A segment involving Women’s Champion Meiko Satomura is set for next week’s NXT UK.
WWE has announced that a celebration for Satomura will take place on NXT UK next Thursday. It was said that Satomura will be presented with a thank you gift in the ring by NXT UK management for everything she’s done for the brand both in the United Kingdom and in Japan.
Satomura won the NXT UK Women’s Championship from Kay Lee Ray last June. In her most recent title defense, Satomura retained against Blair Davenport by referee stoppage when Davenport suffered an ankle injury. After the show aired, Davenport posted a tweet thanking everyone for the love they showed her. Davenport wrote that she’ll be back before you know it.
That match was Satomura’s second title defense against Davenport. She also defeated Davenport to retain the title on an episode of NXT UK last month.
An NXT UK Tag Team title match with Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) defending against Oliver Carter & Ashton Smith will headline next Thursday’s episode. Xia Brookside vs. Amale is also set for the show.
The show opened with a video promoting tonight’s Meiko Satomura vs. Blair Davenport main event, along with the finals of the NXT UK Tag Team title number one contender’s tournament. Tyler Bate and Trent Seven, the current Tag Team Champions, were walking backstage.
NXT UK Tag Team title number one contender’s tournament finals: Oliver Carter & Ashton Smith defeated Dave Mastiff & Jack Starz (12:32)
Moustache Mountain were on commentary for the match.
Starz took Carter down to start, but Carter came back and held his own. Smith and Mastiff were then in — and Mastiff wasted no time, running Smith over and hitting a sit-down splash.
Both men tagged out, then Carter hit an assisted slingshot shoulder block on Starz. Carter crashed and burned off a missed quebrada and got squished by a senton. Just seconds later, Carter had recovered enough that he and Smith hit a double back body drop on Mastiff.
Smith and Carter quickly tagged in and out, isolating Starz and taking turns working him over. Starz finally made the hot tag and Mastiff ran wild on both men, eventually settling in on Smith. Smith briefly hit Mastiff with a shoulder block and Starz wanted the tag, but Mastiff refused. Mastiff insisted that he had things under control and waved Starz off.
Mastiff went for Into the Void, but Smith moved out of the corner. Carter then hit running double knees to the back of Mastiff, followed by a lariat from Smith. Carter then hit an assisted moonsault to score the pin. Smith prevented Starz from being able to break it up.
Carter & Smith will be the first team to challenge Moustache Mountain for the NXT UK Tag Team titles.
– Davenport was shown backstage, twirling a Singapore cane.
– A-Kid was asked about next week’s match against Saxon Huxley. A-Kid said he respected him and they did some etiquette training. A-Kid tried teaching Huxley about table manners, chess, mathematics, and classical music. Things didn’t go well. A-Kid said they’d be back next week.
– Nathan Frazer was walking to his car and was asked about his day at the Performance Center. The car wouldn’t start and he was attacked by Die Familie. Charlie Dempsey and Rohan Raja held Frazer up while Teoman punched him. Raja talked into the camera and said this is what happens when you disrespect their family. We also got a cameo appearance by the camerawoman here, who was wXw’s head of video production, Katja Pilz.
Isla Dawn defeated Myla Grace (3:00)
This was over rather quick. Grace hit some promising offense but quickly was defeated by the swinging side slam.
– Satomura was shown preparing backstage.
– Nina Samuels hijacked an interview with Amale, then proceeded to talk down to her. Amale responded by shoving the microphone into Samuels and challenging her to a match.
– Sam Gradwell was asked about Kenny Williams recently costing him a tag match against Pretty Deadly. Gradwell said he might have gotten a taste of his own medicine, but that Williams was not ready for him.
– Gallus interrupted Noam Dar and Sha Samuels. Joe Coffey wanted to bet that he takes the Heritage Cup from Dar, but Samuels turned him down. Coffey then wanted on the Supernova Sessions, but Dar said they already had Jordan Devlin booked as a guest for the talk show’s season two premiere. Dar walked off, saying he has places to be and people to see.
– A graphic announced that Nathan Frazer would face Teoman next week.
– Japanese Street Fight for the NXT UK Women’s championship: Meiko Satomura defeated Blair Davenport by referee stoppage to retain her title (9:15)
There were no disqualifications or countouts in this match, but pinfalls could only happen in the ring. The match ended with what appeared to be a legitimate injury to Davenport.
Satomura kicked Davenport’s Singapore cane out of her hands at the start of the match, then kicked her in the head, sending Davenport to ringside. Davenport got some steel chairs and a chain from under the ring, but Satomura thwarted the attacks.
Satomura hit Davenport with a chain, then got a near fall off a pinning combination. Davenport came back and kicked a chair the champ was wielding into her face. At ringside, Satomura threw Davenport into the ring steps but got beaten up with the cane in return.
Davenport used a steel structure, used to hold the turnbuckles in place, to bend Satomura’s fingers, but she would not quit. Davenport used a cane for assistance during an STF, then used it on Satomura some more.
Satomura rolled on the apron while Davenport got on the top rope. Satomura tried throwing her off, but Davenport kicked her and Satomura’s upper body was on the apron. Davenport then hit a double foot stomp, but after making an impact and hitting the floor, it looked like Davenport’s left ankle gave out and she immediately rolled around the floor, screaming in pain.
