Xia Brookside has earned herself a shot at the TNA Knockouts World Championship.
On Thursday, during the May 28, 2026, episode of TNA Impact, Brookside pinned reigning Knockouts World Champion Lei Ying Lee in the Champions Challenge match.
Similar to KC Navarro’s match earlier in the night, the stipulation for the women’s Champions Challenge match was identical. It was noted that if a challenger were able to pin one of the champions, they would earn themselves a future title match.
The champions, Lee, Heather, and M by Elegance, teamed up to face Brookside, Elayna Black, and Mara Sade. The finishing moments of the match saw a few interferences before Mr.Elegance caused Lee to trip. This led to Brookside using her Darkside finisher for the pinfall win.
Based on their rivalry over the past few weeks, the result of the match was quite expected. It can be assumed that the two face each other at TNA Slammiversary for the Knockouts World title. Although TNA has not yet announced any official date.
After the promotion confirmed his impending return, EC3 confronted Eric Young on Saturday after Young spent time disrespecting Cleveland. He drove Young out of the ring and declared he was back, challenging Young to a match for this Thursday on Impact. He ended the promo by saying he was “from Cleveland, b****.”
In another return, KC Navarro interfered towards the end of the AJ Francis/Nic Nemeth match and distracted Francis, which allowed former Cleveland Browns player Bernie Kosar to hit Francis with a steel chair. Nemeth then scored the win over Francis after hitting the danger zone.
It was later confirmed that EC3 would face Young this Thursday, while Navarro would face Francis.
Lei Ying Lee failed to win the TNA Knockouts title at Sacrifice thanks to one person: her now former friend Xia Brookside. Lee had the match won with the Warrior’s Way, but was stunned when she found out that Brookside had put Arianna Grace’s foot on the rope. Brookside then dragged Lee out of the ring and attacked her, throwing the former champion into the ring steps. Grace then won the match with a knee to the back of the head.
TNA has announced the addition of three brand new matches to their No Surrender lineup hours before the event.
The duo of Indi Hartwell and Xia Brookside recently challenged The Elegance Brand (M by Elegance & Heather by Elegance) for the Knockouts World Tag Team Championship. On Thursday, February 12th edition of TNA Impact, Hartwell and Brookside appeared during a backstage segment, where the duo issued a challenge for the tag titles.
The Elegance Brand is in their second reign as tag champions and had won the titles last month from The IInspiration (Cassie Lee & Jessie McKay).
In addition to the Knockouts tag title match, TNA also added Eric Young vs. BDE to the No Surrender lineup, after the two brawled on the February 12th episode. While Director of Authority Santino Marella suspended Young, Daria Rae overruled the decision and booked him in a match against BDE.
Also, a Knockouts Battle Royal match was added to the card, with the winner receiving a future TNA Knockouts World title shot.
TNA No Surrender lineup | February 13th, 2026
TNA No Surrender is scheduled to take place at The Pinnacle in Nashville, Tennessee, on February 13th, 2026. Here is the updated lineup for the event:
Channing ‘Stacks’ Lorenzo (c) vs. Trey Miguel for the TNA International Championship
Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, The Righteous (Vincent & Dutch0 vs. Order 4 (Mustafa Ali, Jason Hotch, John Skyler & Agent Zero)
Lei Ying Lee (c) vs. Arianna Grace for the TNA Knockouts World Championship
Elegance Brand (M by Elegance & Heather by Elegance) (c) vs. Indi Hartwell & Xia Brookside for the TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Championship
Mike Santana & Leon Slater vs. Nic Nemeth & Eddie Edwards
BDE vs. Eric Young
TNA Knockouts Battle Royal – Winner to receive future Knockouts World title shot
Chris Bey made a special appearance to announce an attendance of 7,794 which TNA said is their North American record.
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As is tradition, TNA held its annual Hall of Fame ceremony prior to Bound for Glory which featured several familiar faces appear on camera.
For Mickie James’ induction, husband and current WWE SmackDown GM Nick Aldis appeared on camera as did current NXT star Jordynne Grace whom James notably feuded with near the end of her TNA run. Former WWE & TNA wrestler Victoria/Tara also appeared to give James the original Knockouts title belt. For the Beautiful People’s induction, Awesome Kong made a video appearance.
