Pro Wrestling EVE has announced that another AEW champion will defend her title at Wrestle Queendom this weekend.
EVE broke the news on social media this afternoon that Willow Nightingale would be defending the TBS Championship this Sunday against Nina Samuels. They were sure to thank AEW CEO Tony Khan and AEW “for making this happen.”
Nightingale won the TBS Championship from Mercedes Mone at New Year’s Smash on December 31, 2025. She has defended the title twice since then. The first defense was against Julia Hart on Collision in January. The second was in a four-way against Marina Shafir, Megan Bayne, and Mina Shirakawa on Dynamite in February.
Samuels, age 37, made her pro debut in 2014 and spent four years in the WWE developmental program in NXT UK. She has never wrestled Nightingale before, but has had one match in AEW, teaming with Kid Lykos II in a loss to Kris Statlander & Stokely Hathaway in a mixed tag team match on Collision in August of 2024.
Wrestle Queendom VIII airs live on YouTube from the Indigo at O2 in London, England, on Sunday, March 8. The card so far, which now includes five full-time AEW wrestlers and a handful of others who have made frequent appearances for the promotion:
Sudden Death 16 Match: DASH Chisako vs. Amale vs. Miyu Yamashita vs. Jamie Hayter vs. Alexxis Falcon vs. 11 wrestlers yet to be named
EVE Tag Team Title Match: LALLIE (Hollie Barlow & Lana Austin) (c) vs. Charli Evans & a mystery partner
AZM vs. Safire Reed
TBS Championship: Willow Nightingale vs. Nina Samuels
Amira (w/Cassius) vs. Harley Cameron
NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship: Syuri vs. Alex Windsor
EVE International Championship: Kris Statlander vs. Charlie
They first showed a recap of Webster slapping Wolfgang to set up the match this week.
Webster used his speed to his advantage early and agitated Wolfgang with some quick offense. Wolfgang used his size to finally cut Webster down, but then got sent to the outside and was hit by a tope by Webster. Wolfgang came back and eventually posed over a fallen Webster.
He caught Webster coming off the ropes and hoisted him on his shoulders, but Flash hit a poison rana, then hit an elbow for a near fall. Webster came off the top with a senton bomb but Wolfgang got his knees up, then speared Webster into oblivion for the pin and the win.
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Sid Scala announced that in two weeks, Joe Coffey will face Rampage Brown in the final match of their ongoing rivalry. The only way to win will be via submission or knockout.
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Dani Luna and Mark Andrews were asked about Webster’s match tonight. Isla Dawn crept up from behind and acted creepy. Luna told her to get lost.
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Moustache Mountain walked around backstage with some training equipment. Bate said he will become a Grand Slam champion by beating Pretty Deadly next week and Seven said ho they can call themselves the best team in NXT UK when they never beat Moustache Mountain.
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Sid Scala told Jinny and Joseph Conners that Jinny will have a rematch with Aoife Valkyrie in two weeks and it will be no disqualification. Also, Joseph Conners will be locked in a cage at ringside.
Jinny threw a fit, threw a chair, and Conners said this wouldn’t change the outcome.
Amale defeated Nina Samuels (04:52)
Samuels ran wild on Amale early on, attacking her and throwing her around by the hair. Amale came back with a lariat and some ground and pound, then hit a bulldog for a two count. Samuels took back over, threw Amale face first into the turnbuckle then hit her with double knees to the back.
Amale came back with stomps and a running kick into the corner, then scored a near-fall with a swinging neckbreaker. Samuels came back and hit two spinning backbreakers. Amale hit a northern lights suplex, followed by the Heartbreaker (a spinebuster variation) to pick up the victory.
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An amazing video about the upcoming WALTER vs. Ilja Dragunov match aired.
Ilja talked about how WALTER had become his nightmare and now the nightmare was back. He said he was broken inside after their match but he is different now. He said that he lost all respect for WALTER. He said he will now become WALTER’s nightmare. His choice of words and delivery were much better than this synopsis, so go watch the clip yourself if you are looking forward to this match.
