NXT UK’s Heritage Cup tournament will continue with Flash Morgan Webster and A-Kid facing off next week.
WWE has announced that Webster vs. A-Kid in a Heritage Cup tournament first round match will take place on next Thursday’s episode of NXT UK. The winner will advance to face Noam Dar in the second round.
The Heritage Cup tournament kicked off with Dar defeating Alexander Wolfe on this week’s NXT UK. Pete Dunne was the special guest referee for the match. Wolfe and WALTER beat down Dunne in a post-match angle until Ilja Dragunov made the save.
Dave Mastiff vs. Joseph Conners and Trent Seven vs. Kenny Williams are the other Heritage Cup first round matches. Williams was confirmed as the final entrant for the tournament by defeating Ashton Smith and Amir Jordan in a triple threat match on NXT UK this week.
The rules for Heritage Cup matches are:
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.
Next Thursday’s NXT UK will also feature a State of the Union address from NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray. KLR retained her title against Piper Niven in last week’s main event. The match included KLR fighting through a storyline knee injury after a spot where Niven moved out of the way of a knee strike and KLR’s knee hit the steel steps.
WALTER defeated Saxon Huxley in a hard-hitting affair. Huxley got a lot of offense in, but in the end he was no match for the NXT UK Champion.
The first round matches for the Heritage Cup were drawn. After Noam Dar was disrespectful, Pete Dunne got into it with him.
Pretty Deadly defeated The Hunt in a decent tag match.
Kay Lee Ray retained her NXT UK Women’s Championship against Piper Niven. KLR injured her knee as she ran into the ring steps and Niven looked to capitalize on the injury — only to fall victim to an exposed turnbuckle herself, causing her to get pinned.
Full rundown —
– The show opened with a tribute graphic for Joe “Road Warrior Animal” Laurinaitis.
– A quick video recapped last week’s episode before taking a look at this week’s lineup: Pete Dunne presides over the drawing of the Heritage Cup and Kay Lee Ray looks to defend her NXT UK Women’s Championship against Piper Niven.
– We saw that Sid Scala was meeting with the seven announced participants for the Heritage Cup earlier today, telling them to behave and be respectful. Noam Dar kept playing on his phone, so Alexander Wolfe slapped it out of his hands.
Non-title match: NXT UK Champion WALTER pinned Saxon Huxley after a powerbomb (6:09)
Huxley looked to hit a big boot, but WALTER immediately went for the sleeper. Huxley came back but quickly was disposed of and sent over the top rope. WALTER refused to let Huxley re-enter the ring. Huxley picked up the ring steps and threatened to throw them in the ring, but the referee would have none of it. Huxley kicked WALTER in the head and hit a body slam, then followed with a clothesline off the top rope for a two count. He followed up with an elbow drop after which WALTER rolled to ringside, but Huxley followed with a Thesz Press on the outside.
Huxley went for another running boot, but WALTER moved and Huxley got caught on the ringside barrier and ate a chop for his defiance. Huxley sent WALTER into the chairs, but the champion came back with a running kick to Huxley’s back. WALTER picked Huxley up and threw him back-first on the barrier, then hit a powerbomb to the edge of the apron. The referee started to count and Huxley made it back into the ring by the count of nine.
WALTER hit some chops, but Huxley answered with strikes of his own. WALTER locked in the sleeper, then as Huxley started to fade, hit a huge German suplex. WALTER then hit some more strikes and put Huxley on the top for a big butterfly superplex.
WALTER screamed at Huxley in German to get back on his feet, then struck him down again with a chop to the neck and followed with a powerbomb for the pinfall victory.
After the match, WALTER shouted at the camera in German, telling Dragunov that he destroyed Huxley tonight and would do the same to Dragunov.
– We saw a clip from the break with Huxley stumbling down some stairs, where he met Jack Starz. Starz told him he’d get him next time and Huxley pounded a locker and screamed “Next time!”
– A video ran down the rules of the Heritage Cup.
Heritage Cup Drawing
All seven announced participants, sans the mysterious wildcard entrant, were in the ring with Scala. After being introduced by Scala, Pete Dunne came out to his music with a microphone in hand. He said the Heritage Cup was for those who paved the way, like William Regal, Johnny Saint, and Rollerball Rocco. Dunne said he showed the world what British Wrestling was all about and now it was their turn. Scala started drawing the numbers and announced the matches:
Joseph Conners vs. Dave Mastiff
Wildcard entrant vs. Trent Seven
Flash Morgan Webster vs. A-Kid
Alexander Wolfe vs. Noam Dar
Before Wolfe vs. Dar was announced, Dar said there was no need to draw and got into Wolfe’s face. Wolfe, in German, told Dar in no uncertain terms that he would kick his ass. Dar went for a cheap shot, but Dunne caught his hand, snapped his fingers, and threw him to ringside, protecting the integrity of the Heritage Cup.
– Piper Niven was backstage with a few babyface members of the NXT UK women’s division, getting ready for her match later.
Pretty Deadly (Lewis Howley & Sam Stoker) defeated The Hunt (Wild Boar & Primate) when Stoker rolled up Boar for the win (8:00)
Boar and Stoker started and Stoker flipped out of an arm drag attempt, but he got hit with another one right away. Primate tagged in and Stoker managed to tag out. Primate ran wild for a bit, hitting a back elbow and a slam before Boar tagged back in. Pretty Deadly distracted the referee, then used some cheap tactics to pull Boar into the rope, gaining the upper hand.
Boar hit a sit-down powerbomb on Stoker, but he quickly got cut off again and was isolated by the heels. Howley went for some submission attempts, but Boar grabbed his hair to escape. Boar rolled through on a reverse body press by Howley, but he was slammed to the mat once more. Boar finally hot-tagged Primate, who ran wild on both members of Pretty Deadly for a bit. After some brawling with all four men, Boar hit a flying headbutt on Stoker, who kicked out. Boar speared Howley through the ropes, allowing Stoker to roll-up Boar for the win.
After the match, Eddie Dennis turned up near the entrance and talked to Pretty Deadly.
– Wild Boar & Primate went backstage during the break and encountered Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews, who tried cheering them up.
– Scala talked to Dunne and said that next week’s match with Wolfe vs. Dar could get out of hand. Dunne offered to be the special guest referee and Scala made it official.
– A graphic also announced a triple threat match for next week. The participants weren’t revealed, but the winner will become the wildcard entrant for the Heritage Cup tournament.
NXT UK Women’s Championship match: Kay Lee Ray retained against Piper Niven after Niven missed a cannonball senton into an exposed turnbuckle (14:24)
They locked up and Niven threw KLR into the corner. The champ quickly fled to ringside to regroup. KLR kicked Niven in the stomach, then started working over her arm, locking in a standing double wristlock. Niven finally escaped and got on offense, throwing KLR across the ring. She followed up with a headbutt, then locked in a choke and a bodyscissors, but KLR escaped and started working Niven’s leg.
Niven finally escaped and sent KLR to ringside. She followed KLR out and went to send her into the steps, but Niven got hit with a superkick instead, followed by a tornado DDT off the apron. KLR went for a running kick, but Niven moved and the champ smashed her knee into the steps. The referee held Niven back while he called for help and had people check on KLR’s knee. Niven was livid at the idea of the match being ruled a no contest. Two referees looked to help KLR to the back and Niven told her she did not want to win the title this way.
