Former Gallus member Mark Coffey was back at the WWE Performance Center this week for a guest-coaching stint.
In an Instagram post, Coffey shared that he had a “fantastic” time returning to NXT as a guest coach. He’s now flown back home to Scotland to compete for Insane Championship Wrestling in a match against Saxon Huxley this Sunday.
“Fantastic time coaching this week at The WWE PC for @wwenxt,” Coffey wrote while sharing photos of himself with NXT coach Johnny Moss and other personnel.
Coffey, his brother Joe Coffey, and Wolfgang spent several years with WWE before being released in May 2025. They competed on NXT and NXT UK during their time with the company, with Mark holding the NXT UK Tag Team titles and Heritage Cup Championship. Behind the scenes, all three members of Gallus helped work with The Rock as he trained for his in-ring return at WrestleMania 40.
It was recently announced that the Coffey brothers and Wolfgang have signed with MLW, where they will now be using “GBOT” (Gallus Boys on Top) as their faction name.
The WWE Performance Center also had another visitor this week with Ricky Morton, a tag team legend as one-half of The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express, guest coaching.
Two members of former WWE NXT faction Gallus are set to debut for MLW this month.
Scottish brothers Joe & Mark Coffey are the latest entrants confirmed for MLW Battle Riot VIII, a 40-man battle royal that’s being held in Kissimmee, Florida on January 29. It’s an anything goes Royal Rumble-style match where eliminations occur by pinfall, submission, or being thrown over the top rope. The winner earns a future shot at the MLW World Heavyweight Championship that is currently held by Mads Krule Krugger.
Both Coffey brothers (and their Gallus faction mate Wolfgang) were released by WWE in May 2025. They spent time in both NXT UK and NXT while with WWE, with Mark Coffey being a former NXT UK Tag Team Champion and Heritage Cup Champion. Joe & Mark are both free agents and are taking bookings internationally.
Among the other Battle Riot participants will be Alex Hammerstone, Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Killer Kross, KUSHIDA, Templario, Bishop Dyer, Donovan Dijak, Adam Brooks, Ikuro Kwon, Okumura, Matthew Justice, Paul London, Mr. Thomas, Diego Hill, Jesus Rodriguez, and Austin Aries.
MLW’s YouTube channel is broadcasting the Battle Riot event live. So far, only two matches have been announced for the card:
MLW Battle Riot VIII (Thursday, January 29) —
40-person Battle Riot match for future MLW World Heavyweight Championship shot
MLW Middleweight Champion Templario defends against Kushida
The Gallus group from NXT UK appeared on Tuesday’s WWE NXT Heatwave show, attacking members of Diamond Mine.
During an in-ring promo segment teasing dissension between Roderick Strong and The Creed Brothers of Diamond Mine, Gallus’s Mark Coffey, Joe Coffey, and Wolfgang appeared, attacking Diamond Mine and leaving them laying.
Later on Heatwave, Gallus was involved in a pull-apart backstage with Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen, the current NXT UK Tag Team Champions. Briggs and Jensen captured the vacant titles on the June 23 episode of NXT UK.
Mark Coffey and Wolfgang are former NXT UK Tag Team Champions, holding the titles from October 2019 until February 2021 when they lost the titles to Pretty Deadly.
Joe Coffey headlined NXT TakeOver: Blackpool in January 2019, unsuccessfully challenging Pete Dunne in a WWE United Kingdom Championship title match. Joe Coffey was suspended by WWE in June 2020 after allegations against him surfaced as part of the #speakingout movement. He was reinstated in October 2020.
Amale dominated early. She caught Brookside off a body press and slammed her before getting a near fall with a suplex. Brookside foiled a corner attack, then stomped Amale. Brookside kept up her offense and locked in a Camel Clutch, which Amale eventually broke.
They traded strikes, with Amale getting the better of the exchange. “The French Hope” hit a Northern Lights suplex on Brookside for another two count. Brookside countered the Hopebreaker into a sunset flip and leg submission.
Brookside evaded a running knee in the corner but still ate one at ringside against the barricades. As Amale stood by the barricades, she suddenly was yanked against the barrier by the hair by an unknown woman (Lizzy Evo, a notable name on the UK indie scene), who also clotheslined Amale before vanishing into the crowd. Brookside then hit Broken Wings for the pinfall victory.
The woman then joined Brookside in the ring for a celebration.
– Isla Dawn cut a creepy promo on Meiko Satomura. Dawn had the NXT UK Women’s Championship belt that she stole and basically said she was holding it hostage until Satomura gave her what she wanted. Dawn never said what that was.
– A video hyped next week’s NXT UK Championship match between Ilja Dragunov and Roderick Strong, with a number of NXT UK talent giving their thoughts on the bout.
NXT UK Tag Team champion Trent Seven (w/ Tyler Bate) defeated Ashton Smith (w/ Oliver Carter)
The two traded power spots early until Seven got an early two count after a leg drop. Smith escaped an attempted Cobra Clutch, then hit a huge powerslam, a Snake Eyes, and a running shoulder block for a two count of his own.
Smith caught Seven coming off the top rope, then hoisted him up into a vertical suplex in a vulgar display of power. Seven came back with a huge superplex, but he couldn’t get the win with the subsequent pin.
Smith hit a clothesline after evading the Seven Star Lariat. Seven countered a sunset flip into one of his own and grabbed the ropes, which Tyler Bate disapproved of, so he let go. Seven then scored the pin with a handful of tights, which Bate also visibly was not happy about.
– A-Kid talked about facing Teoman soon.
– Wild Boar vowed to get his hands on Eddie Dennis.
– Moustache Mountain and Smith & Carter argued about the match result backstage. Sid Scala turned up and said they’d settle the issue in his office next week.
Tate Mayfairs defeated Kenny Williams by countout
Williams repeatedly refused to finish the match, pulling Mayfairs up from pinfalls. Eventually, Mayfairs laid motionless on the mat when Sam Gradwell appeared from under the ring. Gradwell chased Williams off and rolled Mayfairs into the ring, allowing Mayfairs to win by countout.
– Wolfgang talked about Mark Coffey being ready for his Heritage Cup match against Noam Dar tonight. Die Familie appeared and talked trash to Wolfgang. Charlie Dempsey then challenged him to a match, which will happen next week.
– Ilja Dragunov and Roderick Strong had a sit-down interview ahead of their title match next Thursday. This was really great. Strong said he respects Dragunov and Dragunov is at the top of his list. Strong said he’s held many titles but also lost them — and nothing pained him more than saying he “was” a champion. Dragunov has never experienced that with the NXT UK title — and Strong would be interested to see how Dragunov bounced back from that. Dragunov vowed that he won’t be the one losing.
NXT UK Heritage Cup Championship match: Noam Dar (w/ Sha Samuels) retained against Mark Coffey (w/ Joe Coffey) two falls to one in round five
Round One —
The round was pretty even. Dar drank from a hip flask that Samuels handed him. Dar used submissions late in the round as the clock ran out.
Round Two —
They went back and forth and Dar caught Coffey with a small package at 1:10 of the round. Dar 1-0
Round Three —
Coffey was dominant and scored a pin at 1:25 of the round after hitting an enzuigiri as Dar came off the ropes. Coffey 1-1
Round Four —
Coffey dominated the whole round until Dar caught him with the kneebar very late. Coffey was saved by the bell as he was writhing in pain.
Round Five —
Dar attacked early but was quickly overwhelmed. Coffey applied a Gator Lock and Dar looked like he was about to tap, but Samuels got on the apron and distracted Coffey. Joe Coffey also got in the ring. And as the referee was looking to restore order, Dar hit the Nova Roller for the deciding pinfall at 1:38 of the round to win 2-1.
Final Thoughts —
The main event was good, as basically always is the case when Noam Dar wrestles. Trent Seven vs. Ashton Smith was really good, with the gradual turn of Seven who cheats out of despair continuing. The debut of Lizzy Evo adds to Xia Brookside’s character, and the Sam Gradwell/Kenny Williams feud also got extended. More of a building block show for the future.
Next Week —
NXT United Kingdom Champion Ilja Dragunov defends against Roderick Strong
The show opened with a graphic dedicated to the late, great “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff.
Triple H then talked about how on October 29, 2020 the world had seen one of the best and most brutal matches in WWE history and how WALTER was the longest-reigning champion of the modern era, who defended his championship both in the UK and the US. He also called Ilja Dragunov one of the hardest working men in wrestling and an enigma and was proud to give us the rematch of that epic battle next week.
We then cut to the champion and his challenger sitting at a table in the ring alongside Sid Scala to sign the contracts for their match next week.
WALTER and Ilja Dragunov contract signing —
They actually had press in the front row to ask questions. WALTER was asked if he thought his reign was under threat. He said no, because he was in this for the greater good and the reputation and tradition of this great sport. He said every time he steps into the ring, he was proud to represent the sport. He called Ilja a one-of-a-kind athlete, like nothing he ever saw before, but said that Ilja lacked the mental ability to step up to his level. He said he will have to proof that when he wrestles him again.
Ilja was asked what he learned since his defeat against WALTER. Ilja said it had been some very dark days and a rough time. He said you learn and get better, but failures like this don’t hurt you like a strike, but they hurt your mind. You can’t forget and the memories haunted him and he lost control. He found himself again and was prepared.
