Tag: pretty deadly

NXT UK results: Heritage Cup Champion Noam Dar vs. A-Kid

Posted on by Markus Gronemann

As always, this week’s show was taped at BT Sports Studios in London, England.

Pretty Deadly defeated Sam Gradwell and Saxon Huxley (9:22)

Before the match, they aired a funny video of Gradwell searching for tag team partners throughout the week. This included tweeting Steve Austin, Elon Musk and asking Nathan Frazer, A-Kid, and a person working at a fast food drive-in.

He also encountered Kenny Williams backstage, but chewed him out, grabbed him by the ear and told him to remember where a cockroach’s place on the food chain was. In the end, Huxley was his surprise partner.

Pretty Deadly (Sam Stoker and Lewis Howley) worked over Gradwell until he grabbed Stoker by the ear and slapped him before tagging in Huxley. Huxley hit a big running elbow and a crossbody into the ropes on Stoker before Howley tagged in.

Later, Pretty Deadly used some tag team magic to regain control and then slingshot suplexed Huxley on the top rope. Gradwell took back over, but suddenly Williams appeared and balanced on the ringside barriers which distracted Huxley. 

Williams attacked Huxley behind the referee’s back and stomped him. With Huxley incapacitated, Pretty Deadly hit Spilled Milk on Gradwell for the pinfall victory.

— Jinny cut a promo on Amale, pointing out that their lives were similar (children of immigrants, successful out of WWE, college degrees), but unlike Amale, she doesn’t exploit her past. She said the fans pity Amale every time she comes out and if Amale steps into the ring with the “queen of NXT UK,” she would lose every time.

— A video package detailed the ongoing feud between Gallus and Die Familie with both factions cutting promos on each other. Metehan said they would be successful in their war. They collide in a trios match next week.

— Blair Davenport walked through an estate and said she came from a long line of Davenports and ever since she was a child, she was taught that Davenports only care about Davenports. People could hate her all they wanted as long as they feared her. She said she was fire and fury, the rightful heir to the NXT UK Women’s championship, and enemies of the heir should beware.

Isla Dawn defeated Emilia McKenzie (5:30)

They showed a clip before the match of Isla Dawn stealing McKenzie’s watch and putting it in her box of trinkets last summer. Earlier this week, McKenzie demanded it back backstage.

McKenzie took Dawn to the mat with a waistlock takedown and then worked her over with submissions on the mat. Dawn eventually came back with a backdrop driver.

McKenzie thwarted a superplex attempt and hit her own top rope sunset flip off the top for a near fall. She followed with a belly to back suplex and spear for another near fall. A shotgun dropkick sent Dawn to the outside and McKenzie followed with a dive through the ropes.

McKenzie missed a crossbody off the top. Dawn then hit a fireman’s carry into a side slam for the win. McKenzie’s nose was busted open from something in the match.

After the match, Dawn prayed to her box and returned McKenzie’s watch so Emilia is probably cursed now. This is still creepier than Alexa Bliss and her doll.

— Amale cut a promo, saying Jinny misunderstood her. Her story was about representation and unlike Jinny, she hasn’t forgotten where she came from. For someone who graduated college, Jinny didn’t sound very smart. She said she was Amale, she was hope, and that hope never dies.

— There was a tremendous video package supercut of previous Ilja Dragunov vs. Jordan Devlin promos. There was some new material where Devlin mused about a level playing field and then came up with an empty arena match for next week because he wanted Dragunov with “nobody in his corner.” Dragunov accepted. This should be a great match, but in the COVID era, empty arena matches are not the most desirable.

NXT UK Heritage Cup Champion Noam Dar (w/ Sha Samuels) vs. A-Kid went to a draw (19:00)

Last week, “bookie” Samuels had put money on Dar winning the match in round four.

Round 1:

They started with a test of strength and some mat wrestling. A-Kid attempted some submission holds and Dar got a brief two count in. He tried striking A-Kid just as the round ended.

Round 2:

A-Kid locked on a cravat, but Dar eventually escaped. A-Kid turned a chinlock into a pinning combination and scored a close near fall. Dar set A-Kid up on the top rope and went for a running knee strike, but missed and tumbled to ringside just as the round was ending. A-Kid gave him the double bird salute.

Round 3:

Dar went for a draping DDT, but the referee stopped him from hitting it, so he kicked A-Kid flush in the face. Dar hit more kicks and set up for the Nova Roller, but A-Kid caught him with a kick. Dar hit a kick of his own, then hit the Nova Roller to take the first fall in 1:36 of the round.

Round 4:

A-Kid quickly rolled into a flying armbar, transitioning to the omoplata. Dar got a rollup and held the tights, but A-Kid still kicked out. Dar tried another pin with his feet on the ropes but the referee caught him. A-Kid rolled him up, but only got a two count.

A-Kid hit a dive after Dar rolled to ringside, but missed and crashed. Samuels then rolled Dar back into the ring and A-Kid narrowly made it back in a nine. Dar scored another near fall. A-Kid went for a springboard move and Samuels tried attacking him as he was on the top rope. He hit a backflip into a DDT off the top and managed to score a fall at 2:35 of the round, tying this up at one fall apiece.

Samuels was livid that he had lost money on the match after the round ended.

Round 5:

A-Kid hit a superplex off the top early in the round for another two count. Dar got the ankle lock and both transitioned into various submission holds on each other with pinning attempts interspersed. A-Kid hit a running knee seconds before the round ended, but had no time to finish a pinfall attempt.

