An NXT 2.0 team is getting a shot at the NXT UK Tag Team titles.
On the NXT UK episode that airs next Thursday, Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen will challenge Oliver Carter & Ashton Smith for the NXT UK Tag Team Championship. It will be Smith & Carter’s first defense since winning the titles.
Carter & Smith became NXT UK Tag Team Champions by defeating Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) and Die Familie (Teoman & Rohan Raja) in a triple threat match on NXT UK two weeks ago.
Fallon Henley, who is aligned with Briggs & Jensen in NXT 2.0, will also be appearing with them on NXT UK.
A promo from Briggs, Jensen, and Henley aired on NXT UK this week. Briggs said it will be an honor to face Carter & Smith.
Briggs & Jensen’s team debuted following last September’s NXT 2.0 rebrand. The story of their partnership is that they bonded after getting into a bar fight with each other.
Briggs & Jensen are currently feuding with Von Wagner on NXT 2.0.
It’s also been announced that NXT 2.0’s Sarray will be in action against Nina Samuels on NXT UK next Thursday.
NXT 2.0’s Wagner, Lash Legend, Ivy Nile, and Damon Kemp have also recently appeared on NXT UK. They took part in April’s NXT UK television tapings.
They traded strikes early until Wagner punched Gradwell in the face hard, then attacked him from the outside. Wagner continued his onslaught in the ring, including hitting a fallaway slam.
Gradwell hit a few forearms but quickly got caught in a bearhug. Gradwell hit a double strike that took Wagner off his feet, then followed with a flying forearm off the turnbuckle and body slammed the big man for a two count.
Wagner signaled that he wanted to throw Gradwell into the crowd, but Gradwell escaped from the military press position and locked on a sleeper. Wagner then hoisted Gradwell on his shoulders from that position and hit a neckbreaker slam for the win.
– Xia Brookside skipped into the Performance Center, followed by Eliza Alexander. They were asked about using questionable tactics in their tag team match and Brookside took offense. Amale came up and called out Alexander for a match, which she accepted.
– Ivy Nile talked about her upcoming title match with Meiko Satomura. Nile said she’s the hardest worker and has 26 years of tape to study for Satomura while Satomura has none of her. They meet for the NXT UK Women’s Championship next week.
– In the parking lot, Mark Andrews was asked about his upcoming match with Kenny Williams. He saw Williams screwing around with his car and they brawled before being quickly broken up. Tiger Turan was seen crouching in the background, watching them.
Stevie Turner defeated Angel Hayze (4:05)
There was a split-screen pre-taped promo from Turner where she said she is the future.
Turner threw an armband at Hayze and kicked her, but Hayze came back with a schoolboy and another quick pin attempt. Turner came back with a running knee lift and a running kick to the head as Hayze was in the ropes.
Turner quickly followed with a neckbreaker for another nearfall, then locked in a chinlock on Hayze. Hayze came back with a slingblade for a close two count, but she quickly got flattened with a running kick. Turner followed with a Mass Effect for the pinfall victory.
– Emilia McKenzie apologized to Satomura for letting her down by losing to Lash Legend. Satomura told her to be “more strong, work harder, and be better.” Now why didn’t McKenzie think of that?
– East End Bookie with Noam Dar & Sha Samuels was up next. They talked trash about Damon Kemp & Wolfgang, who they will face in two weeks. Dar & Samuels said Kemp & Wolfgang are fake friends — but Dar & Samuels are real friends.
Triple threat match: Oliver Carter & Ashton Smith defeated Moustache Mountain and Die Familie to win the NXT UK Tag Team titles (14:17)
The rules were that each team could have a member in the ring at the same time, every man had to tag their own partner, there were no disqualifications, and a decision had to be reached by pinfall or submission inside the ring.
Tyler Bate, Carter, and Teoman started. They quickly went after each other with lots of fast pinfall attempts and attacked each other’s legs. Bate and Carter eventually teamed up as Carter launched off Bate to hit a corkscrew plancha on Teoman.
Soon, Smith, Rohan Raja, and Trent Seven were in and traded punches. Smith hit a huge powerslam on Seven, who got tripped by Die Familie subsequently. They trapped him under the apron and rained down blows on him. Die Familie then double teamed Smith before focusing their attention on Seven.
After a few minutes, Seven finally managed to tag out to Bate, who ran wild on everyone. Smith tagged in Carter, who cleaned house as well. Carter almost had Teoman pinned after an assisted moonsault, but Raja made the save.
Teoman got the crossface on Bate off an airplane spin, but he then got squashed off a quebrada by Carter. Seven meanwhile hit a Super Emerald Frosion on Smith off the top, but he narrowly kicked out of the subsequent pin.
Moustache Mountain hit a Birminghammer/foot stomp combo on Carter, but Teoman broke up the pin. Teoman tried to steal the pin but got thwarted. Raja brought one of the tag belts into the ring and Teoman tried to hit Smith with it. Smith ducked and clotheslined Teoman to the outside, but he got hit with a lariat by Seven a split-second later.
Seven grabbed the title belt and was looking to use it on Smith, but Bate grabbed it from the outside and they had a tug of war over it. Carter then wiped out Bate with a dive and Smith rolled up Seven to win the titles.
Smith and Carter were ecstatic and celebrated. Seven looked shocked and Bate at ringside was devastated about the whole ordeal.
Smith and Carter celebrated with the belts on their way to the back as Seven and Bate were left in the ring. They eventually had words and Seven left, signaling that he was “done” and saying “this was it” as he went to the back.
Final Thoughts —
Basically a one-match show. Gradwell vs. Wagner was okay but forgettable, and Turner vs. Hayze was basically a squash.
The triple threat Tag Team title match was very good, as is to be expected with those three teams. Smith & Carter as champions will mix things up, while it will be interesting to see if Seven will actually retire after the loss.
Tension had been brewing within Moustache Mountain for months now. Seven’s storyline of looking for redemption and it leading to his inevitable downfall has been playing out ever since NXT UK returned from its pandemic hiatus during the fall of 2020.
Next Week —
NXT UK Women’s Champion Meiko Satomura defends against Ivy Nile
WWE has announced two upcoming title matches that will be airing on NXT UK.
On next Thursday’s NXT UK episode, Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) will defend their NXT UK Tag Team titles against Oliver Carter & Ashton Smith and Die Familie (Teoman & Rohan Raja) in a triple threat match.
Meiko Satomura will then defend her NXT UK Women’s Championship against NXT 2.0’s Ivy Nile on the NXT UK episode that airs in two weeks.
Carter & Smith and Teoman & Raja each earned their way into the triple threat Tag Team title match with victories in recent weeks. Carter & Smith defeated Gallus (Joe & Mark Coffey), while Die Familie defeated Dave Mastiff & Jack Starz.
Moustache Mountain have twice retained their titles against Carter & Smith, but Seven cheated to win both times. There’s been dissension between Bate and Seven over Seven cheating to win their matches.
Nile is a member of Diamond Mine in NXT 2.0. She’s one of four NXT 2.0 wrestlers who took part in NXT UK’s April television tapings. Lash Legend, Damon Kemp, and Von Wagner have also appeared on this set of NXT UK episodes.
Nile defeated Nina Samuels on NXT UK two weeks ago. Last week, Nile respectfully approached Satomura and asked for a title shot.
Next week (Thursday, June 2) —
NXT UK Tag Team Champions Moustache Mountain defend against Oliver Carter & Ashton Smith and Die Familie in a triple threat match
Sam Gradwell vs. Von Wagner
In two weeks (Thursday, June 9) —
NXT UK Women’s Champion Meiko Satomura defends against Ivy Nile
The show opened with a video looking at tonight’s main event, where Moustache Mountain will defend their NXT UK Tag Team titles against Oliver Carter & Ashton Smith in a two-out-of-three falls match.
Back Alley Brawl: Sam Gradwell defeated Kenny Williams (9:45)
Gradwell attacked Williams during the latter’s entrance and beat him up at ringside. He went to get a trash can from under the ring, but Williams kicked Gradwell and rammed him into the stairs. Williams then rolled him into the ring to officially start the match.
A masked man in a hoodie was watching the match from the crowd.
