WWE UK Championship Tournament 2018: Winners, Grades, Highlights from Day 1

After nearly 18 months of random title defenses since the first UK champion was crowned in January 2017, WWE is finally making some real progress with its United Kingdom division.

Not only are we getting the second UK Championship Tournament, but Triple H has revealed plans for a British NXT brand to support its growing international footprint.

The original tourney introduced the WWE Universe to the likes of Tyler Bate, Trent Seven, Mark Andrews, Wolfgang and current UK champion, Pete Dunne.

WWE is hoping to do the same thing for a new crop of talent with this year's two-day event, but one of the names will be familiar to fans this time around, as Jack Gallagher journeyed home to England to participate.

Since Dunne is already the champion, the winner of this tourney will earn a title shot against The Bruiserweight instead of automatically being crowned champion like last year. 

Let's take a look at everything that happened on the first day of the 2018 WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament. 

Jack Gallagher vs. Zack Gibson

The show opened with UK wrestling legend and NXT UK general manager Johnny Saint walking into an empty Royal Albert Hall as he narrated the video package highlighting the competitors in the tournament.

The first quarterfinal match of the tournament featured former WWE cruiserweight champion Gentleman Jack Gallagher taking on Zack Gibson. 

Gallagher had both a height and weight disadvantage in this one, but the technical marvel never seemed like the underdog because of his mat wrestling ability and unique offense.

Despite being a heel, Gallagher became the de facto babyface in this match after Gibson refused to shake his hand after the opening bell in a show of disrespect. Gentleman Jack saw how the crowd was reacting and played to it perfectly. 

The first several minutes of this match were a demonstration in British Strong Style and mat-based grappling, but Gallagher eventually picked up the pace to make things more exciting for the raucous crowd.

Gallagher tried his best to wear his opponent down with various holds in an impressive display of skill, but Gibson was the one who earned the submission victory to advance in the tournament. 

Grade: B+

Notes and Highlights

• Nigel McGuinness and Mauro Ranallo make a good commentary team. They are the perfect combo of color and play-by-play commentary. Why WWE ever got away from the two-man booth is a mystery.
• Gallagher ditched the tights he has been wearing on 205 Live for his old trunks and boots look. 
• WWE management must have discouraged Gallagher from doing most of his funnier moves once he turned into a villain. It was fun to see him play with his opponent like he used to. 
• The lung blower Gibson hit on Gallagher is the kind of move you don't see too often in WWE.
• Gibson would be a great fit for a stable with Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch in NXT.  

Joe Coffey vs. Dave Mastiff

The second match of the night was a battle of the behemoths. Joe Coffey and Dave Mastiff are a pair of heavyweight bruisers, and their match reflected the difference between them and the smaller competitors we saw in the previous bout.

They came to a stalemate early on when neither competitor could take the other down, but Mastiff eventually got the upper hand when the fight spilled out of the ring.

Their size and style forced them to work a slower pace, but each exchange they had featured at least one impressive feat of strength or agility.

The only criticism one could have with this match was the pacing. It felt like they were moving from one sequence to the next without letting any of the big moments set in. 

Coffey picked up the victory and sold the beating he took at the hands of Mastiff like a pro. He may not have gotten a video package like Mastiff, but he got the opportunity to give a quick interview with Cathy Kelley after his win. 

Grade: B

Notes and Highlights

• Despite losing the match, WWE gave Mastiff a nice video package beforehand. 
• Mastiff moves around better than you would expect for a guy his size.
• Coffey's missile dropkick from the top rope was impressive.
• It's too bad The Wyatt Family disbanded. Mastiff would have been a perfect addition. 
• Anyone who can hit a guy like Mastiff with a German suplex deserves to win. 

Flash Morgan Webster vs. Jordan Devlin

Flash Morgan Webster recently made his first appearance on 205 Live, and Jordan Devlin competed in last year's UK title tourney, so this was the first match with competitors the majority of the WWE Universe has been exposed to before.

There was no handshake or show of sportsmanship from Devlin. In fact, he pie-faced Webster when he got into the ring to establish himself as the heel.

WWE did a good job with staggering different styles in the opening round. These two followed Mastiff and Coffey's high-impact contest with a show of speed and agility.

The only real complaint anyone could have about this match was its length. It was a great exhibition of their skills, but it could have benefitted from five more minutes.

Devlin's quest to redeem himself after last year's tournament came to an early end when Webster hit a tilt-a-whirl takedown to score the win. 

Grade: B+

Notes and Highlights

• Webster seems like he would be right at home in a Guy Ritchie movie. 
• A Spanish Fly from the top rope will always get a pop. It's both dangerous and exciting. 

Travis Banks vs. Ashton Smith

Out of the four quarterfinal matches, this one had the two Superstars you could say have the "WWE look" more than anyone. Travis Banks and Ashton Smith are in great shape and quickly defined their personalities in the pre-match video.

New Zealander Banks focused mostly on strikes to dominate the early minutes of the contest, but Smith's speed and agility allowed him to get the upper hand eventually.

There was a lot to like in this match, but it was another example of two guys stringing together a series of short exchanges instead of flowing from move to move.

Smith put on an impressive performance, but a fisherman's buster from Banks was too much for him to overcome in the end.

Grade: B-

Notes and Highlights

• Smith's tattoos were interesting. They had a lot of text instead of designs. 
• Banks was screaming during every hit like he was playing tennis.

Toni Storm vs. Killer Kelly vs. Isla Dawn

WWE gave the UK tourney competitors some rest so it could feature a Triple Threat match for a shot at the NXT Women's Championship on Tuesday.