KLR slapped Niven and told her she’d never win the title, then Niven hit her back and dragged her back into the ring. Niven went to lock in a half crab on KLR’s injured knee, but KLR made the ropes. KLR came back with a superkick right on the point of Niven’s chin. KLR then made it to the top rope and hit a somersault senton for a close near fall. KLR picked up Niven, who kicked her injured leg out from under her, then hit a senton for a two count of her own. Niven looked to pull KLR from the corner, but she held onto the turnbuckle and ripped it off, prompting the ref to fix it.
Niven locked in the half crab once more until KLR escaped. KLR went for the Gory Special but couldn’t get Niven up and was hit with a Michinoku Driver. KLR got her feet on the ropes, then got her knees up on a Vader Bomb attempt by Niven. The referee pleaded with KLR to stop the match while she was in the corner, but Niven went for a running cannonball. KLR moved and Niven’s back hit the exposed turnbuckle, allowing KLR to score the pin and retain her title.
After the match, Jinny came out and watched KLR celebrate as the show went off the air.
Next week —
The Heritage Cup kicks off with Pete Dunne serving as the special guest referee for a first round match between Alexander Wolfe and Noam Dar. A triple threat match with three mystery participants will decide the wildcard entrant for the Heritage Cup tournament.
NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray is set to make her first title defense since January.
KLR will defend her NXT UK Women’s Championship against Piper Niven on the Thursday, September 24 episode of NXT UK. The announcement of the match was made on today’s NXT UK episode that previewed the brand’s return to in-ring action.
That return to in-ring action will take place on NXT UK next Thursday (September 17). KLR will speak on the episode ahead of her title defense against Niven, more details for the NXT UK Heritage Cup will be revealed, and NXT UK Tag Team Champions Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) will face Amir Jordan & Kenny Williams in a non-title match.
In her most recent title defense, KLR retained the NXT Women’s Championship against Toni Storm in an I Quit match that was filmed in January and aired in February. As a stipulation of that match, Storm can’t challenge for the NXT UK Women’s title again for as long as KLR is champion.
The tapings for NXT UK’s return are being done at BT Sport studios in London, England with no fans in attendance. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, these are NXT UK’s first events since March.
The virtual roundtable is available to watch below starting at 10 a.m. Eastern time:
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WWE is set to air its first-ever virtual roundtable on YouTube this week.
It was announced today that WWE’s virtual roundtable series will kick off with an episode featuring the company’s Scottish champions. It will premiere on YouTube at 10 a.m. Eastern time this Thursday (April 30).
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre, Women’s Tag Team Champion Nikki Cross, NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray, and NXT UK Tag Team Champions Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) are taking part in the roundtable. They will “discuss what it means to represent Scotland in both WWE and NXT UK, their personal and often entwined journeys to championship glory and what their concurrent reigns could mean for the future of Scotland and the United Kingdom as a whole.”
The virtual roundtable will be hosted by NXT UK’s Andy Shepherd.
McIntyre became WWE Champion by defeating Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 36. He’ll defend his title against Seth Rollins at Money in the Bank on Sunday, May 10.
Cross & Alexa Bliss also regained the Women’s Tag Team titles by defeating Asuka & Kairi Sane at WrestleMania 36.
Kay Lee Ray has been NXT UK Women’s Champion since winning the title from Toni Storm at NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff in August 2019. Gallus won the NXT UK Tag Team titles from Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster at a set of NXT UK tapings in October.
Taped at Coventry Skydome in Coventry, England on March 6, 2020
Quick results:
Kay Lee Ray beat Dani Luna in a quick match, then got run off by Piper Niven when she kept attacking Luna
Finn Bálor faced off with Tyler Bate backstage
Bate will be in a 20-men battle royal in two weeks for a shot at WALTER’s NXT UK title
Ridge Holland beat Joseph Conners in a competitive match
Mark Andrews was attacked backstage, taking him out of the main event
Kassius Ohno beat Kenny Williams
A-Kid and Noam Dar will meet next week
Gallus beat Dave Mastiff, Flash Morgan Webster and substitute partner Trent Seven
Full rundown:
The show opened with a recap video of Finn Bálor calling out WALTER and pinning Alexander Wolfe last week.
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WWE NXT UK Title Match: Kay Lee Ray (c) pinned Dani Luna after the Gory Bomb (02:36)
Luna used her power advantage and hit multiple waist lock takedowns and dazed KLR, then managed a roll-up for a two count.
The champion came back and applied a sitting abdominal stretch, then landed a near fall of her own.
Luna came back with a deadlift back suplex off a missed dropkick by KLR for another two count.
KLR then capitalized on a mistake by Dani and hit the Gory Bomb for the quick win.
After the match, KLR kept attacking Luna and went for another Gory Bomb but Piper Niven ran out to make the save sending KLR packing.
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In a WWE.com exclusive video from after last week, Finn Bálor was shown walking through the backstage area with everyone staring at him, including Johnny Saint and Sid Scala.
He came upon Tyler Bate and they stared each other down. Bate then went to Saint and Scala and asked for an opportunity to “knock Bálor down a peg.”
They told him that opportunity might come eventually, but he would be in a 20-men battle royal in two weeks for a chance to compete for the NXT UK championship at NXT UK TakeOver: Dublin.
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Nina Samuels talked about facing Aoife Valkyrie next week
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Ridge Holland pinned Joseph Conners after Northern Grit (7:45)
They locked up and Holland got the easy advantage. Conners tried some evasion tactics, but got ran over by the massive Holland repeatedly. Holland hit a tilt-a-whirl slam, then rained down forearms on Conners.
Holland stumbled to ringside and got hit with a dive by Conners, who followed with a forearm from the top back inside the ring. Conners worked over Holland’s leg, as Holland tore his quad during his rugby career. Conners pulled him into the ropes from the apron, then kept attacking the leg further.
Conners went for Don’t Look Down but got blocked, then pulled of a small package but Holland escaped. He went for Northern Grit, but also got thwarted. Conners rammed Holland’s leg into the ring post repeatedly.
Holland finally came back with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex when he caught Conners off the top rope, then followed up with a second one.
Holland hit a head butt and a lariat, then pounced Conners halfway across the ring, before collapsing and grabbing his leg. Holland got Conners from ringside, but Conners escaped to the apron on the other side, then launched himself over the top for an STO.
Holland then finally got Conners up for Northern Grit. After some struggling, Holland hit the move for the win.
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Mark Andrews was down backstage grabbing his leg, seemingly after an attack. Mastiff and Flash Morgan Webster were there to tend to him when Gallus walked up and said they had nothing to do with it.
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A video package on Ilja Dragunov aired.
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Kassius Ohno beat Kenny Williams when the referee stopped the match as Ohno had Williams in the Kassius Clutch (6:58)
Ohno quickly got Williams down on the mat, but Williams escaped and turned the tables on Ohno.
They worked over each other’s arms. Williams rolled Ohno up for a two count, then hit some tilt-a-whirl head scissors. Ohno caught him off a body press, but got covered with a crucifix for another near fall.
Ohno pulled Williams off the top rope and worked over Williams’ fingers. Williams came back with some innovative offense, including two dives through the ropes. He hit a double-jump back elbow to the outside, then followed with a dropkick back inside.
Ohno then caught Williams off an attempted wheelbarrow roll-up, hit the rolling elbow to the back of the head, then locked in the Kassius Clutch for the referee stoppage.
