At an NXT UK television taping on Wednesday, Dragunov appeared with one of his feet in a protective boot and had to vacate the NXT United Kingdom Championship due to the injury. An eight-man tournament will crown the new champion.
Dragunov had been NXT UK Champion since defeating WALTER for the title at NXT TakeOver 36 last August. Dragunov successfully defended the title against A-Kid, Jordan Devlin, Rampage Brown, Roderick Strong, and Nathan Frazer during his time as champion. Dragunov twice retained the title against Devlin.
The NXT UK Championship was first introduced in 2017. Tyler Bate, Pete Dunne, WALTER, and Dragunov are the only four wrestlers who have held the title since then.
The show opened with a recap of the events leading to tonight’s Loser Leaves NXT UK title match between Ilja Dragunov and Jordan Devlin.
Tag Team title eliminator match: Ashton Smith & Oliver Carter defeated Gallus (Joe & Mark Coffey) (10:23)
The team that wins this match will advance to a future triple threat for Moustache Mountain’s NXT UK Tag Team titles.
Gallus briefly double-teamed Carter before he made a comeback, including hitting a backflip kick on Mark Coffey in the corner. Smith and Carter quickly tagged in and out, then hit stereo dropkicks on Gallus, sending them to ringside.
Joe Coffey and Smith were in and Joe favored his left knee, which he seemingly tweaked earlier. Smith and Carter capitalized and worked the injured knee over for a few minutes. Joe finally managed to tag out and Mark ran wild on both Smith and Carter.
Mark hit an enzuigiri on Smith for a near fall when Joe asked to be tagged back in. Joe went for the double-jump crossbody, but his knee gave out mid-jump. Carter then hit an assisted moonsault on Joe for the win.
– A-Kid came out of Sid Scala’s office and announced that his match against Charlie Dempsey in two weeks will be held under Heritage Cup rules.
– A great video package focused on NXT UK reaching its 200th episode, the past champions, and all the talent that graduated to the main roster over the years
– Emilia McKenzie was asked about Meiko Satomura’s successful title defense. McKenzie praised Satomura, calling her the standard bearer for the women’s division. Lash Legend interrupted and was annoying. I guess they’ll meet in the ring soon.
Ivy Nile defeated Nina Samuels (4:42)
Nile dominated early with headlocks and a headscissors on the mat. Samuels took over with some dirty tactics. Nile came back, caught Samuels on a body press, hit a Superman punch in the corner, and scored a two count.
Nile locked in a dragon sleeper on the turnbuckle, turned it into a blockbuster, then transitioned into a standing dragon sleeper for the submission victory.
– Damon Kemp cut a promo on Sha Samuels.
– Dave Mastiff & Jack Starz were in a segment where they ridiculed the kind of video that Die Familie usually puts out. They had a mop dressed up as Charlie Dempsey and did all the catchphrases that Teoman usually hits. This was quite funny.
– Joe Coffey walked out of the arena and was asked about his match earlier. He said he might take some time off. Joe said he disappointed his brother and himself.
– A segment previewed next week’s dog collar match between Eddie Dennis and Wild Boar.
– Kenny Williams was in a room trying to find out more about the masked man Tiger Turan.
NXT United Kingdom Championship Loser Leaves NXT UK match: Ilja Dragunov defeated Jordan Devlin to retain his title (16:16)
Dragunov and Devlin traded holds early until they ended up on the turnbuckles. Devlin hit a brainbuster onto the turnbuckle, which sent Dragunov crashing to the outside. Devlin then worked over Dragunov’s neck. Dragunov eventually collapsed as he hit the ropes.
Shorty after, Dragunov still managed to go for the Konstantin Special, but Devlin turned it into a Spanish Fly. Devlin locked in a single-leg Boston Crab that had Dragunov in trouble. Dragunov came back and hit some downward elbows on Devlin, then downed Devlin with three clotheslines.
Devlin headbutted Dragunov’s neck, but Dragunov still hit the Konstantin Special. Dragunov hit two German suplexes and then hit a Gotch Lift into a bridging suplex, but he further hurt his neck on impact. Devlin hit a rolling cutter over the ropes for a near fall.
Dragunov went for Torpedo Moscow, but Devlin evaded it and sent Dragunov into the corner. Devlin followed up with Devlin Side for what was seemingly a three count, but Dragunov had gotten his foot on the rope.
As Devlin’s music played and he posed with the title, NXT UK general manager Johnny Saint came out and alerted the referee to the fact Dragunov’s foot was on the rope. The referee then restarted the match.
Devlin went for another Devlin Side, but Dragunov decked him. Devlin countered Torpedo Moscow into a Destroyer, then hit a brainbuster for a close near fall.
Devlin missed a 450, then Dragunov hit Torpedo Moscow to the back of Devlin’s head. He further attacked Devlin, who hit a headbutt and went for Devlin Side once more. Dragunov turned the move into a German suplex, then hit Torpedo Moscow to retain the championship and remove Devlin from NXT UK.