The referee checked on Davenport and immediately threw up the “X” sign and stopped the match. Satomura was awarded the win due to referee stoppage as Davenport was put on a stretcher outside the ring.
Final Thoughts —
The main event, which was gearing up to be a great street fight, was cut short by what appears to have been a legitimate ankle injury to Blair Davenport. Hopefully Davenport makes a quick and full recovery.
The number one contender’s tag team match was a lot of fun and seems to indicate trouble between Starz and Mastiff down the road. Moustache Mountain vs. Carter & Smith should also be great. The Isla Dawn match was a quick squash and mostly filler.
A Women’s Championship match will headline next week’s episode of NXT UK.
Meiko Satomura will put her title on the line against Blair Davenport in a Japanese street fight. The announcement was made during this week’s episode.
Satomura defeated Davenport in a title match on the episode that aired three weeks ago, but Davenport attacked Satomura after the match. In the hype video announcing the match, Satomura said that last time she defeated Davenport, but this time she will destroy her.
Satomura has held the NXT UK Women’s Championship since last June, when she defeated Kay Lee Ray for the title.
Also set for next week’s episode is the final of the NXT UK Tag Team Championship number one contenders tournament. Ashton Smith and Oliver Carter will face Jack Starz and Dave Mastiff in the tournament finals.
The winners of that contest will become the new top challengers to Moustache Mountain’s Tyler Bate and Trent Seven, who have held the NXT UK Tag titles since December.
The show opened with a promo video, highlighting tonight’s main event match between Meiko Satomura and Blair Davenport.
NXT UK Tag Team title number one contender’s tournament: Ashton Smith & Oliver Carter defeated Symbiosis (Primate & T-Bone) (w/Eddie Dennis) (09:37)
Carter and Primate started out and Carter and Smith had Primate under control early, before he finally tagged in T-Bone. The babyface team used some double team magic to wear the bigger T-Bone down.
Symbiosis came back and went for a double suplex on Carter, but Smith pulled his partner out the move and to safety. Symbiosis finally found their groove and worked Smith over, focusing on his back.
Symbiosis scored a near fall on Smith after Primate hit a frog splash on him.
Carter finally received a hot tag and ran wild on bot opponents. He scored a near fall with a quebrada but Symbiosis quickly regrouped and focused on Smith once more. Smith rammed T-Bone into Primate who was on the top rope. He clotheslined T-Bone to the outside, where Carter took him out with a dive.
Smith then lifted Primate on his shoulders and Carter hit him with a Doomsday cutter for the pinfall victory.
**********
– Blair Davenport was shown warming up backstage.
– Pretty Deadly were asked about losing the tag team titles to Moustache Mountain. They complained about some other teams receiving a chance at the title in a tournament. Sam Gradwell then walked up and told them to stop whining and complaining and told them they had to take what they wanted around here.
**********
An absolutely fantastic video on Ilja Dragunov aired.
He was first shown training. He talked about how his intensity wasn’t his biggest strength, but his family was. They then showed him with his wife and son at home, preparing food and playing. He said sometimes when his son falls down, he asks him “why do we fall” and his son replies” to get back up”.
He said his family isn’t his weakness, it’s his strength as they played clips of Jordan Devlin insulting Dragunov, using his family to talk trash to Dragunov. This was great.
**********
– Noam Dar was watching the match between A-Kid and Nathan Frazer on his phone while Samuels had jotted down all the possible ways for Dar to win on a flip chart. They settled on Dar to beat Frazer in the 4th round for 11:1 odds.
– Die Familie cut a taped promo. Rohan Raja said that they were a family and Metehan talked about how the eye sees everything and now it sees them winning tag team gold. He said it was nice that Tyler Bate and Trent Seven were friends, but their bond was stronger.
**********
Xia Brookside beat Myla Grace (03:50)
Brookside played crybaby some more, escaping into the ropes and complaining when her arm got worked over. Grace kept her momentum and the crowd was audibly behind her. She hit a 619 on Xia who was sitting in the corner.
Xia pulled her off the ropes, hit a kick to the back and hit Broken Wings for the win.
**********
– A-Kid trained at the UK Performance Center and talked about wanting to recapture the NXT UK Heritage Cup.
– Jack Starz and Dave Mastiff cut a promo about how they would win the tag team titles in 2022.
**********
Amale was interviewed at the UK Performance Center about her amazing video package and detailing her story and how it exploded on social media. Mila Smidt entered and told her that her story was inspirational.
Jinny then entered and told her it was a pathetic sob story, then left to catch her limo. Stevie Turner looked on and said that Jinny had a point. Amale flipped her lid, pushed her against the glass door and berated her in French.
**********
A video package on WALTER aired, talking about how next week, he would make his “last stand” in NXT UK and have his final match on the brand. He then cut a promo and said that he dominated and brought back glory, respect and dignity to this sport.
He said he was told great things about Frazer and that he was the future of the brand. WALTER wasn’t impressed and like everyone else, Frazer was in it for himself and was taking the piss out of the sport. He said that every time, the Ring General steps into the ring, he comes out victorious.