Isla Dawn and Killer Kelly will be new names to most of the WWE Universe, but Toni Storm made a big impression during the Mae Young Classic. She has found a great deal of success in Japan since then, so this appearance may be a sign of WWE being ready to sign her.

Kelly and Dawn teamed up on Storm at first so they could make this a one-on-one contest for as long as possible, but as soon as Storm was out of the ring, the two redheads began brawling.

This was a relatively short match, but it allowed all three women to display their skills for the WWE Universe. After kicking Kelly out of the ring, Storm defeated Dawn to earn herself a shot at the gold against Shayna Baszler.

Grade: B-

Notes and Highlights

• Storm was channeling Harley Quinn's red and black look from the comics a bit.
• WWE would never let the name "Killer Kelly" fly in the PG era. It's surprising the company even allowed her to use it for this appearance. 
• Kelly almost decapitated Dawn with a kick to the face from the apron at one point. 
• Storm has the look, skill and personality to be a huge success, and she is young enough to continue working for many years to come. She needs to be in WWE right now. 

Flash Morgan Webster vs. Zack Gibson

The first semifinal match of the tournament saw Webster and Gibson go head-to-head. It looked like it would start with a friendly handshake, but Gibson refused to let go to prove he was the stronger of the two.

This put Webster into a rage as he unloaded on his larger opponent with kicks and punches to start the action. However, Gibson eventually used his size advantage to take control.

His power was on full display when he caught Webster in the middle of a suicide dive so he could suplex him on the entrance ramp.

As soon as The Modfather crawled back into the ring, Gibson locked him in the same modified hammerlock he used to win his first match to advance to the finals. 

Grade: B+

Notes and Highlights

• Triple H came to the ring before the match to talk about what the United Kingdom means to WWE and announced the formation of the UK NXT division. He introduced Saint as the GM, and the British wrestling legend helped announce a new women's and tag team division along with the first set of tapings in July through November. 
• Webster swinging around the ring post to hit a hurricanrana was both creative and impressive. 
• Webster and Gallagher would be an incredible tag team. Their styles would complement each other perfectly. 

Travis Banks vs. Joe Coffey

Coffey and Banks showed their respect for each other with a handshake before the bell. They started with some standard takedowns and counters, but it didn't take them long to start unloading on each other.

They both worked as babyfaces, so the crowd never had an excuse to boo. This led to a few moments of awkward silence between the bigger spots in the match. 

Coffey threw caution to the wind with a springboard crossbody at one point, but it failed to hit the mark and Banks took advantage with a roll-up for the win.

This match had great pacing and showed off what both guys can bring to the table if they get signed by WWE after the tournament. 

Coffey attacked Banks after the match and drove his shoulder in the ring post out of frustration. It was reminiscent of Dunne's attacks during last year's tournament. 

Grade: B

Notes and Highlights

• Coffey was still selling his first match during his entrance. It's always nice to see wrestlers throw in little details like that.
• Coffey's double underhook swing was a fun take on the big swing we used to see from Cesaro on a regular basis. 
• You have to admire the announcers for not making too many puns about Coffey's name. On a similar note, Coffey should definitely find a way to name every signature move after something to do with coffee. 
• The Percolator. The Slamaccino. The Coffey Grinder. The French Press. These things write themselves. 

The Undisputed Era vs. Pete Dunne, Trent Seven and Tyler Bate

Banks lucked out with a break between his semifinal and final match against Gibson when Moustache Mountain and Dunne battled The Undisputed Era in a showdown of NXT vs. the UK division.

The crowd was more vocal during this match than anything we have seen in the actual tournament taking place on the same show, but that is likely because of the popularity all six competitors have gained since signing with WWE.

Dunne has worked most of his WWE matches as a heel, but he fell into the babyface role easily thanks to being paired with the popular Bate and Seven.

Roderick Strong has meshed well with Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly since joining The Undisputed Era, and their chemistry was on full display during their double- and triple-team moves.

It's unfortunate how a six-man tag match stole the show from the tournament matches taking place, but that is exactly what happened here. When the dust settled, Dunne, Bate and Seven were victorious. 

Grade: A-

Notes and Highlights

• British Strong Style has the coolest group entrance.
• Bate doing the big swing and airplane spin to Cole Strong at the same time was impressive. 
• The final sequence in this match alone was worth the price of admission. 

Travis Banks vs. Zack Gibson

Before the final match of the evening took place, Shawn Michaels came to the ring to give a speech about wrestling WWE's first match in Royal Albert Hall. 

Banks came to the ring with his shoulder wrapped up to sell the attack from Coffey earlier in the show, so he immediately had a target for Gibson to focus on. 

Fighting with an injury made Gibson look even tougher than he did when he faced Coffey and Smith earlier in the show, especially since this was the third match of the night for both competitors. 

The longer time limit allowed them to work a better pace so every move had a chance to leave an impact on the crowd. They upped the intensity as time went on, but they never let things become too frantic. 

Gibson got caught trying to use the ropes for leverage during a pin toward the end of the match, but he was still able to put Banks away with the same submission he used to defeat Gallagher and Webster.

This was an outstanding performance from both Superstars, but the real main event comes Tuesday when Gibson will battle Dunne for the WWE UK Championship.

Grade: A+

Notes and Highlights

• It will take a long time to get used to seeing Michaels with short hair. 
• Gibson driving Banks' shoulder into the ring steps looked and sounded brutal. 
• How do you safely dropkick the back of someone's head while it is against the middle turnbuckle? It seems like a guaranteed concussion.