A rematch of one of 2020’s best matches will air on NXT UK in two weeks.
WWE has announced that WALTER will defend his NXT United Kingdom Championship against Ilja Dragunov on the Thursday, July 22 episode of NXT UK. There will be an in-ring press conference segment with WALTER and Dragunov on next week’s NXT UK to build up the title match.
WALTER defeated Dragunov on NXT UK last October to retain the NXT United Kingdom Championship. The match ranked fifth in the Match of the Year category in the 2020 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards.
In storyline, Dragunov has struggled with temper issues since losing to WALTER and has worked to get them under control. Dragunov defeated Rampage Brown and Joe Coffey in a triple threat match on NXT UK two weeks ago to be set up as the next challenger for WALTER’s title.
WALTER came to the ring and attacked Dragunov following that triple threat match. He dropped Dragunov with a slap and then put him in a choke, which was the same move he used to defeat Dragunov in their match last year. Dragunov passed out in the choke in that match.
WALTER has been NXT United Kingdom Champion since winning the title from Pete Dunne at NXT TakeOver: New York in April 2019.
The big hosses clashed right away, with Samuels getting the better of things. He eventually went for the Butcher’s Hook, but Coffey broke the hold. Coffey hit a few shoulder blocks and a bulldog off the second turnbuckle for a near fall, followed by a slam for another one.
After some more back and forth, Coffey stunned Samuels with an enzuigiri, then followed up with a diving European uppercut for the pinfall victory.
– Rampage Brown warmed up backstage.
– Emilia McKenzie was happy about Meiko Satomura winning the NXT UK Women’s Championship and said she was proud to call Satomura a friend. The lights flickered as Isla Dawn slowly crept into the frame. McKenzie said she didn’t know where Dawn crept under from, but they had unfinished business. Dawn laughed. Still better than Alexa Bliss being creepy.
– At the NXT UK Performance Center, someone named “Mila” (I believe Mila Smidt from France, who had a tryout in Germany back in 2018) was interviewed about her first week of training here. The lights turned out and Aoife Valkyrie stormed into the ring. Valkyrie started running the ropes and doing flips. Mila watched and Jinny walked up.
Jinny called Mila pathetic for watching someone else train, especially someone who watched others from a distance and didn’t know who was watching her. Mila said she’d like to face Valkyrie and thought she could beat her, “just like Meiko did.” Jinny told her to look at the floor and not her and didn’t care for what Mila thought.
– Video from after last week’s show aired. Subculture celebrated their victory backstage until Pretty Deadly walked up. The two teams had words and it looks like we’ll get an NXT UK Tag Team title match between them soon.
Stevie Turner defeated Laura Di Matteo (4:13)
This was Laura Di Matteo’s first match on NXT UK. The Italy native made her debut in 2015 as a product of the PROGRESS wrestling school and spent a good portion of her career in the UK, wrestling for PROGRESS and Pro Wrestling: EVE, as well as some other groups.
Di Matteo also appeared in Germany for wXw and the German Wrestling Federation, where she is the current Women’s Champion. Di Matteo has wrestled across Europe in France, Italy, Spain, Austria and other countries.
Turner locked in a cravat early but Di Matteo countered. Turner came back and choked Di Matteo on the ropes, then kicked her repeatedly. Turner locked in a straightjacket choke. Di Matteo fought back but was quickly stopped again. Turner then hit a cool looking rope-assisted flatliner for the win.
– Mark Coffey and Wolfgang talked about them each winning a singles match lately. Joe Coffey was warming up for his match later tonight.
– Nathan Frazer was working out at the UK PC when Kenny Williams interrupted and called him out.
– A video aired featuring an NXT UK branded briefcase on a table. A woman in a robe approached, unlocked it, and took some papers labeled “NXT UK confidential” out of it. She looked through them, then signed what appears to have been a contract. The signature line read “Blair Davenport.” It is unknown who this new signee is, but WWE filed a trademark for the name last month.
– A video aired focusing on next week’s NXT UK Heritage Cup Championship match between Tyler Bate and Jack Starz. Bate said Starz’s work ethic is unparalleled and he’s well-respected. Bate said that’s why he chose Starz as his first challenger.
Starz talked about Bate being one of the best in the world and how he was backstage in 2017 when Bate won the WWE United Kingdom Championship. They showed pictures of Starz in the ring celebrating with Bate. Starz said he initially felt unworthy and was still scratching and clawing to get a spot when Bate won the title.
Starz talked about coming up through the “summer camp circuit” (an annual six-week summer tour through various English summer camps with daily shows by All Star Wrestling, the UK’s oldest remaining promotion run by Brian Dixon) like many British wrestling legends had. Starz said he was proud of it.
Starz claimed that he had more tryouts than anyone else in WWE history and was told time and time again that he was not what they were looking for, but he refused to give up. Starz said his hard work would pay off when he faces Bate.
Teoman defeated Oliver Carter by submission (7:03)
A promo by Carter aired during his entrance. Carter talked about his partner Ashton Smith not being here because of family issues.
Teoman and Carter traded holds early, then avoided each other. Teoman slapped Carter, but he came back and ran wild for a bit. Carter threw Teoman into the steps outside, but Teoman played possum and evaded a kick. Teoman then took over once back in the ring.
Teoman went for the crossface but transitioned into a Fujiwara armbar that Carter broke on the ropes. Carter evaded a handspring back elbow and hit a quebrada instead. Carter got a near fall off a superkick, then followed with a scissors kick for another one. Teoman came back and hit a tornado DDT off the turnbuckles for a near fall, then immediately transitioned into the crossbar on the kickout for the submission victory.
Teoman locked in the crossface once more after the match until Rohan Raja ran to the ring and faced off with Teoman, who asked him in German if Raja wanted to punch him. Teoman backed away and almost left the ring, but then turned around and pointed to his eye. Raja then attacked Carter, pounded on him, and gave him a Codebreaker. Teoman and Raja then left together.
– Ilja Dragunov warmed up for the main event.
– A-Kid talked about losing his Heritage Cup Championship to Tyler Bate but said that defeat is part of every champion. He said Jordan Devlin became cruel after losing his Cruiserweight Championship and he would teach Devlin to respect defeat when they face off next week.
Ilja Dragunov defeated Rampage Brown and Joe Coffey in a triple threat match (16:16)
This was a tremendous hoss fight, so I’ll just list some of the highlights. Coffey paired off with both opponents early on, then got taken out briefly as Brown powerslammed Dragunov. Coffey hit an overhead belly-to-belly on Brown before Dragunov got back into the mix. Brown threw Dragunov into a German suplex by Coffey. Coffey had Brown in a Boston Crab when Dragunov returned from ringside and started punching Coffey, who held on. He then hit a running kick to break the hold.
Brown hit a double back suplex on both men. Dragunov hit a bridging Gotch-lift German suplex on Coffey. Brown hit a fireman’s carry drop on Coffey, then Dragunov followed with a senton. Brown gave Dragunov a spinebuster onto Coffey. Dragunov nailed Brown with the Konstantin Special.
Dragunov hit a Coast-to-Coast top rope dropkick on Brown, then Coffey nailed him with a Glasgow Sendoff that smashed Dragunov into Brown for good measure. Coffey hit a double-jump crossbody off the top to both opponents on the outside.
Coffey got a near fall on Dragunov after a missile dropkick from the top. Coffey nailed Dragunov with All the Best for the Bells, but Brown speared Coffey through the ropes and they fought on the outside. Dragunov had some sort of injury to his midsection and collapsed, but he willed himself to beat on Brown and hit two German suplexes on him. Brown then double German suplexed Dragunov and Coffey. Coffey dropped Brown with an electric chair.
Dragunov hit Torpedo Moscow on Coffey as he was in the middle of hitting All the Best for the Bells on Brown. Brown then hit the Doctor Bomb on Coffey, but Dragunov broke up the pin. Dragunov then hit a springboard Torpedo Moscow off the second turnbuckle on Brown to gain the hard-earned victory.
Dragunov celebrated his victory before NXT United Kingdom Champion WALTER entered the ring. He nodded at Dragunov approvingly, asking him in German if he had his eyes on the title. WALTER then slapped him down hard, applied a choke, yanked Dragunov off his feet, and proceeded to choke him out, just as he had done in their legendary bout last year.
WALTER urged a semi-conscious Dragunov to look at the belt before posing over the fallen Russian with his foot on Dragunov’s chest.
Final Thoughts —
Another strong show. Mark Coffey vs. Sha Samuels was a fun brawl. Stevie Turner also looked good in her outing with Laura Di Matteo, who I hope we will see more of in the future. Teoman turning Rohan Raja to his side is intriguing as he slowly builds his NXT UK version of his previous EZEL stable. Those two against Oliver Carter & Ashton Smith will also be good.
They also really built up Jack Starz as a challenger for Tyler Bate’s Heritage Cup next week. The NXT UK video packages are so effective and great — it’s a shame they are seen by so few people.
The main event was a tremendous “mean guy match” between three hosses. As strong style as it gets in WWE with some super hard-hitting action. It is now certain that we will get a WALTER vs. Ilja Dragunov rematch, hopefully in front of fans, who will scream, gasp, and cry bloody tears of joy once this epic encounter goes down one more time.
Next Week —
NXT UK Heritage Cup Champion Tyler Bate defends against Jack Starz
A-Kid vs. Jordan Devlin
NXT UK Women’s Champion Meiko Satomura will address the NXT UK Universe
A triple threat match will headline next week’s NXT UK episode.
WWE has announced that Joe Coffey vs. Rampage Brown vs. Ilja Dragunov will take place on NXT UK next Thursday. It’s being billed as a match between three people who are trying to prove that they’re the toughest wrestler on the brand.
On NXT UK two weeks ago, Coffey defeated Brown to even their record against each other in NXT UK at 1-1. Coffey and Brown then shook hands and Brown signaled that he wanted a third match against Coffey. But Dragunov then came out to the stage and stared them both down.