**********
NXT UK Women’s Championship: Meiko Satomura (c) defeated Blair Davenport to retain the title (12:57)
Satomura started out with leg kicks, then turned a knuckle lock into a Judo hip toss. She followed with an arm drag and kneeling arm bar, further controlling her opponent. They finally exchanged strikes and Satomura kicked Davenport off the top rope to the outside as Davenport went for a springboard maneuver. The champion kept on offense, using a surfboard and more strikes, sending Davenport to ringside once more.
Davenport used her ringside position to her advantage though, kicking Satomura straight on the jaw as she went to leave the ring, almost knocking her out. She hit a draping DDT off the apron to the floor, then quickly went for a pin but only score a two count. She hit a running basement dropkick for another near-fall, then locked in a chin lock.
Meiko finally made another stand, hitting a vicious suplex on Davenport, then locked in an STF, but Davenport managed to lock in a Fujiwara arm bar from the hold. Davenport went for the Falcon Arrow, but couldn’t get it and received a DDT instead. Meiko went for a Pelé kick, but Davenport caught her leg and locked in an STF of her own. She followed with more kicks and a running knee that sent Satomura through the ropes. Davenport hit a double foot stomp off the top on Satomura’s back as she was on the apron. Satomura evaded the V-Trigger, then hit two consecutive Death Valley Bombs for a two count. Satomura went for Scorpion Rising, but Davenport evaded and hit a knee for another two.
Davenport went for the Falcon Arrow once more, but Meiko evaded it and went for another Death Valley Bomb. Davenport turned it into a sunset flip, but Satomura reversed it, sat down and scored the pinfall victory.
As Satomura celebrated, Davenport attacked her from behind and hit three consecutive V-Triggers. She posed with the belt, then threw it onto Satomura and told her. she’d see her again.
Final Thoughts —
The main event was very good and told a great story. Meiko finally prevailed, showing ring prowess, but it was through a roll up and not a deciding move. Davenport’s attack prolonged the program afterwards.
The tag team match was a typical high level match.
The other women’s match was more of a showcase for Xia Brookside’s new heel personality.
The video package on Ilja Dragunov and his family was outstanding.
Next week —
WALTER’s Last Stand: WALTER vs. Nathan Frazer
NXT UK Tag Team Championship number one contender’s tournament: Die Familie vs. Jack Starz & Dave Mastiff
Blair Davenport will be the next challenger for the NXT UK Women’s Championship.
WWE has announced that NXT UK Women’s Champion Meiko Satomura will defend her title against Davenport on the first NXT UK episode of 2022. The episode is airing on Thursday, January 6.
Satomura has held the NXT UK Women’s Championship since winning it from Kay Lee Ray this June. She’s made successful title defenses against Amale, Stevie Turner, Jinny, and Xia Brookside.
Davenport (Bea Priestley) made her NXT UK debut this July. She’s a former champion for Stardom and had been part of the AEW roster prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Davenport is undefeated since joining NXT UK. Last week, she defeated Satomura’s protege Emilia McKenzie. After the match, Davenport put McKenzie in an STF, which is one of Satomura’s signature moves. Davenport said she wanted a title match between the “Final Boss” and the “Ichiban Gaijin.”
A video package building up Satomura and Davenport’s title match aired on this week’s NXT UK. Davenport said she conquered Japan while wrestling in the country, but Satomura is the one match she’s been chasing.
The Thursday, January 6 episode of NXT UK will also feature a tag team match between Symbiosis (Primate & T-Bone) and Oliver Carter & Ashton Smith. The following week, Teoman & Rohan Raja will face Dave Mastiff & Jack Starz. The teams that win those matches will advance to a number one contender’s bout to determine the first challengers for Moustache Mountain’s NXT UK Tag Team titles.
The show opened with a highlight video for Dragunov vs. Brown tonight.
NXT UK Women’s Championship: Meiko Satomura defeated Xia Brookside to retain the title (07:58)
Satomura controlled Brookside early on. Brookside got the upper hand, but got overwhelmed again in short order. Satomura applied an arm bar around the five minute mark, but Brookside made the ropes, then went on the attack once more. Satomura missed an enzuigiri and Brookside scored a near-fall after a codebreaker, then threw a tantrum when she couldn’t score a three-count.
Satomura hit the Death Valley Driver, then finished Brookside off with Scorpion Rising for the successful title defense.
**********
Charlie Dempsey and Rohan Raja were at an apartment, Raja suggested they go to the roof. As they looked over the city, Raja said that Teoman sent his gratitude and asked Dempsey what was important to him. He said legacy and heritage were important, and he knew it was the same for Raja. Raja had been on the phone with Teoman and welcomed Dempsey to “the familia.” They shook hands.
Meiko Satomura was greeted backstage by Emilia McKenzie and was asked about her future plans. Satomura said she would be going home to Japan for a few weeks. Blair Davenport then walked up and asked Emilia McKenzie what she was going to do without her only friend there to protect her? McKenzie said she would be just fine and Davenport challenged her to a match, which Emilia accepted. Davenport also told Satomura to bring her back a present from Japan.
**********
Saxon Huxley beat Kenny Williams (08:14)
This was a rematch from a few weeks ago, where Williams cheated to win.