Round 6:

They traded strikes and then traded pinning combinations. Samuels held onto Dar’s legs on an O’Connor roll attempt, so A-Kid took him out with a dive. Dar reached the ropes on a kneebar by A-Kid. Dar scored another close two count off a spinning back elbow. A-Kid hit a flying superkick, but Dar kicked out of the cover that followed. A-Kid locked in the omoplata with ten seconds left, but Dar was saved by the bell, ending this match in a 1-1 draw.

Dar and Samuels celebrated as A-Kid looked distraught.

Final Thoughts:

This was a fun show with a great main event. A-Kid and Dar are among the best workers in WWE right now, but are flying under the radar of most.

The tag match was the first step back for Pretty Deadly on their way of redemption to reclaim the tag titles. The women’s match was mostly just there and was more of a backdrop for Dawn’s mysterious box of stolen/cursed items.

Next week:

  • NXT UK Champion Ilja Dragunov vs. Jordan Devlin in an empty arena title match
  • Gallus vs. Die Familie

NXT UK results: Pretty Deadly vs. Moustache Mountain Tag title match

Posted on by Markus Gronemann

Report —

They opened with an abbreviated version of last week’s Pretty Deadly vs. Moustache Mountain hype video.

Blair Davenport defeated Emilia McKenzie (06:01)

McKenzie looked strong early with an arm drag and swinging neckbreaker, which scored her a near fall at the one-minute-mark. Davenport came back with a tackle, then locked in a chinlock. They traded strikes until McKenzie hit a running spear for another near fall.

Davenport quickly ascended the ropes and hit a shotgun dropkick but McKenzie shot back with a German suplex. McKenzie went for her somersault spear out of the corner, but Davenport stopped her with a knee and hit the Falcon Arrow for the pin and the win.

After the match, Davenport locked a helpless McKenzie in an STF and screamed that she wanted “The Final Boss vs. The Ichiban Gaijin.”

**********

Moustache Mountain were warming up backstage

Noam Dar and Sha Samuels were about to enter Sid Scala’s office. Dar told Sha not to scream at the boss and be nice and quiet, so of course Sha loudly banged on the door and screamed that they were here at the top of his lungs. Dar wanted some congratulations, which Scala gave, but also informed Dar that next week, Nathan Frazer and A-Kid would be competing under Heritage Cup rules to determine a number one contender. Dar wasn’t thrilled.

They showed the clip of Rampage Brown being rendered unable to continue by an enzuigiri by Ilja Dragunov in their title match last week. They showed him being taken backstage on a stretcher and said he had been evaluated but refused further medical treatment and had been in no condition for a statement after losing the match due to ref stoppage. They will update us on further developments.

Xia Brookside was at the UK Performance Center, talking to somebody about losing her match to Meiko Satomura last week. The other person said it was a three count and Brookside wanted him to help. She then was interviewed about the match and went on a screaming tirade about it not being her fault that she lost, Sid Scala setting her up, her only having one week to prepare being unfair, then finally screamed at the interviewer to leave her alone and stormed off.

**********

Jordan Devlin-Ilja Dragunov in-ring segment

Devlin said he was the longest reigning cruiserweight champion in history, the star, the franchise player, the Ace of the brand. He said there was only one thing left for him to do and that was to take the NXT UK title. He said he wasn’t like other challengers interrupting Ilja Dragunov, but wanted Dragunov to come out to his ring and face him. Dragunov didn’t take long to answer the challenge and walked out to the ring.

Dragunov said he appreciated Devlin’s ring ability but said where he comes from, people don’t talk so much and if Devlin wanted a title match, why did he not just ask for it?

Devlin said he knew who Dragunov won the title from and defended it against, men to whom the sport was honorable and the mat was sacred. He also said that he is not like those men, he won’t stop if Dragunov knocks him out or quit, if he breaks his nose. He said to him, nothing between these ropes was sacred, if Dragunov gave him a chance he would only require one and would end his career to take the title and won’t lose any sleep over it.

Dragunov smiled and said that nothing Devlin said or did could intimidate him, scare him or make him nervous. He was prepared for everything Devlin could bring.

Devlin replied that he hoped that Dragunov knew what he got himself into and that “his little wife at home” forgave him for it. He also said that he hopes that Dragunov could explain to “your little boy – Konstantin, right?” – why he had to grow up taking care of his daddy. Dragunov looked incredulous, then decked Devlin as officials ran to the ring to break things up. Devlin smiled as he was led away.

This was a money promo if there ever was one. I now want to see this match take place in a big stadium and want to pay money to attend it at ringside. This was a blood feud on a personal level materializing out of thin air within minutes.

**********

An amazing video on Amale aired, which immediately transformed her from an arrogant heel to a lovable babyface. She said she had been perceived as ruthless and aggressive during her stay in NXT UK, but there was a reason for it. She had been told “no” all her life when all she wanted was to become a wrestler with WWE. They aired clips and videos of her childhood of Moroccan immigrants in France. She said she had two master’s degrees, had become a teacher and could have been anything she wanted, but she wanted to become a wrestler. She was tired of her parents telling her no and telling her to go to law school instead. She was tired of the parents of the children in her school telling her she couldn’t do WWE. She was crying and emotional during the video and it really tore at the heartstrings of everybody watching with a soul. She concluded that she was Amale and she was Hope.