This week’s NXT UK featured a segment with Coffey, Brown, and Dragunov sitting down and talking ahead of their triple threat match next week. Coffey and Brown wanted to know why Dragunov got involved in their business. Dragunov said Coffey and Brown think NXT UK is their playground, but there are other people there — especially him.
Coffey, Brown, and Dragunov also discussed having similar upbringings in Glasgow, Leeds, and Russia.
On commentary, it was said that Coffey, Brown, and Dragunov all have title aspirations. All three wrestlers have previously unsuccessfully challenged for WALTER’s NXT United Kingdom Championship.
Teoman vs. Oliver Carter is also set for next Thursday’s NXT UK.
Ilja Dragunov won an epic battle over Sam Gradwell as they faced off in a no disqualification match. They did some insane stuff and this was one of the most brutal matches on WWE television in recent memory.
Joseph Conners got revenge on Jack Starz after his mixed tag team loss from a couple of weeks ago, Isla Dawn looked more violent than ever, and the new team of Primate & T-Bone also dominated with brutality.
It was announced that Trent Seven will be in Tyler Bate’s corner for Bate’s NXT UK: Prelude Heritage Cup rules match against Noam Dar in two weeks.
Full Rundown —
Supernova Sessions with Trent Seven
Noam Dar introduced Seven by talking about him being a failure and then asking Seven what it felt like to be a failure. Seven discussed his gruesome preparation for dropping down to cruiserweight. Dar said he liked talking about positive things and asked about how Seven got in shape, mentioning Zumba and other modern fitness regiments as a laugh track played. When Dar called him an outsider, Seven took offense to that and said he was one of the founding fathers of NXT UK.
Sha Samuels walked in and started berating Seven. Dar said that Samuels always has his back, but Seven’s friend Tyler Bate was nowhere to be seen. Samuels said he was always in Dar’s corner. Seven then said he would be in Bate’s corner for the Dar vs. Bate Heritage Cup rules number one contender’s match in two weeks at NXT UK: Prelude.
– A graphic plugged tonight’s Ilja Dragunov vs. Sam Gradwell no DQ match as the main event.
– Sid Scala talked to Joseph Conners and Jinny as they arrived at the building. Scala told Jinny that both she and Piper Niven would be banned from ringside for the match between Conners and Jack Starz tonight. Jinny argued with Scala but begrudgingly accepted the terms when he said it was Johnny Saint’s decision.
– A video looked at last week’s confrontation between WALTER and Rampage Brown. William Regal, Fit Finlay, Robbie Brookside, and Dave Taylor all weighed in on WALTER and Brown’s NXT United Kingdom Championship match that’s taking place at NXT UK: Prelude.
Joseph Conners defeated Jack Starz after hitting a hangman’s neckbreaker (6:51)
Starz pinned Conners a few weeks ago in a mixed tag match where they teamed with Piper Niven and Jinny respectively. The finish of the mixed tag had some controversy, with Niven giving Conners the Piper Driver and throwing Starz on top for the pin.
Starz and Conners felt each other out early here and traded a number of pinning combinations. Starz dropkicked Conners to ringside, then hit a dive onto him. Back inside, Starz hit a crossbody from the top for a two count. Conners took back over and grounded Starz down for a while until Starz countered a suplex.
Starz dominated, then hit an exploder for a very close near fall. Starz went for more pins, but Conners hit a snap DDT. Conners then followed with a hangman’s neckbreaker for the pinfall victory.
– Sam Gradwell was shown warming up backstage.
– Pretty Deadly cut a promo, talking about how they won the NXT UK Tag Team titles and ushered in the era of Pretty Deadly. Pretty Deadly said that their title defense against Kenny Williams & Amir Jordan next week will be the first of many defenses in their never-ending reign.
– Starz came backstage all despondent and apologized to Niven, who cheered him up. Niven said they’ll get right back to training at the NXT UK Performance Center tomorrow. She told Starz that she was proud of him and hugged him to cheer him up.
Primate & T-Bone (w/ Eddie Dennis) defeated Josh Morrell & Danny Jones when Primate pinned Jones after a flying headbutt from the top (6:28)
It seems Tyson T-Bone has lost his first name as he replaces Wild Boar in the team. Primate and T-Bone took out Boar in a backstage vignette two weeks ago at Eddie Dennis’ command (Boar has a legit knee injury, which was the reason for this angle).
T-Bone made quick work of Morrell early on. The heels quickly tagged in and out and T-Bone threw Morrell into his corner to tag. Primate then decimated Jones, again tagging in and out until Jones hit a backstabber and made the hot tag. Morrell got some offense in but was wiped out quickly by Primate. T-Bone sent Morrell to the outside, where Primate worked him over on Dennis’ instructions.
A double hot tag later, Jones quickly found himself on the receiving end of a T-Bone running powerslam, followed by a flying headbutt by Primate for the win.
– Kenny Williams & Amir Jordan worked out in the NXT UK Performance Center and were very confident about their Tag Team title match against Pretty Deadly next week.
Isla Dawn defeated Aleah James after hitting a half-and-half bridging suplex (4:17)
Dawn has been starring in some creepy vignettes lately where she’s read tarot cards, looked into a crystal ball, and had Latin words flash across the screen. Dawn was far more aggressive than in the past in this match.
They traded wristlocks early, then James used a roll-up out of the corner and followed with a dropkick. Dawn quickly dropped her with a head kick and hit a knee lift to the sternum for a near fall. Dawn hit another running knee to the neck, then followed with a Saito suplex. Dawn locked in a double chicken wing submission, but James escaped. James hit a springboard dropkick off the ropes for a near fall of her own.
Dawn dropped James face-first into the top rope off a wheelbarrow roll-up attempt. Dawn then hit a barrage of strikes and a half-and-half bridging suplex to get the win.
– Ilja Dragunov prepared by shadowboxing backstage.
– Nina Samuels was happy that her four weeks of being Xia Brookside’s personal assistant were coming up, but Brookside said there was still some time left and had her clean the men’s bathroom.
– Dawn was backstage, dancing around as if in some kind of trance as eerie music played. NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray walked up to her and told her that if we had seen Dawn show more of that aggressive side early on, maybe she could be in KLR’s position today. Dawn stared at her as the lights flickered, but KLR would have none of that creepy stuff and just walked off.
– A graphic officially announced next week’s NXT UK Tag Team title match between Pretty Deadly and Kenny Williams & Amir Jordan.
No DQ match: Ilja Dragunov defeated Sam Gradwell (14:47)
Gradwell has been provoking Dragunov for the last several weeks, gleefully enjoying it whenever Dragunov snapped. He cut a promo on Dragunov last week, suggesting all kinds of matches he would beat Dragunov in. Dragunov accepted the no DQ one.
Gradwell threw his jacket in Dragunov’s face as he entered the ring and beat him down right away. Dragunov came back with a flying kick that threw Gradwell to ringside. Gradwell grabbed a chair, but Dragunov kicked it into his face. Back in the ring, Gradwell evaded a German suplex attempt with a judo throw but got wiped out with the Konstantin Special. Dragunov followed with a coast-to-coast as Gradwell tried talking him down.
Dragunov struggled to keep his composure at times. He charged at Gradwell on the outside, but Gradwell grabbed the ring bell and hit Dragunov with it. Gradwell whipped Dragunov with a cable, then choked him with it and whiplashed him head-first onto the mats. Gradwell repeatedly hit Dragunov with the edge of a chair and then suplexed him onto the chair for good measure.
Gradwell removed some turnbuckle pads, but Dragunov blocked and hit a few elbow strikes. They battled on the top and Dragunov threw Gradwell off the top face-first. Gradwell threw a turnbuckle pad into Dragunov’s face, then Gradwell shoved Dragunov and he landed on the exposed top turnbuckle. Dragunov was then sent flying into the dasherboards.
Dragunov came back with a clothesline. He went to drop the ring steps onto Gradwell, who begged off and apologized to Dragunov. As Dragunov showed mercy for Gradwell and went to put down the steps, Gradwell hit him with a chair. But Dragunov avoided the next chair shot and dropped Gradwell with two rolling German suplexes onto the mats. Gradwell then ate some more chops and kicks.
Gradwell told Dragunov to stop and mentioned his own son, but he then kicked Dragunov’s leg and hit a Death Valley Driver onto the ring steps. Back in the ring, Gradwell scored a close near fall.
Gradwell got more chairs and piled them in the center of the ring. They traded offense and Dragunov slammed Gradwell’s head into the exposed turnbuckle. Dragunov then hit a backbreaker before putting Gradwell onto the chairs. He went for a top rope senton, but Gradwell moved and Dragunov crashed onto the chairs. Dragunov kicked out of the subsequent cover.
Gradwell went to chop the back of Dragunov’s neck, but he thought better of it as that has sent Dragunov into a frenzy in the past. Gradwell opted for slaps instead but hit one inadvertently on the back of the neck, causing Dragunov to snap.
Dragunov hit a Gotch lift onto the pile of chairs, then ground and pounded Gradwell into oblivion as Gradwell frantically tapped out from the punches. Dragunov narrowly managed to control himself as the referee talked him into stopping.
Final Thoughts —
The main event was insane and probably the most brutal WWE match since WALTER vs. Ilja Dragunov from last year (recognize a pattern there?). Dragunov has such disregard for his own physical health that it is both fascinating and worrisome to watch at times. Sam Gradwell also played his role perfectly here.
It seems like Isla Dawn is being set up for an NXT UK Women’s Championship match against Kay Lee Ray down the line. Primate & T-Bone looked impressive as a team, more like two bar brawlers than wrestlers. They should be on their way to a Tag Team title shot as well, with Eddie Dennis expertly puppeteering them on their path there.
I could see Trent Seven turning against Tyler Bate during NXT UK: Prelude, either during or after the match and somehow costing Bate the win. It might make sense for the older Seven, who could not reach his goals of either winning the Heritage Cup tournament or the NXT Cruiserweight Championship, to finally become jealous of his younger, more successful protege. This would both lead to A-Kid vs. Noam Dar and a hopefully lengthy Bate vs. Seven feud.