Both were asked what to expect for the rematch next week. Ilja said brutality, violence, intensity. He said the match redefined violence and people had forgotten what the word meant. Ilja called WALTER arrogant and said he had a god complex. WALTER interrupted him and asked him about redefining violence. WALTER called him a fraud. He said Ilja was fantastic but not at WALTER’s level. He called Ilja a showman and told him he wanted to grab everyone’s attention.
WALTER screamed at Ilja in German to look at him and said that if it wasn’t for him, Ilja would still be a cashier at a German supermarket. Scala tried to calm WALTER down, but it was to no avail.
Ilja was close to tears and said that last time, he thought all his stamina, all his power might be enough, but it wasn’t. He said he had respect for WALTER. He said after all WALTER had done to him, all the respect is gone and all that is left is hate.
Ilja said next week in this ring, he would break WALTER. He said he would walk away with the NXT UK title or he would not walk away at all. WALTER dared him to do something right now and they went forehead to forehead. WALTER told him to keep himself calm and Ilja said that he was.
This was amazing and this recap cannot do it justice. If you can spare ten minutes, watch this segment.
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A Subculture video aired. Andrews and Webster talked about how Andrews won a singles match against one half of the tag team champions two years ago and then they won the titles and last week, he did the same thing again. Dani Luna said next week, they would become two-time champions
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Teoman & Rohan Raja beat Ashton Smith & Oliver Carter when Teoman submitted Carter (08:55)
Smith floored Teoman right away, then beat him down. Teoman finally tagged out to Raja, who wanted Carter and got him. Carter hit a superkick and almost got the pin, but Teoman ran interference and Raja hit Carter with a Black Hole Slam, then took over.
Teoman got back in and went for the crossface, then kicked Carter’s arm when he couldn’t quite get it. Carter finally got the hot tag and Smith ran wild on both men. Smith got a near fall off a Michinoku Driver. Teoman dropped him head-first into the turnbuckle, then blind tagged Raja who almost put Smith away.
Carter got back in and hit a German suplex and superkick on Raja, then followed up with a cutter on Raja who was on Smith’s shoulders. Smith hit a somersault dive on both men. Back in the ring, Carter went for a quebrada, but Teoman pulled his legs away mid-jump.
Raja then hit a jumping STO and Teoman locked in the crossface for the submission victory.
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Sid Scala was asked about A-Kid and said he had no update. A-Kid then walked in on crutches with his leg heavily taped and said the medical update was that he was sick and tired of Jordan Devlin. He said he wanted to face him again as soon as he was medically cleared and told Sid to talk to Mr. Saint. he wants 30 minutes with Devlin to punish him and demanded an Iron Man match. Scala told him to leave it with him.
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Aoife Valkyrie talked about Jinny. She said the best have short memories when it comes to failure, She said she was ready to fly while Jinny wasn’t even ready to take off her high heels. She said that Jinny only ever attacked people she thought were down, and with her, Jinny picked the wrong fight.
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NXT UK Women’s Championship: Meiko Satomura pinned “The French Hope” Amale (07:18)
Meiko caught a kick, hit a leg kick then took down Amale with a headlock. Amale turned it into a pin but Satomura held on to the move. Amale took over and grabbed Meiko’s hair. Amale dropped Meiko head-first into the bottom turnbuckle, then hit a shotgun dropkick and got a two count. Satomura quickly got back on offense and punished Amale with a number of kicks to the chest. Amale came back with a swinging neckbreaker for a two-count of her own.
They traded big moves until Meiko hit a handspring kneedrop to the back of Amale’s neck.
Meiko eventually hit Scorpion Rising for the pin and the win in her first title defense.
After the match, Meiko screamed for the next challenger.
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A graphic announced breaking news on WALTER and Ilja Dragunov. The announcers claimed that WALTER and Ilja had had a backstage altercation and that WALTER had suffered a severe injury to his left hand. They said that he had not been medically cleared to compete and the match next week was off. They said they would have more information next week.
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NXT UK Heritage Cup: Tyler Bate (w/ Trent Seven) beat Mark Coffey (w/ Wolfgang) 2-1 in round 5 (12:46)
Round 1
They did some British style exchanges early with Bate using some leverage to keep Coffey under control. Coffey lifted Bate over the top rope to the apron as the round ended.
Round 2
Coffey used a hammerlock for the first minute. Bate finally threw him to ringside. Bate picked up the first fall of the match at 1:35 of the round with a pinning combination. Bate 1-0
Round 3
Coffey was more aggressive as the round started. He caught Bate’s springboard clothesline and gave him a big back body drop. Bate briefly came back but got caught with an enzuigiri as he came off the ropes with a European uppercut. Coffey then scored a pin at 1:42 with a running forearm to tie things. Coffey 1-1
Round 4
Coffey wrestled with urgency and hit big moves but Bate countered him repeatedly. He hit an exploder on the bigger man, then followed with a running shooting star. Bate hit the airplane spin but Coffey eventually elbowed his way out. Coffey missed a bulldog off the turnbuckles and bonked heads shortly before the round ended.
Round 5
Bate went into the post shoulder first and got rolled up, but narrowly kicked out. Coffey evaded the Tyler Driver ’97, but got hit with the springboard lariat for a near fall. Bate then hit the Tyler Driver 97 at 0:58 of the round to win the match. Bate wins 2-1
All four men shook hands after the match.
Final Thoughts:
A good show with an awesome non-wrestling segment between WALTER and Dragunov. Whenever and however it happens, it will be tremendous.
The two title matches both were good, even though nobody believed that either challenger had a chance to win.
Amale especially is good and has a cool character, so hopefully she can be put in another meaningful program soon.
The Teoman/Raja team also is good and it will be interesting if they add more people to that stable.
Next week:
NXT UK Tag Team Championship: Pretty Deadly (c) vs. Subculture
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.
Ilja Dragunov quickly defeated Ashton Smith. NXT UK Women’s Champion Toni Storm defeated Candy Floss in a non-title face vs. face match, then Kay Lee Ray made her presence felt. Trent Seven said Tyler Bate was in the hospital and challenged WALTER.
In the main event, Gallus defeated The Hunt & Dave Mastiff
Full Rundown —
The show opened with a recap from last week’s Grizzle Young Veterans vs. Moustache Mountain match and Imperium interfering. Still shots showed the aftermath of Tyler Bate & Trent Seven getting taken to the back.
Ilja Dragunov defeated Ashton Smith with Torpedo Moscow (4:42)
Smith used a headlock early, but Dragunov escaped and hit a crossbody on a charging Smith. Dragunov followed up with a senton. Smith worked over Dragunov’s legs, but he didn’t have much success.
Aiden English said “Unbesiegbar” was Russian for invincible, but it’s German for invincible. Dragunov hit a Gotch-style powerbomb. Smith came back with a fisherman’s suplex, but Dragunov hit a dropkick, then the Konstantin Special and Torpedo Moscow for the win.
– A graphic plugged the six-man tag main event.
– A video recap of Xia Brookside’s history with Jazzy Gabert and Jinny aired. Radzi Chinyanganya interviewed Brookside about their history. She said she’d face Jinny next week.
– Nina Samuels did a skit where she interviewed fans at Download Festival. One said Samuels was his favorite.
Non-title match: NXT UK Women’s Champion Toni Storm defeated Candy Floss with Storm Zero (5:55)
Storm outwrestled Candy Floss early. They one-upped each other with poses on the mat, then Candy Floss tried a quick pin. Storm showed approval for Candy Floss when she went for another one.
Candy Floss worked Storm’s arm and shoulder, but she got taken out with a kick. There was more offense from Candy Floss, but Storm hit a clothesline and Storm Zero for the win.
As Candy Floss walked to the back, Kay Lee Ray came out and attacked her. Storm came to her aid and KLR left.
– Another Ligero promo video aired, focusing on him losing his latest matches.
Trent Seven speaks
Seven talked solemnly and said usually he doesn’t speak alone. He said Bate was hospitalized and injured, but Seven’s here and always has been. He said this was built on British Strong Style.
Seven said Imperium claimed the mat was sacred — but “this is our mat.” He said he’d cut the head off the snake and was coming for WALTER, and it would be for Pete Dunne, Bate, and the Trent Seven Army. He got intense and started screaming “this will be for us!”
– Mark Andrews accepted Kassius Ohno’s call-out, saying he had been a “Hero” of his. They’ll face off next week.
Gallus (Joe Coffey, Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) defeated Dave Mastiff & The Hunt (Primate & Wild Boar) when Joe Coffey pinned Wild Boar after a lariat (12:25)
All six guys brawled right at the bell, with Gallus being beaten to ringside. The Hunt worked over Mark Coffey with some unique offense until he tagged in Wolfgang. The heels isolated Primate and Joe Coffey put him in a submission.
Primate finally tagged Wild Boar, who ran roughshod on Mark Coffey. Mark hit a chokeslam and tagged Wolfgang. Boar was the face in peril for a while and got beaten up. He finally tagged Mastiff, who beat up Gallus on his own, including hitting a big German suplex on Mark and an overhead suplex on Joe.