Gradwell took over back in the ring, then threw Williams out of the ring and over the barricade. Gradwell emptied a trash can onto Williams and then attacked him with it. Williams went for an attack on the barricades, but the masked man stared at him and Williams was distracted, allowing Gradwell to catch him.
Williams got a fire extinguisher from under the ring and sprayed it into Gradwell’s face. He placed a chair on Gradwell’s back (as Gradwell was draped over the steps) and then jumped on it a few times.
Gradwell slammed Williams onto a trash can, then set up a table. Back in the ring, Gradwell slammed Williams into a chair that was set up in the corner. Williams removed his belt and teased hitting Gradwell with it, but Gradwell caught it and used it on Williams.
When Williams was once again distracted by the masked man in the crowd, Gradwell gave Williams a Death Valley Driver off the apron through the table on the floor. Gradwell picked up the pinfall victory after the table bump.
After the match, the masked man entered the ring and stalked Williams to the back.
– A segment looked at Symbiosis’ attack on Wild Boar with a dog collar and Mark Andrews making the save. Eddie Dennis challenged Wild Boar & Andrews to a tag team match.
Emilia McKenzie defeated Stevie Turner (4:43)
McKenzie was in control early and got a two count off a swinging neckbreaker. Turner came back with a bicycle kick that took McKenzie down, then locked in a chinlock.
McKenzie escaped and hit a Saito suplex for a two count. Turner hit a Mass Effect for a two count of her own. McKenzie then hit a German suplex and a spear to get the victory.
– Isla Dawn talked about welcoming NXT UK Women’s Champion Meiko Satomura into her “world of darkness.” She will face Satomura in a World of Darkness match for the title in two weeks.
– Von Wagner, Lash Legend, Ivy Nile, and Damon Kemp from NXT 2.0 were shown arriving in the UK earlier this week. Saxon Huxley interrupted their autograph signing, leading to Wagner ripping up Huxley’s autograph and walking off.
– Xia Brookside and Eliza Alexander cut a promo backstage. Brookside said she’ll be in action next week and somebody will get “battered.”
– In three weeks, on the 200th episode of NXT UK, Ilja Dragunov will defend his NXT United Kingdom Championship against Jordan Devlin. There will be a contract signing for the match next week.
Two-out-of-three falls NXT UK Tag Team title match: Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) retained against Oliver Carter & Ashton Smith (21:39)
Bate and Smith started and traded wristlocks early on. There was some fast action, and they traded pinning combinations until Bate tagged in Seven. Smith dominated the action and then tagged in Carter, who hit Seven with a shoulder block over the ropes.
Seven turned things around, and Moustache Mountain took turns working Carter over.
Smith finally came in and he and Carter sent the champions to ringside. Shortly after, Moustache Mountain were back in control, working over Smith until he finally got the hot tag to Carter.
Carter ran wild. Bate went for his slingshot lariat, but Carter caught him and hit a German suplex for a near fall. After Carter hit an assisted moonsault on Seven, Smith got the first pinfall of the match at around the 10-minute mark. Carter & Smith 1-0
Smith and Carter took turns working over Seven, who was in trouble for a long time. Seven and Smith both finally tagged out, and Bate ran wild on Carter. Bate hit a ton of offense, including a running Shooting Star Press for a two count.
One tag later, all four men were in the ring. Seven and Bate hit stereo Tyler Driver ’97s for another near fall. Bate then pinned Smith after a lariat/snap dragon suplex combo at around 16:30. Moustache Mountain 1-1
Smith hit a spinning powerbomb on Seven for a close two count. As the champions regrouped at ringside, Carter hit an assisted moonsault knee drop on both men on the outside.
Back in the ring, Seven almost caught Smith with a small package before hitting a Seven Star Lariat and the Emerald Frosion on Smith for a close near fall. Moustache Mountain then hit an assisted Burning Hammer on Smith, but Carter made the last-second save on the ensuing pinfall attempt.
Moustache Mountain went for a double Burning Hammer on Smith, but Carter saved. Carter then sent Seven into Bate. Smith tried a roll-up, but Seven kicked out. Seven then sent Carter into Smith, rolled up Carter, and put his feet on the ropes for leverage to score the deciding pinfall. Bate saw Seven cheating from ringside and was visibly shocked at his partner’s actions. Moustache Mountain win 2-1
Bate was upset with Seven after the match but eventually still celebrated with him to close the show.
Final Thoughts —
The main event was one of the best tag team matches of the year that likely relatively few people will see. Those four are just so good. Bate keeps getting more and more upset at Seven, so they are still doing a slow build to some sort of explosion I presume.
The opener was a fun brawl with some intrigue when it comes to the masked guy. The women’s match mostly was just there and nothing special.
Next Week —
Contract signing for Ilja Dragunov vs. Jordan Devlin
Xia Brookside in action
In Two Weeks —
NXT UK Women’s Champion Meiko Satomura defends against Isla Dawn in a World of Darkness match
In Three Weeks (NXT UK episode #200) —
NXT United Kingdom Champion Ilja Dragunov defends against Jordan Devlin
Oliver Carter & Ashton Smith are getting another shot at the NXT UK Tag Team titles — this time in a two-out-of-three falls match.
NXT UK Tag Team Champions Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) will defend their titles against Carter & Smith in a two-out-of-three falls match in the main event of the NXT UK episode that airs in two weeks (Thursday, April 21). The match was announced during a segment where the two teams met with NXT UK management on this week’s episode of the show.
This February, Moustache Mountain retained their titles against Carter & Smith when Seven knocked Smith’s foot off the ropes before the referee could see it and call for a rope break.
After Carter & Smith challenged Moustache Mountain to another title match, it was set up that they would have to get their shot by facing Bate and Seven in singles matches. Carter defeated Bate, but Seven won his match against Smith by holding onto Smith’s tights while pinning him. Bate wasn’t happy with how Seven cheated to win.
Moustache Mountain won the NXT UK Tag Team titles from Pretty Deadly in December of last year.
Here’s what’s been announced for the next two weeks of NXT UK episodes:
Next Week —
A-Kid vs. Teoman
Gallus (Joe & Mark Coffey) vs. Dave Mastiff & Jack Starz
Eliza Alexander’s NXT UK in-ring debut (Alexander was formerly known as Lizzy Evo)
NXT UK Women’s Champion Meiko Satomura and Isla Dawn go face-to-face
In Two Weeks —
Two-out-of-three falls match: NXT UK Tag Team Champions Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) defend against Oliver Carter & Ashton Smith
WWE has revealed when Moustache Mountain will be making their first defense of the NXT UK Tag Team titles.
Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) will put their titles on the line against Oliver Carter & Ashton Smith on the NXT UK episode that premieres in two weeks (Thursday, February 24). Carter & Smith won a four-team tournament to become the number one contenders to Bate & Seven’s titles.
Carter & Smith defeated Symbiosis (Primate & T-Bone) in the first round of the number one contender’s tournament and Dave Mastiff & Jack Starz in the finals.
In December, Moustache Mountain captured the NXT UK Tag Team titles for the first time by defeating Pretty Deadly (Sam Stoker & Lewis Howley).
Bate & Seven vs. Carter & Smith is a matchup of babyface teams.
For next week’s NXT UK episode, WWE has announced two matches. They are: Jordan Devlin vs. Wolfgang and Kenny Williams vs. Sam Gradwell.
Oliver Carter & Ashton Smith are first in line for a shot at Moustache Mountain’s NXT UK Tag Team titles.
Carter & Smith became the number one contenders to Tyler Bate & Trent Seven’s titles by defeating Dave Mastiff & Jack Starz on today’s NXT UK episode. WWE hasn’t announced when Carter & Smith will be getting their title shot.
Starz wanted to be tagged in near the end of the number one contender’s match, but Mastiff insisted on staying in. That led to Mastiff missing a cannonball into the corner. After some double-team offense by Carter and Smith, Carter pinned Mastiff with an assisted moonsault. Smith kept Starz from breaking up the pin.
Bate & Seven were on commentary for the number one contender’s match. They said they were ready to face the best version of Carter & Smith and would give them the best version of Moustache Mountain.