One thing that irks me in current NXT/NXT UK storylines is that WALTER will defend the NXT United Kingdom Championship against Tommaso Ciampa at TakeOver Stand & Deliver night one, then WALTER and Rampage Brown’s title match will air on NXT UK: Prelude less than 24 hours later. If WALTER loses to Ciampa, the match on Thursday for the title makes no sense. If WALTER loses to Brown, this show very publicly being taped weeks before the Ciampa match also looks bad. So I guess the only thing that makes sense is that WALTER keeps the title in both matches.
Next Week —
NXT UK Tag Team Champions Pretty Deadly defend against Kenny Williams & Amir Jordan
NXT UK: Prelude (in two weeks) —
NXT United Kingdom Champion WALTER defends against Rampage Brown
Heritage Cup rules number one contender’s match: Tyler Bate (w/ Trent Seven) vs. Noam Dar (w/ Sha Samuels)
A no disqualification match will air on NXT UK next week.
WWE has announced that Ilja Dragunov will face Sam Gradwell on NXT UK next Thursday (March 25). Due to the start of daylight savings time affecting the time difference between the United States and United Kingdom, the episode has a special start time of 4 p.m. Eastern time in the US.
Since unsuccessfully challenging for WALTER’s NXT United Kingdom Championship last year, Dragunov has been involved in a storyline where he’s been trying to rebuild himself but has been snapping during his matches. Gradwell has been provoking Dragunov along the way.
Dragunov defeated Gradwell by referee stoppage on NXT UK two weeks ago. Dragunov snapped and continued pummeling Gradwell with strikes after the referee called for the bell. When Dragunov continued to snap and almost attacked a referee, Gradwell laughed at Dragunov and taunted him.
There was a backstage segment on today’s NXT UK episode where Dragunov requested time to speak. Dragunov apologized for his recent actions and said that’s not who he is. Gradwell said Dragunov has been losing his cool like a big, unruly baboon. Gradwell listed all of the types of matches he could defeat Dragunov in. When Gradwell said no DQ match, Dragunov said that’s fine for him.
Also on today’s NXT UK, it was said that Pretty Deadly (Sam Stoker & Lewis Howley) will defend their NXT UK Tag Team titles against Kenny Williams & Amir Jordan on the NXT UK episode that airs in two weeks (Thursday, April 1). This will be Pretty Deadly’s first title defense since becoming NXT UK Tag Team Champions by defeating Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) three weeks ago.
Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster got attacked by The Hunt, who aligned with Eddie Dennis
Still billed as the NXT Cruiserweight champion, Jordan Devlin made his return, making quick work of newcomer Levi Muir
Sam Gradwell is back on NXT UK and will team with Pretty Deadly to take on Gallus next week
Rampage Brown is coming
in a match of the year candidate, WALTER successfully defended his NXT UK championship against Ilja Dragunov in a brutal war
Report —
A video highlighted today’s NXT UK title match of WALTER defending against Ilja Dragunov
Aoife Valkyrie pinned Dani Luna after a top rope legdrop (06:06)
Valkyrie is still undefeated in NXT UK while Luna is looking to prove herself.
Valkyrie showed her quickness and agility while Luna used power moves. Luna at one point hit a wheelbarrow slam on the outside, slamming Valkyrie face-first onto the apron. She also hit a number of impressive suplexes.
Valkyrie eventually won with her legdrop off the top rope.
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— A split-screen showed WALTER and Ilja Dragunov warming up for their match
— A video recapped the four first-round matches of the Heritage Cup;
— A video introduced Rampage Brown, a veteran of the UK scene, who will make his NXT UK debut soon
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Mark Andrews/Flash Morgan Webster/Eddie Dennis in-ring segment
A segment recapped previous attacks on Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster.
They were in the ring talking about the attacks when Eddie Dennis came out. Dennis accused Andrews of being a narcissist and using him on the independent scene.
Dennis suggested that Andrews had been the one attacking Webster, because he was afraid of what would happen in Webster broke out as a singles star. He said Andrews would profit if Webster was out and said “keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.”
Webster looked unsure, but they told Dennis that they knew he would play this card. Pretty Deadly came out to stand by Dennis’ side. Webster said that they also had friends and The Hunt appeared in the ring by their side.
Dennis laughed and repeated his quote from earlier, when The Hunt suddenly turned on Webster and Andrews and viciously beat them down.
Pretty Deadly looked confused and left as Dennis joined The Hunt in the ring.
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— Piper Niven was asked about her future plans in NXT UK. She reiterated that Kay Lee Ray was still her main priority.
— Jordan Devlin returns tonight
— Sid Scala was asked about Eddie Dennis when Pretty Deadly walked up and he asked them about the situation.
Suddenly, Sam Gradwell walked up and said he was back in NXT UK.
Gallus also appeared and asked Scala if he planned to do something about the situation with Pretty Deadly or if they needed to do something about it. He said they would be in the ring next week
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— A segment hyped WALTER and Ilja Dragunov
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Jordan Devlin submitted Levi Muir with a Texas Cloverleaf (04:49)
Muir is a recent NXT UK signee and former powerlifter who has also competed in PROGRESS before. Devlin was still announced as the NXT Cruiserweight champion. Devlin also looked physically bigger and more bulky than before.
This was basically a squash and a Jordan Devlin showcase. Muir only got one small package in and at one point caught Devlin and lifted him up for a military press, which Devlin turned into a crucifix attempt.
Devlin hit all his signature moves, including the uranage/moonsault combo and Devlinside. He won by submission with a Texas Cloverleaf.
Devlin cut a short promo afterwards, talking about how he was the champion and would take on all comers.
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— Next week, Gallus, including the returning Joe Coffey will take on Pretty Deadly & Sam Gradwell
— Also next week, Noam Dar takes on A-Kid in the Heritage Cup semifinals
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— A video recapped last week’s contract signing and subsequent brawl between WALTER and Ilja Dragunov. Clips of both competitors talking about each other were interspersed between highlights from the brawl
NXT UK Championship: WALTER (c) beat Ilja Dragunov by referee stoppage when Dragunov passed out in a rear naked choke (25:10)
Those two had a number of brutal and legendary matches in wXw and PROGRESS over the past few years and this match more than kept up the promise of those previous encounters. This was an absolute war, the best match in the history of the NXT UK television show and on par or even better than the WALTER vs. Tyler Bate NXT UK TakeOver match from last year in Cardiff.
Words cannot do this match justice and you should go out of your way to see it. They showed a level of physicality almost never seen in WWE matches these days and this was something you would usually see in NJPW in an Ishii, Ibushi or Suzuki match.
They started out at full speed right away and brutalized each other. Dragunov went for Torpedo Moscow less than 90 seconds into the match, but WALTER caught him with a sleeper and hit a sleeper suplex. Dragunov got his neck whiplashed into the ropes seconds later and was stunned at ringside. This neck injury would play into the rest of the match.
They slapped and chopped the hell out of one another. Dragunov later hit three impressive German suplexes on WALTER before they killed each other some more. Dragunov hit a Gotch-style suplex on the champion. Dragunov hit the Konstantin Special for a very close near fall, then went for Torpedo Moscow once more but got slapped out of mid-air.
WALTER took Dragunov’s head off with a lariat, then hit the power bomb for a close near fall of his own. WALTER transitioned from a sleeper into a dragon sleeper, but Dragunov made the ropes. Dragunov hit a big top-rope shotgun dropkick for another near fall. Dragunov hit Torpedo Moscow to the back of WALTER’s neck as the champion was on his knees, but was unable to make the pin because of his neck. He tried another one, but collapsed as basically his neck gave out.
WALTER threw him to the outside and hit a sleeper suplex at ringside, followed by a power bomb on the apron. After a powerbomb in the ring and a big splash off the top. Dragunov somehow still kicked out at 2.99.
WALTER finally hit some stiff elbows and forearms from the mount, then pulled Dragunov up by then neck in a rear naked choke and locked in the body scissors. Dragunov gurgled and moaned, blood dripping from his mouth as he passed out and the referee stopped the match.
This was unreal and it’s a shame NXT UK basically flies under the radar, as this was one of the best matches of the year.
**********
Dragunov lay on the mat without moving for a long time and WALTER lay next to him, exhausted and even looked a bit concerned.
A ton of referees and other officials, among them John Moss came out and checked on Ilja, finally helping him to his feet as the show went off the air.
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Next week —
Noam Dar vs. A-Kid in a Heritage Cup semifinals match
After doing so for the untimely passing of Karsten Beck last week, I would like to dedicate my report to my grandmother, who sadly passed away at the age of 92 this week. Thankfully, she only had to suffer for a few days after living a heathy and happy life up until recently. She may also very well be the reason I encountered wrestling when I did as almost 29 years ago to the day, I spent a night at my grandparents’ apartment and zapped through the cable channels. I chanced upon wrestling (the 1991 Hogan/Warrior vs. Slaughter/Adnan/Mustafa SummerSlam main event), got hooked right away, and would subsequently spend each Friday night at my their apartment to watch WWF on German channel Tele 5 until we moved and finally got a dish. She would always stay up with me and watch along, including comforting me as I sobbed myself to sleep when the dastardly Undertaker cheated to beat Hulk Hogan a few months later at Survivor Series. She will be dearly missed.
Quick results:
The highlight of the show was the excellent main event angle with the contract signing for next week’s WALTER vs. Ilja Dragunov NXT UK title match. The whole affair was super intense and they had a brutal brawl afterwards.
Trent Seven advanced to the Heritage Cup semifinals, beating Kenny Williams.
Eddie Dennis pinned Oliver Carter, a setup for Dennis to call out Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster for next week.
Nina Samuels pinned Amale and called out Piper Niven after the match.
After being suspended by WWE due to #SpeakingOut allegations, a Joe Coffey video promised he would return soon.