Dragunov celebrated as Devlin sulked in the corner in shock, crying over his career in NXT UK being over.
Final Thoughts —
The main event was an excellent match with great storytelling. It will be interesting to see if Devlin “graduates” to NXT 2.0 or even the main roster soon.
The opening tag match was also good. Nile vs. Samuels was just there.
Next Week —
NXT UK Tag Team title eliminator match: Dave Mastiff & Jack Starz vs. Die Familie (Teoman & Rohan Raja)
Dog collar match: Wild Boar vs. Eddie Dennis (Symbiosis are banned from ringside)
In Two Weeks —
Heritage Cup rules match: A-Kid vs. Charlie Dempsey
In the main event of Thursday’s special 200th episode of NXT UK, Ilja Dragunov defeated Devlin to retain the NXT United Kingdom Championship. The match also came with the stipulation that the loser must leave NXT UK.
It appeared that Devlin had won the match at one point. Devlin hit the Devlin Side suplex on Dragunov — and the referee counted the pin despite Dragunov getting his foot on the bottom rope. NXT UK general manager Johnny Saint then made his way out and ordered that the match be restarted.
Dragunov was able to pin Devlin after hitting a German suplex and the Torpedo Moscow.
After the match, Nigel McGuinness said on commentary that NXT UK is proud of Devlin and he knows that — wherever Devlin goes — Devlin will make NXT UK proud.
In storyline, Dragunov proposed the Loser Leaves NXT UK stipulation as a way to rid the brand of Devlin.
The two previously faced off in an empty arena match where Dragunov retained the NXT United Kingdom Championship this January. Despite being the one who wanted the empty arena stipulation, Devlin claimed that Dragunov wouldn’t have been able to beat him without the weapons that Dragunov was able to use in the match.
Pretty Deadly and Nathan Frazer have recently departed NXT UK for NXT 2.0.
Nigel McGuinness was back for live commentary, after having provided remote commentary since the post-pandemic restart of NXT UK in 2020. McGuinness and Andy Shepherd talked about tonight’s contract signing between NXT United Kingdom Champion Ilja Dragunov and Jordan Devlin.
Mark Andrews & Wild Boar defeated Symbiosis (T-Bone & Primate) w/ Eddie Dennis (7:28)
Andrews and Boar ran wild on Symbiosis before the bell and brawled with them around ringside. Eddie Dennis ran away right away. The match finally got underway in the ring and Andrews was in control.
Symbiosis took over once Wild Boar was tagged in, and Dennis reappeared at ringside as well as Andrews got worked over. Andrews finally made the hot tag and Boar ran wild on both members of Symbiosis, then crushed Primate with a seated senton. Boar took out T-Bone at ringside with a running clothesline from the apron before scoring a near fall on Primate.
Dennis got on the apron with his steel chain, allowing Primate to hit a spear on Boar. Boar managed to ram Symbiosis into one another, then hit a running senton into T-Bone in the corner. He tagged in Andrews, who hit a Shooting Star Press on T-Bone to get the win.
After the match, Boar hit a dive on Dennis through the ropes, then chased him through the arena with Dennis’ steel chain/dog collar.
– Robert Stone cut a taped promo about Von Wagner and why Wagner is like no other athlete. As highlights of Wagner from NXT 2.0 aired, Stone talked about how this was Wagner’s world and Saxon Huxley just lived in it.
– Moustache Mountain drove up to the arena and were asked about their match last week. Tyler Bate confirmed that, in his opinion, Trent Seven had been cheating — and Bate seemed not too thrilled about it. Seven blew it off, saying a win is a win and it’s only cheating if you get caught, to which Bate also took offense.
Seven said it was water under the bridge and he and Bate had talked about it. Seven said they want Johnny Saint and Sid Scala to find them some reputable opponents.
– Eddie Dennis was still running from Wild Boar backstage and encountered Sid Scala. He told Scala to do something about Boar. Scala said he would make a dog collar match between Boar and Dennis with Symbiosis banned from ringside. Dennis looked scared, then ran off as Boar came around the corner to give chase.
Xia Brookside (w/ Eliza Alexander) defeated Angel Hayze (5:06)
Hayze got some offense in and had Brookside in trouble in the first few minutes of the match. Brookside got the upper hand with some nefarious tactics, then locked in a Camel Clutch on Hayze, who eventually powered out.
Hayze came back with an elbow in the corner, then reversed a roll-up for a near fall. Eliza Alexander got on the apron and Hayze decked her with a forearm, allowing Brookside to roll up Hayze for the win.
Alexander and Brookside beat Hayze down after the match until Amale ran in for the save and sent Alexander and Brookside packing.
– Earlier in the week, A-Kid (who seems to still be a regular here) confronted Charlie Dempsey in the UK Performance Center. He told Dempsey that they had to set the record straight and that “there was something in his heritage” that makes A-Kid believe Dempsey will say yes. Dempsey nodded. I think Dempsey’s heritage is even more of a secret than Bron Breakker’s was.