Former TNA star and fellow Hall of Famer Traci Brooks was the host for the ceremony.
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It was announced during the broadcast that Xia Brookside had to miss the Call Your Shot gauntlet match due to an illness. No other details were given. Her tag team partner Lei Ying Lee did compete in the match.
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In a bit of a surprise, NXT’s Kelani Jordan retained the TNA Knockouts title by defeating Indi Hartwell. Jordan won the title at September’s Victory Road by defeating the aforementioned Lee for the title vacated by Ash by Elegance. As noted on commentary, Hartwell’s family was in attendance after a four-flight journey to be there.
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Spike Dudley walked out with Team 3D for their final match with The Hardys for the NXT & TNA Tag Team titles.
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There will be an “After The Glory” special following this Thursday’s TNA Impact which is a show already taped.
Competitors have been revealed for the upcoming WWE Speed Women’s Championship tournament.
NXT General Manager Ava revealed that Candace LeRae, who will represent WWE’s main roster, will take on TNA’s Xia Brookside next week in the first match of the tournament. AAA’s Faby Apache, meanwhile, will take on NXT’s Laney Reid. The eventual winner of the mini-tournament will then face Sol Ruca for the Speed Women’s Championship at NXT No Mercy on September 27.
It was announced at NXT’s Heatwave event over the weekend that the Speed titles would be coming to the brand. Ruca has been seen with the championship in recent weeks, but never showed her championship on television until recently. She won the title back on April 11.
The future of the men’s title hasn’t been brought up on NXT programming. That championship is held by El Grande Americano, who has yet to appear on television wearing the title.
New episodes of WWE Speed stopped after July 9, with WWE providing no information on when the series will return. A recent report by Dave Meltzer seemed to indicate that the show had been dropped, despite WWE signing a two-year deal with X to air Speed exclusively on the platform.
A three-way match is scheduled for the TNA Turning Point pre-show this Friday night.
TNA Wrestling announced today that Rosemary vs. Xia Brookside vs. Savannah Evans will take place on Countdown to Turning Point. The pre-show broadcast streams live on TNA+ and the promotion’s digital platforms for free starting at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time on Friday.
In promoting this match, TNA billed it as a way for the winner to get some momentum in the Knockouts division:
It’s all about momentum when three surging Knockouts – Xia Brookside, Savannah Evans and Rosemary – clash on the Countdown to Turning Point. Rosemary recently cut ties with NXT’s Wendy Choo, vanquishing her in a No Disqualifications match. Meanwhile, Savannah Evans made her impactful return to TNA, taking out Léi Yǐng Lee in the process. Then you have Xia Brookside, who is looking to continue her rise following success on Xplosion. Who will come out on top, poised for greatness?
Masha Slamovich — the current Knockouts Champion — has a title defense against Jordynne Grace at Turning Point. The event is being held in Winston-Salem, North Carolina as part of the annual Thanksgiving weekend WrestleCade convention.
Turning Point’s main card begins at 7 p.m. Eastern on TNA+. Here’s the updated lineup for the show:
TNA Turning Point 2024 (Friday, November 29) —
TNA World Champion Nic Nemeth defends against Eddie Edwards
On the same night where she made her TNA Wrestling debut, Xia Brookside is now officially under contract, announced by the company afterward.
Brookside was one of several women involved in an Ultimate X match at Saturday’s Hard to Kill for a future shot at the Knockouts title. Terms or the length of the deal weren’t revealed.
Since her run in WWE NXT UK ended with the 2022 dissolving of the brand, the 25-year-old has remained active in Stardom, the UK indie scene, and the United States.
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There is a new no. 1 contender for the TNA Knockouts title.
In a multi-woman Ultimate X match at Saturday’s Hard to Kill, Gisele Shaw survived and won the match, giving her a future opportunity at the gold.
The end came when Shaw, Dani Luna and Tasha Steelz were all vying for the X, leading to Luna and Steelz falling to the mat. Shaw held on and grabbed the X to pick up the win in a match that also included Alisha Edwards, Jody Threat and the aforementioned Brookside.
Despite having several opportunities, Shaw has never held the Knockouts title. It’s unknown when she will challenge new champion Jordynne Grace who kicked off a new reign with her win over Trinity at the pay-per-view.