Show Recap:
Eddie Dennis pinned Oliver Carter (6:27)
Dennis last wrestled in January at the tapings following NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool II. He returned in the first episode from this set of tapings and talked to Pretty Deadly after their match with the contents of this conversation still being a mystery.
Carter looked great here and got to show off his athleticism, taking a large portion of the match and countering out of a lot of Dennis’ offense. Dennis eventually won with the Severed Bridge (basically a Razor’s Edge).
After the match, Dennis told Carter to get out of his ring and go back to the tag division. He said, speaking of the tag division, it was a shame what happened to Flash Morgan Webster (who got attacked backstage recently). “We all know who did it. Who profited the most from Webster being out?” But, he would not say who it was. He invited Webster and Mark Andrews to a mediation next week, a confrontation was made official later in the show.
**********
– A Joe Coffey vignette aired. He has been absent during this latest set of tapings, likely due to allegations brought against him during the #SpeakingOut movement as he was suspended by WWE in early July. WWE has decided to use him again as the end of the video read that he would “return soon”.
– Speaking of wrestlers seemingly being re-established after #SpeakingOut allegations, Jordan Devlin will return to action next week after his promo last week.
– NXT UK will air at 4 PM ET/8 PM GMT next week due to Summer Time ending in Europe this Sunday while it goes on a few weeks longer in the U.S., shortening the time difference between the UK and the East Coast to four instead of five hours.
Nina Samuels pinned Amale (5:37)
This match was set up when Amale and Samuels tagged two weeks ago as Samuels decided to abandon her partner because she wasn’t getting all the spotlight to herself. Later in that episode, they also brawled during Kay Lee Ray’s State of the Union address.
Amale started out very aggressively and had the advantage at times, but Samuels used some cheap tactics to gain the advantage and worked over Amale’s arm and shoulder with submissions. At one point, Amale got a near fall with a Northern Lights suplex. Samuels eventually thwarted another attack by Amale and hit the Final Act (a rolling neckbreaker) for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Samuels was interviewed backstage. She said a two person act was not what the audience wanted and called out Piper Niven, telling her she would be watching.
Next up was the final opening round match of the Heritage Cup. As a refresher, the Cup is an approach at traditional British Wrestling with a special set of rules:
All matches consist of six three minute rounds with 20 second breaks between each round.
All matches are 2-out-of-3 falls.
Falls can be won by pinfall, submission, or countout.
Once a fall occurs, the round ends.
The match ends once a wrestler has won two falls.
In the event of a disqualification or countout, the match instantly ends without the need for two falls.
If all six rounds are completed, whomever is ahead on falls wins the match.
Heritage Cup opening round match: Trent Seven beat Kenny Williams in the fifth round, two falls to one
They wrestled back and forth in the first round with neither man getting a clear advantage. Seven missed a crossbody as the round came to an end. Williams hit a sunset flip for a two count near the end of round two and Seven picked him up for either a power bomb or shoulderbreaker briefly after the round ended and was visibly upset when the referee told him to stop.
With just three seconds left in round three, Trent hit the Seven Star Lariat and got a pin at 2:57 of the round. Williams got a pin at 0:37 of round four with a roll up after feigning a leap frog to tie Seven 1-1. Williams hit a stiff see-saw lariat early in round five for a near fall, followed by a DDT for another one.
Seven came back with an Emerald Frosion for a near fall of his own. Seven then rolled through on an impressive springboard top rope hurricanrana by Williams to score the winning pin at 2:22 of round five for the victory. The two shook hands and hugged afterwards.
Seven will face Dave Mastiff in the semifinals of the Heritage Cup while Noam Dar faces A-Kid in the other semifinal.
– WALTER was seen walking through the backstage area with Alexander Wolfe. He told him to stay behind and they shook hands.
NXT UK Champion WALTER and Ilja Dragunov contract signing
WALTER and Dragunov will face off for WALTER’s title next week. This, of course, ended in a brawl, but with an intensity rarely seen in WWE these days.
Both men came out and stood by the table and slowly got down in their chair, staring at each other while they signed the contract. WALTER declined to say anything when asked by Sid Scala. Dragunov, when asked, got up and started screaming “UNBESIEGBAR” (“unbeatable”, his catch phrase) but got slapped down hard mid-word. WALTER then ripped his shirt off and started turning the challenger’s chest into mincemeat with brutal chops.
He went to power bomb Dragunov through the table, but he escaped and attacked, sending WALTER to ringside. Dragunov jumped onto him from the top rope to the outside, but WALTER chopped him out of mid-air, then power bombed him on the apron, followed by a stiff lariat. He then beat him down some more. “The Mad Russian” came back and they ended up going through the barricade together as officials scrambled to separate them.
Dragunov then grabbed the title belt and threw it at WALTER as the show went of the air.
This, the tag match from last week, and the promos and videos leading up to the match were probably the best build for any title match in WWE this year. Go out of your way to see the match next week as it promises to be a brutal, hard hitting affair.
Next week:
WALTER defends the NXT UK Championship against Ilja Dragunov
NXT Cruiserweight Champion Jordan Devlin returns to action
Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews confront Eddie Dennis
The first round of NXT UK’s Heritage Cup tournament is set to conclude next week.
In the Heritage Cup tournament’s final first round match, Trent Seven will face off with Kenny Williams on NXT UK next Thursday (October 22). Seven was among the first seven wrestlers announced for the Heritage Cup tournament. Williams qualified for the tournament as its final entrant by defeating Ashton Smith and Amir Jordan in a Wild Card triple threat match.
The winner of Seven vs. Williams will advance to face Dave Mastiff in the semifinals of the Heritage Cup tournament. Mastiff defeated Joseph Conners via knockout in a first round match on NXT UK this week. Noam Dar vs. A-Kid will be the other semifinal match. Dar advanced by defeating Alexander Wolfe in the first round, while A-Kid defeated Flash Morgan Webster in his first round match.
Heritage Cup matches have the following rules:
There will be six rounds for Heritage Cup matches. Each round will be three minutes.
There will be 20-second breaks between each round.
All matches are two-out-of-three falls.
Falls can be won by pinfall, submission, or countout.
Once a fall occurs, the round ends.
Once someone has won two falls, they are declared the winner and they advance in the tournament.
If there’s a disqualification or knockout, the match ends without the need for two falls.
If a match goes the full six rounds, whoever is ahead on falls wins.
The Heritage Cup will be defended as a championship under the same rules following the tournament.
WWE has also announced that next Thursday’s NXT UK will feature a contract signing for WALTER and Ilja Dragunov’s upcoming NXT UK Championship match. WALTER is defending his title against Dragunov on NXT UK the following week (Thursday, October 29). Dragunov & Pete Dunne defeated WALTER & Wolfe in the main event of NXT UK this week. Dragunov pinned WALTER to get the win. It’s the first time WALTER has been pinned in NXT UK.
Two matches have been announced for next week’s episode of NXT UK.
Ilja Dragunov & Pete Dunne will take on WALTER & Alexander Wolfe in a tag team match on NXT UK next Thursday (October 15). The Heritage Cup tournament will also continue on the episode as Dave Mastiff and Joseph Conners face off in a first round match.
Dragunov & Dunne vs. WALTER & Wolfe comes in advance of Dragunov challenging for WALTER’s NXT UK Championship on the Thursday, October 29 episode of NXT UK. Dragunov saved Dunne from WALTER and Wolfe at the end of last week’s NXT UK episode. Dunne had been the special guest referee for Noam Dar and Wolfe’s first round match in the Heritage Cup tournament. Wolfe blamed Dunne for his loss and went to attack him after, but Dunne fought him off. WALTER then came down and helped Wolfe until Dragunov made the save.
Dar and A-Kid have advanced in the Heritage Cup tournament and will face each other in the semifinals. The winner of Mastiff vs. Conners will face the winner of Trent Seven vs. Kenny Williams in the semifinals.
Heritage Cup matches have the following rules:
There will be six rounds for Heritage Cup matches. Each round will be three minutes.
There will be 20-second breaks between each round.
All matches are two-out-of-three falls.
Falls can be won by pinfall, submission, or countout.
Once a fall occurs, the round ends.
Once someone has won two falls, they are declared the winner and they advance in the tournament.
If there’s a disqualification or knockout, the match ends without the need for two falls.
If a match goes the full six rounds, whoever is ahead on falls wins.
The Heritage Cup will be defended as a championship under the same rules following the tournament.
After being delayed by months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, WWE has set a date for WALTER and Ilja Dragunov’s NXT UK Championship match.
WALTER vs. Dragunov for the NXT UK Championship will air on the Thursday, October 29 episode of NXT UK. WWE had been building to Dragunov challenging for WALTER’s title in advance of NXT UK TakeOver: Dublin when that show was scheduled for April. Dragunov became the number one contender to WALTER’s title by winning a 20-man battle royal at a set of television tapings back in March, but NXT UK had to go on hiatus from running events due to the pandemic.
Dragunov and WALTER will also face off in tag team action on NXT UK next Thursday (October 15). Dragunov will team with Pete Dunne against WALTER & Alexander Wolfe. Dragunov saved Dunne from WALTER and Wolfe at the end of NXT UK last week.
WALTER has been NXT UK Champion since winning the title from Dunne in April 2019. Following Tyler Bate and Dunne, WALTER is the third wrestler to hold the championship.
NXT UK is back after more than five months, taping from BT Sport studios in London, England. A good show with three fun matches picked up where things left off back in March.
NXT UK Tag Team Champions Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) defeated Amir Jordan & Kenny Williams in a non-title match. Good action and Williams continues to look impressive. After the match, most of the NXT UK tag team roster surrounded the ring.
NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray and Piper Niven had a confrontation ahead of their title match next week.
Aoife Valkyrie defeated Isla Dawn in a rematch from earlier this year.
Ilja Dragunov defeated Noam Dar in a very good match. Both men look more jacked than before and had a stiff back-and-forth outing. Alexander Wolfe came out near the finish, but Dragunov thwarted him and picked up the win via Torpedo Moscow. NXT UK Champion WALTER then came out for a staredown.