Carter & Smith vs. Mastiff & Starz was the finals of a four-team number one contender’s tournament. Carter & Smith defeated Symbiosis (Primate & T-Bone) in the first round, while Mastiff & Starz defeated Die Familie (Teoman & Rohan Raja).
Moustache Mountain won the NXT UK Tag Team titles from Pretty Deadly (Sam Stoker & Lewis Howley) this past December. It’s Bate & Seven’s first reign as NXT UK Tag Team Champions.
Trent Seven told Jordan Devlin he would drop below 205 lbs and challenge for Devlin’s NXT Cruiserweight Championship.
Meiko Satomura is coming to NXT UK to challenge Kay Lee Ray for the NXT UK Women’s Championship.
Ben Carter defeated Sam Gradwell.
Sha Samuels defeated Josh Morrell. Samuels was talking to Noam Dar backstage before his match.
Ilja Dragunov couldn’t explain what happened with Jack Starz last week. Sam Gradwell talking trash in the background during Dragunov’s interview may lead to a match between them.
Rampage Brown challenged Joe Coffey to a match down the line.
Pretty Deadly became the number one contenders to the NXT UK Tag Team titles by defeating The Hunt, Ashton Smith & Oliver Carter, and Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster. Pretty Deadly last pinned Andrews after Eddie Dennis attacked Andrews’ knee with a chair from the outside. Pretty Deadly jaw-jacked with Gallus after the match.
Full rundown —
Jordan Devlin in-ring segment
Devlin walked to the ring and talked about his NXT Cruiserweight Championship open challenge. Devlin said he’s the longest-reigning Cruiserweight Champion of all time and that he wants his legacy to be that he was the best wrestler under 205 pounds this company had ever seen.
As Devlin was cutting his promo, Trent Seven’s music played and he walked out with a microphone in hand. Seven had not been seen since the fallout of his loss to A-Kid in the Heritage Cup tournament finals. He agreed that Devlin had beaten all challengers and was cementing his legacy
Seven said that maybe the division needed a new challenger. Seven suggested that he’s going to slim down below 205 pounds and challenge Devlin for the Cruiserweight title once he does. Devlin looked incredulous but said that if Seven could cut what he guessed must be about 30 pounds, then he would indeed defend the Cruiserweight title against him.
Devlin wished Seven good luck and patted his belly as he walked by him, but Seven grabbed Devlin’s wrist and decked him with a hard right that sent Devlin to the mat. Devlin rolled out of the ring, then slid back in to grab his belt, but Seven had put his foot down on top of it.
Seven bowed down to Devlin and told him once more that he would take the title off him.
– Backstage, Eddie Dennis was firing up The Hunt as they prepared for their main event match later tonight.
A new challenger for NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray
A video highlighted Kay Lee Ray’s NXT UK Women’s Championship reign and showed her beating everybody in the division as she talked about her reign getting longer and longer. The screen then cut to a Tweet KLR hat recently sent out that read “Another win. Now give me the best in the world…” Highlights of a woman kicking and beating various wrestlers then aired. The woman was quickly revealed as legendary Japanese wrestler and president of Sendai Girls’ Pro Wrestling Meiko Satomura (who had been in the 2018 Mae Young Classic and recently signed an NXT UK deal as a player/coach).
She said her name is Meiko Satomura and that many say she is the best wrestler in the world. Clips from the Mae Young Classic, PROGRESS, wXw, and Sendai Girls showed Satomura slaughtering people as a graphic announced that Meiko Satomura is coming to NXT UK.
– Pretty Deadly were shown warming up for the main event.
Ben Carter pinned Sam Gradwell after a frog splash (7:33)
This was a battle of speed vs. brutality with Carter coming back with athletic moves and fast, creative offense from repeated beatdowns.
Gradwell walked out and demanded that they “decrease the volume,” then proceeded to ridicule Carter for wearing “PE pants” and being from Jersey, “a place with more cows than people, that was not even in an atlas.” He also called Carter a “yogurt” and promised to send him back “across the channel in a catamaran.”
Gradwell worked Carter’s arm early, but Carter came back with a number of dropkicks and some lightning-fast offense. Gradwell used his aggressiveness to ground Carter and scored a number of near falls.
Carter eventually sent Gradwell to the outside with a spinning head kick, then hit a dive on Gradwell seconds later before returning to the ring and hitting a somersault plancha to the outside. Gradwell countered a guillotine into a front slam. Carter came back with an impressive looking quebrada into a reverse DDT/elbow drop combo before hitting a beautiful frog splash off the top for the pinfall victory.
– Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster were shown preparing for the main event.
– Sha Samuels was seen talking to Noam Dar backstage and it was announced that Samuels would be in action next.
Sha Samuels submitted Josh Morrell with a Cobra/Camel Clutch (5:12)
This was 95 percent Samuels ragdolling and beating up on Morrell, so unlike in the previous match, the smaller man could not use his agility to his advantage much. Morrell showed some promise, especially with a standing twisting somersault senton, but Samuels quickly stopped any offense.
In the end, Samuels hit a spinebuster and applied a mix between a Cobra and Camel Clutch for the submission win.
– Ilja Dragunov was doing some casual one-armed push-ups as one is wont to do when he was asked about his match with Jack Starz last week. Clips were shown of Dragunov snapping and destroying Starz. Dragunov said he didn’t know what happened and that he didn’t want to hurt Starz. Dragunov said that this hadn’t been the plan and looked bewildered and distracted.
Gradwell mouthed off in the background, as he often does. Dragunov then just walked off. I see a severe beating at the hands of Dragunov in Gradwell’s immediate future.
– Rampage Brown was interviewed backstage as Gallus walked by. Brown was friendly with them and greeted Joe Coffey. Brown told him that they (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) knew what they were doing next, but that Joe may need a challenge. Joe told Brown he might take him up on that.
– A graphic announced that Nina Samuels will face Xia Brookside next week. Jordan Devlin’s NXT Cruiserweight Championship open challenge also returns next week.
Fatal four-way number one contender’s elimination match: Pretty Deadly (Sam Stoker & Lewis Howley) defeated The Hunt (Wild Boar & Primate), Ashton Smith & Oliver Carter, and Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster (22:15)
Andrews and Smith started out and traded offense. Both tagged their partners and Carter and Smith hit their move where Carter somersaults over the top onto Smith’s back and then hits an assisted moonsault. Pretty Deadly blind-tagged in and out until Andrews turned the game on them. Gallus were shown sitting by the entrance eating popcorn and having a good time.
Eventually, Primate and Howley were in and The Hunt hit double German suplexes on both Pretty Deadly members. The Hunt and Andrews & Webster briefly brawled, then took turns beating up on Smith. Smith eventually tagged Andrews and Andrews and Webster cleaned house on the other three teams. Stoker and Andrews ended up on the top turnbuckle, with Smith tagging back in and hitting a super powerbomb on both.
Smith was looking to suplex Howley into the ring when Carter jumped on his back and moonsaulted on everyone on the outside, after which Smith hit a Falcon Arrow for a near fall. A melee broke out with everyone hitting everybody else with a big move. Primate and Smith ended up the legal men and Primate hit a high-angle suplex on Smith. The Hunt set up for their finish, but Andrews pulled Boar out of the ring and Smith and Carter eliminated Primate after an electric chair/cutter combo. (The Hunt eliminated at 12:00)
Smith hit a big gutwrench suplex on Stoker, then had an exciting exchange with both members of Pretty Deadly before tagging in Carter. Stoker hot tagged Andrews, who looked surprised. Andrews and Webster double-teamed Smith and hit a poison rana/kick combo for the pin. (Smith & Carter eliminated at 15:10)
This left Pretty Deadly and Andrews & Webster. Andrews and Pretty Deadly had some awesome exchanges, concluding with a hurricanrana by Andrews on Stoker. Howley attacked Andrews’ previously hurt knee, then managed to get Andrews in a giant swing on his hurt knee. Howley transitioned into a half crab and finally a figure four. Webster made the save and broke up the hold. Andrews hit Stun Dog Millionaire and made the hot tag.