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TNA & AAA signed a partnership during Saturday’s show — one that AAA head Dorian Roldan Pena hopes will “change the landscape of wrestling.”
During the broadcast, TNA president Scott D’Amore and Pena came out on the stage which led to highlights of past TNA/AAA matches airing. Pena said he wants to bring more lucha libre to TNA before making his statement about changing wrestling.
The two promotions recently held a co-promoted show in Monterrey, Mexico, that was featured on Impact on AXS TV.
Xia Brookside will make her TNA debut at Hard to Kill.
The 25-year-old has been announced for the Knockouts Ultimate X match scheduled for the January 13 pay-per-view.
BREAKING: @XiaBrookside will make her TNA debut in the Knockouts Ultimate X match at TNA #HardToKill on January 13 LIVE on PPV from the Palms in Las Vegas.
Brookside is the second wrestler confirmed for the match, with Gisele Shaw having been announced for it yesterday. TNA plans to introduce a new competitor every day at 1 p.m. Eastern time leading up to the show.
Brookside was one of several NXT UK talents to be released from WWE in the summer of 2022. Since departing WWE, she has performed for Stardom, WOW, and PCW amongst several other promotions.
TNA Hard to Kill announced lineup:
Impact World Champion Alex Shelley defends against Moose
Knockouts Champion Trinity defends against Jordynne Grace
X-Division Champion Chris Sabin defends against KUSHIDA and El Hijo del Vikingo in a three-way match
Knockouts Ultimate X match (Announced participants: Gisele Shaw, Xia Brookside)
PCO vs. Dirty Dango
TNA Tag Team Champions ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) defend against The Rascalz (Zachary Wentz & Trey Miguel), Speedball Mountain (Mike Bailey & Trent Seven), and The Grizzled Young Vets (Zack Gibson & James Drake)
Pre-show match: Rich Swann vs. Steve Maclin
Pre-show match: Eric Young & Frankie Kazarian vs. Brian Myers & Eddie Edwards
Pre-show match: Digital Media Champion Tommy Dreamer defends against Crazzy Steve
Xia Brookside has returned to World Wonder Ring Stardom.
The former NXT UK talent joined the debuting Mariah May in accompanying Mina Shirakawa to the ring on Thursday at Stardom Queendom 2022 in Tokyo’s Ryogoku Kokugikan.
Shirakawa and her Pink Kabuki teammate Unagi Sayaka defeated Thekla and Mai Sakurai on the show. After the match, Shirakawa turned on Sayaka and introduced Brookside and May as her new teammates. The trio will be going by the name Club Venus.
“Mina asked why Unagi wasnt there for her and attacked Unagi. She’s done tagging with Unagi,” Stardom’s English Twitter account wrote. “Mina, Xia and Mariah are Club Venus.”
Brookside was with WWE from 2018 to 2022 working primarily on the NXT UK roster. She also took part in 2018’s Mae Young Classic. The 24-year-old was released from the company in August when the NXT UK brand was put on hiatus.
Brookside previously performed for Stardom from July 2017 until April 2018. She returned to the promotion from March to July 2019 as well.
The show opened with a highlight video for Dragunov vs. Brown tonight.
NXT UK Women’s Championship: Meiko Satomura defeated Xia Brookside to retain the title (07:58)
Satomura controlled Brookside early on. Brookside got the upper hand, but got overwhelmed again in short order. Satomura applied an arm bar around the five minute mark, but Brookside made the ropes, then went on the attack once more. Satomura missed an enzuigiri and Brookside scored a near-fall after a codebreaker, then threw a tantrum when she couldn’t score a three-count.
Satomura hit the Death Valley Driver, then finished Brookside off with Scorpion Rising for the successful title defense.
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Charlie Dempsey and Rohan Raja were at an apartment, Raja suggested they go to the roof. As they looked over the city, Raja said that Teoman sent his gratitude and asked Dempsey what was important to him. He said legacy and heritage were important, and he knew it was the same for Raja. Raja had been on the phone with Teoman and welcomed Dempsey to “the familia.” They shook hands.
Meiko Satomura was greeted backstage by Emilia McKenzie and was asked about her future plans. Satomura said she would be going home to Japan for a few weeks. Blair Davenport then walked up and asked Emilia McKenzie what she was going to do without her only friend there to protect her? McKenzie said she would be just fine and Davenport challenged her to a match, which Emilia accepted. Davenport also told Satomura to bring her back a present from Japan.