– Sid Scala was in his office with Damon Kemp. He ran down all of Kamp’s amateur wrestling accomplishments (none of which come up if you Google “Damon Kemp” instead of his real name). Kemp, who is Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson’s brother, was excited to learn the “nitty gritty of the British style” and Scala was happy to introduce him to Johnny Saint, the master of the style.
Von Wagner defeated Saxon Huxley (4:05)
They showed the scene from last week where Wagner ripped up Huxley’s autograph.
Huxley was not impressed by Wagner and beat him up early, but Wagner came back with a knee and a suplex. Huxley eventually hit a Thesz Press, but Wagner caught him on a body press attempt, then hoisted him on his shoulders and hit a DVD for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Wagner cut a brief promo, saying this was just his first victory and we all just live in his world
– With Joe and Mark Coffey having argued last week, Gallus held a press conference. Wolfgang introduced them and asked “the press” to turn off their flashes. “The press” ignored his request and happily clicked and flashed away, so someone now has about 200 photos of Gallus sitting at a table. They basically said everything is fine, they’re all on the same page, and they’re hungry for competition.
– Tiger Turan, “a mysterious and sensational superstar emanating from the Himalayas,” will debut next week. This is the masked guy who stalked Kenny Williams last week and looks suspiciously like Williams’ old partner Amir Jordan under a mask.
– Isla Dawn cut an eerie promo on Meiko Satomura ahead of their NXT UK Women’s Championship match next week, which will be under “World of Darkness” rules.
– A Lash Legend highlight video aired. She will be the guest on Noam Dar’s Supernova Sessions next week.
Ilja Dragunov-Jordan Devlin contract signing
Johnny Saint and Sid Scala were in the ring, where a table and chairs were set up. Devlin entered first, wearing a ridiculous, douchey shirt. Dragunov entered in a nice black suit to his new music, which is even more ridiculous than Devlin’s shirt.
Devlin put his feet on the table and talked about the winds of change. Dragunov told Devlin to take his feet off the table.
Devlin said they were only in the ring with the GMs for a contract signing because their match is a big deal — and Dragunov didn’t have any of that for his previous matches. Devlin vowed to become champion, to which Dragunov said that seeing Devlin as champion is his biggest nightmare. Devlin said he will make Dragunov live his nightmare.
Dragunov suggested they raise the stakes for their match, and Devlin said he’s a gambling man and would listen. Dragunov said that he had a dream of an NXT UK without Jordan Devlin — and he wants their title match to be Loser Leaves NXT UK.
Devlin said that when he becomes champion, Dragunov won’t want to show his face around here anyway, so he accepts. Saint and Scala also agreed and both competitors signed the contract.
Dragunov got up and raised his championship belt in the air. Devlin went to headbutt him, but Dragunov evaded the shot and hit a headbutt of his own.
They brawled in the ring. Devlin looked to powerbomb Dragunov through the table, but Dragunov escaped and propped the table up in the corner instead. He went to hit Torpedo Moscow, but Devlin pulled Scala in front of him as a human shield, making Dragunov stop. Devlin then hit Devlin Side on Dragunov through the table, as Scala screamed at Devlin to leave. Devlin posed with the NXT United Kingdom Championship and went past a scolding Johnny Saint on his way to the back.
Final Thoughts —
Basically a fun show. The opening tag match set up the inevitable dog collar match with Eddie Dennis and Wild Boar, while the women’s match further established Eliza Alexander as an asset to Xia Brookside and set up a future match with Amale.
Von Wagner’s match was short and painless and he is decent, but I am not a huge fan of having the NXT 2.0 wrestlers come over here. I understand they need every in-ring experience in front of a crowd they can get, but I preferred NXT UK as the one brand mostly untouched by whatever the current “WWE direction” is. I also don’t like the NXT 2.0 wrestlers being portrayed as the “bigger stars” — when most of them really are not.
The show-closing angle was good and the added stipulation gives more intrigue to Dragunov and Devlin’s match in two weeks, which should be a slobberknocker.
Next Week —
World of Darkness match: NXT UK Women’s Champion Meiko Satomura defends against Isla Dawn
Supernova Sessions with Lash Legend
Tiger Turan debuts
In Two Weeks (NXT UK #200) —
Loser Leaves NXT UK match: NXT United Kingdom Champion Ilja Dragunov defends against Jordan Devlin
Either Ilja Dragunov or Jordan Devlin will soon be departing NXT UK.
WWE has announced that a “Loser Leaves NXT UK” stipulation has been added to the upcoming NXT United Kingdom Championship match between Dragunov and Devlin. The match will headline the NXT UK episode that airs in two weeks (Thursday, May 12).
The Loser Leaves NXT UK stipulation was proposed by Dragunov during a contract signing on NXT UK this week. He came up with the stipulation as a way to rid NXT UK of Devlin.
Devlin accepted the stipulation, saying that Dragunov won’t want to show his face around NXT UK anyway once he loses the title.
The contract signing segment ended with Devlin putting Dragunov through a table with the Devlin Side suplex.