Kenny Williams cut a promo on Mark Andrews, calling him a pretender and calling him being a rock star and a skateboarder and act. He said he recognized that, as he had been a pretender too for much of his life. He said Andrews was all that was left of Subculture and once he was done with him, there would only be Scum Culture.

**********

Sam Gradwell defeated Sha Samuels (w/ Noam Dar) (06:53)

They went back and forth early, with Samuels trying to go for Gradwell’s surgically repaired leg. They took turns flattening each other with lariats, then Gradwell clotheslines Samuels over the top rope. He followed with a clothesline off the apron. Samuels then pulled Gradwell off the apron and slammed him on the mats outside. Back in the ring, Samuels slammed him once more, then hit a suplex for a near fall.

Samuels took off his suspenders and threatened to beat Gradwell with them. Gradwell, also a despicable heel, grabbed Samuels’ scarf, wrapped it around his neck and pretended that Dar choked him with it from the outside. Dar seemed to confirm to the referee as he tried to take the scarf off Gradwell.

The referee was close to disqualifying Samuels when Dar jumped on the apron, distracting the ref and allowing Gradwell to whip the scarf into Samuels’ nether regions. He followed up with the fireman’s carry power bomb for the win.

**********

Gallus were in an underground garage, putting something into the trunk of their car. They once more acted like an Irish crime syndicate who were feuding with rivaling crime syndicate, headed by Teoman. Wolfgang suggested Joe Coffey leave a mark on Charlie Dempsey. They got into their car as police sirens approached.

They promoted the Nathan Frazer vs. A-Kid Heritage Cup match for next week. Both men talked about the match and once more, they went the extra mile in the buildup. A-Kid actually talked about adapting his training with more of an emphasis on strength in order to subdue Frazer. He said timing beats speed. Frazer on the other hand said he’d force A-Kid to play his game, take him to the sky and drop him. He said winning here would be the biggest moment of his life.

**********

NXT UK Tag Team Championship: Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) defeated Pretty Deadly (Sam Stoker & Lewis Howley) to win the titles (17:49)

Moustache Mountain were in control early, with Bate using speed and technique, then both members of Moustache Mountain clotheslined Pretty Deadly to the outside. They then hit stereo vertical suplexes before Seven hit a top rope knee drop on Howley for a two count. Seven’s left hand was taped and he was favoring it, which the announcers pointed out.

They threw Seven to ringside, where Stoker rammed Seven into the steps. Back in the ring, Seven managed to fight free and ended up on the top rope, but got his legs taken out and took a brutal bump right on his head and neck from the top. The champs hit a double elbow/leg drop on Seven, then worked him over some more in and out of the ring. Seven finally made the hot tag and Bate ran wild on both opponents.

He hit an exploder followed by a running shooting star press on Howley, then went for the Tyler Driver ’97 and after some back and forth counters, hit the move for a close near-fall. Howley tagged out and Stoker hit an assisted gutbuster for a near fall of his own. Pretty Deadly went for the trademark Moustache Mountain slingshot lariat/dragon suplex combo but Bate ducked and the champs took out each other.

Seven was back in and hit the snap DDT on Howley, followed by the Seven Star Lariat for another close two-count. Pretty Deadly came back and hit Spilled Milk on Seven, with Bate narrowly making the save. Bate hit a dive through the ropes, but Stoker caught him and Pretty Deadly hit Spilled Milk on Bate on the outside.

Howley hit a powerbomb on Seven, the deadlifted him and hot another on on Stoker’s knee but Seven still managed to kick out. Howley managed to distract the referee with a title belt and snuck another one to Stoker who hit Seven with it. Seven somehow managed to kick out from the cover that followed.

Bate finally made it in, hit a rolling kick and Tyler Driver 97 on Howley. He took his time going to the top rope while Seven picked Stoker up for the Birminghammer and dropped him on Howley. Bate then followed with the Big Spiral Boi from the top and covered Howley for the title win.

Moustache Mountain are your new NXT UK Tag Team Champions and Tyler Bate is the first-ever NXT UK Triple Crown champion. This was a fantastic match.

Final Thoughts —

  • This was one of the best episodes of NXT UK in 2021.
  • The main event was fantastic and concluded Trent Seven’s redemption storyline that started more than a year ago with him losing in the Heritage Cup finals, losing to Jordan Devlin in their feud over the cruiserweight title and costing Bate the Heritage Cup. It also helped that those two teams are among the best in the UK if not the world right now and Pretty Deadly are criminally underrated.
  • Add to that the Dragunov/Devlin segment that felt very raw and personal and had some of the best mic work all year in WWE, the great Amale profile video and the A-Kid/Frazer hype video that felt more like a UFC Countdown style match profile. Davenport/McKenzie also was good and built to a Davenport/Satomura match down the line while Samuels/Gradwell was a fun mean guy hoss fight.
  • I’d recommend going out of your way to watch this one.

Next week —

  • Heritage Cup Rules: A-Kid vs. Nathan Frazer to determine the new number one contender to the Heritage Cup

Moustache Mountain to challenge for NXT UK Tag Team titles

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Image: WWE

Moustache Mountain are next in line for a shot at Pretty Deadly’s NXT UK Tag Team titles.

In the main event of this week’s NXT UK episode, Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) became the number one contenders to the NXT UK Tag Team titles by winning a fatal four-way match. They defeated Symbiosis (Primate & T-Bone), Oliver Carter & Ashton Smith, and Dave Mastiff & Jack Starz.