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A-Kid was being interviewed backstage when Noam Dar interrupted him and told him his time was over. A-Kid spoke to him in Spanish and Dar replied in French. He told him that he was just “A Kid,” but that Dar was “A Legend.”
A-Kid then challenged Dar for a match next week.
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A video recapped Jordan Devlin winning the Cruiserweight title at Worlds Collide and his history with Travis Banks. They will meet next week.
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Gallus (Joe Coffey, Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) beat Dave Mastiff, Flash Morgan Webster & Trent Seven when Joe Coffey pinned Webster after All the Best for the Bells (9:27)
Seven replaced the injured Mark Andrews.
Seven and Wolfgang started. Wolfgang had the brief advantage before Seven wiped him out with a crossbody and high-angle arm drag. After some quick tags, Gallus singled out Webster as their target of choice and worked him over.
Webster eventually tagged out to Mastiff who ran wild. Webster tagged back in and hit a 450 off the top.
Webster looked to hit poison rana on Joe Coffey but got caught and was put away by the powerslam/kick combo by Mark and Wolfgang, followed by All the Best for the Bells for the win.
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Next week:
Jordan Devlin will defend the NXT Cruiserweight title against Travis Banks. Nina Samuels wrestles Aoife Valkyrie and A-Kid faces Noam Dar.
Taped at Coventry Skydome in Coventry, England on March 6, 2020
Quick results:
Former ring announcer Andy Shepherd is the new color commentator for NXT UK alongside Nigel McGuinness
Finn Balor appeared in NXT and called out WALTER, then thwarted an attack by Imperium
Piper Niven vowed to do something about Kay Lee Ray, who she called ‘evil’
Pretty Deadly beat Dan Moloney & Dereiss Gordon; all four men looked good
Alexander Wolfe demanded a match with Balor for tonight and got it approved by Johnny Saint; Jordan Devlin also was told he’s defend his cruiserweight title against Travis Banks in two weeks in the same segment
Dave Mastiff, Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster got set up for next week
Noam Dar beat Ligero
Travis Banks promised to become cruiserweight champion
Dani Luna vs. Amale went to a no contest when Kay Lee Ray attacked both women
Finn Balor pinned Alexander Wolfe after a 1916 and survived another attempted attack by Imperium mid-match
Full rundown:
Nigel McGuinness and newly appointed NXT UK play-by-play announcer Andy Shepherd welcomed us to the show. Shepherd is the former NXT UK ring announcer and previously called some early UK Tournament shows. They were interrupted by the lights going out and Finn Balor’s music playing.
Balor came out, said his name and that he wasn’t hear to pop ratings but to call out WALTER. The champion’s music played and he came out and stared Balor down from ringside. The rest of Imperium appeared and Alexander Wolfe welcomed Balor to NXT UK, said this was Imperium’s domain and vowed to give Balor a welcome. Balor quickly disposed of Aichner and Barthel, then escaped a German suplex attempt by Wolfe and gave him a sling blade before ducking a clothesline by WALTER and escaping to ringside.
Piper Niven was interviewed earlier in the week. She talked about her and Toni Storm being like sisters and she had to come out during the Storm/Kay Lee Ray I Quit Match to talk some sense into Toni before she’d get crippled.
She said she never could have interfered in the match, as Toni would never have talked to her. She said when she comforted a sobbing Toni, she looked up at KLR and saw that she was evil. She vowed to do something about her.
A highlight video on Tyler Bate aired.
Pretty Deadly (Lewis Howley & Sam Stoker) beat Dan Moloney & Dereiss Gordon
Pretty Deadly threw their shirts at their opponents and beat them down. Moloney made a brief comeback against Howley and tagged Gordon, who showed some good athleticism. Stoker tagged back in and together, Pretty Deadly attacked Gordon once more.
An assisted uppercut had Gordon down for a near-fall as Pretty Deadly tagged in and out in quick succession. Gordon finally got the hot tag and Moloney ran wild on both members of Pretty Deadly. Pretty Deadly came back with Deadly Pretty (an assisted Codebreaker) on Moloney for the win.
Alexander Wolfe walked up to Johnny Saint and Sid Scala all agitated and demanded a match against Finn Balor. Saint just looked at him and nonchalantly said “OK”. Jordan Devlin then walked up and declared he was back in the UK. Scala informed him that he would defend his NXT Cruiserweight title against Travis Banks in two weeks.
Dave Mastiff, Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster were at the UK Performance Center when Gallus walked up to talk trash. They agreed to face off in a six-men match next week.
Noam Dar pinned Ligero
Ligero took over early after Dar tried evading him. Dar came back with a dropkick through the ropes onto Ligero on the apron, that sent Ligero to ringside. Dar worked over Ligero’s hand back in the ring, then applied a chinlock. and tugged away at Ligero’s mask.
Ligero threw Dar to ringside, then followed up with a plancha. After Ligero took over for a bit, he went for a handspring armdrag, but got caught in a Fujiwara armbar. Dar attacked Ligero’s legs, then hit the Nova Roller for the win.
Travis Banks was being interviewed about meeting Jordan Devlin for the Cruiserweight title. He promised to be the first ever Kiwi champion in NXT history.
Dani Luna and Amale went to a no contest
Luna threw Amale halfway across the ring, then took her down repeatedly. Amale came back with a hammerlock, but Luna lifted her up with one hand and hit a fall away slam. Just as Luna looked ready to deal out more punishment, Kay Lee Ray ran out and attacked both women for the no contest.
Kay Lee Ray said that now that she had successfully got rid of Toni Storm, she was here to let every girl in NXT UK know that this division belonged to her. Luna briefly attacked her but quickly got taken out with a Gory Bomb. KLR reiterated that the division belonged to her.
A video on Aoife Valkyrie aired, where she claimed every feather she wore stood for a battle she won to become who she was.
Finn Balor pinned Alexander Wolfe
Balor quickly took over with a hammerlock on the mat, then followed with a dropkick off a sunset flip roll-through. He followed up with a sitting cobra clutch but got backed into the corner. He kicked away at Wolfe and hit some chops. Wolfe came back with a backbreaker, then hit some punches.
As Wolfe locked in a waist lock, the rest of Imperium slowly walked to ringside. Wolfe rammed his shoulders into Balor in the corner, then locked in a bear hug. Balor came back with a double chop to the chest, then hit a running basement dropkick on Wolfe.
Balor repeatedly stomped Wolfe while locking eyes with WALTER. He hit a sling blade and went to attack out of the corner, but Barthel came in and grabbed his leg while Aichner looked to attack. Balor fought him off as the referee then ejected Imperium from ringside.
Wolfe hit an enzuigiri and went for a sit-down power bomb, but Balor escaped and hit a double foot stomp on Wolfe, who came back with a bridging German suplex. Balor escaped a fireman’s carry into a slop drop, then hit a running drop kick and hit the coup de grâce, followed by the 1916 for the pinfall victory.
Next week:
Dave Mastiff, Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster will face Gallus in six-men action.