Dragunov has held the NXT United Kingdom Championship since August 2021. He retained against Devlin in an empty arena match this January.
Despite being the one who wanted the empty arena stipulation, Devlin said that Dragunov wouldn’t have been able to beat him without the weapons that Dragunov was able to use in the match.
Pretty Deadly and Nathan Frazer have recently departed NXT UK for NXT 2.0.
The May 12 edition of NXT UK will be the 200th episode of the show.
Here are the updated lineups for the next two weeks of NXT UK episodes:
Thursday, May 5 —
World of Darkness match: NXT UK Women’s Champion Meiko Satomura defends against Isla Dawn
Supernova Sessions with NXT 2.0’s Lash Legend
Tiger Turan debuts
Thursday May 12 —
Loser Leaves NXT UK match: NXT United Kingdom Champion Ilja Dragunov defends against Jordan Devlin
WWE has revealed when Meiko Satomura and Ilja Dragunov’s next title defenses will be taking place.
On the NXT UK episode that airs in two weeks (Thursday, May 5), Satomura will put her NXT UK Women’s Championship on the line against Isla Dawn in the first-ever “World of Darkness” match.
Dawn challenged Satomura to the match after stealing possession of Satomura’s title belt. Dawn said the match will be held under her own “chaotic” rules.
WWE has also announced that Dragunov will defend his NXT United Kingdom Championship against Jordan Devlin on the Thursday, May 12 edition of NXT UK. That will be the 200th episode of NXT UK since the show launched in 2018.
A contract signing for Dragunov vs. Devlin will take place on NXT UK next Thursday.
Satomura vs. Dawn and Dragunov vs. Devlin are both rematches. Satomura retained against Dawn on NXT UK last month, but Dawn took the NXT UK Women’s title belt from the referee after the match and left through the crowd.
Satomura regained possession of the title belt last week when she agreed to give Dawn a rematch. Dawn spit black mist into Satomura’s face after she gave the belt back.
Dragunov defeated Devlin in an empty arena match this January to retain the NXT UK Championship. Devlin confronted Dragunov on NXT UK last week and said that Dragunov wouldn’t be able to beat him without the weapons that Dragunov was able to use in the empty arena match.
The show opened with a look at tonight’s main event between NXT United Kingdom Champion Ilja Dragunov and Roderick Strong
Primate defeated Wild Boar
Eddie Dennis led out Primate and T-Bone on chains.
The match started out with a wild brawl and Primate and Wild Boar attempted to kill each other with death. Boar eventually got the better of his former partner with some ground and pound and a vicious slam. Boar then rolled to ringside in an attempt to go after Dennis, but he couldn’t get to him yet.
Back in the ring, Primate hit a pop-up powerbomb and floored Boar with an elbow. Boar came back and squished Primate in the corner. Before Boar could do more damage, T-Bone got on the apron, leading to Dennis hitting Boar with a chain to briefly knock him out and allow Primate to score the pin.
After the match, Symbiosis put the dog collar around Primate’s neck and proceeded to beat and choke him with the chain until suddenly Mark Andrews, Boar’s former friend, ran out to make the save with a steel chair in hand. Symbiosis ran off.
– Sam Gradwell was being interviewed backstage when he opened his bag and found it full of (colorful!) maggots. He immediately suspected Kenny Williams to be the culprit.
– Die Familie were in a hotel room or nice apartment overlooking the city. Charlie Dempsey said he tapped out Wolfgang before and will do it again. He warned Teoman that A-Kid was a dangerous opponent and asked him what “the eye saw.” Teoman smiled and said the eye saw that people say pain is only temporary, but for A-Kid, it will be permanent. They smiled and toasted to their continuing success.
– Dave Mastiff and Jack Starz were working out in the UK Performance Center while the Coffey brothers did the same in the background. Joe Coffey was spotting Mark Coffey and got distracted when Mastiff loudly roared after finishing his lift. Joe left his spot and Mark almost got crushed by his weight. The two teams had words.
Charlie Dempsey (w/ Rohan Raja) defeated Wolfgang
Dempsey locked on a cravate early on and took Wolfgang on a tour around the ring and the mat while holding on. Wolfgang then locked on an armbar and also held it for a long time.
Dempsey came back with a leg lock, kneebar, and Cobra Clutch until Wolfgang threw him off. Wolfgang hit an elbow drop and then went for a spear, but he got kneed in the face. Dempsey further worked over Wolfgang’s leg until Wolfgang escaped.
In a scene right out of wXw in 2019, suddenly the big eye (EZEL) appeared on the big screen, distracting Wolfgang and the referee, allowing Raja to get on the apron. Wolfgang speared Raja, but he ran right into a bridging double underhook suplex from Dempsey. Dempsey held onto the bridge and pinned Wolfgang to get the win.
Dempsey then fluidly rolled backwards out of the bridge and teased some ground and pound, but he did not go through with it.
– NXT UK Women’s Champion Meiko Satomura was asked about Isla Dawn stealing her title belt. She invited Dawn to the ring for next week to talk face-to-face.