Webster back body dropped Stoker on Howley to the outside and followed with a somersault off the top. As Andrews was getting ready for a dive, Eddie Dennis (who was banned from accompanying The Hunt to ringside for this match) suddenly popped up and hit Andrews in the knee with a chair, then quickly disappeared again.
Pretty Deadly then hit their Hart Attack/neckbreaker finish on Andrews to win the match and become the number one contenders to Gallus’ NXT UK Tag Team titles.
Only Joe Coffey was left in the chairs by the ring, as Mark Coffey and Wolfgang came back out to their music and trash talked Pretty Deadly, who jaw-jacked back and forth with them.
Next week —
Jordan Devlin’s NXT Cruiserweight Championship open challenge
The next challengers for Gallus’ NXT UK Tag Team titles will be determined by a four-way number one contender’s elimination match.
Pretty Deadly (Sam Stoker & Lewis Howley), Oliver Carter & Ashton Smith, The Hunt (Wild Boar & Primate), and Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster will face off in a number one contender’s elimination match on the Thursday, January 28 episode of NXT UK. When the winning team will be getting their title shot hasn’t been revealed.
The number one contender’s match was announced by authority figure Sid Scala on this week’s NXT UK episode.
Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) have been NXT UK Tag Team Champions since winning the titles from Andrews & Webster in October 2019. Their most recent title defense was against The Hunt on NXT UK last month. Andrews & Webster interfered and helped cost The Hunt the match. Pretty Deadly then appeared and had a staredown with Gallus. Carter & Smith attacked Pretty Deadly and threw them in the ring for Gallus to lay out.
Kenny Williams won the Heritage Cup Wild Card triple threat match, beating his tag team partner Amir Jordan and Ashton Smith in a fun match. Williams will face Trent Seven in round one of the Heritage Cup tournament.
Jinny defeated Xia Brookside for the third time those two have met on NXT UK. Jinny cut a promo after and called herself the queen of NXT UK
Noam Dar defeated Alexander Wolfe 2-1 in a first round match in the Heritage Cup. Dar scored the first fall off a roll-up in round two, while Wolfe got a fall in round four after a bridging German suplex. Dar then hit the Nova Roller on Wolfe after special guest referee Pete Dunne had reprimanded Dar for cheating before the finish. After the match, Wolfe and Dunne got into it, leading to WALTER and Ilja Dragunov joining the fray.
Full rundown —
The show opened with a graphic for tonight’s Heritage Cup tournament first round match: Alexander Wolfe vs. Noam Dar with Pete Dunne as the special guest referee. We then went to the Wild Card triple threat match to determine the final participant in the tournament. The winner of the triple threat will face Trent Seven in round one.
Heritage Cup Wild Card triple threat match: Kenny Williams defeated Ashton Smith and Amir Jordan after pinning Smith following a tornado DDT (9:25)
Kenny Williams was shocked that his tag partner Amir Jordan was in the match. Jordan and Williams briefly teamed up to get Smith out of the ring but then squared off. They traded roll-ups but then got hit by a double clothesline from Smith. All three men traded flash pin attempts before Jordan hit a crossbody on Smith for a two count.
Williams hit a springboard headbutt that threw Smith off the apron. He then followed with a dropkick through the ropes but got caught on a dive. Jordan also hit a dive, sending everyone tumbling.
Back in the ring, Smith took over and dominated the match, sending Williams to the outside. Smith then went for a superplex on Jordan, who went for a sunset flip instead and got the assist from Williams to hit a powerbomb on Smith.
Smith still was strong, sending Williams into Jordan and then hitting a Blue Thunder Bomb on Williams for a near fall. Jordan hit a flatliner on Smith for another near fall.
Jordan and Williams traded strikes. Smith threw Jordan to ringside but got hit with a hurricanrana by Williams. Smith hit a slam on Williams, but Jordan came off the top with a Swanton Bomb to break up the pin. Jordan then covered Williams for another near fall. Jordan was sent to the outside once more by a superkick from Smith. Williams countered a slam from Smith with a tornado DDT for the pinfall victory.
– A video aired on Jinny and Xia Brookside ahead of them facing off later tonight.
– In another video, Eddie Dennis talked about his superior intelligence and how he aligned with Pretty Deadly last week.
– A clip from earlier in the year where Mark Andrews was attacked backstage was shown. Nobody has taken credit for the attack still. Andrews walked into the arena with Flash Morgan Webster and said he was back.
Jinny submitted Xia Brookside with an STF (6:33)
Brookside escaped an arm twist, which Jinny mockingly applauded her for. Brookside escaped some more attempts, then hit a dropkick on Jinny. Jinny came back with a kick to the stomach and took Brookside down for a pinfall attempt. Brookside took Jinny down with a headscissors off the ropes, then went for a monkey flip that was either blocked or botched.
Brookside was aggressive with a corner attack and a number of pinning combinations for some near falls. Brookside figure foured Jinny’s legs and kicked at her knee, then continued working over the legs. As the referee was talking to Brookside, Jinny hit a hard right hand for another near fall.
Brookside looked for the Brookside Bomb but Jinny blocked, then snapped Brookside’s head on the top rope. Jinny then locked in a modified STF for the submission.
– After the match, Jinny said she was ruthless and people would witness the new Jinny — the queen of NXT UK.
– A graphic announced Flash Morgan Webster vs. A-Kid in a Heritage Cup first round match for next week. A video feature on A-Kid then aired.
– Another graphic announced that Kay Lee Ray will give a State of the Union address next week.
Heritage Cup first round match (special guest referee: Pete Dunne) Noam Dar pinned Alexander Wolfe after the Nova Roller in 2:56 of round five to win the match 2-1 (14:02)
Pete Dunne entered first, followed by Dar and Wolfe.
Round One —
Wolfe and Dar wrestled on the mat for the first 30 seconds with neither man getting the advantage. They traded more holds but still no man had the clear advantage. Wolfe locked in a cravat, then transitioned into a hammerlock. Dar hit a snapmare and a kick as the round concluded. Both men were handed water during the break.
Round Two —
They grappled for position and Dar stomped Wolfe’s feet. He took Wolfe to the mat and went for a pin, but Wolfe wasn’t in danger. Wolfe pushed Dar’s shoulders down to the mat for a number of pinfall attempts. Wolfe hit a headlock takeover and tried to grind Dar down. Dar got Wolfe down for a backslide for a near fall, then countered a DVD attempt into a roll-up at 2:48 of the round, scoring the first point in the match.
Round Three —
Wolfe immediately took Dar down, then locked in a number of submissions. Wolfe rolled up Dar but only scored a two count. They traded strikes and forearms as the time in the round ran out. As Dunne tried separating both men after the end of the round, Wolfe hit a vicious slap on Dar.
Round Four —
Dar came back with a kick to Wolfe’s knee, then took his legs out and went for another pin but only got two. Dar signaled for the Nova Roller, but Wolfe ducked, hit an axe kick, and then scored a fall with a bridging German suplex at 0:58 of the round to tie Dar 1-1.
Round Five —
Dar countered an attack into an omoplata, but Wolfe countered as well. They traded submission attempts until Dar rolled Wolfe over for another near fall. Wolfe kicked out of another pinfall attempt and Dar transitioned into another armbar. Wolfe hit a flying kneebar but Dar escaped. Dar rolled Wolfe up but grabbed the ropes, prompting Dunne to kick his hand.
As Dunne was checking on Wolfe, Dar hit the Nova Roller (which Dunne narrowly ducked) on Wolfe for the pin at 2:56 of the round. With Dar winning two falls, he got the win and advances to the second round of the tournament. He’ll face the winner of Flash Morgan Webster vs. A-Kid.
– After the match, Dunne refused to raise Dar’s hand. Dar then left. Wolfe berated Dunne in German, telling him he was the reason Wolfe lost the match. Wolfe then went to attack Dunne, who got the better of him by hitting a kick to the head and stomps to the face. Dunne then went for the Bitter End before WALTER came out.
Dunne and WALTER got into a shouting match and WALTER got into the ring, but Wolfe snuck up on Dunne and beat him up. WALTER went to powerbomb Dunne, but Ilja Dragunov ran in for the save and Dunne and Dragunov cleared the ring of Imperium. Dunne and Dragunov screamed at Wolfe and WALTER as the show went off the air. It looks like we may get a tag team match with those four down the line.