Mastiff hit a Finlay roll with Mark onto Wolfgang. Joe turned things around for a bit, but Mastiff took back over. He hit the somersault senton onto Mark in the corner as The Hunt hit stereo dives to the outside.
Primate hit a top rope splash on Joe, but he wasn’t the legal man. Wolfgang rolled Boar back inside — and Joe hit his rolling lariat for the win.
Wolfgang pinned Flash Morgan Webster, while Amir Jordan & Kenny Williams were successful against Saxon Huxley & Tyson T-Bone.
Kay Lee Ray made her NXT UK debut and quickly beat Candy Floss. Noam Dar also made his presence on the brand known and got on Mark Andrews’ bad side.
In the main event, WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne & WALTER beat the Coffey Brothers in a very good match that led to a dramatic scene between Dunne and WALTER as the show went off the air.
Full rundown —
– Sid Scala and Johnny Saint entered the arena and were stopped by a reporter asking them what to expect. They said Kay Lee Ray would make her debut and WALTER would team with Pete Dunne to take on the Coffey Brothers. After the opening, a graphic of that match was shown.
Wolfgang pinned Flash Morgan Webster in 5:25 after the Caber Toss
Webster started off strong with quick offense but was stopped once Wolfgang threw him into the turnbuckles and took over. After some minutes of being pummeled, Webster came back with consecutive dives on Wolfgang, including a somersault plancha.
Back in the ring, Webster hit a somersault senton on a crouching Wolfgang. The big Scot tried some sort of aerial attack as well, but an enzuigiri from Webster sent him toppling to ringside.
Webster tried swinging around the post with a kick, but he got caught and slammed to the mats at ringside and powerbombed into the post. After that, Wolfgang hit the Caber Toss for the victory.
That was not enough for Wolfgang, as he shoved the referee aside and attacked Webster some more until he was finally sent out of the ring. He jaw-jacked with a fan before going to the back.
– A graphic announced that we’d hear from Kassius Ohno next.
– A short highlight clip on the Coffey Brothers aired.
– Ohno said that it was mind-blowing that the guy to bring an authentic European style to NXT UK was an American. He said he had rounds matches in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK and stood toe to toe with the likes of William Regal and Robbie Brookside.
Ohno said the current guys grew up on Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels and not Marty Jones. He said they’d experience British wrestling at his hands.
Amir Jordan & Kenny Williams defeated Saxon Huxley & Tyson T-Bone in 5:57 after Jordan hit the Swanton Bomb-ay on Huxley
Williams and Huxley started out, and as the bigger man pummeled Williams, he quickly found himself on the lower end of a lucha-style roll-up. The faces briefly dominated both their opponents — until Jordan found himself in the bad guys’ corner and was hit by a hard clothesline by T-Bone on a distraction.
T-Bone worked Jordan over for a few minutes, but Jordan was able to hit an enzuigiri and made the hot tag.
Williams ran wild on both heels, including hitting a bulldog on Huxley into the turnbuckle. Williams and Jordan then hit stereo dives on both men on opposite sides of the ring. Williams took Huxley down and Jordan hit the Swanton Bomb-ay for the win.
– A video on future NXT UK tapings in April, July, and at Download Festival aired.
– Jinny was being interviewed. She said she was sick and tired of hearing Toni Storm’s name. She doesn’t care about Storm — she only cares about the NXT UK Women’s title. She ended the interview and walked off in disgust.
– Vic Joseph and Nigel McGuinness discussed Jinny’s statement, then transitioned into a video on Eddie Dennis.
– Dennis said he’d face Ligero next week — a man who he respects, but who is in the wrong place at the wrong time. He’ll be the victim of the “Malevolent Welshman” Eddie Dennis.
Noam Dar promo
Dar walked to the ring for a promo. He said he was back in NXT UK and was here to stay. Dar said he kept an eye on the brand. It has been doing pretty well and it will do better when they take the show to the “most beautiful place in the UK” — Glasgow, Scotland.
Dar mocked the crowd as they started booing. He said the roster had been doing an okay job, but the brand needed him. He said the contract was signed and he was here to stay, unlike other UK wrestlers who went to 205 Live and were sent packing.
Mark Andrews, who was one of the names Dar mentioned as failing on 205 Live, came out and was upset. As Dar was looking to cheap shot him, Andrews attacked him and sent him packing.
– A promo taped at the NXT UK Performance Center with Xia Brookside aired. She said her name had at times made it difficult for her. She said she hated bullies and the biggest bully was Rhea Ripley and she’d not be bullied around anymore.
– A graphic announced Kay Lee Ray’s debut was next.
– A video package on The Wild Boar and Primate aired and promised the hunt would begin next week.
– A short highlight video on Pete Dunne and WALTER aired.
Kay Lee Ray defeated Candy Floss in 2:18 after a Widow’s Peak Slam
Kay Lee Ray started out with arm twists and ringers, then applied a keylock and rammed Candy Floss into the corner. She kept working the arm and had Candy in pain. Candy rolled her up, but she quickly got overwhelmed again.
Kay Lee Ray hit a chop, a crescent kick, and then a Widow’s Peak into a face slam for the quick win.
– Moustache Mountain talked about their progress in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. They called out the Grizzled Young Veterans for their rematch.
– A graphic plugged the main event.
– Sid Scala announced Tyler Bate vs. James Drake as next week’s main event.
WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne & WALTER beat The Coffey Brothers in 16:20 after WALTER powerbombed Mark Coffey for the pin
The Coffeys came out with Wolfgang, while WALTER and Dunne entered separately. Dunne and Mark Coffey started out — and Dunne quickly started working over Mark’s wrist and arm.
Mark tried the same, but Dunne escaped and punished Mark. WALTER asked for a tag and got it, then demonstrated how to properly separate a man from his arm. He brushed off a chop by Mark, who tagged out to his brother.
WALTER escaped from a side headlock, then egged Joe on to try and shoulder block him down. On the third attempt, WALTER swung into the ropes, then quickly applied a Gojira clutch before easily tackling Joe to the mat.
Dunne came in, but WALTER quickly wanted back in and had his way. As the future opponents took turns chopping Joe, they faced off but quickly got attacked again. They hit stereo slams on both Coffeys onto the apron before facing off in the ring again.
WALTER took over on Joe before Dunne came back in again and swiftly hit a dropkick to Joe’s knee. Dunne went for a surfboard, but he settled on driving Joe’s knees down into the mat. A blind tag by Mark led to him hitting a German suplex on a surprised Dunne. Joe rammed WALTER into the barricades on the outside.
The heels took turns working Dunne over in the ring as WALTER slowly got back up on the apron. After a backbreaker by Joe, Mark stomped a fallen Dunne. Dunne briefly recovered to hit a snap German on Mark. Dunne could not make the tag, but he managed to do so seconds later.
WALTER ran wild on both Coffeys, breaking a double clothesline to hit a lariat and a leaping Gojira clutch, a running big boot, a German, and a sit-down splash all in short succession. Joe hit a German on WALTER, but he quickly was slammed to the mat with a huge uranage overhead slam.
Dunne was back in and Joe tried for a step-up back body press, but he got punched out of mid-air by Dunne. Mark hit a Polish Hammer on Dunne, but WALTER blind tagged in and hit a shotgun dropkick, a butterfly suplex, and finally locked in a Boston crab while Dunne hit a plancha on Joe at ringside.
Joe tried chopping WALTER, who didn’t flinch but released the hold and chopped a hole in Joe’s chest. The Coffeys managed to hit a kind of Doomsday Device, prompting Dunne to make the save.
As WALTER had Mark in a Gojira clutch, Joe tried to pull him to safety — but the power of WALTER led to Joe actually getting pulled over the rope into the ring and ending up in a waist lock by his brother. Dunne snapped Joe’s fingers on the top rope and WALTER hit a huge double German suplex on both Coffeys.
As chaos broke out, Joe grabbed the UK title and went to hit Dunne with it but got thwarted. Mark picked up the title and went to hit Dunne with it. Dunne moved as WALTER went for a big boot that hit Mark, who was swiftly powerbombed for the victory.
The announcers speculated on whether WALTER was aiming the boot at Dunne or was actually trying to save him from the attack.
WALTER and Dunne faced off with the UK title on the mat between them. As Dunne went to slowly pick it up, WALTER stepped on it, then picked it up, looked at it for a long time, and finally handed it to Dunne before walking off.
Next week —
Tyler Bate faces James Drake, Eddie Dennis takes on Ligero, and Kassius Ohno aims to teach the NXT UK roster about the proper British style of wrestling.
Taped January 13, 2018 at the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool, England
Quick results —
Ligero defeated Mark Andrews in a very good, fast-paced match with lots of cool spots. Xia Brookside managed to overcome Candy Floss, but both were attacked by a frustrated Rhea Ripley after the match. Toni Storm tried to make the save, but eventually succumbed to Riptide, just weeks before her scheduled title match against Ripley.
Joseph Conners defeated “Wild Boar” Mike Hitchman, while Joe Coffey managed to beat Ashton Smith. In the main event, WALTER beat Mark Coffey, further establishing his iron grip on NXT UK.
Full rundown —
– A graphic announced our main event of WALTER vs. Mark Coffey.
