Join on-air personality Denise Salcedo on Speak Now Pro Wrestling as she recaps the August 23, 2022 edition of NXT 2.0. This show featured more NXT UK talent, belt unifications, the build to Worlds Collide, a promo exchange between Apollo Crews and Grayson Waller, a noteworthy promo from Cora Jade, the love story between Indi Hartwell and Dexter Lumis, plus a lights out main event with Wendy Choo and Tiffany Stratton. This is the perfect podcast to stay up to date with NXT!
WWE will unify the NXT and NXT UK Championships on September 4 at Worlds Collide.
NXT Champion Bron Breakker will face NXT UK Champion Tyler Bate in a title unification match at Worlds Collide on Sunday, September 4. The match was announced during Tuesday’s WWE NXT episode.
Bate appeared on NXT 2.0 last week, confronting Breakker in a face-to-face segment to close the show. On this week’s NXT, Breakker opened the show by calling out Bate.
Breakker challenged Bate to a “title-for-title” match at Worlds Collide, and Bate accepted. The match was made official later in Tuesday’s program.
The unification match comes on the heels of WWE announcing that NXT UK is being shuttered, with a new NXT Europe brand launching in its place in 2023. Additionally, a number of NXT UK wrestlers were released from their WWE contracts last week, as NXT UK will “end in its current form and serve as the foundation for a bigger, better NXT Europe,” according to a WWE statement.
Worlds Collide is set for Sunday, September 4 at 4 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock and WWE Network, the same day as AEW’s All Out pay-per-view.
NXT United Kingdom title tournament first-round match: Joe Coffey defeated Mark Andrews (7:40)
Both wrestlers cut in-set promos on their way to the ring. Coffey said it would be good to have two Gallus boys on top. Andrews said he had been in the original title tournament and would win this time.
Coffey blocked Andrews’ offense early on (including an arm drag, a hurricanrana, and a body press attempt) and then finally slammed him. Andrews hit a top rope hurricanrana but quickly got thwarted again.
Coffey locked in a full nelson and they ended up in a backslide battle. Andrews eventually hit a DDT. He hit a springboard crossbody for a near fall, but Coffey came back with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex.
Andrews hit the Stun Dog Millionaire but got caught with an uppercut just seconds later, followed by a spear in the corner and All the Best for the Bells for a Coffey victory.
– Backstage, Coffey celebrated his win.
Amale defeated Nina Samuels (6:31)
Amale started out strong and hit a number of running kicks and dropkicks to score a near fall early on. Samuels fought back and locked in a chinlock.
Samuels hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, then started attacking Amale in the ropes. Amale moved out of the way when Samuels went for a dropkick in the ropes. Amale then scored another near fall with a bulldog, followed by a running kick in the corner and the Hopebreaker for the win.
– Backstage, Oliver Carter was asked about his injured knee. Trent Seven came up and gloated about Carter’s leg being bandaged and braced. Carter said the last time they were in the ring together, Carter & Ashton Smith made Seven & Tyler Bate ex-champions. Seven admitted to that and said that was the pivotal moment of his career — people got to see the real Trent Seven now and he would break Carter’s leg.
– Ilja Dragunov cut a pre-taped promo where he said he was curious to see who would take his place — but Dragunov also pointed out it was “his place.” Dragunov said he would be back and would recapture his title.
Chase U (Andre Chase & Bodhi Hayward w/ Thea Hail) defeated Eddie Dennis & Saxon Huxley (6:49)
Chase and Dennis started. Dennis took Chase down, then yelled at Huxley to pay attention and see how it was done. Chase then took Dennis down using the same hammerlock takeover. Chase made the crowd spell “Chase U” and he stomped away on Dennis.
Chase U tagged in and out in order to isolate Dennis. Denis tagged in Huxley, who accidentally hit Dennis on a double axe handle off the top. Huxley hit a Thesz Press on Chase and slammed him into the mat. Dennis took over, but Huxley blind-tagged himself in once more.
Huxley beat Chase from corner to post but then missed an elbow as Dennis kept screaming at him from the apron. Dennis and Hayward both tagged in and Hayward beat Dennis down with tackles and a big splash. Dennis managed to tag out, then Huxley hit a top rope clothesline on Hayward.
Dennis yelled at Huxley that Dennis was the star and told Huxley to get out of the ring. Huxley walked up the entranceway as Chase U hit a double-team flatliner on Dennis to pick up the victory.