– Kenny Williams came out of the shower and went to his locker room. He was asked about cockroaches in Sam Gradwell’s bag but said they were maggots, revealing himself as the culprit. Williams found a mean note on his locker, which set him off.
– Xia Brookside bragged about the help she got from her daddy and her new friend last week. She introduced us to Eliza Alexander (the former Lizzy Evo), who said she would have Brookside’s back and also is there for herself. Alexander will make her NXT UK in-ring debut next week.
– Sid Scala was in his office with Moustache Mountain and Oliver Carter & Ashton Smith. Trent Seven was all cocky again and the teams started bickering, but Scala announced that the teams will face off in a two-out-of-three falls match for the NXT UK Tag Team titles in two weeks. They shook hands on it and Seven said Moustache Mountain would “beat them again, two times.” Smith and Carter complained about that wording.
– Wolfgang confronted the rest of Gallus about not having his back at ringside for his match against Dempsey.
NXT United Kingdom Champion Ilja Dragunov defeated Roderick Strong to retain his title
Dragunov entered to his incredibly bland and generic new music but still did his orchestrating motions during his entrance in tune to his old theme, so this may have been dubbed in.
They locked up and Strong got the better of things with a hammerlock before Dragunov got a headlock on. They tried hitting each other in the ropes and eventually traded chops. Dragunov then took down Strong with a bicycle kick. He charged at Strong, but Strong moved out of the way and Dragunov crashed into the ring post.
Strong immediately followed Dragunov to the outside and slammed him into the ring steps shoulder-first, then proceeded to work over the champion’s shoulder with attacks and submission holds. Dragunov tried a corner attack but got caught in a backbreaker instead.
Dragunov finally came back with a dragon screw, then hit an explosive attack on Strong’s left knee. Dragunov applied a single-leg Boston Crab, a kneebar, and Stretch Muffler, so the story of the match became Dragunov’s injured shoulder vs. Strong’s injured knee.
Dragunov hit German suplexes and then followed with a Gotch-lift suplex. Strong managed to evade a Torpedo Moscow, then dragged Dragunov to ringside once more and slammed him on the ring steps. Strong hit a backbreaker off the top rope, but he further injured his knee on the move. He still got a nearfall off the attack.
Dragunov came back with a series of strikes, two flying head kicks, and spinning chops. Strong hit a flying knee, but Dragunov evaded him off a whip and hit Torpedo Moscow for the pin and successful title defense.
Final Thoughts —
The opening match was again more of an angle to further the Symbiosis vs. Wild Boar storyline. This will probably lead to a tag team match with Wild Boar & Mark Andrews vs. Symbiosis and/or some sort of chain/dog collar match with Eddie Dennis down the line.
Charlie Dempsey continues to impress with his unique technical style, and he is still reserved enough toward Die Familie that I could see him splintering off on his own again down the line. The perfect group for him would be his father’s Blackpool Combat Club — but sadly he’s in the wrong promotion for that.
The main event was really good and told a great story of selling injured body parts that rarely is done these days. Ilja Dragunov keeps being a dominant champion who takes on all challengers, and Roderick Strong also looked great here. Dragunov’s generic theme really hurts the overall presentation, though (the same goes for Imperium’s new theme, just for the record).
Next Week —
A-Kid vs. Teoman
Gallus (Joe & Mark Coffey) vs. Dave Mastiff & Jack Starz
Eliza Alexander’s NXT UK in-ring debut
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 Roderick Strong is getting his shot at the NXT United Kingdom Championship.
Ilja Dragunov will defend his title against Strong on the NXT UK episode that airs in two weeks (Thursday, April 7). Strong challenged Dragunov to the title match after appearing on NXT UK last week.
Strong made his NXT UK debut by defeating Wolfgang in the main event of last week’s episode. After the match, Strong got on the microphone and called out Dragunov. Strong said he isn’t in NXT UK for a long time — he’s there for a good time. Strong said he’s there for the big-money fights, and he issued a challenge to Dragunov.
Dragunov accepted the challenge on this Thursday’s NXT UK episode. Dragunov said it will be his honor to collide with Strong in the ring, but Dragunov is a diamond that doesn’t crack under pressure.
Dragunov has been NXT UK Champion since winning the title from WALTER at NXT TakeOver 36 last August.
Strong is a member of Diamond Mine in NXT 2.0. On NXT next Tuesday, Strong will face Cameron Grimes and A-Kid in a last-chance Stand & Deliver qualifying match. The winner will become the final wrestler to qualify for the North American Championship ladder match at NXT Stand & Deliver on Saturday, April 2.
Here’s what’s been announced for the next two weeks of NXT UK episodes:
Thursday, March 31 —
Heritage Cup Champion Noam Dar defends against Mark Coffey
Trent Seven vs. Ashton Smith
Amale vs. Xia Brookside
Thursday, April 7 —
NXT United Kingdom Champion Ilja Dragunov defends against Roderick Strong
An NXT 2.0 star looks to be the next challenger for Ilja Dragunov’s NXT United Kingdom Championship.