Williams threw his jacket at Huxley at the bell, but Huxley caught it and started dismantling Williams. He hit a running crossbody into the ropes, then followed Williams to ringside and leveled him with a clothesline. Back in the ring, Huxley kept up the attacks and ragdolled Williams around.
Williams ducked a corner attack and Huxley tumbled to the outside. Williams attacked him there, then kept the pressure on in the ring. Williams hit a sit-down splash onto Huxley’s back for a near-fall, then worked over Huxley’s knees and upper legs.
Huxley came back and deadlifted Williams into a gorilla press. Huxley missed and elbow from the middle rope, allowing Williams to hit a running DDT. Suddenly, Subculture’s music played and Williams, like an idiot, ignored his opponent and got on the ropes, looking towards the entrance.
Huxley hit a hip attack into the corner, then hit a fireman’s carry into a powerbomb for the win.
**********
Sha Samuels had a board with odds for various challengers to the NXT UK Cup. Sam Gradwell was at the bottom with 4000 to 1 odds. He walked in and took offense, then challenged Samuels for next week and bet 10 pounds on himself, at the same odds.
A graphic announced Blair Davenport vs. Emilia McKenzie for next week, plus Pretty Deadly vs. Moustache Mountain for the NXT UK tag team titles. They then aired a very good hype video with great promos by both teams.
**********
NXT UK championship: Ilja Dragunov defeated Rampage Brown by referee stoppage to retain the title (08:50)
They locked up, Brown backed Dragunov into the corner, but the champion evaded a big punch and shortly thereafter, a back elbow, then hit a chop of his own.
Brown finally hit a punch off a break in the corner, but Dragunov immediately punished him with strikes, then trapped Brown in a side headlock, not even breaking the hold off a backdrop driver. Dragunov locked the hold on twice more off whips, but eventually had to release after another high-angle suplex.
They ended at ringside, and Brown repeatedly rammed Dragunov into the corner posts. Brown repeatedly slammed Dragunov, then started working over the champion’s lower back.
Dragunov briefly fought back with kicks off his back, but Brown kept attacking relentlessly. Dragunov escaped a Doctor Bomb attempt, then managed a back body drop off a powerbomb attempt. Dragunov managed to hit an enzuigiri out of desperation that put down Brown hard.
A replay showed Dragunov’s toe hitting Brown in the temple or jaw. The doctor checked him out and the referee called a stop to the contest.
Final thoughts —
The main event was great while it lasted, but it looked like a legitimate Referee/doctor stoppage and a very anticlimactic finish. I hope this leads to a rematch down the line.
The other two matches were fine, but not very memorable. Other than the first seven minutes of the main event, the highlights of the show were the Charlie Dempsey/Rohan Raja segment and the Pretty Deadly and Moustache Mountain promos.
Next week —
NXT UK Tag Team Championship: Pretty Deadly (c) vs. Moustache Mountain
The show opened with a video hyping up tonight’s main event between Meiko Satomura and Jinny
Rampage Brown defeated Flash Morgan Webster (07:13)
They showed clips of Webster slapping Wolfgang and Sha Samuels to set up matches in the past and last week’s failed attempt to do the same to Rampage Brown.
Brown threw Webster around early, then caught him mid-air on a leapfrog attempt and took him down hard with a slam. He threw Webster across the ring with a vertical suplex, followed with a gorilla press and a Saito suplex that almost took Webster’s head off.Webster managed to turn a Doctor Bomb into a guillotine , then DDT’s Brown onto his knee. He hit a flying hurricanrana off the top that sent Brown to ringside.
Webster followed with a dive but Brown caught him. He escaped, then hit a second dive into a DDT that sent both men into the barricades. Webster hit a swanton bomb onto a kneeling Brown for a near-fall, then followed with chops and elbows.
Brown finally turned Webster inside out with a lariat, then hit the Doctor Bomb for the win.
**********
Satomura kneeled with her belt in her hands in deep thought as Emilia McKenzie watched on
A recap video of Pretty Deadly costing Tyler Bate the NXT Heritage Cup against Noam Dar from last week aired.
Tyler Bate was interviewed about his loss last week when Trent Seven ran up. He apologized to Bate and Bate forgave him, after Seven said he needed to hear him say it. Seven then was excited and told Bate he spoke to Johnny Saint and he agreed to slide them into the number one contender triple threat match for the NXT UK Tag Team titles next week, which will now be a four way between Moustache Mountain, Ashton Smith & Oliver Carter, Symbiosis and Jack Starz & Dave Mastiff. Bate said that was cool. Seven appeared way more excited than Bate though.
Sid Scala was interviewed about tonight’s main event when Xia Brookside came into the office. She asked if she could challenge the winner of tonight’s title match between Meiko Satomura and Jinny. Scala said he wasn’t sure how to word it, but her recent matches had not warranted such an opportunity. Brookside was upset and said that this was unfair and Satomura had asked the women’s locker room to step up, which was what she was doing. She then proceeded to call her “daddy” (Robbie Brookside), and complained to him about Scala.