After the match, Dennis kept yelling at Huxley, who took him out with a powerbomb. Huxley celebrated with Chase U and shook Andre Chase’s hand.
– A very good video on the upcoming Heritage Cup rematch between Noam Dar and Mark Coffey aired. Both men were confident they would pick up the victory. The match airs next week. Also next week, both semifinal matches in the NXT United Kingdom Championship tournament take place.
NXT United Kingdom title tournament first-round match: Tyler Bate defeated Kenny Williams (13:19)
Both men cut in-set promos. Williams said he would win the title, while Bate said he would win and crush Trent Seven’s dreams.
They traded wristlocks early on and Bate rolled Williams up for a two count. They traded slaps and Bate was aggressive in his offense, but Williams poked him in the eye.
Bate picked Williams up with a bridge off of a test of strength. He then went for a dive, but Williams evaded it and hit a back elbow off the top. They ended up at ringside and Bate picked up Williams for an airplane spin. Williams grabbed the ring post, then threw Bate into the barricades to take over the match.
After some more back and forth, Bate picked Williams up for another airplane spin in the ring, which left both men dizzy until Bate hit a lariat. They traded offense until Bate threw Williams out of the ring and followed with a huge plancha.
Back in the ring, Bate hit a bridging German suplex. Bate went for the Tyler Driver ’97, but Williams escaped it and rolled Bate up for a near fall. Williams went for a backspring elbow from the rope, but Bate caught him in another German suplex, hit a lariat, and then the Tyler Driver ’97 to pick up the win and advance in the tournament.
Final Thoughts —
A strong show with good matches and very few angles/promos, which probably is more than just a bit of foreshadowing that the future of this show looks bleak.
WWE spoiled the results of the tournament recently when Tyler Bate appeared as champion on NXT 2.0 to call out Bron Breakker for the Worlds Collide show that was announced today.
WWE also cut a number of NXT UK wrestlers today, ranging from some who were injured or not featured recently (Flash Morgan Webster, Dani Luna, Ashton Smith) to some who were prominently on this show as part of the title tournament (Mark Andrews), some who were part of stables or ongoing (title) storylines (Rohan Raja, Sha Samuels, Emilia McKenzie, Amir Jordan), and some who were mostly used in the mid-card (Wild Boar, Primate, Dave Mastiff, Jack Starz, Nina Samuels). It will be very interesting to see where NXT Europe is headed and if any of the talent that was released today will be brought back or where the focus of this new brand will lie.
On the off chance any of the released wrestlers read this: Thank you for your hard work and some great and entertaining matches over the years — and all the best for your future. The UK/European indie scene will certainly be better off for it in the long-term, with the possible influx of great talent becoming available shortly.
Next Week —
NXT United Kingdom title tournament semifinal match: Tyler Bate vs. Joe Coffey
NXT United Kingdom title tournament semifinal match: Trent Seven vs. Oliver Carter
NXT UK Heritage Cup Champion Mark Coffey defends against Noam Dar
An NXT UK invasion began at NXT Heatwave last night.
The special NXT 2.0 episode featured appearances by NXT United Kingdom Champion Tyler Bate, Blair Davenport, and Gallus. Bate appeared at the end of the episode, confronting Bron Breakker and seemingly challenging him to a champion vs. champion match.
Davenport was involved in a backstage segment with Indi Hartwell. Davenport called herself the future NXT Women’s Champion.
Gallus attacked Diamond Mine on last night’s show. It was also announced that Gallus will challenge Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen for the NXT UK Tag Team titles next Tuesday.
NXT Champion Breakker, NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose, and NXT North American Champion Carmelo Hayes all retained their titles at Heatwave. Two grudge matches also took place on the show. Cora Jade defeated Roxanne Perez, while Santos Escobar is now banned from NXT after losing a street fight to Tony D’Angelo.
Lots to discuss on this NXT 2.0 Heatwave edition of Speak Now! Topics include: possible main roster call ups, Tyler Bate confronts Bron Breakker, what is the future of NXT UK, my vision for Roxanne Perez vs. Cora Jade, the ending of Santos Escobar vs. Tony D’Angelo, plus more!
Tune in every Tuesday to chat NXT 2.0 on Speak Now Pro Wrestling!
Worlds collided at WWE NXT Heatwave, as NXT United Kingdom Champion Tyler Bate appeared and confronted NXT Champion Bron Breakker in the show-closing segment.