Ligero pinned Mark Andrews in 9:04 after C4L
They shook hands to hit things off and immediately battled for position. Both managed to evade each other for a series of moves, then had a roll-up battle but ended up fist-bumping.
Andrews hit a hurricanrana from the turnbuckle for a two count. In a cool spot, Ligero did a headstand on the apron, then hit a headscissors on Andrews, but he cartwheeled out. Ligero finally hit a somersault plancha from the barricade on the outside.
After some more back and forth, Andrews hit Stomp 182 and a standing corkscrew moonsault for another near fall. Ligero came back with a number of kicks, but Andrews turned a brainbuster attempt into the Stundog Millionaire.
After another dive by Andrews, Ligero came back with a pumphandle stomach buster for another close near fall. Andrews managed to roll through on a top rope hurricanrana attempt, then hit a reverse rana but jumped right into Ligero’s knees on a Shooting Star. Ligero hit C4L for the victory. They shook hands once more after the match.
– A recap from last week’s announcement aired, where Sid Scala announced the Grizzled Young Vets defending their UK Tag Team titles against Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch. We went across the big pond to get the reactions of Lorcan & Burch, who vowed to make the Vets’ title defense their last.
– A graphic said Xia Brookside would be in action next.
– Radzi Chinyanganya interviewed Pete Dunne as he entered the arena. Dunne said he was impressed by WALTER and would eventually meet him in the ring. He said that he did not fear WALTER and WALTER would find out why Dunne has been WWE United Kingdom Champion for more than 600 days.
Xia Brookside pinned Candy Floss in 4:31 after hitting the Brooksie Bomb
A battle of the youngest members of the NXT UK women’s roster also was one of pink vs. blue hair. Both wrestlers shook hands early on and smiled before Brookside took over right away with a headlock, but Candy Floss locked in a headscissors. Brookside managed to escape from it via headstand — before Candy Floss got another roll-up attempt.
Candy Floss eventually locked in a full nelson that gave Brookside some trouble before she escaped. Brookside eventually got on a wristlock that Candy Floss took some time to shake off. Candy Floss worked over Brookside’s arm, but Brookside came back with a bulldog, a headscissors takedown, and knees to the back of the head.
Brookside then hit the Brooksie Bomb, her version of her father’s Iconoclasm, for the win.
As Brookside went to help Candy Floss back to her feet, Rhea Ripley ran in and attacked both women, then locked Brookside in her reverse cloverleaf and started spinning her around until Toni Storm ran in for the save.
Just as Storm was gaining the upper hand, Ripley hit a headbutt. Ripley slammed Brookside head-first into Storm and hit Riptide on Storm, gaining some important psychological advantage for their upcoming title match.
– A video for the NXT UK tapings on February 22 and 23 aired.
– We saw a selfie video by Jordan Devlin. He vowed to defeat Noam Dar in Phoenix.
Joseph Conners pinned “Wild Boar” Mike Hitchman in 5:28 after hitting Don’t Look Down
Conners immediately beat down the Wild Boar with stomps and kicks, but Hitchman came back with punches of his own before throwing Conners around the ring and hitting a senton as he was getting up on all four.
Hitchman went to the top, but Conners grabbed his arm and hit a sort of rope-assisted codebreaker on it. He beat on the Boar at ringside. Boar caught Conners leg off a kick, managed to drape him on the ropes, and hit a senton.
Hitchman threw Conners to ringside, then followed up with a splash off the apron. He missed a spear to the corner, prompting Conners to launch himself over the top rope with a DDT for a near fall. Conners hit a sunset bomb off the top rope, then another one into the corner, and hit Don’t Look Down for the win.
– Gallus were shown sparring backstage. Joe Coffey said he’d dispose of Ashton Smith and Mark Coffey would beat WALTER. We’ll see about that.
– A highlight video of Jinny aired. Radzi interviewed her backstage — but she first reprimanded him about his face and told him to get better wardrobe to distract from it. She congratulated Toni Storm but said Storm was the one person to always get in her way and stop her from getting to the top.
Jinny said the real queen of NXT UK would be crowned soon. A match of Jinny meeting Mia Yim in Phoenix was announced.
Joe Coffey pinned Ashton Smith in 6:17 after hitting a discus lariat
Coffey immediately tried hitting a flurry, but Smith danced away and got a headlock on. Coffey threw him off and pounced him halfway across the ring to the outside. He then charged into Smith on the outside, sending him into the barricade.
Coffey locked in a hold that he eventually transitioned into a Cobra Clutch. Coffey worked over Smith’s lower back and kept screaming “still mine” throughout the match, referring to “the Kingdom of NXT UK”. He hit a number of uppercuts, followed by a pop-up uppercut that put Smith down.
Smith briefly came back with shots and targeted Coffey’s injured eye, but Coffey hit his discus lariat for the win.
– Wolfgang and Mark Coffey came back out to celebrate with Joe on the ramp, which immediately led to Mark walking to the ring for his match
WALTER pinned Mark Coffey in 6:31 after hitting a powerbomb
WALTER stared at Coffey, who could not help but look worried at what the big men was going to do to him. He got a few shots in, then WALTER took the first step in making his chest bleed with a hard chop. He bent Coffey backwards over the top and pounded on his chest.
Coffey briefly beat on WALTER outside and hit a few more strikes before finally bending WALTER’s arms back for a submission. Coffey kicked him in the back before planting a knee in his spine. WALTER used his dominant strength to turn the move around, prompting Coffey to cowardly flee into the ropes.
Coffey tried to whip WALTER out of the corner, but WALTER denied that foolishness. Coffey then tried a few lariats, but WALTER just shook them off. WALTER canceled Coffey’s final shot, hit a standing release German suplex, and took the Scot’s head off with a running boot into the corner.
WALTER bent Coffey backwards over the top rope as he chopped Coffey and nonchalantly stood on his face on the top. As Coffey tumbled outside, WALTER followed and slammed him into the apron.
Coffey briefly came back with a few lariats and an enzuigiri and even managed to cover WALTER for a pinning attempt. The Austrian then came back with a shotgun dropkick, followed by a big powerbomb for the inevitable victory.
Next week —
A number of matches taped during Royal Rumble Axxess in Phoenix will air.
Episode 24 (taped November 25, 2018 at the Liverpool Olympia in Liverpool, England)
Quick results:
Ligero beat Joseph Conners. Travis Banks beat Tyson T-Bone in a short match, marred by Jordan Devlin coming out during the match. Banks won anyway and then sent Devlin packing. Gallus (Joe Coffey, Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) beat British Strong Style (Pete Dunne, Trent Seven & Tyler Bate).in a tremendous 25 minute match, leading up to Dunne and Coffey facing each other for Dunne’s WWE UK Championship this Saturday at NXT TakeOver: Blackpool.
Full rundown:
A video of the Gallus/British Strong Style rivalry and tonight’s six men tag main event match opened the show.
Ligero beat Joseph Conners in 5:21 after a springboard tornado DDT
Conners for weeks talked about the “shiny new toys” of NXT UK, mentioning guys like Ligero vowing to break them. Ligero started out strong, hitting Conners with a number of quick moves. Conners eventually managed to take over by pushing him into the ring post on the apron, then hit a hard clothesline in the ring for a near-fall. Conners continued to aggressively work Ligero over. Ligero finally came back with a fireman’s carry and kick to the head, but was quickly stopped again. Conners started to tear at Ligero’s mask, but Ligero eventually hit his springboard tornado DDT for the win.
Radzi interviewed Zack Gibson and James Drake backstage about their upcoming NXT UK tag team title match at NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool. Gibson reiterated that they were undefeated and said they were so confident that they cleared a space on their mantelpieces and would take to Facebook Live for an early celebration. He said they were “sssssoon to be recognized the NXT UK Tag Team Champions”.
British Strong Style and Gallus were shown preparing for their match backstage.
A Dave Mastiff/Eddie Dennis aired. Mastiff talked about their rivalry, stating that he was the only undefeated monster in NXT UK and that Dennis was jealous and he would be the victor in their no disqualification match.
Travis Banks beat Tyson T-Bone in 2:08 with A Slice of Heaven
T-Bone was aggressive from the start, rag dolling Banks around and hitting him with some hard strikes, but Banks came back with strikes and a running shotgun dropkick, followed by a double foot stomp into the corner. 90 seconds in, Jordan Devlin’s music played and he came out, dressed like Banks. As this was not RAW, Banks only briefly was distracted, but took right back over, eventually hitting a Slice of Heaven for the pin.
Devlin then entered the ring and attacked Banks, but Banks quickly hit a Slice of Heaven on him and sent him packing.
A recap video of the Toni Storm/Rhea Ripley rivalry aired, featuring the NXT UK Women’s Championship finals between them, followed by Ripley’s dominant title reign and Toni winning the Mae Young Classic and challenging for the title.
A segment ran down the NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool card, including a breaking news announcement of Travis Banks facing Jordan Devlin
Gallus (Joe Coffey, Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) beat British Strong Style (Pete Dunne, Trent Seven & Tyler Bate) in 25:29 when Joe Coffey pinned Tyler Bate after a spinning lariat
Bate and Joe Coffey started things off to massive Tyler Bate chants. Bate got forced into a bridge off a test of strength, with Coffey going for a number of pin attempts before fighting his way back to his feet. All six men briefly faced off before the referee could restore order. Seven and Wolfgang were in next and Seven hit a cross body before chaos between all six men broke out again. Now Dunne and Mark Coffey were in. Dunne quickly hit a hard clothesline before another melee broke out, this time ending in a big brawl with Gallus ending up at ringside.