Full rundown —
For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to events in March, NXT UK returned this week with a show taped at BT Sport studios, the home of the brand’s UK television partner.
A cool video opened up the show, with Shawn Michaels and Triple H talking about the hiatus and how hungry the talent is. A video ran down some of NXT UK’s top stars, interspersing match highlights with some of their thoughts.
A brief shot of the very cool looking studio setup was shown before the new intro video to the tune of Wargasm’s God of War aired.
Nigel McGuinness (remotely) returned to the commentary booth and called the show alongside Andy Shepherd (in the arena), instantly making this one of the best commentary teams on WWE television — if not the best.
After the intro, NXT UK assistant general manager Sid Scala was in the ring and welcomed us back. He was about to say what would kick off the show when Ilja Dragunov’s theme played and the Mad Russian walked to the ring.
Dragunov played to the very small crowd of probably local talent before apologizing to Scala, although in a very loud and direct way. Dragunov said he had been waiting for six months. He had been caged and isolated and was waiting for a battle. Noam Dar walked out and told Dragunov he needed some anger management therapy, which prompted Dragunov to dive on top of him and beat the ever loving hell out of the Scotsman. He took Dar’s head off with the Konstantin Special before referees broke the fight up.
Scala said he’d shuffle things around and Dragunov would face Dar in tonight’s main event.
Non-title match: NXT UK Tag Team Champions Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) defeated Kenny Williams & Amir Jordan when Wolfgang pinned Jordan after an enzuigiri/powerslam combo (10:53)
Coffey and Jordan started out and Coffey immediately took him down with a shoulder block. Jordan tried going for a hip toss, but he found himself on the wrong end of a backslide for a two count. Williams tagged in and came off the top onto Coffey’s arm. Coffey also tagged out and Wolfgang found himself worked over by both men. Wolfgang came back with a clothesline on Jordan before tagging in Coffey. He landed a flying European uppercut on Jordan, who found himself in peril in Gallus’ corner.
Wolfgang worked over Jordan’s arm and snuffed out any kind of counter attempt. Coffey was back in, stepping onto Jordan’s neck before trying a number of successive pinfall attempts. The champions kept working over Jordan, cutting the ring in half and keeping him on their side of it. Gallus hit a double-team monkey flip on Jordan before Wolfgang went for a slam but got hit with an enzuigiri, allowing Jordan to make the hot tag.
Williams hit a cool looking rope-assisted hurricanrana before kicking Coffey in the face and then in the chest, sending him to ringside. Williams then scrambled out of a gorilla press and countered into a sunset flip before Wolfgang got the upper hand again and slammed The Luckian to the mat. Coffey hit a German suplex for two before Williams went for a crucifix pin, followed by a slingblade. Williams took down Coffey, then Jordan hit a Swanton off the top and would have picked up the victory if Wolfgang hadn’t made the save.
Gallus then quickly came back with the enzuigiri/powerslam combo on Jordan for the victory.
After the match, Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster, The Hunt, Pretty Deadly, and Ashton Smith & Oliver Carter came out and all surrounded the ring. Imperium (Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) also appeared on the screen, so it looks like they were not in the UK for the tapings after all.
– A Saxon Huxley video aired, with him pushing his own face against a fence. He said his mind had begun to wander during isolation and it was a big mistake releasing him. He said he will be bringing a flood next week. It will be WALTER vs. Huxley on the show.
NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray in-ring segment
KLR said she’ll be defending her title next week. She said this would be a day to rejoice, if she didn’t have to face Piper Niven. She said the two of them defined women’s wrestling in the UK and now they will face off for the title in a WWE ring. She said people will find out why KLR is just that little bit better than Niven.
This prompted Niven to walk out. Niven said she couldn’t remember a time when KLR talked so much. She said since KLR liked talking so much, she should tell everybody how often Niven had beaten her in Japan and in the UK already. Niven said she has KLR’s number.
KLR said that this was what Niven wanted to believe and that she would prove to the world that she’s better than Niven. She said that Niven had never beaten this KLR. She said that Niven should have known better than to trust her.
KLR went to hit Niven with the mic, but Niven blocked the shot and knocked KLR down. KLR immediately slunk away.
– A video on Isla Dawn and Aoife Valkyrie aired ahead of the next match.
Aoife Valkyrie pinned Isla Dawn after a leg drop off the top (5:44)
Dawn was looking to avenge her loss from earlier in the year here in this rematch. Valkyrie locked in a side headlock and took down Dawn. She countered with a leg vice before Valkyrie quickly escaped. Valkyrie connected with a spinning heel kick and went for a hip toss, but Dawn blocked it. Valkyrie hit a reverse crossbody block off the ropes and then went back to the side headlock. They ended up back on their feet and Valkyrie took Dawn down with a headscissors.
Dawn was quickly back on offense, locking in a double-arm submission. She then transitioned into a crossface attempt until Valkyrie powered out. Dawn went back to her initial submission attempt, then Valkyrie countered and hit a head kick. Valkyrie followed with a flurry of kicks, then hit a blockbuster for a near fall. Dawn rolled her up with a near fall of her own, but Valkyrie came back with a unique springboard kick off the ropes.
Valkyrie then went to the top rope and hit her axe kick leg drop to the back of the neck for the pinfall victory.
– Scala talked about the eight-man Heritage Cup tournament. There will be seven announced participants and one wild card entrant. A-Kid, Dave Mastiff, Noam Dar, Flash Morgan Webster, Joseph Conners, Alexander Wolfe, and Trent Seven are the confirmed participants.
– The Heritage Cup drawing was announced for next week, with it also being revealed that Pete Dunne will be a special guest for the drawing.
Ilja Dragunov defeated Noam Dar after hitting Torpedo Moscow (11:49)
Dragunov immediately took down Dar with a single leg, then looked for some ground and pound. Dragunov was using a fighter’s stance and they grappled for position for a bit. Both men seemingly used their time away from the ring during the pandemic to get even more jacked than before.
Dragunov took down Dar with a chop and hit a senton, then sent Dar fleeing to ringside off a charge. Dar tried getting the upper hand, but Dragunov would have none of it. They briefly battled on the top turnbuckle before Dragunov knocked Dar down, but Dragunov then fell victim to an attack on his leg, which sent him tumbling down into the ring.
Dar hit a Northern Lights suplex on Dragunov for a two count before working over Dragunov’s leg which he had targeted just moments before. He also worked over Dragunov’s arm for good measure, looking to dismantle the number one contender bit by bit. They traded strikes before Dragunov hit an Inoki-style dropkick to the head, followed by a wheelbarrow suplex. Dragunov hit a stiff lariat and went for a suplex, but Dar countered into an omoplata. Dar followed with an ankle lock attempt, but Dragunov broke free.
Dragunov hit the Konstantin Special for a close near fall before going back to the top rope, but he missed a foot stomp. Dragunov went for the Konstantin Special once more, but Dar had him scouted and countered, then kicked Dragunov to ringside. Dar followed up with the Super Nova, but Dragunov kicked out at 2.9. Dar tried another pin attempt and then locked in an armbar, but Dragunov powered out of the hold. Dragunov came back with chops to the neck.
Dragunov hit an impressive Gotch-lift suplex and then rolled backwards from a bridge to cover Dar, but Dar narrowly kicked out. Dragunov set up for Torpedo Moscow, but Alexander Wolfe then came to ringside and grabbed Dragunov’s leg. Dar used the distraction to try and roll up Dragunov. He kicked out, then sent Dar into Wolfe and followed up with Torpedo Moscow to get the win.
As Dragunov celebrated his victory, Imperium’s theme hit and WALTER walked out, staring down Dragunov, who dared him to step into the ring with him as the show went off the air.
Next week —
Kay Lee Ray defends her NXT UK Women’s Championship against Piper Niven, NXT UK Champion WALTER faces Saxon Huxley in non-title action, and the Heritage Cup drawing with special guest Pete Dunne takes place.
This was an episode featuring a lot of new content, looking at the upcoming title match between WALTER and Ilja Dragunov. This included a previously unaired match of WALTER vs. Ridge Holland in a true hoss fight, plus a tremendous personality piece on Ilja Dragunov, his upbringing, rough childhood and character.
There also was a cool video on various superstars talking about WALTER and the champion addressing his challenger.
NXT UK will go into a more storyline driven direction as new episodes of the show will start airing in two weeks.
WALTER beat Ridge Holland (previously unaired match)
Ilja Dragunov won a 20 Men Battle Royal to become #1 contender for the NXT UK championship (highlights of the match which previously aired on NXT UK)
Report —
Non-title match: NXT UK Champion WALTER pinned Ridge Holland after a lariat (09:03)
Taped at Coventry Skydome in Coventry, England on March 7, 2020
The two behemoths locked up and WALTER managed to push Holland into the corner. Holland evaded and attack and came back with a strike, then they traded blows. They ran into each other with neither man being able to get the other off his feet. WALTER briefly took over but Holland caught him in mid-air and slammed him.
They briefly wrestled on the outside, but WALTER picked Holland up and threw him on the apron to end his momentum.
WALTER locked in a chin lock, then applied an arm lock, which ended in a test of strength. WALTER got the better of the exchange as Holland bridged on the mat, earning him a kick to the throat by the champion.
Holland came back with strikes and kicks, but quickly was stopped again as WALTER returned the favor from before with a big body slam.
Holland ate a chop and asked for more, but WALTER would have none of his no-selling nonsense and began working over his arm. Holland hit a number of clotheslines and eventually took WALTER off his feet with a huge lariat.
WALTER kicked Holland in the head, but was thrown into the air for a big back body drop. Holland couldn’t capitalize as WALTER locked in the sleeper but got hoisted up into a Torture Rack instead, followed by an overhead belly-to-belly suplex for a two-count.
Holland followed up with a clothesline into the corner, but the champ came back with a big Shotgun dropkick.