Angel Hayze defeated Isla Dawn by DQ (02:17)
This was Hayze’s NXT UK debut. The 20-year old Scot started wrestling in 2016 and appeared primarily for ICW and Premier British Wrestling (where she also was trained) in her home country. “The Young Lioness” also was the last Scottish School of Wrestling champion before they folded in 2018 and had matches in Pro Wrestling: EVE, British Championship Wrestling and TNT Extreme Wrestling. She is part of the She-Wolves stable with Kasey Owens, Lana Austin, Molly Spartan and Rhio.
Dawn hit a head kick early on, but then was outwitted by the smaller Hayze, who got a roll-up for a two count. Dawn took back over with power moves and kicks in the corner. She hit a backdrop driver that landed Hayze right on her head. She then planted her knee in Hayze’s back while pulling her hair. The referee started counting her out and she wouldn’t release her grip, leading to a disqualification.
Dawn then hit a fireman’s carry into a spinning side slam on Hayze after the match.
**********
Jinny got ready for her match backstage with Joseph Conners
A video aired of A-Kid receiving some media attention in his native Spain, including news clips and interviews. Sam Gradwell watched the footage on his phone and was not impressed, saying he had been to Spain, it had been too hot and his phone got nicked. He said was a real fighter, not A-Kid.
Subculture were backstage, talking to Flash Morgan Webster about his match tonight. He said at one point, there was a moment where he saw doubt in Rampage Brown’s eyes. Stevie Turner then walked up and berated them, saying she was four-dimensional and was always two levels above and two steps ahead of each of them, especially Dani Luna. Luna then got in her face and said she could two-step whatever she wanted, but if she got into the ring with her, Luna would only need three seconds.
**********
Ilja Dragunov in-ring segment
Dragunov said that words cannot express going from being totally destroyed to overcoming what nobody expected him to overcome. This feeling of coming home and giving his son a kiss, an seeing the smile when he realized that his father was a champion now. The feeling of getting rid of all the self-doubts he has as everyone else, but he was right because now weakness is relevant if you put everything you have into your strengths.
He said he was the face of NXT UK and was ready to put the brand on another level. He said whenever he steps into the ring, he fights like his life depends on it, but he needed next-level competitors. He thanked A-Kid and said this was exactly what he was. He pushed him and forced him to give his very best. He said he can’t wait for the next one and he was always hungry. He concluded saying “Long Live the Czar” when Rampage Brown’s music played and he walked out.
Brown said Dragunov was the man right now, he beat WALTER and took A-Kid to his limits, but him and Ilja had some unfinished business and would love to fight him for the title. Ilja said Brown was not the first giant trying to take him down and the last one was bigger, but he respected him and fighting him sounded like a great idea.
He extended his hand and Brown shook it, but then flattened him with stiff lariat. Brown than told him “I don’t need your respect son, I just need your title.” He then posed with the belt over the fallen champion.
**********
Meiko Satomura and Emilia McKenzie were ready to walk to the ring. They passed Jinny and Joseph Conners in the hallway and Jinny called out to Satomura to enjoy her last night of being the final boss. Blair Davenport then walked up and wished both of them luck, but said it didn’t matter who won, because she was back now and was putting all of them on notice.
Teoman and Rohan Raja were at a dinner table. Raja asked what Teoman thought about Gallus and said he was looking forward to their upcoming fight. Teoman said he was too. Rohan said that people called the match family against family and Teoman said that they were family, Gallus was not. Rohan asked about Joe Coffey and Teoman told him not to worry, because “the eye is always watching.”
Nathan Frazer was watching a match from Mark Andrews and said he was one of the best. Subculture then walked in and noticed what he was watching. Andrews was happy and Frazer said he actually wanted to test himself against Andrews some time. Andrews told him they should do it and Frazer was stoked.
**********
NXT UK Women’s Championship: Meiko Satomura (w/ Emilia McKenzie) defeated Jinny (w/ Joseph Conners) to retain the title (12:42)
Jinny backed her into the ropes, but Meiko ducked a punch and hit a first leg kick, then followed up with more. Jinny eventually took over, working over Satomura’s arm with submission holds and locking in a tight head vice. Satomura eventually escaped and the two women traded strikes and Jinny got a two count with a floatover pin. She went for a Kimura but Meiko escaped and punished Jinny with more kicks, until Jinny hit a dragon screw.
Jinny went for a single leg Boston, but Meiko kicked her off, then took her down and hit a handstand knee drop for a two count. Jinny hit more kicks and started working over Satomura’s legs. Meiko went for a springboard reverse crossbody off the turnbuckles, but Jinny caught her with a strike in mid-air and scored another near fall, then locked in the single leg Boston Crab. Meiko eventually escaped, but was quickly overpowered by more kicks from Jinny.
The champion came back with a striking combination and enzuigiri. She followed with a handspring knee drop on Jinny’s head. She went on the turnbuckles once more, but Jinny kicked her legs out and hit the Makeover off the turnbuckles for another close near fall. She locked in the single leg Boston crab once more, but Satomura inched her way to the ropes.
Jinny missed the ripcord rolling kick and Satomura hit a frog splash off the top for a close near fall. Meiko locked in an STF, but this time, Jinny made the ropes. Conners tried to distract the referee, but McKenzie hit a stunner on him on the apron. Meiko survived more offense, then hit a Pelé kick and Death Valley Bomb for another two count.