Moustache Mountain won with a double-team move where Bate jumped off the top rope and assisted Seven in hitting the Birminghammer on Primate.

Pretty Deadly (Sam Stoker & Lewis Howley) came out to the stage, posed with their titles, and exchanged words with Moustache Mountain after the match.

Two weeks ago, Bate lost the NXT UK Heritage Cup Championship to Noam Dar after Pretty Deadly got involved. Seven accidentally threw in the towel after Pretty Deadly took it from him and he was fighting with them to get it back.

Pretty Deadly won the NXT UK Tag Team titles from Gallus’ Mark Coffey & Wolfgang this February. They retained against Moustache Mountain on an episode of NXT UK in August.

Moustache Mountain have never held the NXT UK Tag Team titles. WWE hasn’t announced when they’ll be getting their title shot against Pretty Deadly.

NXT UK results: Pretty Deadly vs. Gallus Tag Team title match

Posted on by Markus Gronemann

Report —

NXT UK Heritage Cup No. 1 Contenders Tournament semifinals: Noam Dar defeated Kenny Williams 2-1 in round 5 (14:46)

Round 1

They took each other down early in the round. Williams grabbed Dar’s hair as Dar tried to escape from a headlock. Williams attacked Dar’s arm as he head him in a wristlock after the bell.

Round 2

Williams hit a few elbows at the start of the round. He worked over Dar’s arm until Dar managed to kick his knee. Williams sold his knee, but it was a ruse as he rolled up Dar for a pin at 1:23 of the round. Williams 1-0

Round 3

Williams kept beating Dar down. Dar took back over and further attacked Williams’ knee. Williams got a small package for a two count, but got caught in a knee bar and was saved by the bell as the round ended.

Round 4

Dar rolled up Williams with his legs on the ropes, but the referee caught him. Williams speared Dar in the knee, then removed the turnbuckle. as the referee reprimanded him, Dar grabbed a water bottle and tossed it to Williams, then alerted the referee. He used the distraction to lock in the knee bar for the submission. Dar 1-1

Round 5

Dar scored a near fall off a back elbow. Williams got a near fall off a clothesline. Williams looked to finish him off, but Dar rolled to ringside. Williams followed him, but as he went to return to the ring, Sha Samuels popped out from under the ring and grabbed his leg.

Dar used that opportunity to hit the Nova Roller on Williams as he was trapped, getting the pin and the win at 2:27 of the round. Dar wins 2-1

*********

Gallus were warming up backstage when Jordan Devlin walked by and got under Joe Coffey’s skin

*********

Ilja Dragunov addresses the NXT UK locker room —

Sid Scala was in the ring and introduced Ilja Dragunov, who appeared on the video wall.

Ilja said he was happy for the very first time in a long time. He said he made the impossible possible and was absolutely unbesiegbar (invincible). He was looking forward to coming back to the UK and his most interesting question was who would be the person trying to take his championship away from him.

At that point Nathan Frazer walked out and said he wanted to take the initiative and asked “why not me?”. Rampage Brown then came out, talked about what he had done to Joe Coffey and how Ilja was a violent man. A-Kid finally appeared and said he should be getting the first title match.

Scala then made a three-way between them with the winner getting the shot.

Brown bumped into Frazer on his way out, who pulled him back in. They brawled and Brown was the last man standing.

**********

Jinny and Joseph Conners walked to their dressing room. Isla Dawn was in there, doing scary witch stuff. She had drawn a pentagram with lipstick on a mirror. Still scarier than Alexa Bliss and her doll.

**********

Moustache Mountain were backstage. Bate said it was exciting to have a new champion and he was keeping an eye on the number one contender situation and the Heritage Cup. Seven interrupted him and talked about the Tag Team title situation. Bate looked taken slightly aback, but quickly got on board.

**********

Emilia McKenzie defeated Stevie Turner (05:19)

Turner backed her into the corner, then shoved her, but McKenzie shoved her back and aggressively worked over her arm.

Turner came back with stomps in the corner, then kicked her head as she was in the ropes. McKenzie came back with clotheslines and a spear for another two count. Turner hit a side effect for another two.

McKenzie hit a rope-assisted German suplex, followed by running knees for the pinfall victory.

**********

Wolfgang and Teoman talked about their Heritage Cup tournament match next week. Wolfgang joked about the eye and suggested they leave their family members backstage for the match. Teoman said he learned on the streets you had to take out the biggest guy in the neighborhood to earn respect.

**********

A vignette on a new talent called Charlie Dempsey aired. Dempsey is Bailey Matthews, the son of William Regal. 

It was in black-and-white and he was watching old British wrestling footage. He said that an inspiration of his once said the body was like a ladder and you had to work it up and down.

He said he was training in the British style and was going to show us things we never saw before. He is coming soon.

Dempsey wrestled Tyler Bate on NXT UK back in February.

**********

They showed what happened after the previous match; Blair Davenport ran in and destroyed Stevie Turner. She addressed Sid Scala and told him to reinstate her or bad things were going to happen.

**********

NXT UK Tag Team Championship: Pretty Deadly (Sam Stoker & Lewis Howley) defeated Gallus (Joe & Mark Coffey) to retain the titles (14:23)

Howley and Mark Coffey started, with Coffey getting the better of their exchange. Both tagged out and Joe Coffey worked over Sam Stoker for a bit. Pretty Deadly eventually outsmarted Mark Coffey and wore him down. Joe Coffey had Stoker under control, when Pretty Deadly used some questionable tactics to gain the upper hand and hit a GTS/codebreaker combo.