Next week —
The Heritage Cup continues with Flash Morgan Webster taking on A-Kid in a first round match. Plus, coming off her brutal title defense against Piper Niven from last week, NXT Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray will give a State of the Union address.
Episode 16 (taped October 14 at Plymouth Pavilions in Plymouth, England)
Quick recap:
The two undefeated monsters of NXT UK clashed, as Dave Mastiff met Eddie Dennis in the main event, with the Bomber reigning victorious in a fun hoss fight. Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) were victorious over Ashton Smith & Ligero in a quest to qualify for the NXT UK Tag Team Championship Tournament. Jinny managed to beat Xia Brookside, while Joseph Conners squashed Jack Starz in a quick match. Rhe Ripley will make her first NXT UK Women’s Championship defense next week, facing the “White Witch of NXT UK”, Isla Dawn.
Full rundown:
– The show opened up with a split screen of Dave Mastiff and Eddie Dennis warming up for their match backstage, while Vic and Nigel talked about the main event
Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) beat Ashton Smith & Ligero in 5:37 when Coffey pinned Smith after an enzuigiri
Ligero and Wolfgang started out, and the Leeds Luchador frustrated the bigger man with a spin kick and a drop kick but got caught on a body press attempt. He quickly tagged out to Smith and both men hit a double drop kick on Wolfgang. Ligero got himself caught on a spinning DDT attempt but managed to escape until Mark Coffey distracted him and a forearm to the back of the head sent him to ringside.
The heels worked Ligero over until he managed to throw Wolfgang out of the ring and made the hot tag to Smith. Smith ran wild for a bit and hit a springboard back elbow on Coffey, but Wolfgang eventually pulled him out of the ring. Ligero then hit a somersault senton to the outside onto Wolfgang, jumping over Smith who was hanging in the ropes.
Back in the ring, Smith tried and O’Connor Roll on Coffey but he managed to kick out, hit a double hammer to the chest followed by an enzuigiri for the win.
– We took a look back at Isla Dawn challenging Rhea Ripley last episode. Both women were backstage with Johnny Saint and Sid Scala, who announced the match for next week. The women had a stare down, with Rhea saying “See you next week” and walked off
– A graphic announced Joseph Conners to be in action next, followed by a TLC promo.
– Radzi was backstage with Gallus after their match. They said that they set a standard and were the team to beat. Joe Coffey said that he was concerned with Pete Dunne and was going to rip the WWE UK Championship from his mouth. But first, he would meet Travis Banks and squash him like a bug.
Joseph Conners beat Jack Starz in 2:16 with Don’t Look Down
This was basically a squash. Starz refers to him as the Self Made Machine, but Conners wasn’t impressed, grabbed his ear and yanked him down to the mat. He sent Starz into the ropes and hit a backbreaker as Starz came bouncing back. Conners worked him over, went to ringside and pounded on Starz who was on the apron.
Starz got a brief hope spot in and hit some European uppercuts, but that was ended quickly. Conners then hit a sunset bomb into the corner and followed up with Don’t Look Down fpr the quick win.
– Radzi was backstage with Xia Brookside, who said while she may not be the most experienced wrestler in NXT UK, Jinny better get read to “fly with Brookside”. Jinny then turned up, looked at Xia, turned away with a disgusted look on her face and walked off.
– There was a commercial for the Royal Rumble Axxess shows; no word on if any NXT or NXT UK talent would be on those events.
– A video package for Saxon Huxley and Tyson T-Bone aired, where Huxley said that T-Bone was violent, destructive and almost as twisted as he was. He also talked about his shadow being rooted in hell, channeling his best inner Undertaker from the 1990s. T-Bone and Huxley concluded that they would be the NXT UK tag team champions.
Jinny beat Xia Brookside in 4:13 after hitting her with A Touch of Couture
Xia wanted to shake Jinny’s hand, but she kicked it away. Xia went for a headlock and took her down, but Jinny quickly locked on a head vice with her legs, from which Xia escaped via head stand. Jinny kept working Xia’s arm, but Xia came back and eventually hit a huracanrana from the corner, followed by a dropkick and a cross body from the second turnbuckle.
Jinny came back with the Fashion Disaster, which is her STO into the corner. Jinny went to bend Xia’s arms backwards, working over her back until Xia managed to roll through on the move and escape. She hit a chin breaker, followed by a bulldog and a head scissors takedown.
As Jinny was propped up in the corner, Xia hit a running double knee to the back of the head and went for a surfboard variant, but her back gave out and Jinny rolled through on the move, sending Xia into the ropes. As she got back up, Jinny hit A Touch of Couture, her rolling kick, for the win.
– A Dave Mastiff video package aired, and a graphic announced Mastiff vs. Eddie Dennis next, followed by a WWE Custom Tees ad.
– Zack Gibson and James Drake came out for a short in-ring promo. Gibson said that people got a tiny glimpse of what they could do when they beat Jordan and Williams and that they would soon be recognized as the NXT UK tag team champions.
– An Eddie Dennis video package aired, where he said that NXT UK meant everything to him as he could apply his trade here; this was followed by a WWE Network commercial.
– A graphic announced Rhea Ripley defending against Isla Dawn next week.
“Bomber” Dave Mastiff beat Eddie Dennis in 11:47 after a cannonball into the corner
Mastiff pushed him into the corner early. Dennis tried for some shoulder blocks, but Mastiff wouldn’t budge. Dennis tried some striking but was stopped by a drop kick by the big man. Mastiff trapped Dennis’ arms and rained down some elbows on his jaw. Dennis was back on offense a little later but got mowed down by a running cross body block by Mastiff.
Mastiff missed a senton, allowing Dennis to recover, hot a running boot, followed by a kick to the jaw that sent “the Bomber” to ringside. Dennis kicked him off the apron as he tried to re-enter the ring, but a second kick showed no effect, so Dennis slid out of the ring and pulled Mastiff off the ring.
When they came back to the ring, Dennis applied a cravat but Mastiff eventually powered out, hit a head butt and eventually a big superplex. After exchanging some more strikes, Mastiff hit a Finlay roll and a senton for a near fall. Mastiff stepped things up with a bridging German suplex for another close two count.
Mastiff tried to hit the cannonball into the corner, but Dennis got up, caught him in mid-air and hit a black hole slam for a near fall. He tried to get the big guy up for his Severed Bridge into the corner, but Mastiff back body dropped out of it. Dennis was on the apron and put his upper body through the ropes, but Mastiff pulled him back into the ring and into the ropes.
Mastiff set Dennis up for another superplex attempt, but he escaped and got Mastiff up for the Severed Bridge. Mastiff escaped the move. A hard clothesline by Dennis led to another near-fall. Mastiff cut him off, hit a snap mare followed by a head butt, a release German suplex and eventually the cannonball senton into the corner to end Eddie Dennis’ undefeated streak and pick up the win.
Next week:
Rhea Ripley will defend the NXT UK Women’s championship against Isla Dawn and more tag teams will be in action.
Episode eleven (taped August 26 at the NEC Arena in Birmingham, England)
Quick recap
Pete Dunne successfully defended his WWE UK championship against Jordan Devlin in an outstanding main event, as both men delivered and had a great match. In women’s tag team action, the young up-and-comers Xia Brookside & Millie McKenzie beat the debuting Charlie Morgan & Killer Kelly in a fun match. Eddie Dennis kept his undefeated streak, beating Ashton Smith in another fun match. Joseph Conners beat former tag team partner Saxon Huxley in a slobber knocker mean guy match. All in all an entertaining episode.
Full rundown
Show opened to a graphic promoting the NXT UK women’s title finals next week, when Toni Storm meets Rhea Ripley. Another graphic informed us that Pete Dunne would defend his WWE UK title against Jordan Devlin tonight.