Meiko then hit Scorpion Rising and another Death Valley Bomb to finally score the pin and the win.
Meiko and Emilia celebrated after the match and waved Jinny and Conners goodbye as the show went off the air.
Final Thoughts:
A really good episode with a great main event match. Satomura is a legend and Jinny has come a long way over the past few years. They also did a good job of establishing Davenport as the next major challenger. It will also be interesting what role “crybaby” Xia Brookside will play down the line.
The opening match established Rampage Brown as a monster once more and the angle with Ilja Dragunov was good. Ilja’s promo was excellent and Brown showing some heelish tendencies was very well done.
The other women’s match was mostly just there to further establish Isla Dawn as a lunatic.
Next week:
NXT UK Tag Team Championship number one contenders Fatal Four-Way: Moustache Mountain vs. Ashton Smith and Oliver Carter vs. Jack Starz and Dave Mastiff vs. Symbiosis
Meiko Satomura’s next NXT UK Women’s Championship defense is now official.
WWE has announced that Satomura will defend her title against Jinny on the Thursday, November 4 episode of NXT UK. There was a segment on this week’s NXT UK where Jinny was informed that Satomura had accepted her challenge for a title match.
Jinny faced Emilia McKenzie on last week’s NXT UK. Satomura came out to ringside during the match and stopped Joseph Conners from interfering, but Jinny still got the win.
Jinny then got on the microphone and said she now has Satomura’s attention after defeating her protege. Jinny said nothing will stand in the way of her achieving her destiny of becoming NXT UK Women’s Champion. Jinny challenged Satomura to a title match, and Satomura responded by holding up her title belt.
Satomura won the NXT UK Women’s Championship by defeating Kay Lee Ray this June. Satomura has made two title defenses since becoming champion, defeating Amale and Stevie Turner.
Another title match has been added to next week’s episode of NXT UK.
Meiko Satomura will defend the NXT UK Women’s Championship against Stevie Turner on the Thursday, August 19 episode. The match was made official on today’s episode of the show.
In a promo package hyping the match on this week’s NXT UK episode, Satomura stated that Turner needed to be taught respect, while Turner said that she represents the future of the NXT UK brand.
Satomura has held the NXT UK Women’s title since defeating Kay Lee Ray on the show’s June 10 episode. Turner is a relative newcomer to NXT UK, debuting in an episode that aired in April of this year. She has picked up wins over Aleah James and Laura Di Matteo in her last two appearances on the show.
Next week’s show will also feature an NXT UK Tag Team Championship match, as Pretty Deadly (Lewis Holey and Sam Stoker) defend their titles against Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate and Trent Seven).
NXT UK airs Thursdays at 3 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock in the United States and is also available on demand.
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.
**********
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
**********
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.
**********
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.
**********
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.
**********
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.
**********
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.
**********
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
After holding the title for more than 600 days, Kay Lee Ray’s NXT UK Women’s Championship reign has come to an end.
In the main event of this week’s NXT UK, Meiko Satomura defeated KLR to win the NXT UK Women’s Championship. The final moments of the match saw Satomura hit a Death Valley Driver and then connect with her Scorpio Rising kick to win the title.
Streamers filled the ring as Satomura celebrated and posed with the NXT UK Women’s Championship belt before the show went off the air.
KLR had held the NXT UK Women’s Championship since winning the title from Toni Storm at NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff in August 2019.
Satomura is the fourth wrestler to hold the NXT UK Women’s Championship since the title was introduced in 2018. Rhea Ripley, Storm, and KLR are the former champions.
This was the second time that Satomura challenged KLR for the NXT UK Women’s Championship. Satomura lost their first match this March, but she again became the number one contender to the NXT UK Women’s Championship by winning a gauntlet match on NXT UK last month.
It was announced this January that the legendary Satomura had signed with WWE and would be joining NXT UK. Satomura also took part in WWE’s Mae Young Classic in 2018.
After going back and forth between Japan and the UK since arriving in NXT UK, Satomura told Tokyo Sports last month that she would be moving to the United Kingdom.
Kay Lee Ray and Meiko Satomura’s Women’s Championship rematch will air on NXT UK in two weeks.
WWE has announced that KLR will defend her NXT UK Women’s Championship against Satomura on the Thursday, June 10 episode of NXT UK. Satomura won a gauntlet match on NXT UK two weeks ago to again become the number one contender to KLR’s title.
The gauntlet match that Satomura won also featured Jinny, Isla Dawn, Dani Luna, and Emilia McKenzie. In a post-match angle, KLR laid out Satomura with a superkick. KLR had come out to the ring after the match to have a staredown with Satomura. KLR then bowed to Satomura. When Satomura bowed back, KLR gave her the superkick.
A video aired on NXT UK today hyping up the KLR-Satomura rematch. KLR said she’s very proud of her previous match against Satomura and said Satomura gained her respect, but KLR didn’t become NXT UK Women’s Champion by holding hands and making friends. KLR said she’s lost friends because of how she’s acted — and it was worth it. Satomura said she stopped respecting KLR when KLR gave her that superkick two weeks ago. KLR said she’s the “Forever Champion” and vowed that no one will take her title from her.