A video then recapped what happened between Dragunov, Pete Dunne and WALTER on NXT in the U.S. this week
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A video from two weeks ago was shown, as Symbiosis made their way backstage after their loss to Moustache Mountain.
As Dennis was about to cut a promo, Saxon Huxley stormed into the room with his chain, screaming “Better luck next time!” over and over again. Dennis asked if he was talking about them. He repeated screaming the phrase into Dennis’ face, then stormed off again, as Symbiosis looked on and were puzzled.
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Meiko Satomura talked about facing Stevie Turner next week. She said that Turner had to learn about respect and it was her role as a champion to teach her. Turner said she was the future of NXT UK and that she would win.
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Pretty Deadly were at a WWE Warehouse and said they were surrounded by history, but would have to make space for their own history. They threw down some pictures of Moustache Mountain and said next week, Moustache Mountain would be the best team that Pretty Deadly has ever beaten.
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Heritage Cup Number One Contender Tournament Round 1: Noam Dar defeated Mark Andrews two falls to one (15:30)
Round 1 —
They felt each other out and exchanged holds, with Andrews getting the better of things by holding on to a headlock
Round 2 —
Dar took over and beat Andrews down, then threw him to ringside and rammed him into the barriers. Andrews made a comeback just as the round ended.
Round 3 —
Andrews hit a sunset flip right at the bell, but got kicked off the turnbuckle and sold his leg. Teoman and Rohan Raja walked out at this point and looked on from the aisle. They went back and forth until Andrews hit Stun Dog Millionaire, then hit a dive to Dar on the outside. Andrews missed a springboard move, selling his leg but still went for the Pelè kick, but Dar caught his leg and applied the ankle lock for the submission win at 2:43 of the round. Teoman and Raja left again. Dar 1-0
Round 4 —
Andrews caught Dar’s leg on a kick through the ropes and hit a dragon screw on the leg in the ropes. Both men sold their legs at this point. Dar went for the ankle lock again, but Andrews rolled through for a rollup pin to pick up the fall at 1:38 of the round. Andrews 1-1
Round 5 —
Andrews almost picked up the win with another pinning combination. Dar hit a back elbow that almost got him a three count. Dar went for the Nova Roller but Andrews caught him with an enzuigiri. He went up top, but Dar kicked his leg away and sent him crashing to the mat. Dar hit a mule kick to the leg, then hit the Nova Roller to score the final fall at 2:38 of the round. Dar wins 2-1
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Next week:
NXT UK Women’s Champion Meiko Satomura defends against Stevie Turner
NXT UK Tag Team Champions Pretty Deadly defend against Moustache Mountain
In two weeks:
Rampage Brown vs. Joe Coffey in a submission or knockout match
Jinny vs. Aoife Valkyrie in a no disqualification match with Joseph Conners locked in a cage at ringside
WWE has announced a pair of matches that will be taking place on next week’s episode of NXT UK.
Jordan Devlin will issue another open challenge for his version of the NXT Cruiserweight Championship on NXT UK next Thursday. WWE hasn’t announced who his opponent will be.
Xia Brookside will also face off with Nina Samuels on next Thursday’s NXT UK..
Devlin has been calling himself the real NXT Cruiserweight Champion since returning to WWE television in October. WWE lists both Devlin and Santos Escobar as being NXT Cruiserweight Champions.
Devlin announced in December that he’ll be defending his Cruiserweight title in open challenges every time he steps in the ring. He’s retained in matches against Oliver Carter and Ben Carter since then.
In a promo on this week’s NXT UK episode, Devlin said he wants to go down in history as the greatest wrestler under 205 pounds that WWE has ever seen. He was then interrupted by Trent Seven. Seven said he’s going to trim down to under 205 pounds and wants to challenge Devlin when he does. Devlin said Seven must have to drop at least 30 pounds but agreed to give Seven a title shot if he does.
