NXT UK Worth Watching: Ohno vs. Mastiff! The Biggest in the UK Collide!

Kassius Ohno vs. Dave Mastiff NXT UK 1/12 (Aired 1/16/20) (Ep. #75)

ER: This is quick and to the point, both guys using their weight to win, and Ohno using his arsenal against a uniquely shaped opponent. It's a relatively short match, under 7 minutes, but just watch Ohno's 2019 match against Jack Gallagher to see how special a match he can put together in 7 minutes. Ohno's been crafting variations on the Great 7 Minute Match during his entire NXT UK run, and it's one of the things that's made him the clearcut #1. We've seen a lot of Ohno bullying around smaller NXT UK guys like Ligero and Sid Scala, and it's great seeing how he approaches the heaviest guy on the brand. It's one thing to see him work cravats against Jack Starz, it's another to see how he clamps it around Dave Mastiff's head size neck. Ohno did work his cravat in a few cool ways, and I loved how Mastiff wouldn't go over for a cravat snapmare so Ohno just dropped to his back with his knees up, dropping Mastiff chin first onto them. Ohno keeps going for the cravat, until Mastiff just threw him with a suplex that left Ohno sitting confused on his butt. 

Both got to use their sentons, and it's because big fat guys should all be using sentons. When you get to a certain size you really need to just fall onto your opponent as often as possible. Ohno hits a rolling senton and rolls back off, then rolls another one that sticks even better. Mastiff gets to pay him back with one of his own and used that to build to bigger uses of his body. Ohno had a really cool counter when he saw Mastiff's cannonball coming and slouched further in the corner to deaden the impact and immediately shift into a pin. We don't get nearly enough of guys just trying to minimize damage they know is coming, and that is one of many things that sets Ohno apart from most. Mastiff has a low center of gravity which works against Ohno's leverage-based attacks, but it's also interesting how Ohno didn't dip into his arsenal of kicks or elbows like he did with nearly every other UK opponent. It's like he wanted to win a size battle with the heaviest guy and lost because of the other guy's size. Ohno almost pulled off one last cravat, catching Mastiff up top and locking one in to drop him in who knows what kind of violent way, but Mastiff winds up crushing him with a Finlay roll off the middle buckle. Ohno got punched into the mat with that one, which means we should probably get another match between them so Ohno can throw a ton of kicks. 

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