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Saxon Huxley beat Kenny Williams (08:14)
This was a rematch from a few weeks ago, where Williams cheated to win.
Williams threw his jacket at Huxley at the bell, but Huxley caught it and started dismantling Williams. He hit a running crossbody into the ropes, then followed Williams to ringside and leveled him with a clothesline. Back in the ring, Huxley kept up the attacks and ragdolled Williams around.
Williams ducked a corner attack and Huxley tumbled to the outside. Williams attacked him there, then kept the pressure on in the ring. Williams hit a sit-down splash onto Huxley’s back for a near-fall, then worked over Huxley’s knees and upper legs.
Huxley came back and deadlifted Williams into a gorilla press. Huxley missed and elbow from the middle rope, allowing Williams to hit a running DDT. Suddenly, Subculture’s music played and Williams, like an idiot, ignored his opponent and got on the ropes, looking towards the entrance.
Huxley hit a hip attack into the corner, then hit a fireman’s carry into a powerbomb for the win.
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Sha Samuels had a board with odds for various challengers to the NXT UK Cup. Sam Gradwell was at the bottom with 4000 to 1 odds. He walked in and took offense, then challenged Samuels for next week and bet 10 pounds on himself, at the same odds.
A graphic announced Blair Davenport vs. Emilia McKenzie for next week, plus Pretty Deadly vs. Moustache Mountain for the NXT UK tag team titles. They then aired a very good hype video with great promos by both teams.
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NXT UK championship: Ilja Dragunov defeated Rampage Brown by referee stoppage to retain the title (08:50)
They locked up, Brown backed Dragunov into the corner, but the champion evaded a big punch and shortly thereafter, a back elbow, then hit a chop of his own.
Brown finally hit a punch off a break in the corner, but Dragunov immediately punished him with strikes, then trapped Brown in a side headlock, not even breaking the hold off a backdrop driver. Dragunov locked the hold on twice more off whips, but eventually had to release after another high-angle suplex.
They ended at ringside, and Brown repeatedly rammed Dragunov into the corner posts. Brown repeatedly slammed Dragunov, then started working over the champion’s lower back.
Dragunov briefly fought back with kicks off his back, but Brown kept attacking relentlessly. Dragunov escaped a Doctor Bomb attempt, then managed a back body drop off a powerbomb attempt. Dragunov managed to hit an enzuigiri out of desperation that put down Brown hard.
A replay showed Dragunov’s toe hitting Brown in the temple or jaw. The doctor checked him out and the referee called a stop to the contest.
Final thoughts —
The main event was great while it lasted, but it looked like a legitimate Referee/doctor stoppage and a very anticlimactic finish. I hope this leads to a rematch down the line.
The other two matches were fine, but not very memorable. Other than the first seven minutes of the main event, the highlights of the show were the Charlie Dempsey/Rohan Raja segment and the Pretty Deadly and Moustache Mountain promos.
Next week —
NXT UK Tag Team Championship: Pretty Deadly (c) vs. Moustache Mountain
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.
Jordan Devlin successfully defended his NXT Cruiserweight championship against Oliver Carter in week 1 of his open challenge series
Noam Dar debuted his Supernova 11 Series talk show; his guests were NXT UK Heritage Cup winner A-Kid and, unexpectedly, a returning Tyler Bate. Dar stirred things up and they ended up agreeing to a Heritage Cup match later tonight
Eddie Dennis and The Hunt pressured Sid Scala into a tag team title match for next week
Isla Dawn beat Xia Brookside after Nina Samuels distracted Xia from the big screen
Saxon Huxley attacked Jack Starz and Levi Muir af the UK Performance Center
A-Kid successfully defended his Heritage Cup championship against Tyler Bate, winning 2-1; Bate scored the first fall with a rollup, A-Kid scored the second fall from a moonsault implant DDT and then turned over a jackknife cover in round 6 for the final pin
Report —
The show opened with Jordan Devlin in the ring as he welcomed us to NXT UK, the show with the real NXT Cruiserweight champion. He kicked off week 1 of the Jordan Devlin’s Cruiserweight Championship Open Challenge. He said every time you saw Jordan Devlin in the ring, the championship was on the line.