Back in the ring, Dunne started stretching Mark Coffey and British Strong Style quickly tagged in and out, working over Mark Coffey until Bate crashed into Wolfgang and the heels got the advantage, working over the Big Strong Boi. At one point, Bate took a great Bret-Hart-style chest-first bump into the corner before managing the hot tag to Trent Seven. who took over like a house of fire on all three men, prompting Wolfgang and Mark Coffey to hi each other inadvertently a number of times. This ended when Joe Coffey smashed him shoulder-first into the ring steps on the outside to turn the tables once more.
Gallus worked over Seven for a few minutes before he finally managed to hit a big superplex on Joe Coffey and make the hot tag Pete Dunne. He hit an X-Plex on Mark Coffey and locked in a knee bar on Wolfgang, who eventually managed to tag Joe Coffey. Dunne immediately locked Coffey in a triangle, and then, as Coffey tagged Wolfgang who came off the top rope, Dunne caught him in an arm bar.
Wolfgang eventually suplexed his way out and Dunne tagged Bate. Bate and Coffey had a few great spots, ending with Coffey missing a springboard body press and Bate hitting a running shooting star. Bate escaped a wheel barrow spin by Coffey, then picked him up for a long air plane spin. Coffey escaped a Tyler Driver ’97 attempt and then both men went down after trading strikes.
Both tagged out to Seven and Mark Coffey with Seven hitting a ripcord DDT before all three members of British Strong Style hit a triple power bomb on Mark. Bate then hit a dive on Wolfgang. Dunne and Mark Coffey were in the ring, but Dunne got distracted when Joe Coffey has his WWE UK title on the apron. Joe Coffey hit a big power bomb on Dunne for a very close near fall, with Bate breaking up the pin.
After some more chaos, Dunne and Joe Coffey ended up together in the ring, doing the Frye-Takayama exchange of strikes. Dunne stomped on Coffey fingers but ate a spear in return. Dunne thwarted a second attempt with a hard knee to the head. Dunne broke Coffey’s fingers and hit the Bitter End, but didn’t see Wolfgang getting tagged in. Dunne tagged Bate, who hit a corkscrew senton on everybody on the outside. Bate hiot a rolling kick on Wolfgang who managed to tag out to Joe Coffey. Bate went for his springboard lariat, but Coffey caught him with the spinning lariat for the pin in the finish to a great match,
Pete Dunne faced off with Gallus from the apron as the show went off the air.
Next episode:
The fallout from the first ever NXT UK TakeOver special, probably with matches being taped this coming weekend.
Also, don’t miss NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool this coming Saturday at 2 PM ET (7 PM BST, 8 PM CET) on the WWE Network (pre-show starts half an hour earlier).
Episode 16 (taped October 14 at Plymouth Pavilions in Plymouth, England)
Quick recap:
The two undefeated monsters of NXT UK clashed, as Dave Mastiff met Eddie Dennis in the main event, with the Bomber reigning victorious in a fun hoss fight. Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) were victorious over Ashton Smith & Ligero in a quest to qualify for the NXT UK Tag Team Championship Tournament. Jinny managed to beat Xia Brookside, while Joseph Conners squashed Jack Starz in a quick match. Rhe Ripley will make her first NXT UK Women’s Championship defense next week, facing the “White Witch of NXT UK”, Isla Dawn.
Full rundown:
– The show opened up with a split screen of Dave Mastiff and Eddie Dennis warming up for their match backstage, while Vic and Nigel talked about the main event
Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) beat Ashton Smith & Ligero in 5:37 when Coffey pinned Smith after an enzuigiri
Ligero and Wolfgang started out, and the Leeds Luchador frustrated the bigger man with a spin kick and a drop kick but got caught on a body press attempt. He quickly tagged out to Smith and both men hit a double drop kick on Wolfgang. Ligero got himself caught on a spinning DDT attempt but managed to escape until Mark Coffey distracted him and a forearm to the back of the head sent him to ringside.
The heels worked Ligero over until he managed to throw Wolfgang out of the ring and made the hot tag to Smith. Smith ran wild for a bit and hit a springboard back elbow on Coffey, but Wolfgang eventually pulled him out of the ring. Ligero then hit a somersault senton to the outside onto Wolfgang, jumping over Smith who was hanging in the ropes.
Back in the ring, Smith tried and O’Connor Roll on Coffey but he managed to kick out, hit a double hammer to the chest followed by an enzuigiri for the win.
– We took a look back at Isla Dawn challenging Rhea Ripley last episode. Both women were backstage with Johnny Saint and Sid Scala, who announced the match for next week. The women had a stare down, with Rhea saying “See you next week” and walked off
– A graphic announced Joseph Conners to be in action next, followed by a TLC promo.
– Radzi was backstage with Gallus after their match. They said that they set a standard and were the team to beat. Joe Coffey said that he was concerned with Pete Dunne and was going to rip the WWE UK Championship from his mouth. But first, he would meet Travis Banks and squash him like a bug.
Joseph Conners beat Jack Starz in 2:16 with Don’t Look Down
This was basically a squash. Starz refers to him as the Self Made Machine, but Conners wasn’t impressed, grabbed his ear and yanked him down to the mat. He sent Starz into the ropes and hit a backbreaker as Starz came bouncing back. Conners worked him over, went to ringside and pounded on Starz who was on the apron.
Starz got a brief hope spot in and hit some European uppercuts, but that was ended quickly. Conners then hit a sunset bomb into the corner and followed up with Don’t Look Down fpr the quick win.
– Radzi was backstage with Xia Brookside, who said while she may not be the most experienced wrestler in NXT UK, Jinny better get read to “fly with Brookside”. Jinny then turned up, looked at Xia, turned away with a disgusted look on her face and walked off.
– There was a commercial for the Royal Rumble Axxess shows; no word on if any NXT or NXT UK talent would be on those events.
– A video package for Saxon Huxley and Tyson T-Bone aired, where Huxley said that T-Bone was violent, destructive and almost as twisted as he was. He also talked about his shadow being rooted in hell, channeling his best inner Undertaker from the 1990s. T-Bone and Huxley concluded that they would be the NXT UK tag team champions.
Jinny beat Xia Brookside in 4:13 after hitting her with A Touch of Couture
Xia wanted to shake Jinny’s hand, but she kicked it away. Xia went for a headlock and took her down, but Jinny quickly locked on a head vice with her legs, from which Xia escaped via head stand. Jinny kept working Xia’s arm, but Xia came back and eventually hit a huracanrana from the corner, followed by a dropkick and a cross body from the second turnbuckle.
Jinny came back with the Fashion Disaster, which is her STO into the corner. Jinny went to bend Xia’s arms backwards, working over her back until Xia managed to roll through on the move and escape. She hit a chin breaker, followed by a bulldog and a head scissors takedown.
As Jinny was propped up in the corner, Xia hit a running double knee to the back of the head and went for a surfboard variant, but her back gave out and Jinny rolled through on the move, sending Xia into the ropes. As she got back up, Jinny hit A Touch of Couture, her rolling kick, for the win.
– A Dave Mastiff video package aired, and a graphic announced Mastiff vs. Eddie Dennis next, followed by a WWE Custom Tees ad.
– Zack Gibson and James Drake came out for a short in-ring promo. Gibson said that people got a tiny glimpse of what they could do when they beat Jordan and Williams and that they would soon be recognized as the NXT UK tag team champions.
– An Eddie Dennis video package aired, where he said that NXT UK meant everything to him as he could apply his trade here; this was followed by a WWE Network commercial.
– A graphic announced Rhea Ripley defending against Isla Dawn next week.
“Bomber” Dave Mastiff beat Eddie Dennis in 11:47 after a cannonball into the corner
Mastiff pushed him into the corner early. Dennis tried for some shoulder blocks, but Mastiff wouldn’t budge. Dennis tried some striking but was stopped by a drop kick by the big man. Mastiff trapped Dennis’ arms and rained down some elbows on his jaw. Dennis was back on offense a little later but got mowed down by a running cross body block by Mastiff.
Mastiff missed a senton, allowing Dennis to recover, hot a running boot, followed by a kick to the jaw that sent “the Bomber” to ringside. Dennis kicked him off the apron as he tried to re-enter the ring, but a second kick showed no effect, so Dennis slid out of the ring and pulled Mastiff off the ring.
When they came back to the ring, Dennis applied a cravat but Mastiff eventually powered out, hit a head butt and eventually a big superplex. After exchanging some more strikes, Mastiff hit a Finlay roll and a senton for a near fall. Mastiff stepped things up with a bridging German suplex for another close two count.
Mastiff tried to hit the cannonball into the corner, but Dennis got up, caught him in mid-air and hit a black hole slam for a near fall. He tried to get the big guy up for his Severed Bridge into the corner, but Mastiff back body dropped out of it. Dennis was on the apron and put his upper body through the ropes, but Mastiff pulled him back into the ring and into the ropes.
