NXT UK Worth Watching: Devlin vs. Ligero!

Jordan Devlin vs. Ligero NXT UK 1/17 (Aired 1/23/20) (Ep. #76)

Here's a cool match that acts as a nice showcase for the different things Devlin can do with his moveset. I really like the different ways he approaches matches and opponents. The guys who step out and try something new within a similar framework are always the guys who are going to jump out at me, and this match had several great examples of Devlin trying something once with one result, then trying it again with sometimes a very different result. I love that the match started with him tugging on one of Ligero's horns as a goof and then getting walloped, not even making it out of his track jacket until a couple minutes in. When he does finally get enough space to remove the jacket, after a uranage and moonsault, he stands on Ligero's throat during the jacket removal to be assured that space stays. Devlin always has an answer for Ligero's sillier flourishes (like shoving him back into the ropes on a handstand and then kicking him in the face) but it's also great when he thinks he has Ligero figured out but actually doesn't. Devlin slingshotting himself over the top rope to grab a cutter only for Ligero to simply not lean his neck into the cutter was a great spot, the kind of logic that isn't typically applied to cutters (where guys actively have to stick their neck out) and is so sound that it almost shows how every correct usage of the spot is actually incredibly dumb. It's like the first time you saw someone just let go of the top rope when they're being brought in "the hard way" from the apron. 

Devlin was great at cutting Ligero off, while turning them into moments I'm not sure I've seen before. One that stood out was instead of moonsaulting onto Ligero's outstretched feet - a spot we've seen a lot ever since Mistico/Ultimo Guerrero - Devlin catches Ligero's feet on his landing and blocks Ligero's block. It's rare that "reversal of your reversal" wrestling actually looks good, and Devlin is someone who puts enough care into the spots that they look like *actual* reversed reversals, not just a planned dance. The Devil Inside gets reversed nicely into a Ligero spike DDT, and Devlin sells the DDT perfectly, like a dog who ran into the closed sliding glass door. It doesn't prevent him from eventually going for it later - and hitting it for the win - but I love how Devlin is able to establish that some of his offense needs to be hit at the right moment, and if it's something he tries to rush it will backfire. Devlin's ideas are not complex, but he's one of the best at delivering on those ideas in great matches.  

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