Bate, whose title win has yet to air on NXT UK television, appeared after Breakker’s successful title defense against JD McDonagh in the Heatwave main event. There was no physicality in the angle, but both champions raised their titles as they stared each other down to close the show.
A tournament to crown a new NXT United Kingdom Champion began airing on last week’s NXT UK show after Ilja Dragunov vacated the title due to injury.
Three of the eight competitors in that tournament appeared on Tuesday’s Heatwave show — Bate, Joe Coffey, and Wolfgang.
While not announced, it was strongly hinted on commentary that an NXT vs. NXT UK: Worlds Collide show is on the horizon, which jibes with a report that WWE is planning to run an NXT premium live event on the same day as AEW All Out on Sunday, September 4.
Bate, Gallus (Joe Coffey, Mark Coffey, Wolfgang), and Blair Davenport all appeared at Heatwave, with a Gallus vs. Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen NXT UK Tag Team title match announced for next week’s NXT episode.
WWE has revealed when Moustache Mountain will be making their first defense of the NXT UK Tag Team titles.
Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) will put their titles on the line against Oliver Carter & Ashton Smith on the NXT UK episode that premieres in two weeks (Thursday, February 24). Carter & Smith won a four-team tournament to become the number one contenders to Bate & Seven’s titles.
Carter & Smith defeated Symbiosis (Primate & T-Bone) in the first round of the number one contender’s tournament and Dave Mastiff & Jack Starz in the finals.
In December, Moustache Mountain captured the NXT UK Tag Team titles for the first time by defeating Pretty Deadly (Sam Stoker & Lewis Howley).
Bate & Seven vs. Carter & Smith is a matchup of babyface teams.
For next week’s NXT UK episode, WWE has announced two matches. They are: Jordan Devlin vs. Wolfgang and Kenny Williams vs. Sam Gradwell.
Moustache Mountain are finally the NXT UK Tag Team Champions.
In the main event of this week’s NXT UK episode, Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) defeated Pretty Deadly (Sam Stoker & Lewis Howley) to win the NXT UK Tag Team titles. The story for the match included Seven not knowing what would be next for his career if Moustache Mountain didn’t win.
Bate pinned Howley to win the titles. After hitting Tyler Driver ’97 on Howley, Bate struggled to get to the top rope. Stoker tried to help his partner, but Seven cut him off and gave him a Birminghammer on top of Howley. Bate then got the win by hitting a Spiral Tap on both Pretty Deadly members.
This is Bate & Seven’s first reign as NXT UK Tag Team Champions. They did briefly hold the US version of the NXT Tag Team titles in 2018, winning them from Undisputed Era’s Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong before then dropping the titles back to O’Reilly & Strong.
Having previously held the NXT United Kingdom Championship and Heritage Cup Championship, Bate is NXT UK’s first triple crown champion. Bate lost the Heritage Cup Championship to Noam Dar this October due to interference by Pretty Deadly.
Pretty Deadly had been NXT UK Tag Team Champions since winning the titles from Gallus’ Mark Coffey & Wolfgang this February.
WWE has announced an update to next week’s NXT UK tag team number one contender’s match.
Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) have been added to next Thursday’s Tag Team title number one contender’s match on NXT UK, making it a fatal four-way. Bate & Seven, Symbiosis (Primate & T-Bone), Oliver Carter & Ashton Smith, and Dave Mastiff & Jack Starz will face off to determine the next challengers for Pretty Deadly’s NXT UK Tag Team titles.
The match was originally announced as a triple threat, but Moustache Mountain were added after Pretty Deadly (Sam Stoker & Lewis Howley) helped cost Bate the NXT UK Heritage Cup Championship. Bate lost the Heritage Cup title to Noam Dar last week when Seven accidentally threw in the towel as he was trying to get it back from Howley.
Seven apologized to Bate on this week’s NXT UK and informed him that general manager Johnny Saint is letting them take part in next week’s number one contender’s match.
Moustache Mountain have never held the NXT UK Tag Team titles.
Pretty Deadly won the NXT UK Tag Team titles from Gallus’ Mark Coffey & Wolfgang this February. They retained against Moustache Mountain in August after a distraction where Howley threw in the towel and tried to make the referee think Seven did it. Howley hit Bate with a title belt as Seven was talking to the ref.