After Devlin mocked him by patting him on the stomach, Seven grabbed Devlin’s arm and dropped him with a punch. Seven said he’s coming to Devlin’s division and will take his title.
This was the first time Seven has appeared in person on NXT UK since losing to A-Kid in the Heritage Cup tournament finals in November. While addressing that loss in an interview three weeks later, Seven said there were things he knew he needed to fix and work that needed to be done.
Brookside defeated Samuels on NXT UK in November but was attacked by Samuels after the match. Samuels then cost Brookside a match against Isla Dawn in December. Suitcases were brought out to ringside during that match, then Samuels appeared on the video screen and said she told Brookside that Brooksides are only worthy of carrying her bags.
Last week, Brookside said soon enough Samuels will see what Brooksides are truly capable of.
Taped April 20, 2019 at the Braehead Arena in Glasgow, Scotland
Quick results —
WALTER, Marcel Barthel, and Fabian Aichner declared that they would be known as Imperium henceforth. Pete Dunne and British Strong Style attacked them, which led to a wild brawl.
Gallus beat Team WhiteWolf in a quick squash that really didn’t allow the two Spaniards to show what they can do in the ring. Kassius Ohno defeated Jack Gallagher in controversial fashion in a clinic of the British style.
In the main event, Toni Storm defended her NXT UK Women’s Championship against Nina Samuels.
Full rundown —
The show opened with a highlight video of last week’s WALTER vs. Pete Dunne main event, including scenes of Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel helping WALTER retain the WWE United Kingdom Championship.
After the opening, Antonín Dvorák’s Symphony No. 9 played and WALTER, Barthel, and Aichner made their way to the ring. As they got ready to address the crowd, the fans started chanting “We want Dunne.”
Barthel, who has some of the best facials in the business right now, took his sweet time before beginning to talk: “We are here to lead you to a better NXT UK. We are here to raise our flag and restore the honor and professionalism of our sport. We are the ones to lead. And we are the ones who hold true power.”
Aichner continued: “Pete Dunne can only get you so far. And British Strong Style has expired. Because none of them had the ability to lead NXT UK in the right direction. And now, the responsibility lays in our hands.”
WALTER concluded: “To us, this mat is sacred. And from this day forth we shall be known as Imperium. And soon, NXT…”
At that point, Dunne’s music interrupted the Ring General and he walked out, backed up by Moustache Mountain. The two teams began brawling, eventually crashing into a cameraman and taking out the feed.
Vic Joseph and Nigel McGuinness were on screen next, throwing it to Radzi Chinyanganya interviewing Sid Scala. He announced that Johnny Saint and himself had decided that Imperium would face off with British Strong Style in two weeks.
Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) beat Team WhiteWolf (A-Kid & Carlos Romo) when Wolfgang pinned Romo after a power slam/kick combo (3:27)
A-Kid at just 22 has had two highly talked about matches, against Zack Sabre Jr. and Will Ospreay. He started wrestling in 2012 in his native Spain, where he primarily competed for White Wolf Wrestling, an upstart indie with a rabid fan base.
A-Kid recently started wrestling full-time in the UK, working primarily for RevPro, but also Defiant, PROGRESS, and ATTACK Pro, as well as GWF and wXw in Germany. His partner, Romo, actually was partially trained by A-Kid, starting out in 2014. He also has been more active in the UK scene lately, working for RevPro, Attack Pro, Fight Club: PRO, and Defiant, among others. Both were also part of some shows over WrestleMania weekend this year and have been working as a team in the UK since last fall.
Wolfgang attacked Romo right away, and Gallus quickly took turns working the young Spaniard over. A-Kid was tagged in, but bounced off Coffey and received a choke slam for his troubles. Mark locked in a full nelson and started throwing the smaller man around a few times, concluding with a big slam.
A-Kid evaded a knee drop and managed the hot tag, but Romo got his head separated from his shoulders. Wolfgang finished him off with a power slam, assisted by a kick from Coffey for the win.