In what was Satomura’s second match for NXT UK, KLR defeated Satomura in March to retain the NXT UK Women’s Championship. That’s the only match Satomura has lost since joining NXT UK.
Satomura & McKenzie defeated KLR & Dawn in a tag team match at NXT UK: Prelude last month. McKenzie pinned Dawn to get the win while Satomura prevented KLR from breaking it up.
As of today, KLR has been NXT UK Women’s Champion for 635 days. She defeated Toni Storm for the title at NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff in August 2019.
The NXT UK episode that airs next Thursday (June 3) will feature Ilja Dragunov vs. Noam Dar and Rampage Brown vs. Joe Coffey.
Meiko Satomura is getting another shot at Kay Lee Ray’s NXT UK Women’s Championship.
Satomura became the number one contender to KLR’s title by winning a gauntlet match in the main event of this week’s NXT UK episode. Satomura wasn’t originally announced as one of the gauntlet match participants, but she replaced Xia Brookside after an angle where Brookside was attacked backstage by Amale.
Satomura eliminated Jinny and Isla Dawn in the gauntlet match. Dani Luna and Emilia McKenzie were also participants in the match.
After Satomura won the gauntlet match, KLR came out to the ring and had a staredown with her. KLR bowed to Satomura and Satomura bowed back, but KLR laid Satomura out with a superkick when she bowed. KLR said she’s the “Forever Champion” and Satomura isn’t going to do anything about it.
KLR has been NXT UK Women’s Champion since winning the title from Toni Storm at UK TakeOver: Cardiff in August 2019. KLR retained the title against Satomura on an episode of NXT UK this March. That was Satomura’s second match for NXT UK.
Satomura & McKenzie defeated KLR & Dawn in a tag match at NXT UK: Prelude last month. McKenzie pinned Dawn to get the win while Satomura prevented KLR from breaking the pin up.
WWE hasn’t announced when KLR vs. Satomura II will be taking place.
The show opened with a preview of the women’s number one contender’s gauntlet match. Nigel McGuinness stated that Xia Brookside had been injured when she was attacked by Amale last week and Sid Scala was searching for a replacement.
Heritage Cup rules match: Noam Dar defeated Nathan Frazer 2:1 in round five (12:25)
Round One —
They traded holds and mat-wrestled for most of the round. Dar slapped Frazer after the round ended.
Round Two —
After some back and forth and a long backslide spot, Frazer got the first fall with a small package at 0:58 of the round. Frazer took the lead 1-0.
Round Three —
Frazer hit a great dropkick and a running Shooting Star Press as Sha Samuels sauntered down to ringside and kicked Dar’s corner man out of the arena. Dar had the upper hand for most of the round after kicking Frazer from the turnbuckles. Frazer was on the top rope ready to hit a move when the time expired.
Round Four —
Frazer missed a top rope foot stomp early on, then nearly got pinned after an elbow strike. Frazer got a near fall by evading the Nova Roller. Dar applied an ankle lock and Frazer tapped at 1:13 of the round. Dar tied things up at 1-1.
Round Five —
They traded quick pinning attempts early on. Frazer was on the apron and managed to kick off Samuels, who grabbed his leg. Frazer missed a springboard senton and fell victim to the Nova Roller at 0:50 of the round, giving Dar the win 2-1.
Samuels and Dar teased Frazer after the match.
– The clip from last week that set up a future Rampage Brown vs. Wolfgang match aired.
– A video recapped Pretty Deadly winning the NXT UK Tag Team titles. Pretty Deadly said they’ll be on top for a very long time.
– Trent Seven talked to Jack Starz at the UK Performance Center. Sam Gradwell walked up and berated Seven, calling him over the hill and saying he could see through Seven’s “concerned dad act.” Seven decked Gradwell and they were pulled apart, with Gradwell repeatedly calling him an idiot and a stupid man.
Mark Andrews pinned Levi Muir (4:32)
Andrews had new music and gear. The screen also turns black and white and has “Subculture” scrolling at the border of the screen during his entrance. Andrews came out with his Subculture stablemates Dani Luna and Flash Morgan Webster, but they left ringside after the entrance.
Muir used his power early, but Andrews overwhelmed him with speed and hit a standing moonsault. They went back and forth, with Muir getting Andrews in a Torture Rack and hitting a rope-assisted suplex. Andrews hit Stun Dog Millionaire off another suplex attempt, then hit a dive through the ropes. He followed with a top rope Shooting Star Press to the back of a kneeling Muir for the pinfall victory.
– Sid Scala was asked about Xia Brookside’s replacement for tonight. Amale walked up and demanded to be in the match, but Scala said she would not be rewarded for her actions. Scala said Amale would face Brookside once she returns. Amale flipped her lid and berated Scala in French, then stormed off. Scala’s facials here were every bit of William Regal back in the day.
– A video recapped Kenny Williams defeating Amir Jordan in their Loser Leaves NXT UK match last week. They focused on Jordan crying after the match but showed more of what happened backstage with Jordan breaking down and being helped out of the arena
– A graphic plugged A-Kid and Tyler Bate’s Heritage Cup Championship match for next week. A-Kid and Bate then had a sit-down interview with Sid Scala.