Backstage, Ashton Smith was pumping up Oliver Carter and told him to go out there and win for Switzerland (his native country) and Ghana (the country he has his roots in). They came out together but Smith went to the back before the match.
NXT Cruiserweight Championship: Jordan Devlin pinned Oliver Carter to retain the title (06:30)
Devlin beat Carter down, but the challenger came back, showing his athletic prowess with a back flip kick into the corner and arm drags.
Devlin caught Carter’s foot and he went to back flip, but Carter bounced into the ropes and landed right on his neck, which either was a brutal accident or an intricately planned spot. He sold the neck the rest of the match and Devlin worked it over.
Carter came back and even hit a hurricanrana on Devlin, who was on the top rope. Carter hit a uranage, but once more sold his neck and couldn’t follow up on it. He hit an enzuigiri into the corner, but Devlin hit a poison rana, which once more spiked Carter on the neck.
Devlin followed up with Devlinside for the pinfall victory.
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Jinny was interviewed at the UK Performance Center. She was asked about Piper Niven and said that she would deal with Niven on her own time and Niven would not see her coming. But for now, she does not concern herself with Niven and said she tamed wild animals in the past and would do so again.
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Supernova 11 Sessions
Noam Dar hosted the first episode of his new talk segment. The setup was a lounge, complete with a couch and snacks. Dar put himself over, then introduced his guest, the first-ever NXT UK Heritage Cup champion, A-Kid. Dar laid on the couch while A-Kid had to sit on a folding chair.
Dar greeted A-Kid in French, then asked if he spoke English in Spanish. A-Kid said that Dar knew full well he spoke English and in fact, he may speak it better than Dar himself.
A-Kid said after beating Dar in the tournament, he was happy to be here. Dar said he was looking to clear up the misconception that they were rivals and that when A-Kid came to NXT UK, Dar took him under his wing, nurtured him and became his mentor and sensei. A-Kid looked like this was news to him.
Dar even gave him a new name and said after winning the Heritage Cup, he was no longer A-Kid but A-Man. A-Kid told him to stop, that he was in fact not his mentor, sensei or friend. He said a lot of people helped him out, but Dar was not one of them. A-Kid said that no one helped him more than Tyler Bate. Dar ran down Bate and called him a has-been, asking who he ever beat.
At that point, Bate’s music played and he made his return to NXT UK after more than 9 months. Dar played all nice and clapped, but Bate blew him off and congratulated A-Kid on winning the Heritage Cup. He said he wished he could have been in the tournament and Dar immediately picked up on it, asking if what Bate meant to say was that he would have beaten A-Kid. Bate said that’s not what he said and not to put words in his mouth.
Dar said they should have the match tonight and he even would go to Johnny Saint to request it, so that they could find out who was the student and who was the master. Bate and A-Kid agreed to have the match and shook hands on it.
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Eddie Dennis and The Hunt walked into Sid Scala’s office. The Hunt positioned themselves on either side of Scala and growled at him menacingly, then began to throw things off his desk.
Dennis asked about who were the previous tag team champions (Mark Andrews & Fash Morgan Webster) and who beat them last week (The Hunt). He demanded that the Hunt get a title match against Gallus.
Scala, clearly scared, stammered that he had to talk to Johnny Saint about that. Dennis told him to go and do that, then snapped his fingers and left with The Hunt.
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A graphic announced the A-Kid vs. Tyler Bate Heritage Cup match for tonight’s main event
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Isla Dawn pinned Xia Brookside (05:24)
Both women were more aggressive than in the past and had a back and forth match.
They brawled on the outside after a dive by Brookside when a stagehand set down a number of bags and suitcases by the ringside area. Nina Samuels appeared on the screen and told Xia (who beat her a few weeks ago) that “Brooksides are only good for carrying my bags.”
This distracted Xia, who walked right into a head kick by Isla. Dawn followed with a Saito suplex for the win.
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Sid Scala was being interviewed about how things were going at the NXT UK Performance Center when Saxon Huxley came crashing out of a room, screaming “Better luck next time!” and smashing some trash cans.
Scala and the camera ran into the room, where Levi Muir and Jack Starz where on the floor after having been attacked by Huxley. They had told Huxley after his last match week that he may have “better luck next time.”