Taped at York Barbican in York, England on January 18, 2020
Quick results —
The Grizzled Young Veterans beat The Hunt, after verbally berating them two weeks ago
Kassius Ohno submitted Jack Starz
Isla Dawn will face Aoife Valkyrie next week, while Travis Banks will also face Alexander Wolfe
A-Kid beat Brian Kendrick in a fun, fast-paced match
Dave Mastiff talked about facing WALTER next week
Kay Lee Ray defended her NXT UK Women’s Championship in a brutal I Quit Match against Toni Storm, when she trapped her head and upper body in a steel chair and threatened to jump on it from the top rope
Full rundown —
The show opened with a video looking at the Toni Storm vs. Kay Lee Ray I Quit match, tonight’s main event.
The Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake & Zack Gibson) beat The Hunt (Primate & Wild Boar) when Gibson pinned Primate after Ticket to Mayhem (9:50)
Two weeks ago, GYV talked trash about The Hunt, so they were out for revenge here.
The Hunt started out strong, taking turns at beating down Drake.Gibson tagged in and turned things around for GYV, before Drake tagged back in.
Drake jumped onto the post from the apron to soften the impact of Gibson getting whipped into the corner. Drake hit a big back breaker on Boar, then followed up with another double-team backbreaker on the outside.
Back in the ring, Gibson hit a hard slam on Boar, then locked in the sitting cobra clutch. Board eventually managed to escape and hot tag Primate, who ran wild for a bit.
He hit an exploder on Gibson, then hit numerous clothesline on both members of GYV in the corner before taking out Gibson with a spear. GYV briefly got the upper hand again, but Prime avoided a Doomsday Device, sent Gibson into the corner and hit another overhead suplex on Gibson.
After some more offense by GYV, The Hunt hit double German suplexes on both, then followed up with an assisted sit-down power bomb on Drake. Gibson thwarted another double team attack and pulled Boar out of the ring, prompting Primate to jump on Gibson on the outside.
GYV then came back with Ticket to Mayhem on Primate for the win.
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A video on Ridge Holland aired, who will be in action next week.
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Kassius Ohno submitted Jack Starz with the Kassius Clutch (5:02)
The back story here was that Ohno critiqued Starz working out at the UK Performance Center during the week.
Ohno worked over Starz’s arm early on. Starz came back with an impressive suplex, showing off his strength.
Starz then rolled up Ohno for a two-count and briefly worked him over, hit a European uppercut off the turnbuckle and a butterfly suplex. Ohno came back with some offense of his own, then locked in the Kassius Clutch for the submission victory.
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Radzi interviewed Isla Dawn backstage, who talked about the strong NXT UK women’s division. She talked about facing Aoife Valkyrie next week.
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Travis Banks was at the NXT UK Performance Center and challenged Alexander Wolfe to a match next week.
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A-Kid pinned The Brian Kendrick after a springboard backflip DDT (6:45)
An angle where Brian Kendrick picked on A-Kid set up this match.
A-Kid held his own early on, forcing the veteran to escape to the ropes. A-Kid went for an arm bar, then followed up with a drop kick, before Kendrick twisted his arm and jumped through the ropes, snapping A-Kids’s head and neck on the ropes.
Kendrick worked over A-Kid’s arm and neck, before throwing him neck-first into the turnbuckles. Kid came back with a dropkick that sent Kendrick to the outside, then followed up with a dive through the ropes. A-Kid then hit a moonsault off the ring steps on Kendrick, then followed up with a top-rope crossbody once back in the ring.
A-Kid hit a tilt-a-whirl arm bar, but Kendrick made the ropes and slid to ringside. Kid went for a springboard moonsault to the outside, but Kendrick hit the rope, causing A-Kid to slip. Kendrick hit a top-rope butterfly suplex, then went for the Captain’s Hook, but A-Kid escaped.
A-Kid then hit a springboard backflip DDT for the win.
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Dave Mastiff talked about facing WALTER for the NXT UK championship next week; he said he was nothing like WALTER, who he said stood for greed and want and said he needed this match.
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WWE NXT UK Women’s Title I Quit Match: Kay Lee Ray (c) made Toni Storm quit when she trapped her head in a chair and threatened to jump onto it from the top rope (12:50)
Storm and KLR immediately went at it, slugging it out before moving to the outside and brawling all around ringside. Toni got the upper hand, slamming KLR’s head into the ring post.
Back in the ring, Storm hit a German suplex off the middle rope, then looked to go for Storm Zero, but KLR dropped to the mat. Toni immediately locked in an STF. KLR crawled towards the rope, but since there are no DQs, Toni just kicked to move in through the ropes, before letting go.
KLR came back with a Tornado DDT, then bent Toni’s neck backwards over the middle rope, but Toni didn’t quit. KLR went for the Gory Special, but Storm turned it into a kind of octopus stretch over the ropes. Toni got a table from under the ring and set it up at ringside.
KLR slammed Toni’s head into the steps, then went for a superplex to the outside, but Toni blocked. Toni tried to hit a German through the table, but KLR managed to escape.
Toni then managed to hit a splash off the second turnbuckle through the table to the outside. Storm went for Storm Zero on the apron, but KLR escaped and threw Toni back in the ring.
Storm came back with an elbow, but KLR managed to pull her to the outside once more and hit a draping DDT off the apron to the floor. KLR got some tape from under the ring, then started tying Storm’s arms behind her back. As Storm was defenseless, KLR started kicking her in the chest and head.
KLR got a chair and was looking to hit Storm in the head, but Storm hit a headbutt that sent the chair flying. KLR then set up the chair and pulled Toni’s head between the seat and back of the chair, then hit a super kick.
KLR then drove the chair to the back of Toni’s neck, before trapping Toni’s upper body in the chair and kicking down on it.
Sid Scala and Johnny Saint came to ringside to protest KLR’s action. KLR then actually jumped onto the chair from the second turnbuckle, as Piper Niven also walked out and was very concerned for her friend Toni.
KLR then went to the top rope and teased jumping onto the chair once more, forcing Storm to quit.
Niven and officials tended to Toni as the show went off the air. As a consequence of this result, Toni Storm won’t be able to challenge for the NXT UK Women’s Championship as long as KLR is the champion.
Next week —
Ridge Holland will be in action, while Isla Dawn faces Aoife Valkyrie. Also, Alexander Wolfe will meet with Travis Banks and his Imperium stablemate, WALTER will defend his NXT UK championship against Dave Mastiff.
The NXT UK Women’s Champion will be in action this Saturday at WWE’s Worlds Collide.
WWE announced Tuesday that champion Kay Lee Ray will face Mia Yim on the Worlds Collide pre-show, scheduled for 6:30 PM Eastern Saturday night, available on the Network, WWE.com, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.
While not specifically referenced, it’s assumed the match is not for Ray’s championship.
The Worlds Collide event will take place at the Honda Center in Houston, Texas, in lieu of an NXT TakeOver, featuring talent from NXT, NXT UK, and 205 Live going head to head.
The current card on WWE Network is as follows:
NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Toni Storm title match
NXT Cruiserweight Champion Angel Garza vs. Isaiah Scott vs. Jordan Devlin vs. Travis Banks in a fatal four-way title match
Finn Balor vs. Ilja Dragunov
Imperum vs. Undisputed Era eight-man tag match
Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa vs. Tyler Bate/Trent Seven
NXT UK concluded a weekend of tapings at the York Barbican Saturday where both the men’s and the women’s titles were defended. Here are the full results from the taping, courtesy of @BritWresAwayDay.
Dark match: Ligero defeated Iestyn Rees
Rees won with a top rope splash. The crowd seemed a lot more lively than the night before.