Mastiff set Dennis up for another superplex attempt, but he escaped and got Mastiff up for the Severed Bridge. Mastiff escaped the move. A hard clothesline by Dennis led to another near-fall. Mastiff cut him off, hit a snap mare followed by a head butt, a release German suplex and eventually the cannonball senton into the corner to end Eddie Dennis’ undefeated streak and pick up the win.
Next week:
Rhea Ripley will defend the NXT UK Women’s championship against Isla Dawn and more tag teams will be in action.
Episode twelve (taped October 13 at Plymouth Pavilions in Plymouth, England)
Quick recap
Fabian Aichner made his NXT UK debut, defeating Mark Andrews and looking good in the process. Isla Dawn beat Nina Samuels in a quick match, while Edie Dennis basically squashed Tucker. Jordan Devlin beat Flash Morgan Webster in a good main event match.
Also, Travis Banks returned from injury to confront Gallus, the new official name for the group of Wolfgang and the Coffey Brothers. In other news, Sid Scala officially was appointed assistant to NXT UK General Manager Johnny Saint.
Full rundown
The show opened with a graphic about Tom “Dynamite Kid” Billington passing away. A scrolling message at the bottom of the screen also wished his family, friends and fans the best.
This was the first show from the third set of NXT UK tapings and saw a number of debuts and returns, the first of which happened in the first segment. Joe Coffey, Mark Coffey and Wolfgang came out and Joe Coffey cut a promo in the ring. He said people had been calling them “ruthless”, then asked his brother for what other word they had been called. “Devious”, was the answer.
He asked Wolfgang for another term. “Underhanded”, was what Wolfgang told him. He said that this was absolutely right, he said that this was their kingdom and that they would be known as Gallus, which, according to Wikipedia means is a Lowland Scottish word for self-confident, daring, cheeky or stylish, impressive,
He said that this was their kingdom now and that there was no such thing as Big Strong Bois anymore. At that point, Travis banks came out and stood in the aisle. Joe Coffey asked him how he felt and that they had put him on the shelf. he dared Banks to get in the ring, noting that there were three of them and just one of him.
He then told him they could go one on one. Banks stormed the ring, but as he took Joe down, the rest of Gallus interfered and beat him down. Moustache Mountain ran out to make the save, sending the heels packing.
Nigel and Vic were in studio, talking about the last segment and then threw it to a backstage interview where Radzi Chinyanganya interviewed Fabian Aichner, who made his debut here. He said that there were some of the best competitors in the world here and he was looking forward to mix it up with them, just as he had done in NXT.
A graphic informed us that Aichner would do battle with Mark Andrews next.
A TLC promo aired.
Radzi was back with Jordan Devlin. Devlin asked if he had seen how far he had pushed Pete Dunne in his own home town and that he was confident another title opportunity would not be too far away for him.
He said that he was the Irish Ace and he looked at the NXT UK roster like a deck of cards and when he shuffles that deck and pulls out Flash Morgan Webster, he sees the Joker. He threatened to rip off Webster’s anorak, throw his helmet in the fifth row and said that the Ace always trumps the Heart. (which makes basically no sense in any kind of card game, but I digress)
Fabian Aichner beat Mark Andrews in 9:19 after a spinning sit-out power bomb
Aichner of course is the current EVOLVE world champion. He hails from South Tyrol which is a German speaking autonomous province in northern Italy, which originally belonged to the Austrian-Hungarian empire (there, you learned something). He started in 2011 and trained in Germany with former WCW “Wunderkind” Alex Wright and his English father, Steve Wright.
Aichner and Andrews shook hands for the start of the match. After some back and forth, Aichner showed his power by easily gorilla pressing Andrews, but Andrews reversed out of the move. He tried his somersault over the top rope from the apron, but Aichner once more caught him in mid-move, even though Andrews managed to turn the move into a lucha arm drag and followed with a huracanrana. Andrews followed this up with a topé.
Back in the ring, Aichner stopped Andrews, threw him high into the air and caught him for a backbreaker, which looked impressive. Nigel talked about Aichner’s trainer Steve Wright once wrestling Tiger Mask, in a similar display of strength and technique versus high flying. Andrews hit a standing corkscrew senton for a near-fall and turned a power bomb attempt into a huracanrana.
He once more tried his somersault over the roped but this time it ended in a hard face slam for him. Aichner turned him inside out with a clothesline and went for a brain buster which got turned into the Stunt Dog Millionaire. Andrews went up top but Aichner caught him mid-air and gave him a brain buster for a near fall.
Aichner then showed his athleticism with a spring board moonsault which missed. Andrews went for a moonsault of his own which got caught, but managed to turn it into a tornado DDT for a near fall of his own. He tried for a shooting star press but impressively managed to land on his feet as Aichner rolled to ringside.
Aichner pulled Andrews out and drove him into the steps, then followed with a running knee into the steel for good measure. This was a turning point, as Aichner supposedly embraced the dark side here. Andrews managed to get back in at 9 but got caught in a spinning sit-out power bomb for the pin.
This was a very good match and a great NXT UK debut for Aichner.
Vic and Nigel talked about the NXT UK Women’s championship tournament, which concluded last week.
A promo looked at Isla Dawn, the White Witch of NXT UK. She went by some ancient buildings and talked about her powers. A graphic announced Isla Dawn would meet Nina Samuels next.
A commercial for the AJ Styles WE 365 documentary aired.
Radzi was with Johnny Saint, asking him how he handled all the chaos going on in NXT UK right now. Johnny said that he knew he needed some help, so he had appointed Sid Scala as his assistant. At that point, Rhea Ripley walked up to them and towered over Scala.
She said they should be talking about her and find her some competition. Scala assured her that they were looking into it. Rhea at that point pinched him in the cheeks and mockingly stated tha the little assistant would be finding her an opponent. She walked off and told Johnny that she didn’t think much of his hired help.
Isla Dawn beat Nina Samuels in 3:20 after a gutwrench powerslam
They locked up and Isla managed to pull out of a head lock. Samuels took over with a chin lock and we were told that she had run the London marathon four times, so she had stamina. That was of little use, as Isla moved out of the way of a charging Samuels and hit some kickboxing kicks, a back drop driver and eventually her gut-wrench power slam for the quick win.
Some Eddie Dennis highlights aired and we were told that he would be in action against Tucker next
A WWE Shop commercial featuring the New Day aired; apparently there is a Book of Booty-Os. Sounds thrilling!
We saw highlights from last week’s tournament final between Rhea Ripley and Toni Storm. Toni talked about the crucial moment when her back got hurt off a spot of being thrown onto the edge of the apron (originally there was fear she would be out for a while with a back injury). She said that while Rhea was the first NXT UK Women’s champion, she herself would be the best champion and the the injury just made her stronger.
Eddie Dennis beat Tucker with the Next Stop Driver in 2:27
Denis was in control from the start with punches and hard whips. He hit his Black Hole Slam into a backbreaker on his knee, then locked Tucker in a cravat. Tucker briefly managed to come back with a back elbow from the second turnbuckle and a clothesline in the corner, but Dennis took his head off with a hard clothesline.
He hit the Severed Bridge into the corner and ended the match with the Next Stop Driver.
We were informed that Jordan Devlin would be in action next
A WWE Network promo aired
Johnny Saint announced via Twitter that Travis Banks would have a chance for retaliation against Gallus next week when he gets to face Wolfgang
Jordan Devlin beat Flash Morgan Webster in 12:04 after Ireland’s Call
Webster early on flipped out of some arm locks and they traded counters back and forth. Devlin eventually took over and kicked Webster into the corner. He hit his uranage/standing moonsault combination and taunted Webster. He picked the smaller man up and hit a backbreaker on his own shoulder, which looked impressive.
After a near fall, he locked in a sitting abdominal stretch. He threw Webster to ringside and smashed him into the apron before rolling him back inside. He taunted Webster some more and answered Webster’s comeback with a face rake. he screamed that Webster didn’t belong on his level nor into his ring.
Webster his the Modern Knee and consecutive dropkicks, followed by an enzuigiri into the corner and followed up with a huracanrana off the top rope. Devlin then did his pull-up by the arms into a backdrop driver spot, which always looks cool. Webster came back with a head-butt that sent Devlin to the outside. Webster followed him with a baseball slide and managed to avoid getting rammed into the steps and hit the Rude Boy Block off the steps on the outside.
He went for a somersault senton but Devlin got his kneed up and eventually landed Ireland’s Call for the victory.
Episode twelve (taped August 26 at the NEC Arena in Birmingham, England)
Quick recap
Rhea Ripley was crowned the inaugural NXT UK Women’s champion, beating Toni Storm in a hard-fought battle. Story of the match was Toni injuring her back early on, so she couldn’t hit Storm Zero and fell victim to Rhea’s Riptide in the end. In other matches, Tyler Bate (replacing Sid Scala) beat Joe Coffey by DQ when Mark Coffey and Wolfgang interfered, leading to a brawl between Gallus (the new name for Wolfgang & the Coffey Brothers) and British Strong Style. Ligero beat Dan Maloney in a fun match and Zack Gibson & James Drake beat Amir Jordan & Kenny Williams.
