a headbutt at one point. They both looked fine a few seconds later.
Storm has a great German suplex. Brock Lesnar would be proud.
Pete Dunne and Joe Coffey had the honor of working the main event of the first NXT UK TakeOver, and you could tell from their demeanor they were taking the responsibility seriously.
They kept things technical at first with a lockup and exchange of basic holds and counters. It took Dunne all of two minutes before he started going after his opponent's fingers.
They weren't in any hurry to quicken the pace, as they knew they were expected to wrestle for roughly 30 minutes, but that doesn't mean the first half of the bout wasn't exciting. In fact, this bout was a great example of how to properly pace a match.
Even during the slower moments, the crowd was attentive and vocal. As time progressed, The Bruiserweight began building momentum with some of his signature maneuvers, and Coffey answered with his own barrage of high-impact moves.
Both men looked like they were going to win at several points to make the match unpredictable. After several near-falls and teased submissions, Dunne forced his challenger to tap out to retain the UK Championship and extend his reign past 600 days.
NXT UK's first TakeOver event was an enjoyable show that will likely lead to more in the future. Everyone was clearly motivated to make this a special night.
Grade: A+
Notes and Highlights
Dunne being champion for over 600 days should have been a bigger deal. The least WWE could have done was have him appear on Raw last Monday to hype this event.
Dunne is one of the more proficient technical wrestlers on the NXT UK roster. Everything he does has a purpose. There is no wasted motion.
Someone in the crowd is a contender for the title of "world's loudest whistler."
The exchange of headbutts was a fun sequence.
Both Storm and Dunne used an ankle lock during their matches. Kurt Angle is smiling somewhere watching this show.
Coffey's electric chair into a German suplex was amazing.
Walter made his NXT UK debut after the match to a nice reaction from the live crowd.