Roderick Strong made his NXT UK debut by defeating Wolfgang in the main event of this week’s episode of the show. After the match, Strong got on the microphone and issued a challenge to Dragunov.
“Listen, I’m not here for a long time — I’m here for a good time. And I’m here for the big-money fights,” Strong said. “This match isn’t the only reason I was here. Everybody knows who the big-money fight is. And Ilja Dragunov, I lay down the challenge and the ball is in your court.”
After the episode aired, WWE posted a video with Dragunov smiling as he watched Strong issue the challenge.
Dragunov has been NXT UK Champion since winning the title from WALTER at TakeOver 36 last August. He’s made successful title defenses against A-Kid, Rampage Brown, Jordan Devlin, and Nathan Frazer.
Strong is part of Diamond Mine in NXT 2.0. On next Tuesday’s NXT, Strong will face Solo Sikoa in a Stand & Deliver qualifying match. The winner will advance to the multi-man ladder match for Carmelo Hayes’ North American Championship at NXT Stand & Deliver during WrestleMania weekend.
Samuels dominated briefly, but Coffey took over quickly. Samuels eventually hit a Michinoku driver, then worked over Coffey’s arm.
Coffey came back with a flying kick for a near fall. They exchanged strikes until Coffey hit a full nelson slam, then followed up with the Crowning Glory for the pinfall victory.
**********
– A-Kid was working out with somebody at the NXT UK Performance Center. Charlie Dempsey came up and asked A-Kid to teach him the technique he just used. A-Kid declined, telling Dempsey that he’d use it to someone’s disadvantage. Dempsey told him that even though he hung out with Teoman and Rohit Raja, that’s not who he was. Teoman and Raja then attacked A-Kid from behind. Dempsey tried to stop them, but eventually joined in.
– Isla Dawn hung out in her secret hideout in the woods, fooling around with the flowers she stole from Meiko Satomura recently. She also sang a song about “standing tall,” then put one of the flowers into her box of trinkets. Still scarier than Alexa and her doll.
– Moustache Mountain and Ashton Smith & Oliver Carter argued about their recent match. Seven said he just did what was necessary to win (push Smith’s foot off the rope as Bate pinned him); Carter said that Moustache Mountain hadn’t won the belts on their first try either. They agreed to another match.
**********
Jack Starz & Dave Mastiff defeated Pretty Deadly (Lewis Howley & Sam Stoker) (10:34)
Starz came out with a Mastiff-style lather vest.
Mastiff and Howley started, with Mastiff dominating early. Howley attacked the Bomber’s leg and got him to his knees. Starz and Stoker were in next, with Starz and Mastiff quickly tagging in and out to wear down their opponent.
Howley managed to tag in, but didn’t fare any better. Pretty Deadly finally managed to sneak in a blind tag and took over. They hit a splash/leg drop combo for a near fall. They followed up with a double-team bulldog for another close two count.
Starz finally managed to tag in Mastiff, after he briefly managed to help his partner from the apron. He ran wild before being stopped by a DDT from Stoker. Stoker mockingly put on Starz’s jacket but got caught with a German suplex by Mastiff.
Starz furiously asked to be tagged in, then put on the vest and ran wild. He escaped a powerbomb attempt by Stoker, then hit a powerbomb of his own for the pin and the win.
**********
– Xia Brookside was upset about having lost another match and called her dad on the phone to complain and ask for his help.
– Some guy went through the woods and looked around. Some creature watched him from the trees. The final words of the segment were “For you, the hunt is over. For me, the hunt has just begun.” This might be the returning Wild Boar.
– Noam Dar and Joe Coffey talked about their Heritage Cup match next week.
**********
NXT UK Championship: Ilja Dragunov defeated Nathan Frazer to retain the title (14:42)
They jockeyed for position early, with Ilja taking Frazer down with a judo throw/suplex. Frazer then used his speed to take down the champion. Dragunov quickly retaliated and attacked Frazer on the ground.
Frazer went for a springboard move, but Ilja took him out with a kick to the head. Dragunov locked in a cobra clutch briefly, then foiled a number of speed-based attacks by Frazer.
He hit two German suplexes, but Frazer rolled through on a third. Dragunov still caught him in mid-air and hit a third, Gotch-style German suplex. Frazer came back with a superkick and hurricanrana for a near fall. He evaded the Konstantin Special, turning it into a quebrada/elbow drop combo.
Frazer hurt Dragunov’s arm, causing the champion trouble to use a number of his trademark moves. Frazer hit a top rope hurricanrana, followed by a Phoenix splash for a close near fall.
Ilja turned another hurricanrana attempt into a powerbomb, then followed up with a falling elbow strike for good measure, but couldn’t get the win. Frazer hit a German suplex, but Dragunov hit a lariat with his injured right arm.
Dragunov then finally hit Torpedo Moscow to score the pin and defend his title.
Ilja pulled Frazer to his feet and shook his hand, congratulating him on a battle well fought.