Hopefully Team WhiteWolf will be back at a future taping — they’d have great matches with the likes of Moustache Mountain, Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster, and Kenny Williams & Amir Jordan.
– Radzi interviewed Xia Brookside and asked about Jinny and Jazzy Gabert attacking her. Isla Dawn walked up and offered to team up with Brookside against Jinny & Gabert.
– Joseph Conners cut a backstage promo, challenging Ilja Dragunov for a future match. It seems like Conners’ health is not one of his primary concerns.
– A video recapped the qualifying matches for the fatal four-way to establish the new number one contender for WALTER’s WWE UK Championship.
– We saw Toni Storm getting ready for her championship match in tonight’s main event
Kassius Ohno pinned Jack Gallagher after the roaring elbow (12:35)
McGuinness analyzed both competitors and predicted it would be a clash of technical wrestling and submissions vs. striking ability. Ohno took Gallagher down with a hip throw and locked in an armbar, but Gallagher made the ropes. They transitioned into mat wrestling, with Gallagher showing his technical prowess.
Ohno used his size to his advantage, leveraging Gallagher into another armbar, which eventually got countered into a headscissors. They traded unique submission attempts and chain wrestling moves with neither man being able to get a clear advantage over the other.
Gallagher did a headstand in the corner, then flipped over a charging Ohno and rolled into a ball. Instead of trying to gain some hold on Gallagher, Ohno just stomped him. Gallagher at that point started bleeding from the nose from a stiff shot by Ohno. Ohno hit a big boot on Gallagher for a near fall.
As Ohno was looking for the rolling elbow, Gallagher headbutted his wrist and followed up with body shots, targeting Ohno’s arm and eventually locking in an armbar and transitioning into another one. Gallagher hit another headbutt, but Ohno managed to hit a senton before falling down.
As Gallagher went for a forearm off the ropes, Ohno hit the roaring elbow, knocking Gallagher out for the pin, even though Gallagher’s foot was under the ropes, which the referee missed.
– Piper Niven was interviewed by some reporters, who asked about Rhea Ripley stating that Niven couldn’t stop talking about her. Niven said she came here to fight, not to talk and she would face Ripley if she was up for it.
– A recap video of Imperium and British Strong Style brawling earlier tonight aired, including a graphic of the two teams facing off in two weeks.
– Next week will feature the number one contender’s fatal four-way between Travis Banks, Joe Coffey, Dave Mastiff, and Jordan Devlin.
NXT UK Women’s Championship match: Toni Storm retained against Nina Samuels after Storm Zero (9:45)
Samuels started out showing some athleticism, but the champion hit a boot that sent Samuels to ringside, then followed up with a dropkick and a number of uppercuts. Samuels came back with a kick as the referee broke them up in the corner. Samuels took over, bending Storm backwards over the top rope.
Samuels proceeded to work over Storm’s previously injured back, which seemed to be successful for a while. Storm came back with a release German suplex, then locked in a modified STF, but Samuels made the ropes.
They traded offense on the apron. Samuels eventually got the upper hand with a head kick over the top rope, then launched herself back into the ring with a corkscrew splash. Storm hit a headbutt into Samuels as she was charging at her and got a near fall off it, but it was obvious she also hurt her own head from the move.
Storm followed up with a bridging German suplex for another near fall. Samuels came back with a cradle for another two count and a butterfly into a backbreaker for a pinfall attempt, then a top rope dropkick for another one.
Storm finally came back with another headbutt, then hit two flow-over suplexes and finally Storm Zero to retain her title.
Next week —
Joe Coffey, Jordan Devlin, Travis Banks, and Dave Mastiff battle it out in a fatal four-way match to determine the number one contender for the WWE United Kingdom Championship.