Thy had Joe under control for a few minutes. Eventually, he made the hot tag to Mark, who ran wild for a bit. Some tags later, it was near falls galore, after which all four ended up at ringside where they took each other out.

Joe Coffey then hit a shotgun dropkick off the top on Howley for a close near fall. He followed with the Glasgow Sendoff into the corner, then hit All the Best for the Bells, but Stoker made the save from the pin. Joe crashed into the ring post and Mark almost got the win with a crucifix.

Pretty Deadly then hit Spilled Milk on Mark Coffey for the successful title defense.

Final Thoughts —

  • The Noam Dar/Kenny Williams match was fun.
  • Emilia McKenzie looked dominant against Stevie Turner and the Blair Davenport storyline adds intrigue down the line.
  • The three way to determine Ilja Dragnov’s first challenger should be tons of fun and hard-hitting. Each of the three would be great against him.
  • The tag match was really good and Pretty Deadly might be the best tag team signed with a major promotion nobody ever heard about.

Next week:

  • NXT UK Championship number one contender three-way: Nathan Frazer vs. Rampage Brown vs. A-Kid
  • NXT UK Heritage Cup number one contender tournament semifinals: Teoman vs. Wolfgang

Tag Team title match official for next week’s NXT UK

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE has officially confirmed Pretty Deadly’s first NXT UK Tag Team title defense.

Pretty Deadly (Sam Stoker & Lewis Howley) will defend their NXT UK Tag Team titles against Kenny Williams & Amir Jordan on NXT UK next Thursday (April 1). Pretty Deadly became the NXT UK Tag Team Champions by defeating Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) for the titles last month.

Williams & Jordan were set up as Pretty Deadly’s first challengers by defeating Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster on NXT UK two weeks ago. Jordan wasn’t happy that Williams, who also cheated in the match where they defeated Ashton Smith & Oliver Carter the previous week, used a low blow on Webster to help get the win.

In a segment on NXT UK last week, Williams informed Jordan that they were getting a Tag Team title shot. Williams said him cheating against Andrews & Webster was just a “knee-jerk reaction” and promised that he would stick to whatever rules Jordan wants. Jordan told Williams that they didn’t need to cheat to win.

A promo from Pretty Deadly aired on this week’s NXT UK. Stoker & Howley said their match against Williams & Jordan will be the first of many successful title defenses in the never-ending era of Pretty Deadly.

It was also announced on this week’s NXT UK that Trent Seven will be in Tyler Bate’s corner when Bate faces Noam Dar in a Heritage Cup rules match at NXT UK: Prelude in two weeks (Thursday, April 8). Sha Samuels will be in Dar’s corner. The winner of Bate vs. Dar will become the number one contender to A-Kid’s Heritage Cup Championship. NXT UK: Prelude will also feature WALTER defending his NXT United Kingdom Championship against Rampage Brown. The show will air on Peacock in the United States/the WWE Network everywhere else starting at 3 p.m. EST/8 p.m. BST.

WWE announces NXT UK Heritage Cup and Tag Team title matches

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE has revealed when NXT UK’s next Heritage Cup and Tag Team title matches will be airing.

Heritage Cup Champion A-Kid will defend the trophy against Sha Samuels on NXT UK next Thursday (February 18). Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) will then defend their NXT UK Tag Team titles against Pretty Deadly (Sam Stoker & Lewis Howley) on the NXT UK episode that airs in two weeks (Thursday, February 25).

Samuels challenging for the Heritage Cup was set up during Samuels’ appearance on Noam Dar’s Supernova Sessions talk show on this week’s NXT UK episode. Dar said Samuels personifies the heritage of British wrestling and said Samuels is owed something by NXT UK authority figures Johnny Saint and Sid Scala after he was initially given the name Ed Harvey when he made his NXT UK debut.

A-Kid won the Heritage Cup by defeating Trent Seven in the finals of a tournament in November. He’s defended the Heritage Cup once since then, defeating Tyler Bate in December.

WALTER retained his NXT UK Championship against A-Kid on the January 14 edition of NXT UK. Samuels also made his NXT UK debut in a loss to Joe Coffey on that episode after signing with WWE.

Next week’s NXT UK will also feature Rampage Brown vs. Joe Coffey and Ben Carter in action.

Pretty Deadly became the number one contenders to Gallus’ titles by defeating Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster, Oliver Carter & Ashton Smith, and The Hunt (Wild Boar & Primate) in a fatal four-way elimination match on NXT UK two weeks ago. Gallus have been NXT UK Tag Team Champions since October 2019.

Pretty Deadly become number one contenders to NXT UK tag titles

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Image: WWE

The next challengers for Gallus’ Tag Team titles were determined on this week’s NXT UK.

In the main event of this week’s NXT UK episode, Pretty Deadly (Sam Stoker & Lewis Howley) defeated Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster, Oliver Carter & Ashton Smith, and The Hunt (Wild Boar & Primate) in a fatal four-way number one contender’s elimination match. WWE hasn’t announced when Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) will be defending their titles against Pretty Deadly.

Gallus watched the number one contender’s match from a balcony area, but only Joe Coffey was there when Stoker & Howley looked over after the match. Mark Coffey & Wolfgang then came out to the ramp and exchanged words with Pretty Deadly to close the show.

