NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff: Fallout, takeaways, what’s next

When in doubt, pinkies out

For a match that kind of felt like a bit of a last minute throw-in, Noam Dar and Travis Banks had fun match to open TakeOver: Cardiff. Any misgivings about these two’s “feud” aside, the match is really two guys trying to prove themselves towards two drastically different points.

Banks wants to prove through his hard work that he is a guy worth investing in. Dar wants to show that he’s such an upper-crust performer in NXT UK that he deserves to have his opportunities handed to him.

Though he’s able to shake any specter of a curse and actually compete on a TakeOver this time, Banks perhaps does underestimate how good of a wrestler Dar actually is. He’s a trickster and a con artist for sure, but perhaps acting like that is his greatest trick and con of them all. The nonsense distracts from the fact that he quite good at this.

Aside from a surprise instance where Banks does the move off the barricade, Dar has Banks’ Slice of Heaven kick perfectly scouted. When he goes for it early on, Dar counters by grabbing his leg out of the air and locking in a submission.

Later on, after a match of back-and-forth abuse, Dar still has the wherewithal to know that Banks is setting up for the kick yet again. As Banks jumps to spring off the turnbuckle, Dar is right behind him to take out his legs. Crashing back to the mat, Banks is left defenseless as Dar nails a Nova Roller to win the match.