WALTER tried for the power bomb but Holland powered out and went for the Northern Grit, which WALTER countered. Eventually, Holland escaped another Northern Grip attempt but ended up on the turnbuckle where Holland hit a power bomb, followed by a body slam into an Emerald Frosion for another near fall.
Holland hit a head butt, but WALTER came back with a Yokozuna-style lifting side slam for a narrow two-count of his own. WALTER clobbered Holland’s chest on the apron, but Holland eventually blocked the attack and returned the favor.
Holland ended up at ringside as Alexander Wolfe ran in but got disposed of by Holland. The distraction was enough for WALTER to kick Holland in the head as he re-entered the ring, followed by a big lariat for the pinfall victory.
WALTER and Wolfe briefly celebrated in the ring.
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— A look at WALTER
William Regal, Drew McIntyre, Adam Cole and Timothy Thatcher talked about the phenom that is WALTER as highlight clips from his matches aired. McIntyre said he first laid eyes on WALTER in wXw, where he stuck out due to his size. Cole said that when WALTER chops you, it’s like your soul is leaving your body. Thatcher said that now that WALTER had some time off to train even more, he will be even more unstoppable. The video is really fun and can also be seen here on NXT UK’s Twitter account.
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— A cool video aired, hyping the return of NXT UK on September 17
— Another video looked at the NXT UK tag team scene, calling it the “best kept secret in WWE”. It may just actually be that with Gallus, Imperium, The Grizzled Young Veterans, Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster, Pretty Deadly, Kenny Williams & Amir Jordan, The Hunt and Ashton Smith & Oliver Carter delivering high quality matches on a regular basis.
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— Unbesiegbar – The Ilja Dragunov Story
As childhood pictures of him filled the screen, Ilja talked about how he moved with his mother and part of his family from Russia to Germany when he was five years old after the Soviet Union had broken down. Crime was high and a good and safe life was no longer possible for them, looking for a better life.
He said while he was just a child and adapted to the new life, his mother left her previous life in Russia. She had been a teacher, but her degree was not accepted in Germany so she had to re-acquire her degree at the university level and held numerous jobs to make things work. He said his mother was his biggest role model.
He said Germany was different and confusing, he didn’t speak the language and none of the other kids would play with him at kindergarten. He kept being an outsider in school and didn’t fit in. He said they had no money for sweets or chips.
He told a story where they lived at an immigration apartment, waiting to get their own place and one day as he was playing outside, he saw a package of Pringles in a trash can with a few left and ate them out of the trash. He felt awful afterwards, but it was the first time he tasted hope and had the taste of a better life.
Ilja walked through a rough part of Dresden, where he grew up and told a story where a couple of teenagers beat him up on his way home when he was ten years old because they overheard him talking Russian and told him to leave the country or his mother and grandfather would be next. He said this was the catalyst of him wanting to feel Unbesiegbar (“invincible”).
He said he still loves this part of town, as for him, because here he learned about simplicity and that it didn’t matter who you were or where you lived, but just your will to succeed. He said he couldn’t change the past, but had the chance to improve his future.
He said for 17 years of living in Germany, he never fit in and never could express himself. Then he discovered wrestling and things changed, as he could make people feel him when he was in the ring.
He said he was real in the ring, his act there was what he felt and was real madness. He celebrates his life there and that nothing was easy for him. He said he did this for all the people who felt like him – “you can beat us down, but you can’t beat our heart”.
This was a fantastic video and a great look at the man behind the character, probably once of the best personality profiles that aired on any WWE show over the past year.
**********
— WALTER on Ilja Dragunov
WALTER talked about Ilja. He said they grew up in the same system, shared history and he respects him a lot. He is an honest, hard working man who shares the same passion for the sport.
He said everyone they put in front of him was a great competitor, naming Trent Seven, Tyler Bate and Pete Dunne. But he said when they meet, it will be the greatest fight of Ilja’s life.
He said he made him and this time he would destroy him. He said one thing that will never change is him being the NXT UK champion and the one that was chose to protect and restore the honor of this great sport.
**********
Ilja Dragunov won a 20-men Battle Royal to become the #1 contender to the NXT UK Championship
Taped at Coventry Skydome in Coventry, England on March 7, 2020, previously aired on NXT UK on April 2,2020
They showed highlights of the battle royal, before joining the match in progress near the finish.
Tyler Bate, Joe Coffey, Alexander Wolfe and Ilja Dragunov were the final four and initially paired off but switched opponents a few times.
Coffey hit the Glasgow Sendoff on Dragunov and Bate in the corner, but got hit with a dropkick by Wolfe.
Wolfe threw him over the top and then threw Dragunov into him to bounce Joe Coffey off the apron for the elimination.
Alexander Wolfe beat down Bate, but Dragnuov eliminated him with a running clothesline to get down to the final two.
Bate and Dragunov battled it out with Dragunov hitting a running senton, followed with a few stiff chops to Bate’s neck. Bate lifted Dragunov up and looked to get him over the rope and then landed a punch to Dragunov’s jaw.
Bate caught Dragunov off a bodypress and then hit an overhead suplex on him. He followed with the running shooting star and Dragunov looked out of it. Dragunov escaped the airplane spin and hit a hard lariat, but Bate came back with a slingshot lariat seconds later. Dragunov was sent into the ropes and hit the Six One Line/Konstantin Special on Bate.
They traded offense until both men were on their knees. Bate ended up in the bottom rope on the outside and looked to suplex Dragunov over, but Dragunov also switched over onto the apron.
Bate went for another suplex, but Dragunov escaped and threw him back into the ring and then hit a top rope senton. Dragunov went for Torpedo Moscow, but got hit with a kappa kick.
Dragunov then back body dropped Bate over the top where the Big Strong Boi dangled for a few seconds before looking to skin the cat. Bate was then hit by Torpedo Moscow mid-move to be eliminated for the win.
Next week:
A huge announcement about the future of NXT UK
A look at the rivalry between Kay Lee Ray and Piper Niven and an announcement when the NXT UK Women’s championship would next be defended
This was top-to-bottom probably one of the best episodes of NXT UK. They picked four great matches from the past 12 months for this Hidden Gems-style special episode. The main event of Ilja Dragunov vs. A-Kid was particularly great and you should go out of your way to watch it.
Toni Storm pinned Deonna Purrazzo after hitting Storm Zero in a fun, hard-hitting match that saw Purrazzo dominate. Great things will be in her future, and any company should look to pick her up once things get back to normal.
Matt Riddle pinned Ligero after a top rope Broton in another hard-hitting match that showed off the strengths of both men.
Shayna Baszler defeated Isla Dawn by submission with the Kirifuda Clutch in a fun battle that showed off what a destroyer Baszler is, with Dawn getting a few hope spots in.
Ilja Dragunov pinned A-Kid after hitting Torpedo Moscow in one of the best matches in the brand’s history. It would have fit right in on any TakeOver special or any NJPW show of the past few years. This was an athletic strong-style battle with a lot of drama and great crowd reactions. Both men are great and A-Kid will hopefully be able to show off his talent on a national stage at some point. Both of these men should be regulars on NXT at least.
Full rundown —
After a few weeks of highlight/best-of shows, we were back with some original content this week. Tom Phillips opened the show, announcing that him and Andy Shepherd would present four previously unaired matches, which had been filmed at various tapings.
Toni Storm pinned Deonna Purrazzo after hitting Storm Zero (11:14)
This match was taped on June 14, 2019 at Download Festival. Storm was NXT UK Women’s Champion at the time and retained her title. They only showed quick highlights of the entrances and the match started right away.
The announcers talked about both women being in the Mae Young Classic in 2018, which Storm won. Purrazzo had the early advantage and worked over Storm’s arm, but the champ quickly came back with some wristlocks of her own.
They went back and forth on the mat, with Purrazzo escaping a headscissors via headstand and then gesturing to Storm to bring it. Storm found herself in the same predicament Purrazzo was in, but instead of a headstand, she just backtracked her way out of the hold.
Purrazzo slapped Storm’s hand away as she went for a handshake, but Storm hit a number of European uppercuts and then locked in a single-leg Boston crab. Purrazzo quickly grabbed the ropes to escape, but she got booted down by Storm for a two count seconds later.
Purrazzo worked over Storm’s shoulder and upper arm, including stomping away at them in the corner. Purrazzo locked in a combined leg-and-neck lock, then kept at it with strikes and clotheslines. Purrazzo stomped on Storm’s elbow and scored another near fall.
Storm came back with a headbutt and some strikes, but she got caught with a flatliner. Purrazzo then immediately locked in a Koji clutch. Storm escaped and the two women once more traded strikes as the crowd went yay-boo.
Storm countered a whip-in into three consecutive German suplexes, then went for Storm Zero, but couldn’t lock it in due to her injured arm. Purrazzo came back with another attack and another near fall. Storm whipped her into the ropes and stopped her in her tracks with a stiff headbutt to the shoulder, but the subsequent cover only netted a two count for the champion.
Purrazzo locked in an armbar, then transitioned into a Rings of Saturn that had Storm in big trouble, especially when Purrazzo also hooked one of Storm’s legs. Storm finally made the bottom rope, but was down on the mat in pain.
Purrazzo hit a number of chops — until Storm followed her into the ropes, hit a clothesline, and finally hit Storm Zero for the pinfall victory.
Matt Riddle pinned Ligero after a top rope Broton (8:29)
This match was taped on July 20, 2019 in Plymouth, England.
Ligero wore elaborate shoulder pads that matched his mask. They fist-bumped to start the match and Riddle immediately hit a beautiful one-armed takedown slam, then played to the crowd. Riddle followed with a headlock takeover, which Ligero countered into a headscissors. Riddle escaped and went for a soccer kick, but Ligero ducked and rolled Riddle up, then locked in a side headlock of his own. Riddle powered out and hit a German suplex to escape. He then missed a head kick and Ligero hit a hurricanrana to take Riddle down.