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Xia Brookside & Millie McKenzie beat Charlie Morgan & Killer Kelly in 5:13 when Xia pinned Morgan with a bridging pin
Charlie Morgan, who was trained by Danny Collins and the Knight wrestling family (Paige, her brothers and parents), started out in 2011. She wrestled for all the major UK women’s promotions, such as WAW, Bellatrix and Pro Wrestling: EVE. She also performed for PROGRESS, RevPro and Southside Wrestling Entertainment among others and is a former Bellatrix and EVE champion. She is openly gay and had her coming out at a Pro-Wrestling EVE show in 2017. She also was born prematurely at only 28 weeks old.
Morgan and Xia started out and Xia took her down with a top wrist lock. After some back and forth, Morgan escaped with an impressive headstand. Xia hit a huracanrana and a drop kick and tagged McKenzie, who came in with a swinging neck breaker. Kelly managed to tag in but also quickly got locked in a Fujiwara arm-bar style submission which looked like Millie almost ripped her shoulder out of the socket.
Kelly came back with a surfboard attempt that ended with Millie’s face firmly getting planted in the mat after a hard stomp to the back of the head. Millie eventually came back with a release German suplex, after which both women tagged out. Xia hit a chin breaker and double knees into the corner on Morgan.
She went to the top, but Kelly pulled her off. Meanwhile Millie came in and hit a hard spear on Charlie Morgan, who then got pinned by Xia using a bridging pin.
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We saw Pete Dunne backstage, preparing for his upcoming match.
There was a graphic for Eddie Dennis vs. Ashton Smith, followed by a TLC promo.
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Eddie Dennis beat Ashton Smith in 6:00 after the Neck Stop Driver
This match had been built up for a few weeks, with Dennis telling Smith to watch his debut match and Smith then interrupting Dennis’ backstage interview.
Dennis took Smith down early, but Smith escape and locked in a head lock for a bit. He flipped out of a back suplex attempt, did a leap frog over the much taller Dennis, hit a drop kick that rocked the bigger man and finally a leg lariat that briefly took him down and to ringside. Smith tried a dive as a follow-up, but Dennis caught him mid-move and gave him a black hole slam on the apron.
Back in the ring, Dennis used his judo background and threw Smith, then locked in a cravat and held it for quite a while. Smith finally escaped and hit a springboard dropkick on Dennis who was on the apron. A somersault plancha connected and back in the ring, Smith hit a leg lariat from the top for a near-fall.
He then hit a drop kick on Dennis, who was sitting on the top rope, but failed a superplex attempt as Dennis slipped beneath him and picked him up for the Severed Bridge, a Razor’s Edge style buckle bomb. He followed that his the Neck Stop Driver for the win.
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We took a look back at Joseph Conners turning on Saxon Huxley last week and were informed that this match was next. Also, a WWE Shop commercial aired.
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Joseph Conners pinned Saxon Huxley in 5:16
These two had a mean guy match, right out of a Vinny V dream sequence. The first 90 seconds or so were just punches and kicks, as Huxley tore into Conners with punches and Conners came back with body shots. Huxley got whipped into the corner, but stormed right back out with a shoulder block. Conners came back with a clothesline and more punches, then draped Huxley over the ropes in the corner and rained down some more punches on him. Huxley came back with a knee lift and a dropkick.
Conners escaped an over-the-shoulder power bomb attempt and hit some more. you guessed it, punches. Huxley briefly got the upper hand with a clothesline but Conners hit a nice sit-out spine buster for another near fall. He grabbed Huxley by the hair and screamed “this is my world, you are just visiting” at him, before finishing him off with a kind of reverse-spinebuster-face slam type of move.
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Nigel and Vic were in studio as we got a Toni Storm video with sit-down segments and in-ring highlights, including her winning the Mae Young Classic this year. She said that she always had felt pressure, but if you wanted to be a history maker that’s what it took. Her whole life led up to this point and that this was not something she wanted but she needed.
She said that she was going to be the first NXT UK Women’s champion, after nine years of hard work and sacrifices. She concluded by saying that it was Toni Time.
We saw Jordan Devlin prepare backstage, followed by a WWE 2K19 commercial.
Next, we took a look at Rhea Ripley. She came to the UK to rip the women’s division apart, and that Toni would just be another victim. Toni’s last step was Rhea Ripley, her name was going to be on the NXT UK Women’s title. She will be the first champion and this is where it all ends.
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WWE UK Championship: Pete Dunne (c) submitted Jordan Devlin in 15:07
They locked up right away and Dunne immediately took him down with an arm bar and kept working the arm, but Devlin head scissored his way out amd slapped Dunne, prompting and immediate slap back from Dunne. Dunne tried stomping Devlin’s elbow and forearm, but Devlin rolled out of the way. A monkey flip by Dunne sent Devlin flying. then the champ followed with a hard forearm and an even stiffer lariat.
Dunne worked over Devlin’s arm and when to manipulate his fingers as well. Dunne tried his backflip off the turnbuckle on a whip but Devlin caught him and gave him a back stabber for a two count, which established Dunne’s lower back being hurt. Devlin hit his uranage/standing moonsault combo for a two count.
Dunne came back with a running enzuigiri into the corner, after successfully completing his backflip this time around. Dunne went for a German but got countered and Devlin hit a German of his own, which Dunne flipped over on and landed on his feet and hit a snap German of his own. He followed that by suplex into an arm bar, but Devlin escape by rolling up Dunne.
Devlin hit a running kick that had Dunne down in the corner and in an impressive spot, Devlin pulled Dunne up from the corner by the arm, straight into a backdrop driver for another two count.
After missing a standing moonsault, Dunne stomped his hand but then ran into a Spanish Fly out of nowhere. Devlin couldn’t capitalize on the momentum though, as Dunne immediately locked in a Koji clutch. The action spilled to ringside, and as Dunne tried to stomp Devlin’s arm on the ring steps, Devlin pulled his legs away and Dunne crashed onto the steel steps face-first. Devlin then hit a Spanish Fly off the steps onto the floor, which looked brutal.
They both narrowly got back in the ring at 9. After a double stomp on Devlin’s fingers, Dunne went for the Bitter End, but Devlin countered it into a reverse huracanrana for another near-fall. A quebrada by Devlin was stopped mid-air by a forearm smash by Dunne, who hit the Bitter End, but on landing, hurt his back even more and couldn’t go for the pin. They both were on the apron and Devlin shoved Dunne hard into the ring post back first.
They both got to the top rope and Devlin hit a Super Spanish Fly for a 2.99 cover. Dunne got up in a fighting stance, but Devlin hit a head butt that took both men down. Devlin removed Dunne’s mouth guard and hit a super kick for another close near-fall.
Devlin went for a moonsault, but got caught in a triangle on impact. He managed to briefly touch the ropes, but Dunne rolled over with the triangle still locked in, bent Devlin’s fingers apart, then grabbed the remaining fingers and bent them as well, forcing Devlin to tap.
Devlin sulked backstage, as the Bruiserweight celebrated in the ring.
Episode seven (taped August 25 at the NEC Arena in Birmingham, England)
Quick recap
Triple H and Johnny Saint announced the NXT UK Women’s championship tournament, which begins next week. Wolfgang beat Ashton Smith in the main event, further establishing himself and the Coffey Brothers as a force to be reckoned with. Tyler Bate beat James Drake in the match of the show, while Jordan Devlin looked good in beating Sid Scala and we had Saxon Huxley & Joseph Connors beat Amir Jordan & Kenny Williams. A fun show, especially the Bate match, but really not a must-see episode.
Full rundown
Triple H and all the women of NXT UK – Dakota Kai, Nina Samuels, Toni Storm, Isla Dawn, Rhea Ripley, Xia Brookside, Jinny and Millie McKenzie – were out on the stage to open the show. The way this was shot, Ripley, who really only is 5’7″ looked huge compared to the other women, both in height and massiveness. Triple H called out Johnny Saint, who unveiled the new NXT UK Women’s championship. The tournament for this new title will begin on the next episode.
There was a look back to when Wolfgang and the Coffey Bros. attacked Ashton Smith a few weeks back. A graphic announced that Smith and Wolfgang would face off in tonight’s main event. Also announced was Tyler Bate vs. James Drake. After a promo announcing WrestleMania 35 tickets going on sale, we went to our first match.