Mark Coffey (w/Wolfgang) defeated Rohan Raja (w/Teoman) (05:54)
Coffey started strong but quickly got trapped in the ropes and had his arm worked over. Coffey eventually came back with a lariat and slam, but sold the damage his arm had taken.
Coffey eventually scored the pin after a diving, running uppercut.
After the match, Teoman and Raja attacked Gallus until officials ran in to break up the brawl.
**********
Tyler Bate warmed up with Trent Seven backstage.
A video looked at the mayhem after last week’s tag team match between Symbiosis and Dave Mastiff/Jack Starz. In two weeks, there will be a triple threat match between Symbiosis, Mastiff/Starz and Ashton Smith & Oliver Carter.
Charlie Dempsey was interviewed backstage about his match with Danny Jones later tonight. Just as he was talking about how their styles would mesh, Gallus stormed in and Wolfgang asked Dempsey if he had seen Teoman and to tell him they were looking for him. Dempsey was frustrated and said this had been the second time now that this (Gallus interrupting him) had happened.
**********
Amale defeated Myla Grace (03:49)
Myla Grace made her NXT UK debut here. Grace has been around since at least 2018 and had matches all over the UK and Ireland, including OTT. She also has a street-dancing background.
Amale started out very aggressively and beat down on Grace, who briefly came back with a rollup but got taken out by double knees as she stormed the corner. Amale hit a spinning neckbreaker, but Myla kicked out at one. At that point, Blair Davenport wandered out from the back and started watching the match.
Myla hit some spinning head scissors, a 619 and a tornado DDT for a two count. Amale then nonchalantly kicked her in the face and hit the Hopebreaker (a fisherman spinebuster) for the pin and the win. Davenport looked on bemused, then walked off again.
**********
Noam Dar warmed up backstage.
Aleah James was interviewed about her win over Xia Brookside from last week. Nina Samuels walked up and welcomed us to another edition of the Nina Samuels Show. She then said James did not “measure up” to her (as she looked about one foot shorter than Samuels). James asked if there was a problem, then walked off, saying she wasn’t doing this right now
Flash Morgan Webster was in front of a door. Dani Luna asked if he was sure about this. He opened the door and it was Rampage Brown’s dressing room. He told Webster not to try it (Webster is running around, slapping people lately) and Webster turned away but then tried anyway. Brown blocked him, grabbed him by the throat and pushed him against the wall. He told Webster if he wanted a match, all he had to do was ask. Webster then was happy because he “got him.”
**********
Charlie Dempsey defeated Danny Jones (04:52)
Dempsey started by schooling Jones with takedowns, suplexes and submission holds. Jones hit a high hip toss and a number of strikes and attempted to lock in a sleeper of his own. Dempsey tried to work his way into a double wristlock, then bridged into the corner, pulling Jones’ head into it and kept on with impressive mat wrestling.
He locked in a standing cravate, then hit a suplex from the hold. Dempsey then hit two consecutive butterfly suplexes, never releasing Jones from his grip and rolled backward on top of him from the bridge both times. He then locked in a sort of double wristlock crossface for the submission victory.
**********
They then aired a great video hyping up the Meiko Satomura vs, Jinny for the NXT UK Women’s title match for next week. match. Jinny said Meiko was getting old, frail and weak. Satomura said she was prepared and while Jinny was the queen, she was the final boss.
Isla Dawn did some more scary stuff in the woods with her box and said some weird stuff, all while painting around her face with lipstick. Okay then. Still scarier than Alexa Bliss and her doll.
**********
NXT UK Heritage Cup: Noam Dar (w/Sha Samuels) defeated Tyler Bate (w/Trent Seven) 1-1 in Round 6 to win the Cup (17:34)
They had a tale of the tape graphic. No intangibles in NXT UK, but accolades.
Round 1
They went back and forth in the round, feeling each other out. Dar tried provoking Bate as the round ended but he would have none of it.
Round 2
Bate worked over Dar’s legs early until Dar fled to the ropes. The pace picked up and Bate eventually hit the airplane spin, but Dar escaped. They hit a double clothesline with 15 seconds left, then were entangled in a lockup until time ran out.