— The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) cut an in-ring promo proclaiming themselves as the best tag team in NXT UK.
Joe Coffey defeated Amir Jordan
After the match, Coffey addressed Ilja Dragunov and then claimed that Wolfgang and Mark Coffey will beat Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch later in the night.
NXT UK Tag Team Champions Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) defeated Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch
An enziguri/powerslam combination gave Gallus the pinfall victory. After the match, Dragunov ran out but was beaten down by Gallus.
Aoife Valkyrie defeated Amale
This is possibly a retake from yesterday’s taping as Valkyrie won with a double stomp off the ropes once again.
Tyler Bate defeated Joseph Conners
Bate won with a Tyler Driver 97 in a match that was very well-received by the crowd.
— Jinny cut a promo addressing Jazzy Gabert while standing on the commentary desk.
Noam Dar defeated Josh Morrell
Dar won with the Novaroller running enziguri.
Ilja Dragunov defeated Joe Coffey
Dragunov pinned Coffey after hitting a Torpedo Moscow running uppercut. The match was reportedly very good.
The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) defeated The Hunt (Primate & Wild Boar)
Gibson and Drake won with the Ticket to Mayhem double-team lungblower.
Kassius Ohno defeated Jack Starz
Ohno won via submission as he continues to show an emphasis on his wrestling ability.
A-Kid defeated Brian Kendrick
A spectacular springboard backflip into a DDT gave A-Kid the win via pinfall.
NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray defeated Toni Storm in an I Quit match to retain
Storm quit when Ray threatened to stomp her head into a chair. Piper Niven, Johnny Saint, and Sid Scala came out after the match.
Alexander Wolfe defeated Travis Banks
Ridge Holland defeated Saxon Huxley
Holland got the win with an Alabama Slam.
Aoife Valkyrie defeated Isla Dawn
NXT UK Champion WALTER defeated Dave Mastiff
A jackknife powerbomb saw WALTER retain the title via pinfall. Mastiff had been a crowd favourite all weekend and this was reportedly a good match.
NXT UK returns to the Coventry Skydome on Friday, March 6th and Saturday, March 7th for the next set of TV tapings.
In place of a new episode of NXT UK, a Prime Target premiered aired on the WWE Network tonight. I can not recommend watching this enough, as it was tremendous and really hyped all the matches for TakeOver, especially the WALTER vs. Joe Coffey WWE UK title match and the Kay Lee Ray vs. Toni Storm vs. Piper Niven triple threat for the NXT UK Women’s Championship.
I was not too hot on the main event up to this point, but after seeing this, I really am looking forward to the match. They told a great story of Coffey losing against Pete Dunne one year ago and finally getting another chance. They also had great clips of WALTER in his home town of Vienna and the traditional wrestling grounds in the city and of Coffey hanging out in Glasgow, preparing with boxing training and being interviewed at Celtic Field stadium.
They also did a great story of hyping the Women’s title match, focusing on the real-life friendship between all three competitors. All three of them were great while being interviewed.
KLR came across as ruthless and like she would do anything to keep the title, while Storm came off almost obsessed and desperate about winning the title back, saying there was no one that it meant more to than her. The star of the segment was Niven, who was so sympathetic and also bewildered about what became of her two friends. She also got very emotional at one point, bringing up Lionheart, the British wrestler who died in June of 2019 and was her best friend, stating that she lived his dream too by competing in WWE.
There also were segments on the four-way ladder match for the NXT UK Tag Team titles, with Gallus also being featured during the WALTER/Joe Coffey clips, and the Eddie Denis vs. Trent Seven and Jordan Devlin vs. Tyler Bate matches. Between all of those, this could be the best NXT UK TakeOver yet.
The Prime Target special is available to watch below:
Full rundown —
The special opened with a number of NXT UK wrestlers and officials looking all the way back to the first-ever WWE UK Tournament in January 2017. Trent Seven, Tyler Bate, Toni Storm, Nigel McGuinness, and William Regal all talked about the tournament and the city of Blackpool.
Joe Coffey then talked about being in the first NXT UK TakeOver main event in Blackpool and how fond his memories were, as he watched back clips from the match. He said he found respect for Pete Dunne that night.
The scene then switched over to the debut of WALTER at the end of that TakeOver and WALTER booting Coffey in the face. Coffey discussed becoming an afterthought of that match and how it nagged him that he couldn’t get the job done. He said he needed to prove himself and discussed how he might be able to sleep better once he lets the ghosts of that night behind himself.
The next scene then was of Trent Seven and Eddie Dennis grabbing his hand after a match at the recent set of tapings. Sid Scala talked about Dennis being an outsider and people not knowing what he was up to. The next clip was of Dennis decking Seven with a microphone.
Joe Coffey was filmed at an independent show in Glasgow and talked about first seeing wrestling at about four or five years old. He said the first match he ever saw was Nailz vs. Big Boss Man from Survivor Series 1992.
Coffey’s best friend, Jackie Polo, was then shown, talking about them being fans and Coffey once telling him he had a chairs match against Kane the night before when he was about eight years old. Coffey’s mother then talked about him breaking beds by trying wrestling moves on them. Graham McKay, the promoter for British Championship Wrestling, mentioned Coffey telling him he would be a WWE superstar one day.
WALTER was then shown at the SmackDown house show in Vienna last November, where he met some fans and signed autographs. He said he wasn’t emotional about competing in Vienna, but he was proud because of the rich history wrestling had there. He said he wasn’t just representing the UK but all of Europe. He said he would return to Vienna as the WWE UK Champion.
Next up was Piper Niven, who discussed her friendship with Toni Storm and Kay Lee Ray and how much of their careers went in parallel all over the world. They ended up in WWE, and Niven said it looked like Storm and KLR drifted apart.
Storm then said she couldn’t trust KLR, so why should she trust Niven? All she had was herself. Niven said these two were not her friends anymore — she would be in the ring with two strangers.
Nigel McGuinness talked about the triple threat and how KLR got into Storm’s head when she won the NXT UK Women’s Championship from her. Niven said ever since Storm lost to KLR, she was not the same person anymore.
KLR said she didn’t have to do anything, as Storm and Niven took each other out. Storm said nobody needed this as much as she did.
Niven talked about how she at times wanted to quit, but then she thought about her best friend who passed away (“Lionheart” Adrian McCallum) and who’s dream it also was to make it to WWE. She now lived the dream for both of them.
Kay Lee Ray said the name plates on the title don’t read “Toni Storm” — they read “Kay Lee Ray” and they would never say “Piper Niven.” She said she would continue to cement her legacy on top of their broken dreams.
Gallus were shown walking around The Barras, a major market in Glasgow, and then working out together. Sid Scala talked about how they considered NXT UK their kingdom. Wolfgang talked about how they couldn’t wait to get their hands on Imperium. Mark Coffey discussed their recent attack and how it took weeks away from him and he was in physical therapy. They also talked about Ilja Dragunov stepping up and taking a beating by Imperium.
Scala discussed the tag team scene exploding and The Grizzled Young Veterans chimed in, talking about how they were the best tag team on the brand. They said the three-way tag match at TakeOver: Cardiff was an excuse by Scala and Johnny Saint to get the titles off them.
Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster then discussed winning the titles, followed by Gallus talking about beating Andrews & Webster for them. They then cut to the announcement of the four-way ladder match and had clips from some of the classic ladder matches in WWF/WWE history and even a clip of Razor Ramon talking about “not just your precious gold being on the line, but your body and your career.”
