NXT UK Recap for June 26, 2019: Kiwi Crushed

Recapping all the action worth recapping from the June 26, 2019 episode of NXT UK, featuring WALTER versus Travis Banks for the WWE United Kingdom Championship.

As the title picture reaches a state of crystal clarity, NXT UK comes to us once again from Download Festival. This week’s episode is headlined by WALTER defending his WWE United Kingdom Championship against Travis Banks.

With Pete Dunne seemingly out of the way for good, could WALTER take his next giant step forward towards dominating the brand? Or, would the never say die underdog that is Banks shock us all and walk out the unexpected champion? Let’s jump into the June 26, 2019 edition of NXT UK: Kiwi Crushed.

Barking up the WALTER tree

Travis Banks’ tour on the underdog circuit came to its natural conclusion, as The Kiwi Buzzsaw battled WALTER for the WWE United Kingdom Championship. If you ever needed a way to cap off the run of a guy who despite various crushing downfalls has nonetheless ascended, having him attempt to topple a champion who has seven inches and just north of 100 pounds on him is a pretty effective way to do that.

Size is literally a natural advantage of WALTER’s, so Banks needs to ratchet up the intensity as far as it will go to compensate. He does so by following the tried and true model put forth by his under-sized ancestors: kick the big guy in the leg a lot until he hopefully falls down.

He gives the champ just about everything he’s got, but despite Banks’ rampant attempts to chop down that tree of a man, WALTER is able to withstand most of it. For Banks, trying to beat WALTER is a bit Sisyphean. Every time it seems he has something going, has finally got his opponent reeling, WALTER is suddenly back on his feet to knock him down the mountain to square one.

When Banks at last gets WALTER to crumble after many many kicks to the leg, he follows it up with a series of hard and fast moves. This culminates in a huge double stomp from the top rope, which WALTER easily kicks out of at two. Back to start as Banks gets beat down some more, including some big meat cleaver clubs to his chest.

Banks never quits — how could he after getting this far — but is plain unable to overcome the size differential between him and WALTER. Eventually, he does connects with A Slice of Heaven — the precursor to his Kiwi Crusher finisher — only for WALTER to immediately roll out of the ring. This doesn’t stop Banks, who starts kicking WALTER in the chest, drop kicks him off the apron, and then hits another huge move, a suicide dive to the outside.

If you’ll recall, WALTER has slightly more than 100 pounds on Banks, so the task of rolling that man back into the ring is neither an easy nor quick task. By the time Banks actually is able to get him back in the ring, WALTER has fully recovered and hurls Banks off a metaphorical cliff, at the bottom of which is the literal ring apron.

WALTER big-boots Banks in the face as he tries to get back in the ring, chops him so hard his soul flies out of his body and then powerbombs him hard on the apron. Banks looks completely done and then WALTER powerbombs him again in the center of the ring and he is completely done.

Without cheating this time, WALTER retained. It’s interesting that they present WALTER as overwhelmingly dominant, but also clearly self-aware enough to know that he’s not immortal. And if he knows it, everyone else on the roster must know it too. Someone someday will take the title from him. Until such a day though, it will take more than heart and passion to fell The Ring General.