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Jordan Devlin beat Sid Scala in 3:13 with the Island’s Call
Devlin locked up right away and backed Scala into a corner, screaming “you don’t belong here” at him. Scala briefly fired back, but was hit with Devlin’s uranage/standing moonsault combination. Devlin kept working Scala over and launched himself over the ropes from the apron with a beautiful somersault cutter. He went for the Island’s Call, but Scala turned it into a sunset flip. Devlin kicked out but Scala hit a jumping neck breaker and went for a body press off the top. He jumped into a dropkick by Devlin, which looked to have missed by a mile. This set up a successful Island’s Call for the victory for the Irishman.
Radzi Chinyanganya interviewed Devlin in the ring post-match, telling him that this was a dominant performance and if we had seen the real Jordan Devlin yet. Devlin fired back to not make him laugh and that the last thing concerning him was having those people here know who he was. Whenever he’s backstage, he’s asking himself who all the people back there think they are, especially the guy running around as a luchador, even though he is from Leeds, so who does Ligero think he is? I have a feeling these two will square up in the coming weeks.
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After a look at Moustache Mountain’s promo from a few weeks back, Nigel and Vic talked about the upcoming NXT UK tag team titles and how we’d be seeing some teams form. In fact, two of those teams would have a match next, when Amir Jordan & Kenny Williams face Saxon Huxley & Joseph Connors.
After a WWE Network promo, we got a video introducing us to Tyson T-Bone, who said he’d been traveling up and down the country, beating people and that he was the biggest, baddest and meanest WWE UK (he didn’t say NXT UK) wrestler. He’ll debut next week.
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Saxon Huxley & Joseph Conners beat Amir Jordan & Kenny Williams in 4:46 when Connors hit Don’t Look Down on Williams for the pin
We saw everyone but Conners on NXT UK before, because he got injured in a match with Kenny Williams during the first day of the July tapings and the match was stopped, never making air. He started out in 2006 and was trained by Robbie Brookside, among others. He’s a mainstay at Southside Entertainment Wrestling and competes for other promotions such as Defiant, PROGRESS, ICW, IPW:UK and Preston City Wrestling. He’s a 3-time former SWE Heavyweight champion and three-time SWE tag-team champion and also was Defiant champion, back when it was WCPW.
Williams came out wearing old-school red and blue 3D glasses and we were told that Jordan chose wrestling over an arranged marriage by his mother. Oh well, good for him I guess. Huxley and Amir started out and Amir escaped some take down by flipping out, kipping up and doing his funny foreign man dance, because stereotypes. He tagged in Williams who quickly got distracted for the heel advantage. Conners tagged in and we were told that he lost part of his left ear in a bar fight years ago, where he was “left for dead”.
Amir was face in peril for a while, until he managed to hit an enzuigiri and made the hot tag. Williams hit a cool spot where he hit a shotgun dropkick onto Conners on the outside, then skinned the cat back into the ring and hit a suicide dive on Huxley on the other side of the ring. He missed a DDT from the top rope and was hit by a brutal sunset bomb by Conners into the corner, followed by Don’t Look Down for the victory for the heel team.
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After another graphic for Bate vs. Drake and a promo for the NXT UK tapings in ten days we were shown the brackets for the NXT UK Women’s championship tournament and got nice graphics for everybody, including when they made their WWE/NXT debuts.
This was followed by an interview with Trent Seven by what looked like a number of journalists. He was asked his opinion on Zack Gibson and said that while it was impressive how Gibson won the UK tournament at Royal Albert Hall, he couldn’t get the job done against Pete Dunne and had been calling out the other members or British Strong Style ever since. When asked if he was challenging Gibson, he said that he was a pro wrestler and a sports entertainer and told Gibson to have a go. Those two will face off on the next episode.
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Tyler Bate beat James Drake in 8:30 with the Tyler Driver ’97
Drake has a picture of his face on his trunks, so he received the “he’s got his own face on his arse” chant from the UK crowd here. They traded arm twisters early, which Bate flipped out of, followed by a dropkick and a suplex escape over the top rope onto the apron and hit a big chop. Drake punched Bate off the turnbuckle to the outside. Bate escaped a lengthy chin-lock sequence by backing Drake into the corner and hit a beautiful standing huracanrana, followed by a spinning elbow off the second turnbuckle.
Drake charged into Bate in the corner, but got caught and received an overhead suplex for his troubles, followed by a running Shooting Star Press. Drake flipped over the ropes onto the apron but when Bate teased a suicide dive, Drake jumped to ringside, and Bate launched himself back into the ring with the top rope between his neck and shoulders spot, before hitting an actual dive.
Back in the ring, Bate hit a backdrop driver for a near fall. The first attempt at the Tyler Driver ’97 got turned into a back body drop and Drake hit a running dropkick into the corner for a near fall. A second attempt at a dropkick failed though, as Tyler moved, hit his springboard lariat off the ropes and finished his night with a Tyler Driver ’97 for the victory.
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After a WWE Shop commercial, we had another look at all the women in the tournament, which will start next week.
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Wolfgang (w/ Joe & Mark Coffey) defeated Ashton Smith
Wolfgang won in 5:29 after a modified fisherman’s suplex. The crowd was behind Smith all the way, chanting to his entrance and generally being very cheerful. Smith hit things off with a cravat, but ate some punches from “The Last King of Scotland” for his troubles. He came back with a nice dropkick, head scissors and a springboard tomahawk chop, but then jumped right into a gut buster as he went for a body press off the top. Wolfgang dominated the back and forth exchange that developed from there and stopped Smith in his tracks with a bear hug.
Smith eventually fought out, hit a clothesline, then leapfrogged Wolfgang as he charged out of the corner, landed on the second turnbuckle and hit a reverse enzuigiri for some momentum. This didn’t last long, as Wolfgang launched Smith into the air, then launched himself at a stunned, seated Smith with a running senton and finally hit a modified fisherman’s suplex into a slam for the victory.
Wolfgang and the Coffeys posed in the ring as the show went off the air.
Episode six (taped July 29 at Cambridge Corn Exchange in Cambridge, England)
Quick recap —
The new heel trio of Joe Coffey, Mark Coffey & Wolfgang stood victorious against Mark Andrews, Flash Morgan Webster & Ashton Smith in a strong main event. Toni Storm beat Dakota Kai to establish herself for the upcoming NXT UK Women’s title tournament in the best women’s wrestling match on NXT UK thus far. We also saw the arrival of Jinny, who attacked Kai after the match was over.
Zack Gibson defeated the debuting Amir Jordan and again drew a tremendous amount of heat in his post-match promo, setting up a match against Trent Seven down the line. Jordan Devlin once more looked impressive, beating another NXT UK debutant, Kenny Williams.
This episode concludes the tapings in Cambridge from July 28 and 29 and we will move on to matches taped August 25 and 26 next week.
Full rundown —
Nigel McGuinness and Vic Joseph opened up the show, talking about the chaotic main event we would be getting tonight as a graphic of the participants in the match was shown. We also got a graphic announcing Toni Storm as the winner of the 2018 Mae Young Classic and a highlight video of her match against Io Shirai from Evolution. We were told Storm would be in action next.
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Toni Storm defeated Dakota Kai in 7:16 with Strong Zero
They brought up Storm’s match against NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler at Royal Albert Hall and also mentioned that Storm actually had a victory over her in Japan. They started out with a headlock jockeying for position, but neither woman got the advantage. They shook hands, but both went for a kick immediately after, which both caught respectively and then proceeded to carefully set their opponents’ leg down again.
Kai took Storm down and hit a running kick, but Storm came back with strikes and a running kick of her own. Storm hit a nice snap suplex and applied a modified STF, wrapping her arm around Kai’s neck in the process. Kai eventually reached the ropes for a clean break.
Another striking battle was won by Kai and she hit a stiff head kick. A second kick was thwarted by Storm with a headbutt, but she couldn’t capitalize on it, as Kai hit her with another head kick on a charge. Another kick attempt was caught by Storm, who hit a snap German suplex.
Kai came back with a running kick into the corner but missed a second one. Storm went for her hip attack, but was hit by another kick. She managed to check the follow-up one and hit a beautiful release snap German suplex, followed by double knees into the corner and the Storm Zero (Air Raid neckbreaker) for the win. They shook hands and hugged afterwards.