Webster and Andrews said they would win the titles at any cost. Marcel Barthel and Fabian Aichner were next and Barthel said a ladder match had nothing to do with what they stood for, but if this was what they had to do to change the NXT Universe, so be it. It would just be a matter of time until they had all the gold.
WALTER next discussed going to the Heumarkt in Vienna the day after the house show. This is the famous open-air ice skating area in Vienna where wrestling tournaments took place during the summer months for decades. WALTER said he saw his first-ever wrestling match there.
Clips were shown of WALTER being at the ice skating rink and talking about his match with Joe Coffey. He said this was inspiring to him and reminded him what was important for him on a professional level.
WALTER said the wrestlers back in that day were gentlemen and not drunk hooligans. He said he didn’t care about being in street fights, as he is a professional athlete. He said Joe Coffey represented hooligan culture and WALTER said if he was a teenager and wanted to impress his friends, that’s what he would do. He said he couldn’t blame Coffey, as he had no idea of the rich history of the sport as WALTER did.
WALTER asked about famous historic figures in Scotland and came up with William Wallace, calling him a wild barbarian who ran around in a skirt. WALTER said he had been to Glasgow and the place was wild, so he really couldn’t blame anybody growing up there for acting the way Coffey did.
Coffey then was shown at the Celtic Park football stadium, being interviewed during a football match on the field with his Gallus brethren. They interacted with some of the players and the interview was shown on the big screen at the stadium.
Next up was Tyler Bate, talking about his WWE UK title match against WALTER at TakeOver: Cardiff. They showed clips of the speech he made at the tapings after the show, talking about how he felt he let the fans down.
This was followed by Jordan Devlin cutting a promo on Bate, telling him that Devlin was the only one who would be able to defeat WALTER. Devlin sang his own praises and said he would show the world how good he was at Bate’s expense.
William Regal then talked about how Devlin vs. Bate would be the match of the year. Bate said he was tired of letting the people and himself down. Devlin said he knew how good Bate was, but he was better. Bate said it was time to see if Devlin could live up to his own hype.
Joe Coffey was back for the next segment in his kitchen and talked about having a boxing match in preparation of his bout with WALTER. Mark Coffey and Wolfgang then once more talked about Joe’s match against Pete Dunne and how he needed a year to get another shot.
While Joe was shown warming up in the boxing gym, WALTER said Joe spent too much time thinking about how WALTER would react when he hit him, calling Joe naive for thinking he could dictate what would happen in their match. He then said Joe should rather worry about WALTER hitting him.
The special then concluded with a great video package running down all of the matches scheduled for Sunday’s NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool II show, using highlight clips and quotes from all the performers.
NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool II —
TakeOver airs this coming Sunday, January 12 at noon ET/5 p.m. GMT on the WWE Network. You’ll be able to read my rundown, thoughts, and analysis on the front page, starting with the pre-show that begins 30 minutes earlier.
Card:
WWE United Kingdom Champion WALTER defending against Joe Coffey
NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray defending against Toni Storm and Piper Niven in a triple threat match
NXT UK Tag Team Champions Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) defending against The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake), Imperium (Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner), and Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster in a fatal four-way ladder match
This was a highlights show with clips of some of the best matches from the brand in 2019.
Full rundown:
Tom Philips and Nigel McGuinness sat in an empty arena and wished everybody happy holidays. They briefly talked about the great year the NXT UK roster had and ran down the announced matches for January 12th’s NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool II.
The NXT UK Women’s Championship
They threw it to the Toni Storm vs. Rhea Ripley match from the first NXT UK TakeOver from Blackpool.
Toni Storm pinned Rhea Ripley after hitting Storm Zero to win the title (14:49)
These were highlights from their match on the January 12 NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool which Dave Meltzer rated ***¼. This was followed by a Storm highlight video and a brief studio promo. She said 2019 had been great and she could not wait for January 12, 2020 to come around so she could become a two-time NXT UK women’s champion.
Kay Lee Ray pinned Storm after hitting a gory bomb to win the title (9:52)
These were highlights from their match on the August 31 NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff which Dave rated ***¼.
This was followed by a video of Piper Niven’s debut and a promo where she said she told her mum as a kid that she would be famous one day. A graphic then announced the Ray vs. Storm vs. Niven match at Takeover: Blackpool II.
The Jordan Devlin vs. Travis Banks rivalry
Jordan Devlin beat Travis Banks in a falls count anywhere match
From the March 6 episode of NXT UK, this was a highlight package of the two brawling and Banks hitting a crossbody off the stands on Devlin who was on the floor.
The NXT UK Tag Team Championship
The Grizzled Young Veterans did a promo from the tapings at Download Festival.
James Drake & Zack Gibson beat Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) in 23:46 after hitting Ticket to Mayhem on Seven to win the inaugural tag team titles
These were highlights from their match on the January 12 NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool which Dave rated as ****½. This was followed by a Grizzled Young Veterans highlight video and Gallus calling them out and Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster joining in on the fun
In a three-way, Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster beat The Grizzled Young Veterans and Gallus (Wolfgang & Mark Coffey) when Webster pinned Gibson to win the titles (20:17)
These were highlights from their match on the August 31 NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff which Dave rated as ****½. This was followed by a promo by Webster and Andrews about their year. They claimed they would climb the ladder and become two-time champions at TakeOver: Blackpool II. A graphic then announced the four-way ladder match between Gallus, Imperium, the Grizzled Young Veterans, and Webster & Morgan.
Forces to be Reckoned with
Dave Mastiff and Joe Coffey brawled to a double countout
These were highlights from their match at the August 7 episode of NXT UK. This was followed by a promo by Mastiff who talked about how he would unleash “the proper British heavyweight: on NXT UK.
Never Bet Against the Ace
Jordan Devlin beat Dave Mastiff after a second rope Devlinside
These were highlights from their match at the October 31 episode of NXT UK. This was followed by a Devlin promo putting himself over. He then addressed Tyler Bate as the two will meet at TakeOver: Blackpool II.
— Tom and Nigel were back, talking about Devlin and then transitioning to Ilja Dragunov. They briefly talked about Dragunov vs. Cesaro from TakeOver: Cardiff.
Dragunov vs. Cesaro
Cesaro beat Ilja Dragunov with the Neutralizer (12:26)
These were highlights from their match on the August 31 NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff which Dave rated ****.
Another highlight video followed showed both male and female NXT UK stars, culminating with Trent Seven and Noam Dar.
Trent Seven vs. Noam Dar
These were highlights from the October 4 episode of NXT UK, a match Seven won.
The WWE UK Championship
Pete Dunne and Joe Coffey signed their contract for NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool
On the January 2 episode of NXT UK, Coffey powerbombed Dunne through a table.
WALTER beat Jack Starz
These were match highlights from the January 30 episode of NXT UK. In his in-ring debut, WALTER punished Starz and left a huge handprint on Starz’ chest. Afterward, Tom and Nigel talked more about the match and Nigel had them replay the chop over and over again while Philips cringed. Nigel then went to chop Tom as the screen displayed technical difficulties and asked us to stand by.
After a graphic for WALTER vs. Joe Coffey at TakeOver: Blackpool II, Philips complained about getting chopped and Nigel told him it was for patronizing his country by wearing a Union Jack pin on his lapel.