Final thoughts —
The main event was a fantastic match, one of the highlights of 2022 in NXT UK.
The tag team match was fun and a bit of an upset, with Starz, who in the past was more of a glorified jobber, gaining a pinfall victory over the previous Tag champions.
WWE has confirmed the next challenger to Ilja Dragunov’s NXT United Kingdom Championship.
Dragunov will defend his title against Nathan Frazer on next Thursday’s episode of NXT UK. The match was made official on this week’s NXT UK after Dragunov accepted a challenge that had been issued to him by Frazer last Thursday.
Frazer is coming off a win two weeks ago against Teoman of Die Familie. Prior to that, Frazer lost to WALTER in the main event of the January 13 edition of NXT UK.
This will be Dragunov’s fourth title defense since defeating WALTER for the NXT UK Championship at TakeOver 36 last August. He’s successfully defended the title against A-Kid, Rampage Brown, and Jordan Devlin thus far.
Here’s the full list of what’s been announced for next Thursday’s NXT UK:
NXT United Kingdom Champion Ilja Dragunov defends against Nathan Frazer
Mark Coffey vs. Sha Samuels (Gallus and Noam Dar banned from ringside)
Pretty Deadly (Sam Stoker & Lewis Howley) vs. Dave Mastiff & Jack Starz
On the NXT UK episode that airs in two weeks, Dar will defend his Heritage Cup Championship against Joe Coffey.
Earlier this month, Dragunov returned to PROGRESS to confront Cara Noir at Chapter 128. The confrontation took place after Cara Noir retained the PROGRESS World Championship against Dean Allmark.
Cara Noir has been PROGRESS World Champion since January 2020. He’s set to defend the title against Shane “Swerve” Strickland at Chapter 129 this Sunday.
PROGRESS has also announced that Warren Banks will be getting a PROGRESS World title shot at the 10th Anniversary Show, which indicates that Cara Noir would be wrestling twice if he’s still champion.
Dragunov has held the NXT United Kingdom Championship since winning the title from WALTER at TakeOver 36 last August.
Dragunov vs. Cara Noir isn’t currently announced as being a title match.
At the end of December, it was revealed that PROGRESS Wrestling had been sold to Lee McAteer and Martyn Best. McAteer and Best are associate directors of English Football League Two soccer team Tranmere Rovers.
PROGRESS shows are uploaded to Peacock/WWE Network and Demand PROGRESS.
NXT UK Champion Ilja Dragunov made his first PROGRESS Wrestling appearance in nearly two years at today’s Chapter 128 event in Manchester, England.
Following Cara Noir’s successful defense of the PROGRESS World title, the lights dimmed. Dragunov then appeared in the ring to confront Noir, who claimed the PROGRESS title back in January 2020 in a five-way match also involving Dragunov.
No announcements were made as to a future match, but the angle would indicate that Dragunov is next in line to challenge Noir for PROGRESS’s top title.
Dragunov had not appeared for the company since February 2020.
Dragunov has held the NXT UK Championship since TakeOver 36 in August of 2021. He defeated Gunther, then known as WALTER, to win the title on that show and has since made successful defenses against A-Kid, Jordan Devlin, and Rampage Brown.
Video of the angle between Dragunov and Noir can be seen below.
Die Familie (Teoman, Rohan Raja & Charlie Dempsey) defeated Gallus (Joe Coffey, Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) (11:19)
Teoman and Joe Coffey started with Coffey getting the better of things. Subsequently, all three members of Gallus worked Teoman over before he tagged out to Raja, who didn’t fare much better. Eventually, Dempsey distracted Mark Coffey, allowing Die Familie to take over.
Teoman hit a missile dropkick to the back of Mark’s head to score the first near fall of the bout. Mark Coffey got further worked over by the opposing team before finally making the hot tag to Wolfgang, who ran wild for a bit.
His momentum was eventually stopped by Rohan Raja He still managed to tag in Joe Coffey, who immediately attacked.
Things ended up with Wolfgang and Charlie Dempsey in the ring, while the rest of Die Familie took out Gallus. Dempsey locked in a modified STF, and Wolfgang tapped out.
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Ashton Smith & Oliver Carter and Dave Mastiff & Jack Starz cut promos on each other before their NXT UK Tag Team Championship #1 contenders tournament final next week.
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Jinny defeated Amale (06:31)
Jinny attacked, but Amale took her down with a headlock takeover. Jinny came back and worked over Amale’s arm, but the French Hope quickly was back on offense. They went back and forth, with Amale scoring a two count off a sunset flip.
Jinny locked in an octopus hold but Amale escaped. She rammed Jinny’s head into the bottom turnbuckle, then followed up with a running kick in the corner. She hit a Northern Lights suplex for a two count and went for the Hopebreaker, but Jinny escaped by grabbing Amale’s hair.
Jinny took Amale down in the corner, went for a pin and put her legs on the ropes for leverage to secure the win.