There also seems to be some confusion still about what move the Storm Zero is supposed to be, as the announcers called her Tiger Driver the same name before. On the indies, she usually uses a snap piledriver, which is being called the Strong Zero there, but obviously is banned in WWE.
As Kai was on her way up the ramp with Storm still in the ring, Jinny came out and attacked her and called out Storm. Storm then helped Kai up and accompanied her to the back.
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Zack Gibson was shown backstage on his way to the ring, followed by a promo for the November NXT UK tapings in Liverpool.
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Zack Gibson defeated Amir Jordan in 4:24 via submission with the Shankly Gates
Jordan originally hails from Pakistan and started wrestling in 2015. He trained with Lance Storm at the Storm Wrestling Academy as well as the PROGRESS wrestling school. He’s a regular in IPW:UK and 3 Count Wrestling, where he also was the North East Champion.
Gibson tried for a double wristlock right away, but Jordan escaped and hit the big man from Liverpool. Gibson worked over his arm until Jordan escaped a wrist lock and proceeded to do his dance, mocking Gibson. The fans were fully behind him and hated Gibson with a passion.
Jordan got a crossbody and a sunset flip, but Gibson just wouldn’t go down and instead grabbed Jordan’s arm for an arm ringer and hit a keylock driver for a near fall next. Jordan got a dropkick from the middle rope and even a high crossbody from the top, but it wasn’t enough to put Gibson away. Gibson came back with a double palm strike and a stiff lariat followed by Helter Skelter. He locked in the Shankly Gates for the submission victory.
After a Road to Evolution hype video, we were back in the ring with Gibson, who proceeded to cut another promo to thunderous boos and “Zack Gibson is a wanker” chants. His delivery was really good. Here is what he said verbatim: “I am Liverpool’s number one; soon to be recognized as the world’s number one; soon to be recognized as NXT UK’s number one.
I stand here once again victorious! I entered the UK Championship tournament and I won! I challenged the superstar of 205 Live, Noam Dar and I won! Every single day that I step into this ring is another step closer to becoming your NXT UK Champion. This brand, this movement, NXT UK is already the benchmark in British Wrestling. The very best talent from up and down this country flocked to NXT UK because they wanted to be part of something special. But they, the locker room, the punchers have another thing coming, if they think I’m going to share the top spot, I’m the guy to build this brand around.
The NXT UK locker room is full of talent so ready to ride my coattails, I’m Liverpool’s number one, I’m the man who’s going to elevate this brand, not the Bruiserweight Pete Dunne, not Danny Burch, not Mark Andrews, not…”
At this point, Trent Seven came out to partake in the fun and said this: “Are you completely delusional? Seriously though, I have no idea what goes on in that shiny, sweaty head of yours, because I remember, not too long ago, in the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool it was those names and me that kicked this whole thing off in the start.
Good point though, where were you? I didn’t see you in any of the promotional material, I didn’t see you on any of the social media, you were not in the back, did you buy a ticket to watch? No, you were sat upright in bed, with a nice cup of tea, with your mum’s laptop, watching us make history on the WWE Network!
Fair play, I gotta give you your dues, you were the 2018 UK tournament winner — but you couldn’t get the job done on night two, could you? However, you know what you did do that was pretty cool? You made every single person in the Royal Albert Hall take off their shoes!”
This prompted another chant of “Shoes off, if you hate Gibson.” Seven got into the ring at this point and continued: “Now you mentioned some very, very talented men earlier, but you failed to mention me. So how’s about you and me right now in Cambridge, Gibson, let’s go!” Gibson got into as fighting stance but then left the ring to another round of loud boos.
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McGuinness and Joseph talked about Jordan Devlin and we got a recap video of his debut match. This was followed by a Kenny Williams video, where he talked about being on 205 Live in the past and explaining why he was being called “The Luckian.”
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Jordan Devlin defeated Kenny Williams in 4:23 with the Island’s Call
Kenny Williams started in 2013 and is a regular with ICW, Defiant, Premier British Wrestling, and British Championship Wrestling, among others. He is the current Pro Wrestling Elite Champion and a three-time former ICW Zero-G Champion. He also teams with Noam Dar as the Champagne Superbollocks. He appeared on 205 Live from London back in May, competing in a four-way with Tyler Bate, Kalisto, and TJP.
This was a fun match while it lasted and both men got to show off their talents. Devlin started with a wristlock and Williams hit a lucha-style arm drag off the ropes early on, which Devlin flipped through. Devlin hit his uranage/standing moonsault sequence and soon after put on a neck crank, which Williams countered out of with a chinbreaker.
Williams got on the apron and they traded counters, then Devlin hit a hard forearm to the back of Williams’ head, sending him to the outside. He tried for a running soccer kick on the apron, but Williams caught his foot and put Devlin face-first on the apron. Williams was back in the ring and hit a Wrecking Ball dropkick and a suicide dive on Devlin.
Back in the ring, he followed that up with a flying back elbow off the top rope for a near fall. After a series of roll-ups and counters, Devlin finally hit the Island’s Call for the victory.
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We saw Ashton Smith, Flash Morgan Webster, and Mark Andrews backstage, preparing for their match.
There also was a graphic that there would be a huge announcement by Johnny Saint next week.
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Mark Coffey, Joe Coffey & Wolfgang defeated Mark Andrews, Flash Morgan Webster & Ashton Smith in 14:56 when Joe Coffey pinned Webster after a lariat
Webster and Wolfgang started off, which made sense, as Wolfgang attacked him last week. Webster tried, but Wolfgang had the upper hand. Andrews and Joe Coffey tagged in next and Coffey took advantage of Andrews trying to go for a lucha-style DDT, holding on to his legs and spinning him around a few times before dropping him on his face.
Mark Coffey tagged in next and Andrews flipped out of a back suplex attempt. Smith tagged in on the face side and hit some chops and a flying clothesline but only managed to get a one count. Everybody got in the ring at that point, but the referee had things under control again after a few seconds.
Mark Coffey hit a big double fist blow and tagged in his brother, who knocked down Smith with a hard left. He also spun Smith around a few times, this time from a double underhook position, before hitting a nice butterfly suplex. Finally, Smith managed to hot tag Andrews as Wolfgang came in for the heels. Andrews, who beat Wolfgang last week, went for an enzuigiri and a hurricanrana off the middle rope.
In a nice display of teamwork, Mark Coffey distracted Andrews, Wolfgang threw him out of the ring, and Joe Coffey attacked him at ringside. Andrews at this point was the face in peril and got worked over by all three opponents in quick succession — until he finally managed to turn a suplex attempt by Mark Coffey into the Stunt Dog Millionaire and get to Webster for the hot tag while Coffey tagged Wolfgang.
Webster cleaned house on the big guy, hit a jumping knee on Joe Coffey, and used a twisting moonsault from the second rope on Wolfgang for a near fall. Smith tagged in and hit a high knee in the corner, but his attempt to hit the Ashcloud DDT on Wolfgang was countered as the “Last King of Scotland” launched him into the air. Wolfgang tagged out again and both Coffey brothers were in, hitting a 3D variation with an uppercut instead of a cutter on Smith for another near fall.
Smith hit a desperation superkick on Mark Coffey and managed to tag Andrews, who hit an enzuigiri on Joe Coffey but got caught on a moonsault attempt by Wolfgang, who had tagged back in. Andrews managed to turn it into a DDT and Wolfgang rolled to ringside. Andrews tagged Webster, and then he and Smith hit double suicide dives on the Coffeys.
Back in the ring, Wolfgang decapitated Webster with a brutal lariat and tried to powerbomb him to the outside, but Webster managed to counter the attempt into a headscissors, sending Wolfgang to the outside again. Webster at that point hit a somersault senton onto everyone on the outside from the top rope.
Back in the ring, the Coffeys pulled Smith and Andrews off the apron as Wolfgang hit a big spear on Webster, tagged in Joe Coffey, and whipped Webster into a spinning lariat by Coffey, which sealed the fate of the babyface team. The heels were being portrayed as an unstoppable unit here, so it remains to be seen who can step up to stop them down the line.