The Hunt’s manager Eddie Dennis was banned from accompanying Wild Boar & Primate to ringside but interfered by hitting Andrews with a steel chair after the match came down to Pretty Deadly vs. Andrews & Webster.

The Hunt were the first team eliminated from the match and Carter & Smith were the second team eliminated.

Gallus have been NXT UK Tag Team Champions since October 2019.

NXT UK results: Tag team number one contender’s elimination match

Posted on by Markus Gronemann

Quick results —

  • Trent Seven told Jordan Devlin he would drop below 205 lbs and challenge for Devlin’s NXT Cruiserweight Championship.
  • Meiko Satomura is coming to NXT UK to challenge Kay Lee Ray for the NXT UK Women’s Championship.
  • Ben Carter defeated Sam Gradwell.
  • Sha Samuels defeated Josh Morrell. Samuels was talking to Noam Dar backstage before his match.
  • Ilja Dragunov couldn’t explain what happened with Jack Starz last week. Sam Gradwell talking trash in the background during Dragunov’s interview may lead to a match between them.
  • Rampage Brown challenged Joe Coffey to a match down the line.
  • Pretty Deadly became the number one contenders to the NXT UK Tag Team titles by defeating The Hunt, Ashton Smith & Oliver Carter, and Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster. Pretty Deadly last pinned Andrews after Eddie Dennis attacked Andrews’ knee with a chair from the outside. Pretty Deadly jaw-jacked with Gallus after the match.

Full rundown —

Jordan Devlin in-ring segment

Devlin walked to the ring and talked about his NXT Cruiserweight Championship open challenge. Devlin said he’s the longest-reigning Cruiserweight Champion of all time and that he wants his legacy to be that he was the best wrestler under 205 pounds this company had ever seen.

As Devlin was cutting his promo, Trent Seven’s music played and he walked out with a microphone in hand. Seven had not been seen since the fallout of his loss to A-Kid in the Heritage Cup tournament finals. He agreed that Devlin had beaten all challengers and was cementing his legacy

Seven said that maybe the division needed a new challenger. Seven suggested that he’s going to slim down below 205 pounds and challenge Devlin for the Cruiserweight title once he does. Devlin looked incredulous but said that if Seven could cut what he guessed must be about 30 pounds, then he would indeed defend the Cruiserweight title against him.

Devlin wished Seven good luck and patted his belly as he walked by him, but Seven grabbed Devlin’s wrist and decked him with a hard right that sent Devlin to the mat. Devlin rolled out of the ring, then slid back in to grab his belt, but Seven had put his foot down on top of it.

Seven bowed down to Devlin and told him once more that he would take the title off him.

– Backstage, Eddie Dennis was firing up The Hunt as they prepared for their main event match later tonight.

A new challenger for NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray

A video highlighted Kay Lee Ray’s NXT UK Women’s Championship reign and showed her beating everybody in the division as she talked about her reign getting longer and longer. The screen then cut to a Tweet KLR hat recently sent out that read “Another win. Now give me the best in the world…” Highlights of a woman kicking and beating various wrestlers then aired. The woman was quickly revealed as legendary Japanese wrestler and president of Sendai Girls’ Pro Wrestling Meiko Satomura (who had been in the 2018 Mae Young Classic and recently signed an NXT UK deal as a player/coach).

She said her name is Meiko Satomura and that many say she is the best wrestler in the world. Clips from the Mae Young Classic, PROGRESS, wXw, and Sendai Girls showed Satomura slaughtering people as a graphic announced that Meiko Satomura is coming to NXT UK.

– Pretty Deadly were shown warming up for the main event.

Ben Carter pinned Sam Gradwell after a frog splash (7:33)

This was a battle of speed vs. brutality with Carter coming back with athletic moves and fast, creative offense from repeated beatdowns.

Gradwell walked out and demanded that they “decrease the volume,” then proceeded to ridicule Carter for wearing “PE pants” and being from Jersey, “a place with more cows than people, that was not even in an atlas.” He also called Carter a “yogurt” and promised to send him back “across the channel in a catamaran.”

Gradwell worked Carter’s arm early, but Carter came back with a number of dropkicks and some lightning-fast offense. Gradwell used his aggressiveness to ground Carter and scored a number of near falls.

Carter eventually sent Gradwell to the outside with a spinning head kick, then hit a dive on Gradwell seconds later before returning to the ring and hitting a somersault plancha to the outside. Gradwell countered a guillotine into a front slam. Carter came back with an impressive looking quebrada into a reverse DDT/elbow drop combo before hitting a beautiful frog splash off the top for the pinfall victory.

– Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster were shown preparing for the main event.

– Sha Samuels was seen talking to Noam Dar backstage and it was announced that Samuels would be in action next.

Sha Samuels submitted Josh Morrell with a Cobra/Camel Clutch (5:12)

This was 95 percent Samuels ragdolling and beating up on Morrell, so unlike in the previous match, the smaller man could not use his agility to his advantage much. Morrell showed some promise, especially with a standing twisting somersault senton, but Samuels quickly stopped any offense.

In the end, Samuels hit a spinebuster and applied a mix between a Cobra and Camel Clutch for the submission win.

– Ilja Dragunov was doing some casual one-armed push-ups as one is wont to do when he was asked about his match with Jack Starz last week. Clips were shown of Dragunov snapping and destroying Starz. Dragunov said he didn’t know what happened and that he didn’t want to hurt Starz. Dragunov said that this hadn’t been the plan and looked bewildered and distracted.

