NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool II is scheduled for this Sunday night and we have a firm grasp of which superstars will be participating in the pay-per-view and which men and women are being left out in the cold.
As always, cards are subject to change and there could be any number of alterations to this lineup with surprise appearances, impromptu matches and so on, so nothing is truly set in stone. However, as far as the event is currently being advertised, the following NXT talent is not being promoted as part of the program.
It’s your call to judge whether these missing stars are being left off the card for justifiable reasons or not, so let’s take a look at the superstars missing from NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool II.
Everyone From NXT:
Since this is an NXT UK-specific event, there aren’t any wrestlers from the American-based NXT brand appearing on the show. As a general rule of thumb, the NXT UK people can appear on the NXT TakeOver events (and will appear on Worlds Collide, of course), but it doesn’t tend to work the other way around. It isn’t a two-way street.
This means every man and woman from Angel Garza to Xia Li won’t be on the card, including the Performance Center recruits.
From the NXT UK Men’s Division
— A-Kid: He just started and his involvement in the Jordan Devlin and Tyler Bate feud was meant to set that up. We might see him ringside on behalf of Bate.
— Alexander Wolfe: I really would have thought the No Disqualification match Wolfe had with Ilja Dragunov would have been on this event, rather than TV. That’s surprising. He’s the only member of Imperium to not have a match at Blackpool. I guess he’ll be ringside for WALTER’s match and they’ll have a scuff outside the ring or something like that.
— Amir Jordan and Kenny Williams: These two simply weren’t high enough on the pecking order to find a way into the tag title hunt.
— Ashton Smith and Oliver Carter: These two finally got a win this past week, but that isn’t anywhere near worthy of booking them on this card.
— Dave Mastiff / Kassius Ohno: Ohno’s boasting that he’s the best British wrestler has drawn the ire of Mastiff. They set up the idea that these two will fight soon, so I’m expecting them to be part of a taping prior to TakeOver so that they have material to air next week before the York Barbican tapings.
— The Hunt (Wild Boar Mike Hitchman & Primate Jay Melrose): There is already a Fatal 4-Way for the tag titles and The Hunt aren’t on the same level of popularity and importance as the four of those teams. Sometimes, people just don’t make the cut.
— Ilja Dragunov: Frankly, I’m surprised there isn’t something with Dragunov going on. As mentioned with Wolfe, I figured their No DQ match would have been better suited for TakeOver and not the regular TV episode it was on. He’s been a big enough deal for a while and not having him on this card seems strange.
— Jack Starz: He’s still a Performance Center recruit and not a true part of the roster quite yet.
— Joseph Conners: Conners has been going out of his way to say that he is TakeOver worthy. Well, unfortunately, WWE must not have thought so, as he is still not on one of these events. Had they kept the feud going between Ligero and Travis Banks and Conners, it could have potentially led to Conners making this event. Instead, they killed that off during the television episodes leading up to this point and Conners hasn’t established another feud in the meantime.
— Ligero: Losing his feud with Banks and Conners, followed by losing to Ohno proves that Ligero is still in the range of not being a high enough priority for a TakeOver match.
— Noam Dar: Dar made it a point to say that he has a guaranteed TakeOver match in his contract, but they already negated that. Their kayfabe response to not wanting to book him on the card was to say that he misunderstood his contract. I think they misunderstood how much they wanted to use him going forward. It’s a shame, as Dar is great. Hopefully, he’ll have a role at Worlds Collide.
— Sam Gradwell: Gradwell’s last match for WWE was in July 2018. He wrestled his last match in general in September 2018 and has been out of action ever since. There’s no telling when his injuries will heal and he’ll be back, if ever.
— Saxon Huxley and Tyson T-Bone: These two are a jobber tag team. They stood no chance in getting into the title hunt and would have had no other role on this card other than that.
— Travis Banks: The Kiwi Buzzsaw has been featured regularly on NXT as part of the build to Worlds Collide. His feud with Joseph Conners and Ligero seems dead in the water and if we don’t see him at WC, I think that means he’s just not considered as big of a priority in the grand scheme of things, even if he’s still a featured enough player in the overall scope.
From the NXT UK Women’s Division
— Isla Dawn: If she isn’t putting over a heel, she isn’t doing much of anything at all. I still maintain that Isla Dawn needs to turn heel herself in order to get a solid push, but that hasn’t really been in the works. At the very least, it doesn’t seem like they’re building her up as an obvious contender to whoever the champion is after this event. Maybe that will change with the tapings to follow this show.
— Jazzy Gabert and Jinny: These two seem like they’re about to feud with each other, with Jazzy turning on Jinny. Jazzy has given her quite a bit of backtalk and sass lately, so Jinny’s control over her must be waning.
— Killer Kelly: Unfortunately for Killer Kelly, her long absence wasn’t met with a return that gave her some wins and some momentum. She was quickly put back in her role as a jobber. As such, there’s no need for her to be on this card.
— Nina Samuels: They haven’t done anything with Nina Samuels for a long enough time that I actually can’t remember the last time she was in a substantial segment.
— Xia Brookside: Brookside has been on the back burner, too. They’ll more than likely have her wrestle at the next tapings, even if she’s just putting someone over.
Do you think these men and women or any others not on this list should have been booked on the card in some fashion? How would you have utilized them if given the opportunity? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