Full rundown
The show opened with a recap of the NXT UK Women’s Championship tournament, leading down to the two final participants. Nigel and Vic talked some more about the tournament in the studio, as we saw Rhea Ripley and Ton Storm warm up for their match backstage.
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Tyler Bate (replacing Sid Scala) beat Joe Coffey by DQ in 9:47 due to outside interference
Coffey was supposed to face Sid Scala, who came out in a suit and with a microphone and said he had not been medically cleared to compete. He said Johnny Saint had given him permission to introduce his replacement, who was Tyler Bate.
Bate got right down to business, attacking Coffey with strikes and a punching battle ensued. A dropkick by Bate sent Coffey to the outside and Tyler followed up with a tope and after some back and forth on the outside, hit a flying European uppercut off the ring steps. At that point, Mark Coffey and Wolfgang came back out which distracted Bate and he got smashed into the ringside barriers.
He couldn’t lift up Coffey for the airplane spin and Coffey took over, hitting a butterfly swing into a butterfly suplex, before applying a double arm stretcher submission. Bate eventually reversed out of it, but got backed into the corner and ate a high belly-to-belly overhead suplex for his troubles.
A striking battle was won by Bate, as he hit a huracanrana and a standing shooting star press for a two-count, Mark Coffey got on the apron, which distracted Tyler Bate and Joe went for a pop-up power slam. Trent Seven came to the ring at that point to even the odds somewhat. Coffey missed a reverse body press off the top and Bate hit his neck-and-shoulders springboard lariat and managed to pick up Coffey for an airplane spin, even doing a squat in the middle of it, before spinning him some more in the other direction.
Coffey briefly got a few more shots in, but was wiped out with a rolling kappa kick. Bate set up the Tyler Driver ’97 but Wolfgang and Mark Coffey interfered for the DQ.
Trent Seven got in the ring to help out his mate, but the heels took over, until Pete Dunne’s music hit and he stormed out to a big pop and evened the odds. The heels were sent to ringside, briefly tried to come back into the ring but were finally driven off by British Strong Style.
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A graphic announced Dan Maloney facing Ligero next
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Ligero beat Dan Maloney after a springboard swinging DDT in 5:13
Maloney slapped Ligero right away and received a leg kick in return. He then picked up Ligero for a suplex and put him down on the apron, but Ligero flipped back into the ring and hit a dropkick for a quick cover. He went for a huracanrana but Maloney caught him and held him in position, but before he could capitalize, Ligero escaped and hit a flying huracanrana off the middle rope for a near fall.
A spine buster briefly stopped Ligero and a submission slowed the match down. Maloney briefly took over but missed a leg drop off the second turnbuckle. Ligero came back with a Rey Mysterio style seated senton off the top, followed by an enzuigiri. Ligero hit an assisted Sliced Bread, bouncing off the top rope and Maloney rolled ot the outside.
Ligero kept pushing, hitting a somersault senton on the bigger man and finally back in the ring, hit a springboard swinging DDT for the win.
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A graphic announced the upcoming tag team match, pitting Zack Gibson and James Drake against Amir Jordan and Kenny Williams. This was followed by a WWE Shop commercial
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Zack Gibson & James Drake beat Amir Jordan & Kenny Williams in 8:26 when Gibson pinned Williams after hitting Ticket to Ride
“Shoes off, if you hate Gibson” chants could be heard immediately, as the fans held their shoes into the air. Gibson and Williams started out and Gibson locked in a cravat and a side headlock right away and tagged his partner in crime. Williams rolled up Drake and hit a springboard back elbow before tagging out himself. Jordan hit a high hip toss and a drop kick and did his dance.
After being hit by a cross body and a drop kick, Drake was blind tagged by Gibson on a whip-in and the Grizzled Young Veterans hit a double chop to Amir’s throat.
Gibson locked in his seated cobra clutch variant and Drake tagged back in, while Amir was still in the hold. Amir played face in peril for a while, as the heels tagged in and out in quick succession. Gibson slammed Drake on top of Jordan for a two count. After some taunting and more beat downs, Drake finally missed a running dropkick into the corner and Amir managed the hot tag to Williams, as Drake tagged in Gibson.
Williams ran wild for a bit, hitting a dropkick on Gibson and taking out Drake on the apron. He hit a lucha-style roll-through into a face buster on Gibson for a near fall.
Gibson managed to tag back out and the heels went for a double back suplex on Williams, but Jordan pulled him down and hit a dropkick on Gibson as Williams hit a superkick on Drake, which sent both men to the outside. Williams hit a running dropkick through the ropes, but held on to the top rope and skinned the cat back inside, before hitting a double topés with Jordan.
Williams went to the to rope, but Gibson rammed Amir into the steps on the outside, distracting Williams and giving Drake a chance to push him off. With Amir being take out, the heels hit Ticket to Ride, a throw from a tombstone position by Drake into a codebreaker by Williams for the win.
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A split screen saw Rhea Ripley and Toni Storm walk to ringside for the main event.
Johnny Saint’s music hit and he came out carrying the NXT UK Women’s championship, followed by a WrestleMania ticket commercial.
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NXT UK Women’s Championship: Rhea Ripley pinned Toni Storm in 9:28 after hitting Riptide to become the inaugural champion
This really was the battle of music styles, as the 80’s rocker, Toni Storm faced the Mosh Pit Kid, Rhea Ripley.
Ripley shoved Storm right away and hit her double arm sign of the horns pose. Toni retaliated with a firearm, slap, spin kick and running boot, sending Rhea crashing into to corner, where she promptly got hit with a hip attack by Toni and rolled to ringside. Toni followed up with a plancha between the middle and lowest rope.
Rhea recovered quickly and whipped Storm into the barriers back first, then briefly rolled back into the ring and stomped hard into Toni’s back on her way back out. This started telling the story of the match, which was Toni not being able to hit some of her signature moves due to her lower back being injured.
Toni came back with some knee strikes and forearm smashed and went for Strong Zero on the apron, but couldn’t lift Ripley up and got back body dropped on the apron. Toni barely made it back into the ring at 8 and Ripley was onto her right away with some ground and pound. Toni came back into the match, but quickly got stopped again with a knee breaker off a headlock attempt.
Ripley locked in her modified clover leaf, putting further pressure on Toni’s knees and lower back. Storm eventually made the ropes for a break, but Ripley kicked her left wrist hard, which still was clutching to the ropes.
Storm came back with some right hand slaps and went for the German suplex, but couldn’t lift Ripley due to her back problems. Ripley went for a back suplex, but Toni escaped and finally hit a snap German and picked Ripley up for a second one. Ripley eventually countered an attempt for a third one, but Toni hit a head butt and finally hit the third German suplex into a bridge for a near fall. She followed up with a running kick, a hip attack into the corner and flying double knees into the corner for another two count.
Ripley briefly took over but missed a corner charge and crashed into the post. Toni tried a bridging pin, but her momentum actually helped Ripley kicking out. Toni went for the Storm Zero, but got back body dropped over the top to the outside. where Ripley threw into the barriers a few more times and managed to get another two count back in the ring. She went for Riptide but Toni managed to escape the move and went for Storm Zero, but again, couldn’t get Ripley up due to her injured back.
Ripley tried for Riptide again, finally hit the move and pinned Toni Storm for the win and the championship.
Johnny Saint and Triple H entered the ring to congratulate Ripley and hand her the title. Rhea hugged both men and they celebrated in the ring together as the whole NXT UK roster came out on the stage to applaud the new champion as the show went off the air.
In a WWE.com exclusive video, Radzi Chinyanganya interviewed Rhea Ripley in the ring. She said that this was so unreal and that she really wished she could catch her breath, but she couldn’t. She said Toni, you are a legend and I love you so much. She thanked everyone for coming out and said that it meant the world to her. The fans chanted “you deserve it” and she smiled and said, she was not going to lie, she might.
She thanked all the women who fought so hard for this and said that they were finally making history. This prompted chants of “British Wrestling”. She said she sould continue to rip everyone apart and then went to the top of the stage to pose with Johnny Saint, Triple H and the whole NXT UK roster.
Episode six (taped July 29 at Cambridge Corn Exchange in Cambridge, England)
Quick recap —
The new heel trio of Joe Coffey, Mark Coffey & Wolfgang stood victorious against Mark Andrews, Flash Morgan Webster & Ashton Smith in a strong main event. Toni Storm beat Dakota Kai to establish herself for the upcoming NXT UK Women’s title tournament in the best women’s wrestling match on NXT UK thus far. We also saw the arrival of Jinny, who attacked Kai after the match was over.
Zack Gibson defeated the debuting Amir Jordan and again drew a tremendous amount of heat in his post-match promo, setting up a match against Trent Seven down the line. Jordan Devlin once more looked impressive, beating another NXT UK debutant, Kenny Williams.
This episode concludes the tapings in Cambridge from July 28 and 29 and we will move on to matches taped August 25 and 26 next week.
Full rundown —
Nigel McGuinness and Vic Joseph opened up the show, talking about the chaotic main event we would be getting tonight as a graphic of the participants in the match was shown. We also got a graphic announcing Toni Storm as the winner of the 2018 Mae Young Classic and a highlight video of her match against Io Shirai from Evolution. We were told Storm would be in action next.