Gradwell mouthed off in the background, as he often does. Dragunov then just walked off. I see a severe beating at the hands of Dragunov in Gradwell’s immediate future.

– Rampage Brown was interviewed backstage as Gallus walked by. Brown was friendly with them and greeted Joe Coffey. Brown told him that they (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) knew what they were doing next, but that Joe may need a challenge. Joe told Brown he might take him up on that.

– A  graphic announced that Nina Samuels will face Xia Brookside next week. Jordan Devlin’s NXT Cruiserweight Championship open challenge also returns next week.

Fatal four-way number one contender’s elimination match: Pretty Deadly (Sam Stoker & Lewis Howley) defeated The Hunt (Wild Boar & Primate), Ashton Smith & Oliver Carter, and Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster (22:15)

Andrews and Smith started out and traded offense. Both tagged their partners and Carter and Smith hit their move where Carter somersaults over the top onto Smith’s back and then hits an assisted moonsault. Pretty Deadly blind-tagged in and out until Andrews turned the game on them. Gallus were shown sitting by the entrance eating popcorn and having a good time.

Eventually, Primate and Howley were in and The Hunt hit double German suplexes on both Pretty Deadly members. The Hunt and Andrews & Webster briefly brawled, then took turns beating up on Smith. Smith eventually tagged Andrews and Andrews and Webster cleaned house on the other three teams. Stoker and Andrews ended up on the top turnbuckle, with Smith tagging back in and hitting a super powerbomb on both.

Smith was looking to suplex Howley into the ring when Carter jumped on his back and moonsaulted on everyone on the outside, after which Smith hit a Falcon Arrow for a near fall. A melee broke out with everyone hitting everybody else with a big move. Primate and Smith ended up the legal men and Primate hit a high-angle suplex on Smith. The Hunt set up for their finish, but Andrews pulled Boar out of the ring and Smith and Carter eliminated Primate after an electric chair/cutter combo. (The Hunt eliminated at 12:00)

Smith hit a big gutwrench suplex on Stoker, then had an exciting exchange with both members of Pretty Deadly before tagging in Carter. Stoker hot tagged Andrews, who looked surprised. Andrews and Webster double-teamed Smith and hit a poison rana/kick combo for the pin. (Smith & Carter eliminated at 15:10)

This left Pretty Deadly and Andrews & Webster. Andrews and Pretty Deadly had some awesome exchanges, concluding with a hurricanrana by Andrews on Stoker. Howley attacked Andrews’ previously hurt knee, then managed to get Andrews in a giant swing on his hurt knee. Howley transitioned into a half crab and finally a figure four. Webster made the save and broke up the hold. Andrews hit Stun Dog Millionaire and made the hot tag.

Webster back body dropped Stoker on Howley to the outside and followed with a somersault off the top. As Andrews was getting ready for a dive, Eddie Dennis (who was banned from accompanying The Hunt to ringside for this match) suddenly popped up and hit Andrews in the knee with a chair, then quickly disappeared again.

Pretty Deadly then hit their Hart Attack/neckbreaker finish on Andrews to win the match and become the number one contenders to Gallus’ NXT UK Tag Team titles.

Only Joe Coffey was left in the chairs by the ring, as Mark Coffey and Wolfgang came back out to their music and trash talked Pretty Deadly, who jaw-jacked back and forth with them.

Next week —

  • Jordan Devlin’s NXT Cruiserweight Championship open challenge
  • Nina Samuels vs. Xia Brookside

NXT UK results: Finn Balor vs. Alexander Wolfe

Posted on by Markus Gronemann

Taped at Coventry Skydome in Coventry, England on March 6, 2020

Quick results:

  • Former ring announcer Andy Shepherd is the new color commentator for NXT UK alongside Nigel McGuinness
  • Finn Balor appeared in NXT and called out WALTER, then thwarted an attack by Imperium
  • Piper Niven vowed to do something about Kay Lee Ray, who she called ‘evil’
  • Pretty Deadly beat Dan Moloney & Dereiss Gordon; all four men looked good
  • Alexander Wolfe demanded a match with Balor for tonight and got it approved by Johnny Saint; Jordan Devlin also was told he’s defend his cruiserweight title against Travis Banks in two weeks in the same segment
  • Dave Mastiff, Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster got set up for next week
  • Noam Dar beat Ligero
  • Travis Banks promised to become cruiserweight champion
  • Dani Luna vs. Amale went to a no contest when Kay Lee Ray attacked both women
  • Finn Balor pinned Alexander Wolfe after a 1916 and survived another attempted attack by Imperium mid-match

Full rundown:

Nigel McGuinness and newly appointed NXT UK play-by-play announcer Andy Shepherd welcomed us to the show. Shepherd is the former NXT UK ring announcer and previously called some early UK Tournament shows. They were interrupted by the lights going out and Finn Balor’s music playing.

Balor came out, said his name and that he wasn’t hear to pop ratings but to call out WALTER. The champion’s music played and he came out and stared Balor down from ringside. The rest of Imperium appeared and Alexander Wolfe welcomed Balor to NXT UK, said this was Imperium’s domain and vowed to give Balor a welcome. Balor quickly disposed of Aichner and Barthel, then escaped a German suplex attempt by Wolfe and gave him a sling blade before ducking a clothesline by WALTER and escaping to ringside.