WALTER pinned Pete Dunne after a top rope splash to win the WWE UK Championship (25:40)
These were highlights from their match on the April 5 NXT TakeOver: New York which Dave rated ****¾. This was followed by a highlight video, detailing the formation of Imperium.
WWE UK Champion WALTER pinned Tyler Bate after a lariat to retain (42:12)
These were highlights from their match on the August 31 NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff which Dave *****. This was followed by a promo by Joe Coffey who said he’d leave his mark on WALTER and leave with the WWE UK Championship at TakeOver: Blackpool II.
— Nigel and Tom concluded by announcing Ilja Dragunov vs. Alexander Wolfe in a no disqualification match as the main event for next week’s episode of NXT UK.
Team Baszler officially has its final member for WarGames.
After her appearance on tonight’s NXT, Triple H posted a tweet confirming that NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray will be on Team Baszler at TakeOver. The women’s WarGames match will be Team Ripley (Rhea Ripley, Tegan Nox, Candice LeRae & Mia Yim) vs. Team Baszler (Shayna Baszler, Bianca Belair, Io Shirai & Kay Lee Rae).
Team Baszler will have the numerical advantage in the WarGames match. The advantage was on the line in Mia Yim and Io Shirai’s ladder match on tonight’s NXT, with KLR appearing and helping Shirai win.
It was also announced tonight that Dominik Dijakovic is replacing Matt Riddle in the men’s WarGames match. It will be Tommaso Ciampa, Keith Lee, Dijakovic, and a partner vs. The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish).
Dijakovic will face Cole in a ladder match on NXT next week to determine which team will get the WarGames advantage.
Instead of being in the WarGames match, Riddle will face Finn Balor at TakeOver. The show is being held at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois on Saturday, November 23.
Tegan Nox put up a brave fight against the current NXT UK Women’s Champion in the main event. But after focusing on Nox’s recent injured knee throughout the match, it was Kay Lee Ray who grabbed the opportunity and picked up the victory.
Piper Niven overpowered the reluctant Isla Dawn in the opening contest and got the win with the Michinoku Driver.
Alexander Wolfe defeated fan favorite Saxon Huxley with a sit-down powerbomb.
Full Recap —
Nigel McGuinness and Vic Joseph welcomed us to Cardiff, Wales for this episode of NXT UK.
Piper Niven defeated Isla Dawn
Both women told a great story of the bigger vs. smaller opponent here. A simple and well-executed story of the smaller Isla Dawn trying to gain some sort of advantage over the larger Piper Niven — only for Niven’s size and strength to be too much for her in the end.
The crowd was behind both women from the start of the match. Dawn escaped a hammerlock but couldn’t flip the larger Niven over. Niven dominated the early exchanges, using her strength and size to her advantage. Fighting out of a headlock, Dawn tried to lift and suplex Niven but only got her off her feet for a second.
Niven hit a low crossbody for a two count and then went back in control with an armbar and a short-arm clothesline. Dawn fought to her feet out of a straightjacket submission, powered up, and hit her back suplex this time. She followed up with a big boot for a two count of her own.
Dawn fired up with a low-level meteora and kept Niven on the mat with a front face lock. But the stronger Niven fought to her feet and escaped the hold with a headbutt and finished Dawn off with a Michinoku Driver for the win.
– We saw Ilja Dragunov coming out of the trainer’s room. He is still not medically cleared and still can’t fight. Alexander Wolfe bumped into him and with a sly smile on his face said it was a shame he isn’t cleared. Wolfe said he liked him, and to take a rest because he will take his place in the ring tonight.
Wolfe finished by looking Dragunov up and down and telling him he should think about his future…are Imperium looking to recruit?
– Niven was being interviewed after her victory and was interrupted by Jinny, who called herself the next NXT UK Women’s Champion. This was just a distraction for Jazzy Gabert to jump Niven from behind and beat her down.
Later, we saw a tweet from Johnny Saint letting us know Gabert will take on Niven next week.
Alexander Wolfe defeated Saxon Huxley
What looked like it could have been a quick squash for Wolfe turned into a quite a competitive back-and-forth match. Huxley fired up a few times to the delight of the crowd, but Wolfe got the better and put him away with a sit-out powerbomb.
“Lets go Jesus” chants started immediately for Huxley and continued — in various formats — throughout the match. Wolfe pulled Huxley’s knee pad down early on and booted him right in the face when he bent down to pull it up.
Wolfe blocked a suplex straight into an armbar and continued his assault with an uppercut and a suplex. He then pulled at Huxley’s nose and ground his forearm over his face. Wolfe wore him down some more with a chinlock and then clobbered him with a step-up enzuigiri as Huxley got to his feet.
With the crowd cheering him on in different biblical ways, Huxley fired back with a big Thesz press. He hit a dropkick as the crowd was on its feet chanting “Jesus,” but the glory went to his head and he missed a big boot and got caught on the rope.
Wolfe jumped at the chance and smacked him with a pump kick and then a German suplex (or I guess he just calls it a suplex?). He then finished off Huxley with a sit-down powerbomb.
– Ashton Smith was interviewed earlier in the day. The Grizzled Young Veterans interrupted and started talking about win-loss records, slagging Smith off in the process.
Smith fired back by stating that the Veterans had lost their last two NXT UK Tag Team title matches. Smith said they are not locker room leaders as they have no followers. He walked off after saying he will see what happens next.
Mike Bird vs. Jack Starz never got started
Bird came out as the hometown hero here, but the match did not take place as his opponent, Jack Starz, was then dragged out unconscious by Gallus members Wolfgang and Mark Coffey.
Mark had a mic and said the match wouldn’t be taking place as “Jack is seeing Starz.” He listed off Bird’s accomplishments, including training NXT UK Tag Team Champions Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews. He sarcastically tried to shake Bird’s hand, but Wolfgang jumped Bird and began beating him down.
The aforementioned tag champs ran in for the save, but they were followed by Joe Coffey. Joe grabbed Webster before he could slide into the ring. This let Andrews get beat down two-on-one in the ring by Wolfgang and Mark while Joe put the boots to Webster. They then threw Webster into the wolves and finished the planned assault three-on-two.
NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray defeated Tegan Nox in a non-title match
Both wrestlers would have known all about each other as they have previously crossed paths numerous times, but it was the champion’s unrelenting focus on Nox’s injured knee that got her the win here.
KLR tried to leave early on, but Nox caught her on the entranceway and dragged her back to the ring. KLR went low and attacked the knee, which would be the story of the match. KLR wrapped Nox’s leg in the bottom rope and started kicking away at the knee. A face-first suplex got KLR her first two count.
KLR went up top but took too long and missed a senton bomb. She then speared the ring post when Nox moved at the last minute. The momentum looked like it was shifting.
They exchanged right hands to “Boo/Yay” chants from the crowd. Nox fired up with clotheslines, a back elbow, and a running uppercut in the corner. Nox then went up top and hit a Molly-Go-Round for a close two count.
In a great exchange, Nox missed her Shining Wizard, KLR hit a superkick, and Nox then reversed a Gory Bomb and hit a superkick of her own for another close two count.
KLR then hit a step-up tilt-a-whirl DDT and locked in a guillotine choke with a leg scissors, but Nox eventually fought up and slammed KLR out of it.