Episode 17 (taped October 14 at Plymouth Pavilions in Plymouth, England)
Quick recap:
Toni Storm made her return to NXT UK after being injured in her title match with Rhea Ripley and beat Charlie Morgan. James Drake & Zack Gibson managed to beat Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews with some outside assistance by Fabian Aichner in an attempt to qualify for the NXT UK Tag Team Championship tournament.
In another women’s match, Nina Samuels beat Killer Kelly. Joe Coffey managed to beat Travis Banks, further cementing his status as a legitimate contender for Pete Dunne’s WWE UK Championship. For some reason, the sound mix was off for this episode, with the music too loud and the commentary too silent on any segments involving the announcers and background music.
Full rundown:
Toni Storm defeated Charlie Morgan in 3:56 after Storm Zero
They briefly shook hands, then locked up but neither woman could get the advantage. Morgan slapped Toni, but she came back with slaps of her own, followed by a big boot and a low dropkick for a one count. Toni got on a cross between an Indian Deathlock and STF, but Morgan made the ropes. Morgan managed to fend off Toni’s attack in the corner and hit a step-up enzuigiri for a quick cover.
She kept being on offense, working over Toni with kicks and locked in a camel clutch in an attempt to break Toni’s back and make her humble. Toni managed to escape and flip Morgan over, then followed up with forearm strikes and a release German suplex. Toni hit the hip attack in the corner, then followed up with Storm Zero for the win.
In the studio, Vic and Nigel talked about Toni being back and threw it to a music video about Gallus. The sound mix was off here and it was hard to understand them.
A video hyping up Gallus aired, with highlights of the destruction they caused over the past few weeks.
Joe Coffey and Travis Banks were shows warming up backstage in a split screen; this was followed up by a WrestleMania hype video.
James Drake & Zack Gibson defeated Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews in 8:49 when Gibson submitted Andrews with the Shankly Gates
The sound mix still was off during the entrances, making it nearly impossible to understand the announcers while the music was playing.
Gibson and Andrews started, with Gibson using his size advantage early on but Andrews being the quicker man and countering most of his offense. Andrews tagged out and they hit a double hip toss combined moonsault/reverse shooting star onto Gibson. Morgan locked in a guillotine but Gibson backed him into his own corner and Drake tagged in.
Drake briefly took over but Webster hit the Rude Boy Block off the second turnbuckle. As he went to the top again, Gibson took off his wrist tape and threw it at Webster, distracting him enough for Drake to attack and send him to the outside. Gibson picked him up for a backbreaker to the outside and Drake jumped over the ropes and hit a knee onto Webster.
The heels continued working over Webster in and outside the ring. The fans were livid at this point with “shoes off if you hate Gibson” chants and virtually everyone waving their shoes into the air, prompting Nigel to complain about the smell in the arena. Drake hit a forearm for a near-fall and applied a chin lock. Webster finally managed to push Drake into Gibson and reach for the hot tag. Andrews came in with a springboard huracanrana on Gibson right away, then slid under a double clothesline and hit a double Pelé kick on both heels.
Andrews got caught on a moonsault attempt, but managed to turn it into a swinging DDT. Gibson finally managed to thwart another aerial attack by Andrews, kicking his legs off the ropes and following with a forearm, leading into a missile dropkick by Drake and Grit Your Teeth (a running Codebreaker) by Gibson for a near-fall.
Andrews managed to escape a Doomsday Device attempt, make the tag to Webster who sent Gibson to the outside, hit Drake with an enzuigiri from the apron and followed up with an inverted huracanrana from the second turnbuckle, but Gibson managed to make the save. Webster manged to hit a head-butt, sending Gibson staggering, but Gibson managed to pick up Webster and throw him into Andrews who was on the top rope.
The heels tossed Webster out of the ring and grabbed Andrews, but he managed to turn a double suplex attempt into a double Stunt Dog Millionaire. Andrews went to the top to hit the Shooting Star Press on Drake but Fabian Aichner ran out and threw Webster into the steel steps, prompting Andrews to hit a plancha onto him. Meanwhile, Drake tagged out to Gibson without Andrews noticing, so when Andrews finally hit the Shooting Star Press, Drake wasn’t the legal man anymore. Gibson slid into the ring and locked in the Shankly Gates.