Piper Niven was interviewed earlier in the week. She talked about her and Toni Storm being like sisters and she had to come out during the Storm/Kay Lee Ray I Quit Match to talk some sense into Toni before she’d get crippled.

She said she never could have interfered in the match, as Toni would never have talked to her. She said when she comforted a sobbing Toni, she looked up at KLR and saw that she was evil. She vowed to do something about her.

A highlight video on Tyler Bate aired.

Pretty Deadly (Lewis Howley & Sam Stoker) beat Dan Moloney & Dereiss Gordon

Pretty Deadly threw their shirts at their opponents and beat them down. Moloney made a brief comeback against Howley and tagged Gordon, who showed some good athleticism. Stoker tagged back in and together, Pretty Deadly attacked Gordon once more. 

An assisted uppercut had Gordon down for a near-fall as Pretty Deadly tagged in and out in quick succession. Gordon finally got the hot tag and Moloney ran wild on both members of Pretty Deadly. Pretty Deadly came back with Deadly Pretty (an assisted Codebreaker) on Moloney for the win.

Alexander Wolfe walked up to Johnny Saint and Sid Scala all agitated and demanded a match against Finn Balor. Saint just looked at him and nonchalantly said “OK”.  Jordan Devlin then walked up and declared he was back in the UK. Scala informed him that he would defend his NXT Cruiserweight title against Travis Banks in two weeks.

Dave Mastiff, Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster were at the UK Performance Center when Gallus walked up to talk trash. They agreed to face off in a six-men match next week.

Noam Dar pinned Ligero

Ligero took over early after Dar tried evading him. Dar came back with a dropkick through the ropes onto Ligero on the apron, that sent Ligero to ringside. Dar worked over Ligero’s hand back in the ring, then applied a chinlock. and tugged away at Ligero’s mask. 

Ligero threw Dar to ringside, then followed up with a plancha. After Ligero took over for a bit, he went for a handspring armdrag, but got caught in a Fujiwara armbar. Dar attacked Ligero’s legs, then hit the Nova Roller for the win.

Travis Banks was being interviewed about meeting Jordan Devlin for the Cruiserweight title. He promised to be the first ever Kiwi champion in NXT history.

Dani Luna and Amale went to a no contest

Luna threw Amale halfway across the ring, then took her down repeatedly. Amale came back with a hammerlock, but Luna lifted her up with one hand and hit a fall away slam. Just as Luna looked ready to deal out more punishment, Kay Lee Ray ran out and attacked both women for the no contest.

Kay Lee Ray said that now that she had successfully got rid of Toni Storm, she was here to let every girl in NXT UK know that this division belonged to her. Luna briefly attacked her but quickly got taken out with a Gory Bomb. KLR reiterated that the division belonged to her.

A video on Aoife Valkyrie aired, where she claimed every feather she wore stood for a battle she won to become who she was. 

Finn Balor pinned Alexander Wolfe

Balor quickly took over with a hammerlock on the mat, then followed with a dropkick off a sunset flip roll-through. He followed up with a sitting cobra clutch but got backed into the corner. He kicked away at Wolfe and hit some chops. Wolfe came back with a backbreaker, then hit some punches. 

As Wolfe locked in a waist lock, the rest of Imperium slowly walked to ringside. Wolfe rammed his shoulders into Balor in the corner, then locked in a bear hug. Balor came back with a double chop to the chest, then hit a running basement dropkick on Wolfe. 

Balor repeatedly stomped Wolfe while locking eyes with WALTER. He hit a sling blade and went to attack out of the corner, but Barthel came in and grabbed his leg while Aichner looked to attack. Balor fought him off as the referee then ejected Imperium from ringside.

Wolfe hit an enzuigiri and went for a sit-down power bomb, but Balor escaped and hit a double foot stomp on Wolfe, who came back with a bridging German suplex. Balor escaped a fireman’s carry into a slop drop, then hit a running drop kick and hit the coup de grâce, followed by the 1916 for the pinfall victory.

Next week:

Dave Mastiff, Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster will face Gallus in six-men action.

WWE confirms five new NXT UK signees

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE has confirmed five new members of the NXT UK roster.

It was announced today that Pretty Deadly (Sam Stoker & Lewis Howley), Candy Floss, Levi Muir, and Dani Luna have signed with WWE and will begin training at the company’s United Kingdom Performance Center in North London.

Pretty Deadly, Candy Floss, and Luna have already made multiple appearances on NXT UK television. Pretty Deadly and Luna were in action at NXT UK’s TV tapings in York, England earlier this month.

WWE.com wrote about the new signees:

Pretty Deadly, the confident tag team of Sam Stoker & Lewis Howley, have impressed in recent showings on NXT UK television, taking on the likes of The Hunt and Kenny Williams & Amir Jordan.

Sugary sweet 20-year-old grappler Candy Floss has plenty of experience across Europe and Japan. In her previous sojourns on NXT UK, the pink-haired Superstar has battled competitors like Rhea Ripley, Kay Lee Ray and Toni Storm.

Levi Muir is a British powerlifting champion-turned-Superstar with plenty of in-ring experience in the UK, including promotions like PROGRESS.

Camden native Dani Luna comes to NXT UK with several years of in-ring experience across the United Kingdom in promotions like PROGRESS, and has crossed paths with the likes of Ripley, Storm, Nina Samuels, Piper Niven and Meiko Satomura.