The initial lock took too much out of Nox, so KLR had the opening to lock it in again straight away. But Nox again courageously dug deep and dragged them both to the ropes to break the hold.
Out of nowhere, Nox caught the champ with a chokeslam for a big near fall. She went up top, but KLR crotched her this time, twisted her knee around the top rope, and gave her a kick for good measure. KLR then picked her up for the Gory Bomb. Nox fought out once more and hit a Canadian Destroyer — but KLR kicked out at the last moment.
The crowd was getting right into this main event now and right behind their Welsh hero. Nox hit the Shining Wizard and it looked like she had the win in the bag, but KLR at the last moment got her foot on the bottom rope to break the referee’s count.
They fought to the apron, with KLR dodging a running kick and causing Nox’s leg and knee to collide with the steel ring post. KLR then quickly dragged her back into the ring and hit the Gory Bomb for the win.
A Women’s title match has been made official for NXT UK’s next TakeOver special.
NXT UK Women’s Champion Toni Storm will defend her title against Kay Lee Ray at UK TakeOver: Cardiff on Saturday, August 31. The announcement was made on this week’s NXT UK television episode.
KLR was set up as Storm’s next challenger by winning a number one contender’s battle royal last month. KLR then attacked Candy Floss on last week’s NXT UK episode after Storm defeated Candy Floss in a non-title match.
Storm cut a promo on this week’s show and mentioned how KLR took her under her wing when Storm first moved to the United Kingdom. She said KLR doesn’t have to attack anyone to get her attention, she’s ready when KLR is. KLR came out and teased facing Storm this week, but she said she’ll make Storm wait until Cardiff. KLR vowed to make Storm’s life a living hell until then.
TakeOver: Cardiff is NXT UK’s second TakeOver special. Storm became NXT UK Women’s Champion by defeating Rhea Ripley at the first special in Blackpool this January.
Storm vs. KLR is the first match to be confirmed for UK TakeOver: Cardiff.
Kassius Ohno beat Ligero after trying to tear off his mask and hitting the rolling elbow. Kay Lee Ray beat NXT’s Xia Li, but not before staring down Toni Storm, who was out to cut a promo before the match. Moustache Mountain beat Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster in a great, fast-paced main event.
Full rundown:
Nigel and Vic talked about tonight’s main event, before we went straight to our first match.
Kassius Ohno pinned Ligero in 10:08 after a rolling elbow to the back of the head
The story here was that Ohno was the bigger and stronger guy and decided the action in the ring for a long time. As Ligero was looking to finally gain the advantage, Ohno resorted to unfair tactics to take the victory. The crowd hated Ohno and were into Liger, but not as much as back in the UK.
Ohno told Ligero to show him what he got and slapped him a few times. Ligero tried a few spots, but Ohno countered, avoided or overpowered Ligero. The Leeds Luchador finally got the advantage off a head scissors that sent Ohno to the outside and followed up with a somersault senton off the apron. He miscalculated on the follow-up though and Ohno once more took over. Finally, Ligero, who was almost out on his feet, managed to catch a kick by Ohno and came back with leg kicks and a running knee to the face and hit a splash from the middle of the top rope for a near-fall.
Ligero went for Sliced Bread off the top but Ohno turned it into tombstone attempt, but Ligero rolled through for another near-fall. As Ohno fled to the outside, Ligero hit a somersault over the top rope, then hit Sliced Brea off the ring steps. Both narrowly made it back into the ring, but as Ligero went for a cutter through the ropes, Ohno caught him, started to tear his mask off and as Ligero was looking to put it back on, Ohno hit the rolling elbow to the back of the head for the victory.
— Jordan Devlin was pissed off that his match with WALTER next week was a non-title match, because Johnny Saint wanted to protect WALTER for “the rematch of the century” against Pete Dunne
— A highlight video for “The Hunt” aired; they’ll be in action next week.
— Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner walked through WrestleMania Axxess and complained about fans thinking they could be champions and how back in the day, you had to work for the privilege of winning a title. They repeated once more their mantra of “The Mat is Sacred” (identical to RINGKAMPF’s motto of “Die Matte ist heilig”).
Toni Storm came out to cut a promo in the ring. She said it was awesome to represent the NXT UK brand on the most important weekend of the year. She talked about all the great women on the brand and said she’s be the champion for a very long time. As she was ready to walk backstage again, Kay Lee Ray’s music hit and she stared Toni down as she made her way to the ring.
Kay Lee Ray pinned Xia Li in 5:25 after the Widow’s Peak
Xia Li got to show off some good offense, but this pretty much was the Kay Lee Ray showcase, as she clearly is being groomed for a title match against Toni Storm.
Li made her NXT UK debut here and Nigel talked about her background as a practitioner of kung fu and how she defended her family back in China after her father’s death when she was in her teens.
Both women traded offense right away but Kay Lee got the better of it quickly. Kay Lee Ray kept the upper hand after some mind games backfired, but Li got to show off some of her kicks, Ray hit a crescent kick and drove Li into the post, then followed up with kicks and strikes in the corner. Li eventually got to show some offense, hitting a snap mare off an atomic drop attempt, a kick to the back and a hard kick to the chest. She missed a double foot stomp though and Kay Lee Ray picked up the win with the Widow’s Peak.
— Piper Niven was signing autographs and was asked about Rhea Ripley, She said that while Rhea was a great athlete, she was looking forward to how she would react to someone a little too big to push around.
— The Grizzled Young Veterans were upset backstage, throwing Amir Jordan and Kenny Williams’ gear out into the hallway, raging on about how they were locker room leasers and Jordan and Williams could get dressed in the hallway.
Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) beat Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews in 12:28 when Seven pinned Webster after a combined Burning Hammer/flying knee drop
These two teams had a tremendous, fast paced match that had great aerial offense, mat wrestling and a good amount of drama. The crowd was into both teams and it was a great showcase for all four men,
Bate and Andrews started out with Andrews gaining the upper hand off an arm bar but Bate worked his way out of it and they traded holds and counter-holds. Both men tagged out and Webster tried tackling Seven off his feet, but failing miserably. He switched tactics and used his athleticism to take Seven down. Seven feigned a chop and as Webster ducked, he hit a quick DDT. After tagging again, Bate hit a somersault senton off the top onto Andrews and Seven worked him over some more, doing a good job of isolating him from being able to tag out.
Finally Webster made it back in, immediately hitting a springboard dropkick on Bate and a springboard moonsault on Seven. The offense didn’t take long though as Bate staged his own comeback, culminating in a double airplane spin/giant swing,. Bate got thrown tot he outside, but caught Webster off a plancha and did another airplane spin on the outside. An exploder later, Seven was back in, but Mark Andrews slid under Moustache Mountain and hit a double Pelé kick on both men, then Andrews and Webster hit stereo somersault planchas to the outside. Andrews then hit an assisted 450 onto Seven for a near-fall.
Moustache Mountain hit a combined slingshot lariat/dragon suplex on Andrews, but Webster came off the top with a somersault senton to break up the pin. Bate missed a slingshot lariat when Andrews slid under him, then hit a reverse rana, assisted by a running knee from Webster. Seven quickly tagged back in and hit a Burning Hammer, assisted with a flying knee drop by Bate on Webster to pick up the win.
Both teams shook hands after the match.
Next week:
WALTER faces Jordan Devlin in a non-title match and The Hunt will be in action.