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A graphic announced a Japanese Street Fight for the NXT UK Women’s championship between Meiko Satomura and Blair Davenport. A video then recapped their previous encounter with Davenport attacking Satomura post-match. They cut promos on each other and Satomura said last time was competition, but this time it would be a fight. Last time she beat her but this time, she would destroy her.
Nathan Frazer was asked about losing to WALTER a few weeks ago when Die Familie entered the room, asking what he was doing in “their locker room”. Frazer told Dempsey that Teoman just kept him around so he would not be a loser. Teoman got in his face and called him a dog in German, then told him to leave. Die Familie celebrated with drinks.
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Empty arena match for the NXT UK Championship Ilja Dragunov (c) defeated Jordan Devlin to retain the title (21:45)
Devlin headbutted Dragunov during introductions, sending the Russian to the mat hard. After the bell rang, Dragunov immediately came back with two high-angle German suplexes.
Devlin retaliated, then trapped Dragunov’s arms in the ropes and grabbed a chair from the outside. Dragunov managed to kick the chair from his hands, but Devlin rained down blows. Devlin then grabbed a screwdriver from the outside. Ilja managed to kick that away as well and freed himself.
He sent Devlin to the outside with a clothesline and went over the top with him. They fought at ringside with Dragunov mostly in control. Devlin eventually came back and rammed Dragunov into the steel steps hard. He slid one segment into the ring before Dragunov suddenly flew into frame and tackled Devlin through the ringside barricade.
The champ threw Devlin into some chairs, then threw a bunch of them into the ring. He also laid out a few on the arena floor, then suplexed Devlin into them for a near-fall. Ilja threw Devlin into a table set up with computer equipment. He went for a Gotch lift, but Devlin raked his eyes. Dragunov went for Torpedo Moscow, but Devlin evaded him and Dragunov crashed through the table. Devlin covered for another two count.
Devlin rolled an equipment case into Dragunov, crushing him between the crate and another box. Devlin ended up on top of the box, stuck his thumb into Dragunov’s eye and hit a moonsault off the box.
Devlin got a table from under the ring, but Dragunov attacked him as he was about to set it up and slid it into the ring himself. Devlin hit him with a chair, then propped the table up in the corner. Devlin went for Devlin Side through the table, but Dragunov countered the move. He hit a Gotch lift into a suplex onto a chair for another close two count.
Dragunov went to the top rope but Devlin smashed a chair into his knee, then hit a twisting Samoan drop for a 2.9.
Dragunov countered another Devlin Side into a fireman’s carry. Devlin hit elbows to the head and even raked the eyes, but Dragunov still gave him a Death Valley Bomb into the table in the corner.
Ilja went for Torpedo Moscow, but broke down due to pain in his eye. Devlin mocked him, then hit a headbutt and brainbuster for another super-close near-fall. Devlin rolled to ringside and grabbed a bunch of cable ties. He tied Ilja’s hands behind his back. He rained down blows, then smashed him with a chair. He placed Ilja’s head on the steel steps, then went to hit him with a chair but Ilja moved out of the way.
Ilja hit a pump kick, then hit Torpedo Moscow, with his hands tied behind his back, springboarding off the steel steps in the process to score the pin and defend his championship.
Final Thoughts:
The main event was a crazy, brutal brawl and a fantastic match between the two. Devlin did everything in his power and every devious thing he could come up with and Dragunov took it and still prevailed.
The tag and the women’s matches felt more like another chapter in the respective stories and may lead to more matches down the line.
Next week —
Japanese Street Fight for the NXT UK Women’s Championship: Meiko Satomura (c) vs. Blair Davenport
NXT UK Tag Team Championship #1 contenders finals: Ashton Smith & Oliver Carter vs. Dave Mastiff & Jack Starz
There will be no fans in attendance for Ilja Dragunov and Jordan Devlin’s NXT United Kingdom Championship match.
During a video package that aired on NXT UK today, it was announced that Dragunov vs. Devlin will be an empty arena match. The title match will headline next Thursday’s episode of NXT UK.
In storyline, Devlin proposed the stipulation to take away the advantage that Dragunov gets from the support of the crowd. Devlin said he’s risen to the top in spite of the fans in the building, but Dragunov depends on the crowd cheering him on. Devlin said there could never be an even playing field for a match between him and Dragunov — unless it was an empty arena match. Devlin challenged Dragunov to face him in an environment where it’s truly one-on-one.
Dragunov accepted the challenge, saying that he doesn’t have to rely on external factors to be champion.
Dragunov won the NXT UK Championship from WALTER at NXT TakeOver 36 last August. He’s defended the title twice since then, retaining against A-Kid and Rampage Brown.
Dragunov and Devlin’s feud began with a confrontation on NXT UK last month. Devlin called out Dragunov and wanted a shot at his title. After Devlin mentioned Dragunov’s wife and son, Dragunov attacked him and they had to be separated by officials.
Next Thursday’s NXT UK will also feature a six-man tag match with Die Familie (Teoman, Rohan Raja & Charlie Dempsey) facing Gallus (Joe Coffey, Mark Coffey & Wolfgang).