Riddle hit two rolling gutwrench suplexes to score a two count, then kicked Ligero in the head and the face. Riddle worked Ligero over in the corner, hit an exploder, and followed with the Broton and another kick. Riddle hit an extended vertical suplex into a Jackhammer for another two count, which prompted “Goldberg” chants from the crowd.
Riddle hit another Broton and then went to the top rope for the Floating Bro, but Ligero jumped up and hit a top rope German that saw Riddle land on his shoulder. Ligero took him down with a combination, but Riddle ducked an enzuigiri and went for a deadlift German, which Ligero moonsaulted out of. They ended up at ringside and Ligero did a headstand on the apron, then sent Riddle flying with spinning headscissors.
Back in the ring, Ligero scored another two count, after which he hit some creative offense to dominate Riddle. He hit a splash from the top and middle ropes for another two count, prompting the crowd to chant “This is awesome.”
Riddle ducked a kick by Ligero and picked him up for a powerbomb, then hit Bro Derek and a top rope Broton for the win.
Shayna Baszler defeated Isla Dawn by submission with the Kirifuda Clutch (8:39)
This match was taped on June 15, 2019 at Download Festival. Like with the Storm match, Baszler was NXT Women’s Champion at the time and retained her title.
They locked up and Baszler backed Dawn into the corner, then kicked her leg away on the break. Dawn then backed Baszler in the corner and broke clean, but Baszler turned her around and kicked her legs away again.
Dawn scored a number of near falls, including after a float-over suplex, after which Baszler scurried to ringside. Dawn missed a baseball slide to the outside and ended up getting thrown into the ring steps. Back in the ring, Baszler hit a kick to the back, then stomped on Dawn’s left elbow and locked in a double wristlock.
Dawn used a surprise roll-up, but quickly found herself at the receiving end of Baszler dealing out punishment again. Baszler kept working over the arm for a few minutes with attacks and submission holds.
Dawn pulled down the top rope as Baszler came charging and sent her to the outside, then took over the match with a back suplex. But she fell victim to Baszler once more, with Baszler picking her up for a gutwrench suplex and then unceremoniously dropping her on her arm.
Dawn hit a beautiful head kick, but Baszler stopped her momentum with a forward-roll kick, a knee to the face, and finally locked in the Kirifuda Clutch for the submission victory.
– Tom Phillips talked about the last match and how you never know what you may see in NXT UK, as some title holders may come in to defend their championships. He then transitioned to Andy Shepherd for a video chat with the new number one contender to the NXT UK Championship, Ilja Dragunov.
Shepherd asked Dragunov how he kept himself prepared and Dragunov quoted one of his mentors, who once told him “How do you not get tired of working? You just don’t stop working.” Dragunov said he does not need to prepare — he was born prepared.
Shepherd asked why Dragunov thought he could beat WALTER, which no one else in NXT UK has done before. Dragunov brought up Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate, and Joe Coffey as men who had succumbed to WALTER, but Dragunov said he has the will to beat WALTER.
Dragunov said you have to be willing to suffer through the pain — but he eats pain. He said you have to be willing to fight so intense — but he is intensity. Dragunov said WALTER will make a mistake and he will capitalize on it. Dragunov also promised that this match will redefine violence.
– Next week, NXT UK will take a look at the Rise of Imperium.
Ilja Dragunov pinned A-Kid after hitting Torpedo Moscow (13:14)
This match was filmed during the most recent set of NXT UK tapings on March 6, 2020 in Coventry, England.
They locked up and A-Kid ended up on the middle turnbuckle, but nothing came of it. He took Dragunov down and rolled into a cover, but the Mad Russian easily kicked out.
They ended up trading submissions on the mat, with A-Kid getting the better of the exchange. A-Kid applied a bow-and-arrow submission, various arm locks, and a tight neck vice. Dragunov locked in a side headlock but got taken down with a high-angle arm drag by A-Kid, who transitioned into an armbar and then a quick roll-up.
Dragunov applied an overhead wristlock that had A-Kid on his back, but he bridged out and flipped over into another neck vice. They had a standoff with Dragunov telling him to bring it. A-Kid grabbed Dragunov’s fingers, but Dragunov hit a hard chop and a senton, then hit a cartwheel into a crossbody.
A-Kid ended up on the outside. Dragunov hit an enzuigiri as he went to enter back into the ring, then hit an overhead karate chop from the top rope to the outside. Back inside, A-Kid thwarted a top rope senton and then hit a German suplex.
A-Kid hit an overhead Northern Lights suplex, then flipped over backwards into an armbar. Dragunov picked him up for a powerbomb and they both plunged into the top rope. A-Kid hit a top rope crossbody for another two count.
Dragunov picked A-Kid up, then clobbered him with a stiff lariat. Dragunov hit a Konstantin Special that almost took A-Kid’s head off and saw him land right on the back of his neck. A-Kid hit a Pele kick to Dragunov’s arm, but Dragunov came back with a single-leg dropkick and a high-angle German for another close two count.
A-Kid stopped Dragunov’s chops with a wristlock, then tried going for an ankle lock, after which both men traded some stiff kicks to the head. A-Kid stopped Dragunov on the top rope with a running enzuigiri, then hit a top rope Spanish Fly and a leg lariat for a 2.9 count.
A-Kid was pumped up in the corner, but charged right into an amazing twisting spinebuster, followed by a top rope senton. Dragunov then hit Torpedo Moscow for the win. This was a tremendous match — one of the best in the brand’s history.
Dragunov shook A-Kid’s hand after the match, then celebrated on the top rope as the show went off the air.
This show was taped at Coventry Skydome in Coventry, England, on March 7th.
The Big Takeaways
Jinny & Kay Lee Ray beat Dan Luna & Piper Niven when KLR pinned Luna after a Gory bomb.
Xia Brookside beat Amale with her new finisher, the Broken Wings.
Ilja Dragunov won a very good 20 man battle royal, eliminating Tyler Bate last to become the new #1 contender to WALTER’s NXT UK Championship.
Show Recap:
The show opened with most of the battle royal participants cutting promos on why they were going to win.
Jinny & NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray defeated Dani Luna & Piper Niven (7:09)
Niven held back Luna as she wanted to start the match against KLR. As she was getting ready, KLR tagged out to Jinny, prompting Niven to tag out to Luna, so Jinny and Luna eventually started.
Luna started strong and caught Jinny off a body press and then disposed of KLR with an axe kick as she looked to interfere. KLR pulled Niven down from the apron, resulting in Luna getting distracted and Jinny hitting a rolling kappa kick to take over. KLR tagged in and hit a front suplex and then locked in a sitting abdominal stretch, raining down some blows on Luna. Jinny tagged in and locked Luna with the Iron Octopus, but Luna came back with some offense of her own. Jinny locked in a front face lock, but Luna suplexed her way out of the move before finally tagging in Niven.
Niven ran wild on Jinny and then hit a spinning fisherman buster on Jinny for a two count. Jinny hit a forearm and went for a hurricanrana, but Niven powerbombed her into the corner, hit the rolling cannonball, and went for a Vader Bomb. KLR tried kicking her off the ropes, but Niven caught KLR’s foot leading to Jinny also attacking. Niven and KLR had a brief scuffle, but Luna got tagged in and hit a deadlift German suplex on KLR.
KLR snapped Luna’s neck on the bottom turnbuckle while Jinny threw Niven into the ring steps on the outside. Luna made a brief comeback, but got overwhelmed by Jinny and KLR after which KLR hit the Gory Bomb on her for the pinfall victory.
– A video on Gallus aired.
Xia Brookside defeated Amale (2:59)
Amale got a wristlock right away, but Brookside flipped out of it and tripped Amale, taking her down once more with a bodypress. Brookside got a shoulderlock, but found her arm rung at the hands of Amale and ended up on the mat. Amale locked in a chinbar while trapping the arm, which gave Brookside some trouble. Amale transitioned into a hammerlock, but Brookside escaped via a snapmare. Brookside hit a twisting head scissors before hitting double knees to the back of Amale’s head followed by Broken Wings for the win.
Ilja Dragunov won a 20 man battle royal to become the #1 contender to the NXT UK Championship (28:36)
The field: Ilja Dragunov, Trent Seven, Tyler Bate, Joe Coffey, Ridge Holland, NXT Cruiserweight Champion Jordan Devlin, Alexander Wolfe, Noam Dar, Tyson T-Bone, Dave Mastiff, Kassius Ohno, Travis Banks, Saxon Huxley, Flash Morgan Webster, A-Kid, Kenny Williams, Amir Jordan, Ashton Smith, Oliver Carter, and Ligero.
Seven and Bate were introduced first and after sizing each other up, they walked to the ring and posed together. Joe Coffey came out next before a few hype videos interrupted the entrances. When we got back to the battle royal, almost everybody was in the ring, but Dragunov, Holland and Wolfe still got full entrances. Everybody looked at each other for a while after the bell sounded.
Order of elimination:
Kassius Ohno was looking to be allies with Jordan Devlin and Flash Morgan Webster, but quickly got eliminated by everyone.
Saxon Huxley eliminated Kenny Williams and then got into it with Tyson T-Bone.
Joe Coffey eliminated Flash Morgan Webster with a shoulderblock as Webster looked to launch himself back into the ring from the apron
Amir Jordan eliminated Saxon Huxley with a head scissors over the top. Holland threw out A-Kid, but he managed to land on Huxley, locked in a choke, got Huxley on his knees by ringside, and made it back into the ring.
Travis Banks eliminated Tyson T-Bone.
Mastiff eliminated Travis Banks
Mastiff eliminated Amir Jordan.
Ridge Holland eliminated Ashton Smith by launching Oliver Carter into him. Smith ended up on the apron and Holland threw Carter into him, but they did their spot where Carter landed on Smith’s back and backflipped back into the ring
Ridge Holland then also eliminated Oliver Carter.