After the match, Aichner got back into the ring and attacked Andrews, picking him up for his spinning power bomb but Webster pulled Andrews down at the last second and they managed to send Aichner packing.
A highlight video hyped up Killer Kelly and Nina Samuels, who we were told would be competing next; this was followed by a WWE Custom Tees commercial.
Nina Samuels defeated Killer Kelly in 4:30 after Hell to the Knee-na
Problems with the sound mix continued. Samuels managed to avoid Kelly a few times, before slapping her and getting caught in a wrist lock, but managed to escape to the ropes. Samuels kept teasing Kelly, but only drew the ire of Kelly, who hit a series of forearms and a big boot for a two-count.
Samuels ducked a right hand by Kelly on the apron and snapped the her neck on the top rope. Samuels locked in a sitting full nelson on the mat. Kelly briefly powered out but Samuels locked it back in and hit a snap mare and a a somersault neck snap for another near fall. Kelly was tied up in the ropes and Samuels hit a running dropkick to Kelly’s back for yet another two count.
Samuels locked in another full nelson, but Kelly managed to slide out of the move and roll Nina up. Kelly suplex her into the corner and hit a running basement dropkick for a close near-fall. Kelly tried for a fisherman’s buster but Samuels grabbed one of her pigtails and rammed her into the corner. She followed up with Hell to the Knee-na for the win.
A graphic for our main event was shown followed by a commercial for the AJ Styles 365 special.
Radzi interviewed Fabian Aichner backstage, talking about Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster getting the last laugh. Aichner said that if they thought they could mess with him, they got another thing coming. Webster and Andrews won’t win the NXT tag team titles because Aichner would find himself a partner and win the titles himself.
Joe Coffey defeated “The Kiwi Buzzsaw” Travis Banks in 11:13 after a discuss lariat.
Coffey came out on his own, without his Gallus brethren. Both guys charged each other but Banks started out with strikes and kicks. They had a striking battle early, until Banks hit a shotgun dropkick followed by a swinging kick on the apron. They battled on the outside until Coffey rolled Banks back into the ring, but Banks came flying right back with a topé to the back of Coffey.
Coffey then hit a slingshot on Banks, sending him into the barricades shoulder-first to take the lead. Back in the ring, Coffey started working over Banks’ still injured right shoulder, including locking in a full nelson, which he kept on despite some brief attempts of Banks to escape.Coffey continuously attacked the shoulder with a number of strikes, yanks, and submission holds.
Banks finally hit a few kicks, but Coffey wouldn’t let go of Banks’ arm, until a big knee strike that sent something from Coffey’s mouth flying. He evaded a corner attack by Coffey and hit a dropkick to the back of his head, followed by a Shining Wizard for a near-fall. After a failed attempt at a fisherman’s buster, Coffey took over again with more attacks of the shoulder and a big power slam. Coffey caught him in a spinning bear-hug and hit an overhead belly-to-belly for another near-fall.
They battled on the top rope until Banks hit a head-butt to send Coffey to the mat, followed by a double foot stop to Coffey’s neck and then another double stomp in the corner from the second turnbuckle. Banks hit a fisherman’s buster for a near-fall, hit a hard elbow on Coffey on the apron, sending him to the floor.
Banks followed that one with a suicide dive and rolled Coffey back inside. Banks hit yet another double foot stomp onto Coffey’s back for a close two-count. As Banks missed an aerial attack and rolled through, Coffey hit him with a spear (although it was more a flying shove) into the corner and went for his discuss lariat. Banks blocked it, but Coffey spun around again and successfully hit the discuss lariat for the win.
Next episode:
They didn’t announce anything, but we are heading into the November set of tapings next week, including the start of the NXT UK Tag Team Championship tournament and the debut of a few new faces in NXT UK.
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.