Round 3
Bate threw Dar to ringside, but Dar got back in as Bate went for a dive. He then hit a kick on Bate through the ropes and sent him into the ring steps. Back inside, he hit the Nova Roller to pick up the first fall at 0:59 of the round. Dar 1-0
Round 4
Dar immediately worked over Bate, using his momentum. Bate came back and hit a spinning European uppercut off the turnbuckles, then hit an exploder suplex and a running shooting star press, but Dar countered for a near fall. Bate hit the slingshot lariat, then went for Tyler Driver ’97 and got the pin at 2:03 of the round. Bate 1-1
Round 5
Bate started with a dragon screw, but Dar hit one off the turnbuckles in return, then hit a running uppercut for a close near fall. Dar kept targeting the left leg with kicks. Seven advised Bate to use the Birminghammer, but Dar raked the eyes and hit a spinning back elbow for another close near fall. Bate locked in a knee bar with about 20 seconds left, but Dar sat up and they traded punches as the round ended.
Round 6
They traded kicks early, and Dar went to the top, but Bate jumped up and hit a top rope exploder, followed with a dive through the ropes as Dar had rolled outside.
Samuels looked after Dar, but Bate wiped out both men with a plancha. Dar got a roll up off a Tiger Driver ’97 attempt, Dar caught Bate’s leg off a slingshot lariat and went for the Champagne knee bar, but Bate rolled through and hit a Saito suplex-style German. At that point, Pretty Deadly walked out and distracted Bate, allowing Dar to roll him up for a near fall.
Dar again locked in the Champagne knee bar as Seven started brawling with Pretty Deadly on the outside. They took his towel and were attempting to throw it into the ring, with Seven trying to get it back. As Seven finally yanked it away, the momentum led to him accidentally throwing it into the ring himself, which the ref took as a sign that Seven had thrown in the towel for Bate.
Dar thus won the match and the Heritage Cup due to apparent submission at 2:45 of the round.
If Bate had managed another 15 seconds, he would have retained under Heritage Cup rules. Dar wins 2-1.
Pretty Deadly were clapping and celebrating outside the ring as Seven tried to explain to Bate what had happened. Dar and Samuels celebrated the victory in the ring.
Final thoughts —
The main event was excellent with a somewhat anticlimactic finish, but it builds nicely into a Moustache Mountain vs. Pretty Deadly feud and Dar as a heel now can have some great Heritage Cup matches against the likes of Ben Carter, A-Kid, Charlie Dempsey, Mark Andrews or Flash Morgan Webster.
Charlie Dempsey vs. Danny Jones was excellent and with a bit more exposure, I could even see Dempsey ranking in the top 10 for Best Technical Wrestler in the Observer Awards. I’d love to see him on a bigger stage in NXT 2.0 or maybe even in NJPW down the line as a protege of Zack Sabre Jr.
Next week —
Meiko Satomura (c) vs. Jinny for the NXT UK Women’s Championship
In two weeks —
No. 1 Contender’s match to the NXT UK Tag Team titles: Symbiosis (T-Bone & Primate) vs. Ashton SMith & Oliver Carter vs. Dave Mastiff & Jack Starz
A title change took place in the main event of this week’s NXT UK.
Noam Dar defeated Tyler Bate by two falls to one to become the new NXT UK Heritage Cup Champion. Following A-Kid and Bate, Dar is the third wrestler to hold the Heritage Cup since the title was introduced last year.
Dar scored the first fall in the third round after hitting the Nova Roller, then Bate evened things up in the fourth by hitting the Tyler Driver ’97. The finish of the match then saw Dar get the win when Bate’s tag team partner Trent Seven accidentally threw in the towel in the sixth round.
Bate and Seven were distracted when NXT UK Tag Team Champions Pretty Deadly came out to ringside during the final round of the match. Pretty Deadly grabbed Seven’s towel and tried to throw it into the ring as Dar had Bate in a kneebar. As Seven fought with them to get it back, he accidentally threw the towel into the ring.
After the match, Dar and Sha Samuels celebrated with the Heritage Cup trophy as Seven explained what happened to a visibly disappointed Bate.
Dar got his title shot against Bate by winning NXT UK’s Heritage Cup number one contender’s tournament. He defeated Mark Andrews in the first round, Kenny Williams in the semifinals, and Wolfgang in the finals.
In 2018, Bate & Seven lost the NXT Tag Team titles to Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong when Bate had to throw in the towel for Seven.
Pretty Deadly retained their NXT UK Tag Team titles against Bate & Seven this August after a distraction where Lewis Howley threw in the towel and tried to make the referee think Seven did it. Howley hit Bate with a title belt as Seven was talking to the ref.