Mastiff eliminated Ligero by launching him over the top onto Jordan and Carter. He then looked to get into it with Mastiff, but Noam Dar broke them up and attacked Holland. came back with an overhead suplex and Dar rolled to ringside
Joseph Conners came out and pounded Holland’s club on the steps, distracting Holland who got eliminated by Joe Coffey and Ilja Dragunov, who then promptly got into it with each other
Joe Coffey eliminated Trent Seven, after Seven and Bate attacked each other after first hitting simultaneous airplane spins on A-Kid and Jordan Devlin. Bate then got suplexed by Dave Mastiff and further attacked by Coffey
Devlin eliminated A-Kid after they battled on the apron and Devlin caught him with a headbutt as A-Kid looked to get back into the ring. He then ran wild on Coffey, Dragunov, Wolfe and Bate
Dar snuck back into the ring and eliminated Jordan Devlin. Mastiff then hit a rolling senton, running senton, and running cannonball on Dar
Mastiff lifted Dar onto the apron and looked to eliminate him, but Dar locked in a guillotine and all the remaining men in the ring eliminated Dave Mastiff
Tyler Bate eliminated Noam Dar with a rolling kappa kick. Bate, Coffey, Dragunov and Wolfe were the final four and initially paired off but switched opponents a few times
Coffey hit the Glasgow Sendoff on Dragunov and Bate in the corner, but got hit with a dropkick by Wolfe. Wolfe threw him over the top and then threw Dragunov into him to bounce Joe Coffey off the apron for the elimination
Alexander Wolfe beat down Bate, but Dragnuov eliminated him with a running clothesline to get down to the final two
Bate and Dragunov battled it out with Dragunov hitting a running senton, followed with a few stiff chops to Bate’s neck. Bate lifted Dragunov up and looked to get him over the rope and then landed a punch to Dragunov’s jaw. Bate caught Dragunov off a bodypress and then hit an overhead suplex on him. He followed with the running shooting star and Dragunov looked out of it. Dragunov escaped the airplane spin and hit a hard lariat, but Bate came back with a slingshot lariat seconds later.
Dragunov was sent into the ropes and hit the Six One Line/Konstantin Special on Bate. They traded offense until both men were on their knees. Bate ended up in the bottom rope on the outside and looked to suplex Dragunov over, but Dragunov also switched over onto the apron. Bate went for another suplex, but Dragunov escaped and threw him back into the ring and then hit a top rope senton. Dragunov went for Torpedo Moscow, but got hit with a kappa kick. Dragunov then back bodydropped Bate over the top where the Big Strong Boi dangled for a few seconds before looking to skin the cat where he promptly has hit by Torpedo Moscow mid-move to be eliminated for the win.
Dragunov celebrated his victory as the show went off the air.
Taped at York Barbican in York, England on January 18, 2020
Quick results —
Tyler Bate pinned Joseph Conners in a very good match.
WALTER and Dave Mastiff were told they would face off in a title match in two weeks.
Jinny announced that Jazzy Gabert was no longer her associate.
Noam Dar defeated Joseph Morrell in a fun little match.
The Hunt challenged Grizzled Young Veterans for next week.
Also next week, Kay Lee Ray and Toni Storm will meet in an I Quit match for KLR’s NXT UK Women’s title. If Storm loses, she can’t challenge for the title again as long as KLR is champion.
Jordan Devlin said he’ll be back in NXT UK when he’s ready to be.
Ilja Dragunov’s “debt” is now paid after he defeated Joe Coffey in a good main event.
Full rundown —
The show started with Joe Coffey watching his loss to WALTER at NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool II, where Ilja Dragunov inadvertently bumped Alexander Wolfe into Coffey’s knee. A video package then aired to build up Coffey vs. Dragunov in tonight’s main event.
Tyler Bate pinned Joseph Conners after the Tyler Driver ’97 (11:40)
Conners repeatedly claimed he was TakeOver-worthy in the past and was critical of Bate. They got into it right away, with Bate getting the better of their encounter. Bate hit a hurricanrana and threw Conners to ringside. Conners grabbed a chair, but threw it down in frustration.
Back in the ring, Bate came back with arm drags and armbars, followed by a monkey flip out of the corner. As Bate sat on the ropes, Conners threw him to the outside this time. Conners then took over, repeatedly beating Bate down and scoring a number of pinfall attempts. Bate came back off a backslide attempt and hit a running uppercut.
Bate hit an overhead suplex and followed with the running Shooting Star Press. He got another near fall shortly after off a roll-up, even though Conners evaded an airplane spin in the process. Conners ducked the rebound clothesline, hit a slingblade for a near fall of his own, but then missed a moonsault.
Bate was on offense, but Conners caught him with a tilt-a-whirl slam. He followed up with a dive to the outside on Bate and then hit a slingshot flatliner. Conners kept stomping away on Bate in the corner, but Bate came back with a koppu kick and a dive over the top rope.
Conners hit a drop toe hold on the outside that saw Bate crash into the chair Conners had dropped earlier. Conners scored another close near fall and went for Don’t Look Down, but Bate countered into a DDT, then followed up with the rebound clothesline and finally hit the Tyler Driver ’97 for the win.
– A video package on next week’s Kay Lee Ray vs. Toni Storm Women’s title I Quit match aired, featuring statements from both women. Storm said KLR was like the worst person you could know and said how this was her one final shot to win back the title.
– A video from earlier today aired. WALTER and Dave Mastiff sat down backstage with Johnny Saint and Sid Scala, with Scala announcing that WALTER will defend his NXT UK Championship against Mastiff in two weeks.
Mastiff thanked them both. WALTER accused them of doing “their guy” a favor and told Mastiff that — while Mastiff may think he’s the best heavyweight wrestler — WALTER is in fact the best heavyweight in Europe.
– Tom Phillips and Aiden English talked about the match but were interrupted by Jinny. She had English help her up on the announce table, mic in hand. She said that the queen of NXT UK would now address the crowd.
Jinny said that ever since she was a little girl, her commands had been carried out. So when her “previous associate” (Jazzy Gabert) disobeyed her, this was the end of her career. She said she doesn’t tolerate insolence or disobedience.
Jinny claimed that she gave Gabert an opportunity and a platform, but she wasted it. She said maybe in the future, she would give someone else that platform — if they were lucky enough to be associated with her. But until then, it was only about her — the queen of NXT UK — and no one would ever disrespect her again.
This was done to write off Gabert, who opted not to re-sign with WWE over the last set of tapings and had also been in a car accident leading up to the tapings, so was not cleared for anything physical either.
Noam Dar pinned Josh Morrell after the Nova Roller (5:30)
Dar repeatedly pushed Morrell into the corner until he pushed back. Dar went for some mat wrestling, then played some mind games with him. Dar slapped Morrell, but got slapped right back.
Morrell displayed some athletic ability, including landing on his feet off a standing moonsault attempt. He hit a triple-jump slingshot moonsault on Dar for a pinfall attempt, then followed with a cradle off a suplex attempt.
Dar came back by kicking Morrell’s knee. He locked in a sleeper on the mat, but Morrell made the ropes. Morrell evaded Dar with a corkscrew backflip off the ropes, but seconds later was hit by the Nova Roller for the finish.
– The Hunt found a chain link fence backstage to cut a promo behind. They took offense to what the Grizzled Young Veterans said about them last week. They claimed that they were The Hunt and the GYV were the hunted. A match between both teams was announced for next week, along with the KLR vs. Storm I Quit match for the NXT UK Women’s title.
– Due to Super ShowDown airing on the WWE Network next Thursday, NXT UK will air at 10 a.m. ET/3 p.m. GMT next week. Also, as announced during TakeOver: Portland, the next NXT UK TakeOver will take place in Dublin on April 26. We should get an idea of the card for that show over the upcoming set of NXT UK tapings in March.
– Jordan Devlin was interviewed earlier in the week. He said his phone had been blowing up, asking him to come back to NXT UK — but he would be back when he was ready to be.
Ilja Dragunov pinned Joe Coffey after Torpedo Moscow (14:52)
Coffey started off with jabs, but Dragunov mostly avoided them. They ended up on the mat, trading holds. They eventually came to a standoff and posed in front of each other. Dragunov hit a crossbody, then hit a kick that sent Coffey to the outside.
Dragunov then hit a jumping body press off the top to the floor and rolled Coffey back into the ring. He missed a double foot stomp and was hit by the Glasgow Sendoff in the corner. They ended up outside once more, where Dragunov was sent into the ring steps, then was clotheslined to the knee and off the apron.
Coffey kept targeting Dragunov’s knee, as Dragunov had inadvertently taken out Coffey’s knee at TakeOver. Coffey hit a second-turnbuckle kneebreaker, then went for a Boston crab, but Dragunov made the ropes.
Dragunov escaped an electric chair into a German suplex attempt and hit the Konstantin Special (previously called the Six One Line by the announcers on NXT UK), then evaded Best for the Bells and hit a hard left of his own. Dragunov hit his Russian suplex for a near fall, but his knee gave out on the bridge.
Dragunov followed up with a senton off the top rope, then tried to go for a Coast-to-Coast, but his knee buckled once more. They battled on the top rope until Coffey hit a top-rope overhead belly-to-belly.
Dragunov came back with a knee to Coffey’s face, but fell victim to a clothesline. Dragunov then side-stepped another Glasgow Sendoff, sending Coffey shoulder-first into the corner. Dragunov hit a DVD into the corner, then finally hit the Coast-to-Coast.
Dragunov set up for Torpedo Moscow. Coffey got back on his feet and went for Best for the Bells and screamed “My Kingdom,” but Dragunov hit his finish a split-second earlier and took out Coffey for the win.
The rest of Gallus then came to the ring, ready to attack, but Coffey held them back and told Dragunov that “he paid the debt” and they were now square.
Next week —
Kay Lee Ray defends her NXT UK Women’s Championship against Toni Storm in an I Quit match. If Storm loses, she can’t challenge for the title again as long as KLR is champion. The Hunt will also face The Grizzled Young Veterans.