A-Kid said winning the Heritage Cup showed him he was in control of his life. Bate said the Heritage Cup represented the hold-for-hold British style and was made for him, but A-Kid smiled and said it was his. Bate said it was A-Kid’s for now.
A-Kid said he beat Bate the last time they faced off for the Heritage Cup. Bate replied that A-Kid did, but he seems too sure of himself and this will be where he fails. Bate said A-Kid may be the master of the Heritage Cup rules, but Bate has the experience edge and has big matches under his belt.
A-Kid said he always looked up to Bate and watched at home when Bate won the NXT United Kingdom Championship. A-Kid said Bate was chasing him now, but Bate smiled and asked A-Kid if that was what he believed. He said A-Kid couldn’t see the bigger picture and that Bate was in his own league. They shook hands as Scala told them that may the best man win. This was a great segment.
– Ilja Dragunov will be the guest on Noam Dar’s Supernova Sessions next week.
Number one contender’s gauntlet match: Meiko Satomura won the match over Emilia McKenzie, Dani Luna, Isla Dawn, and Jinny (16:34)
They did not announce who the fifth woman would be before the match.
Dawn and McKenzie started out. Dawn was in control early, but McKenzie came back and hit a spear for a near fall around the three-minute mark. Dawn pinned McKenzie after a bridging Saito suplex at 3:30.
Luna was in next and hit a deadlift suplex on Dawn. Luna hit an exploder and some other offense but crashed into the corner post and got rolled up around 5:30.
Satomura was the surprise replacement for Brookside. Dawn immediately attacked her and they briefly fought at ringside. Satomura came back and started dismantling Dawn. Satomura missed a handspring attack and Dawn kicked her leg and head. Dawn hit two Saito suplexes and got a near fall off a double knee attack. Satomura got an armbar and transitioned into a pinning combination to pin Dawn around 9:45
Jinny (with Joseph Conners) was in as the final participant. She attacked Satomura right away and they went back and forth for a few minutes. They traded submissions and Jinny hit a nice suplex from a seated position to escape. Satomura locked in an STF, but Jinny made the ropes. Satomura had Jinny on her shoulders when Conners got on the apron, but he caught a kick for his trouble. Satomura then pinned Jinny with Scorpion Rising to win the gauntlet.
NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray walked out after the match and got in the ring, posing with her championship. She bowed to Satomura but laid her out with a superkick when Satomura bowed back. KLR screamed at Satomura and posed with the belt as the show faded to black.
Final Thoughts —
Another strong show. Nathan Frazer vs. Noam Dar was very good and fast paced. Dar getting the win tells a nice story of the veteran being able to beat the upstart rookie.
The match with Mark Andrews was mostly there to show off his tweaked gimmick I guess. The sit-down with A-Kid and Bate was fantastic and told a great story of the (maybe a bit too) confident young champion and the calm veteran, who may be a step ahead of him mentally.
The gauntlet match was fine but felt a bit rushed at times. KLR vs. Meiko Satomura will be good, but we already got the match a couple of months ago and I’m not sure where this will lead, but I will give them the benefit of the doubt. I thought they’d be putting McKenzie over stronger, but maybe they have a longer redemption storyline planned for her and she may eventually face her mentor Satomura for the title if Satomura wins it from KLR.
Next Week —
Heritage Cup Champion A-Kid defends against Tyler Bate
A new match has been added to the lineup for NXT UK: Prelude.
WWE has announced that NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray will team with Isla Dawn against Meiko Satomura & Emilia McKenzie at NXT UK: Prelude next Thursday (April 8). Emilia McKenzie is Millie McKenzie’s new in-ring name in WWE.
During a segment on this week’s NXT UK episode, KLR addressed defeating Satomura last month to retain the NXT UK Women’s Championship. McKenzie then made her debut as a member of the NXT UK roster by interrupting KLR. McKenzie said she’s here because she wants to defeat the best. McKenzie warned KLR that their paths will cross soon.
KLR told McKenzie that she doesn’t see why their paths can’t cross right now. McKenzie went to go face-to-face with KLR but was attacked by Dawn. After Satomura ran out to make the save, she and McKenzie fought off KLR and Dawn.
NXT UK authority figure Sid Scala then informed KLR & Dawn backstage that they’ll be facing Satomura & McKenzie in tag team action next week.
It was reported this February that McKenzie had signed with WWE and would be joining NXT UK. She previously wrestled for NXT UK three times in 2018, including having two televised matches.
NXT UK: Prelude will stream on Peacock in the United States and on the WWE Network everywhere else at 3 p.m. EST/ 8 p.m. BST next Thursday. Here’s the updated card for the show:
NXT United Kingdom Champion WALTER defends against Rampage Brown
Heritage Cup rules match: Tyler Bate (w/ Trent Seven) vs. Noam Dar (w/ Sha Samuels) (winner becomes the number one contender to A-Kid’s Heritage Cup Championship)
NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray & Isla Dawn vs. Meiko Satomura & Emilia McKenzie
We’ll hear from Heritage Cup Champion A-Kid, NXT Cruiserweight Champion Jordan Devlin, and Ilja Dragunov