Noam Dar is getting his shot at NXT UK’s Heritage Cup Championship next week.
WWE has announced that Heritage Cup Champion Tyler Bate will defend his title against Dar on next Thursday’s episode of NXT UK. Dar won a Heritage Cup Championship number one contender’s tournament earlier this month to get the title shot.
Dar defeated Wolfgang in the finals of the number one contender’s tournament. In the first two rounds, he defeated Mark Andrews and Kenny Williams.
Ahead of their title match, Bate appeared on Dar’s Supernova Sessions talk show on today’s NXT UK episode. The segment ended with Dar punching Bate, then Dar’s tag team partner Sha Samuels getting Dar out of the ring before a brawl could break out. Bate was also held back by his tag team partner Trent Seven.
Bate won the Heritage Cup title from inaugural champion A-Kid this May. He’s made two title defenses since becoming champion, defeating Jack Starz and Mark Coffey.
Next week’s NXT UK will also feature Mark Coffey vs. Rohan Raja, along with Amale being in action.
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
– The Heritage Cup will be on the line on next week’s episode of NXT UK.
WWE has announced that Tyler Bate will defend his Heritage Cup Championship against Jack Starz on NXT UK next Thursday. It will be Bate’s first defense of the Heritage Cup since defeating A-Kid to become champion last month.
On last week’s NXT UK, video aired of Bate and Starz training together in a ring at the UK Performance Center. Bate said he’s watched Starz over the last few weeks and has been impressed by him. Bate offered Starz a Heritage Cup Championship match, but Starz said he wanted to feel like he’s earned the title shot.
Bate said he thinks Starz has earned it and told him the offer was on the table. Dave Mastiff was also at the Performance Center and told Starz that he’s earned it and shouldn’t turn down the opportunity.
A video package hyping up the Heritage Cup Championship match for next Thursday then aired this week. Bate said Starz’s work ethic is unparalleled and he’s well-respected. Bate said that’s why he chose to face Starz in his first Heritage Cup Championship defense.
Starz called Bate one of the best wrestlers in the world and reflected on being backstage when Bate became the inaugural WWE United Kingdom Champion in 2017. Starz claimed that he had more tryouts than anyone else in WWE history but was repeatedly told no. Starz said he refused to give up. Starz said all of his hard work will pay off next week.
Here’s the full list of what’s been announced for next Thursday’s NXT UK:
Heritage Cup Champion Tyler Bate defends against Jack Starz
A-Kid vs. Jordan Devlin
NXT UK Women’s Champion Meiko Satomura will appear
– A video also aired on this week’s NXT UK hyping that a wrestler named “Blair Davenport” is coming to the brand. An unidentified woman was shown signing an NXT UK contract in the video. When she’ll be debuting wasn’t revealed.
WWE filed a trademark for the name Blair Davenport last month.
Tyler Bate is the second-ever NXT UK Heritage Cup Champion.
In the main event of this week’s NXT UK episode, Bate defeated A-Kid to win the Heritage Cup Championship. After the match went to its sixth and final round without any falls being scored, Bate pinned A-Kid with just over two minutes left to get the win.
A-Kid hit a superkick on Bate and then went to pin him while he was dazed, but Bate reversed into a pinning combination to win the Heritage Cup Championship. A-Kid was disappointed in his loss but showed respect to Bate by presenting the Heritage Cup to him after the match and clapping for him.
Bate celebrated with his Moustache Mountain tag team partner Trent Seven as the show went off the air. A-Kid had defeated Seven in the finals of NXT UK’s Heritage Cup tournament last November to become the inaugural Heritage Cup Champion.
As Seven considered throwing in the towel, Bate survived an armbar that A-Kid had him locked in at the end of round five. In the break between rounds, Bate had Seven promise that he wouldn’t throw in the towel.
Bate and A-Kid had a 1-1 record against each other in NXT UK going into today’s match. Bate defeated A-Kid in February 2020, while A-Kid retained the Heritage Cup against Bate last December. Bate has been A-Kid’s friend and on-screen mentor in NXT UK.
A-Kid tweeted after losing the Heritage Cup: “We all need good stories to get through the hard times. This is the end of a beautiful story for me. The Heritage Cup’s future is in good hands. It’s time to think about what’s next for me… #NoPasaras”
This is the third title that Bate has held in his WWE career. He’s also a former NXT United Kingdom Champion and a former NXT Tag Team Champion.