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Toni Storm defeated Dakota Kai in 7:16 with Strong Zero
They brought up Storm’s match against NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler at Royal Albert Hall and also mentioned that Storm actually had a victory over her in Japan. They started out with a headlock jockeying for position, but neither woman got the advantage. They shook hands, but both went for a kick immediately after, which both caught respectively and then proceeded to carefully set their opponents’ leg down again.
Kai took Storm down and hit a running kick, but Storm came back with strikes and a running kick of her own. Storm hit a nice snap suplex and applied a modified STF, wrapping her arm around Kai’s neck in the process. Kai eventually reached the ropes for a clean break.
Another striking battle was won by Kai and she hit a stiff head kick. A second kick was thwarted by Storm with a headbutt, but she couldn’t capitalize on it, as Kai hit her with another head kick on a charge. Another kick attempt was caught by Storm, who hit a snap German suplex.
Kai came back with a running kick into the corner but missed a second one. Storm went for her hip attack, but was hit by another kick. She managed to check the follow-up one and hit a beautiful release snap German suplex, followed by double knees into the corner and the Storm Zero (Air Raid neckbreaker) for the win. They shook hands and hugged afterwards.
There also seems to be some confusion still about what move the Storm Zero is supposed to be, as the announcers called her Tiger Driver the same name before. On the indies, she usually uses a snap piledriver, which is being called the Strong Zero there, but obviously is banned in WWE.
As Kai was on her way up the ramp with Storm still in the ring, Jinny came out and attacked her and called out Storm. Storm then helped Kai up and accompanied her to the back.
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Zack Gibson was shown backstage on his way to the ring, followed by a promo for the November NXT UK tapings in Liverpool.
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Zack Gibson defeated Amir Jordan in 4:24 via submission with the Shankly Gates
Jordan originally hails from Pakistan and started wrestling in 2015. He trained with Lance Storm at the Storm Wrestling Academy as well as the PROGRESS wrestling school. He’s a regular in IPW:UK and 3 Count Wrestling, where he also was the North East Champion.
Gibson tried for a double wristlock right away, but Jordan escaped and hit the big man from Liverpool. Gibson worked over his arm until Jordan escaped a wrist lock and proceeded to do his dance, mocking Gibson. The fans were fully behind him and hated Gibson with a passion.
Jordan got a crossbody and a sunset flip, but Gibson just wouldn’t go down and instead grabbed Jordan’s arm for an arm ringer and hit a keylock driver for a near fall next. Jordan got a dropkick from the middle rope and even a high crossbody from the top, but it wasn’t enough to put Gibson away. Gibson came back with a double palm strike and a stiff lariat followed by Helter Skelter. He locked in the Shankly Gates for the submission victory.
After a Road to Evolution hype video, we were back in the ring with Gibson, who proceeded to cut another promo to thunderous boos and “Zack Gibson is a wanker” chants. His delivery was really good. Here is what he said verbatim: “I am Liverpool’s number one; soon to be recognized as the world’s number one; soon to be recognized as NXT UK’s number one.
I stand here once again victorious! I entered the UK Championship tournament and I won! I challenged the superstar of 205 Live, Noam Dar and I won! Every single day that I step into this ring is another step closer to becoming your NXT UK Champion. This brand, this movement, NXT UK is already the benchmark in British Wrestling. The very best talent from up and down this country flocked to NXT UK because they wanted to be part of something special. But they, the locker room, the punchers have another thing coming, if they think I’m going to share the top spot, I’m the guy to build this brand around.
The NXT UK locker room is full of talent so ready to ride my coattails, I’m Liverpool’s number one, I’m the man who’s going to elevate this brand, not the Bruiserweight Pete Dunne, not Danny Burch, not Mark Andrews, not…”
At this point, Trent Seven came out to partake in the fun and said this: “Are you completely delusional? Seriously though, I have no idea what goes on in that shiny, sweaty head of yours, because I remember, not too long ago, in the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool it was those names and me that kicked this whole thing off in the start.
Good point though, where were you? I didn’t see you in any of the promotional material, I didn’t see you on any of the social media, you were not in the back, did you buy a ticket to watch? No, you were sat upright in bed, with a nice cup of tea, with your mum’s laptop, watching us make history on the WWE Network!
Fair play, I gotta give you your dues, you were the 2018 UK tournament winner — but you couldn’t get the job done on night two, could you? However, you know what you did do that was pretty cool? You made every single person in the Royal Albert Hall take off their shoes!”
This prompted another chant of “Shoes off, if you hate Gibson.” Seven got into the ring at this point and continued: “Now you mentioned some very, very talented men earlier, but you failed to mention me. So how’s about you and me right now in Cambridge, Gibson, let’s go!” Gibson got into as fighting stance but then left the ring to another round of loud boos.
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McGuinness and Joseph talked about Jordan Devlin and we got a recap video of his debut match. This was followed by a Kenny Williams video, where he talked about being on 205 Live in the past and explaining why he was being called “The Luckian.”
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Jordan Devlin defeated Kenny Williams in 4:23 with the Island’s Call
Kenny Williams started in 2013 and is a regular with ICW, Defiant, Premier British Wrestling, and British Championship Wrestling, among others. He is the current Pro Wrestling Elite Champion and a three-time former ICW Zero-G Champion. He also teams with Noam Dar as the Champagne Superbollocks. He appeared on 205 Live from London back in May, competing in a four-way with Tyler Bate, Kalisto, and TJP.
This was a fun match while it lasted and both men got to show off their talents. Devlin started with a wristlock and Williams hit a lucha-style arm drag off the ropes early on, which Devlin flipped through. Devlin hit his uranage/standing moonsault sequence and soon after put on a neck crank, which Williams countered out of with a chinbreaker.
Williams got on the apron and they traded counters, then Devlin hit a hard forearm to the back of Williams’ head, sending him to the outside. He tried for a running soccer kick on the apron, but Williams caught his foot and put Devlin face-first on the apron. Williams was back in the ring and hit a Wrecking Ball dropkick and a suicide dive on Devlin.
Back in the ring, he followed that up with a flying back elbow off the top rope for a near fall. After a series of roll-ups and counters, Devlin finally hit the Island’s Call for the victory.
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We saw Ashton Smith, Flash Morgan Webster, and Mark Andrews backstage, preparing for their match.
There also was a graphic that there would be a huge announcement by Johnny Saint next week.
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Mark Coffey, Joe Coffey & Wolfgang defeated Mark Andrews, Flash Morgan Webster & Ashton Smith in 14:56 when Joe Coffey pinned Webster after a lariat
Webster and Wolfgang started off, which made sense, as Wolfgang attacked him last week. Webster tried, but Wolfgang had the upper hand. Andrews and Joe Coffey tagged in next and Coffey took advantage of Andrews trying to go for a lucha-style DDT, holding on to his legs and spinning him around a few times before dropping him on his face.
Mark Coffey tagged in next and Andrews flipped out of a back suplex attempt. Smith tagged in on the face side and hit some chops and a flying clothesline but only managed to get a one count. Everybody got in the ring at that point, but the referee had things under control again after a few seconds.
Mark Coffey hit a big double fist blow and tagged in his brother, who knocked down Smith with a hard left. He also spun Smith around a few times, this time from a double underhook position, before hitting a nice butterfly suplex. Finally, Smith managed to hot tag Andrews as Wolfgang came in for the heels. Andrews, who beat Wolfgang last week, went for an enzuigiri and a hurricanrana off the middle rope.
In a nice display of teamwork, Mark Coffey distracted Andrews, Wolfgang threw him out of the ring, and Joe Coffey attacked him at ringside. Andrews at this point was the face in peril and got worked over by all three opponents in quick succession — until he finally managed to turn a suplex attempt by Mark Coffey into the Stunt Dog Millionaire and get to Webster for the hot tag while Coffey tagged Wolfgang.
Webster cleaned house on the big guy, hit a jumping knee on Joe Coffey, and used a twisting moonsault from the second rope on Wolfgang for a near fall. Smith tagged in and hit a high knee in the corner, but his attempt to hit the Ashcloud DDT on Wolfgang was countered as the “Last King of Scotland” launched him into the air. Wolfgang tagged out again and both Coffey brothers were in, hitting a 3D variation with an uppercut instead of a cutter on Smith for another near fall.
Smith hit a desperation superkick on Mark Coffey and managed to tag Andrews, who hit an enzuigiri on Joe Coffey but got caught on a moonsault attempt by Wolfgang, who had tagged back in. Andrews managed to turn it into a DDT and Wolfgang rolled to ringside. Andrews tagged Webster, and then he and Smith hit double suicide dives on the Coffeys.
Back in the ring, Wolfgang decapitated Webster with a brutal lariat and tried to powerbomb him to the outside, but Webster managed to counter the attempt into a headscissors, sending Wolfgang to the outside again. Webster at that point hit a somersault senton onto everyone on the outside from the top rope.
Back in the ring, the Coffeys pulled Smith and Andrews off the apron as Wolfgang hit a big spear on Webster, tagged in Joe Coffey, and whipped Webster into a spinning lariat by Coffey, which sealed the fate of the babyface team. The heels were being portrayed as an unstoppable unit here, so it remains to be seen who can step up to stop them down the line.