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A graphic announced Gallus defending the NXT UK Tag Team Championships against The Hunt for next week.
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A quick reminder about the Heritage Cup rules:
All matches consist of six three-minute rounds with 20-second breaks between each round.
All matches are 2 out of 3 falls.
Falls can be won by pinfall, submission, or countout.
Once a fall occurs, the round ends.
The match ends once a wrestler has won two falls.
In the event of a disqualification or knockout, the match instantly ends without the need for two falls.
If all six rounds are completed, whoever is ahead on falls wins the match.
If there is a draw on falls, the match continues under sudden death rules with no time limit.
NXT UK Heritage Cup Championship: A-Kid beat Tyler Bate two falls to one to retain the Cup (16:56)
Bate looked phenomenal and in even better shape then before his pandemic induced break from the ring.
Round 1
The stared out with mat work and traded holds and counters for most of the round. They were locked in a knuckle lock as the round ended.
Round 2
They traded straightjacket holds for half of the round, A-Kid then transitioned into some BJJ in the final minute. luring Bate into his guard. They grappled some more as the round drew to a close.
Round 3
Bate went for an airplane spin early, but A-Kid escaped and hit a snap German. They traded more counters and Bate eventually rolled up A-Kid with an O’Connor roll for the pin at 1:47. (Bate 1-0)
Round 4
A-Kid was more aggressive now and had Bate locked in a triangle, which Bate power-bombed out of right as the round ended.
Round 5
A-Kid hit a springboard moonsault on DDT on Bate to score a pinfall in 1:00 of the round (Tied 1-1)
Round 6
They traded strikes and kicks early. Bate threw A-Kid through the ropes but held on to his leg, then went for a deadlift vertical suplex but A-Kid escaped. Bate went for his springboard lariat but A-Kid caught him and turned it into an armbar and went for a Jim Breaks Special, but Bate eventually escaped. Bate went for a jackknife pin, but A-Kid flipped him over and scored the deciding fall at 2:04 of the round. (A-Kid 2-1)
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Bate shook A-Kid’s hand after the match and raised his hand.
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Next week —
Gallus defend the NXT UK tag team championship against The Hunt.
Episode 16 (taped October 14 at Plymouth Pavilions in Plymouth, England)
Quick recap:
The two undefeated monsters of NXT UK clashed, as Dave Mastiff met Eddie Dennis in the main event, with the Bomber reigning victorious in a fun hoss fight. Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) were victorious over Ashton Smith & Ligero in a quest to qualify for the NXT UK Tag Team Championship Tournament. Jinny managed to beat Xia Brookside, while Joseph Conners squashed Jack Starz in a quick match. Rhe Ripley will make her first NXT UK Women’s Championship defense next week, facing the “White Witch of NXT UK”, Isla Dawn.
Full rundown:
– The show opened up with a split screen of Dave Mastiff and Eddie Dennis warming up for their match backstage, while Vic and Nigel talked about the main event
Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) beat Ashton Smith & Ligero in 5:37 when Coffey pinned Smith after an enzuigiri
Ligero and Wolfgang started out, and the Leeds Luchador frustrated the bigger man with a spin kick and a drop kick but got caught on a body press attempt. He quickly tagged out to Smith and both men hit a double drop kick on Wolfgang. Ligero got himself caught on a spinning DDT attempt but managed to escape until Mark Coffey distracted him and a forearm to the back of the head sent him to ringside.
The heels worked Ligero over until he managed to throw Wolfgang out of the ring and made the hot tag to Smith. Smith ran wild for a bit and hit a springboard back elbow on Coffey, but Wolfgang eventually pulled him out of the ring. Ligero then hit a somersault senton to the outside onto Wolfgang, jumping over Smith who was hanging in the ropes.
Back in the ring, Smith tried and O’Connor Roll on Coffey but he managed to kick out, hit a double hammer to the chest followed by an enzuigiri for the win.
– We took a look back at Isla Dawn challenging Rhea Ripley last episode. Both women were backstage with Johnny Saint and Sid Scala, who announced the match for next week. The women had a stare down, with Rhea saying “See you next week” and walked off
– A graphic announced Joseph Conners to be in action next, followed by a TLC promo.
– Radzi was backstage with Gallus after their match. They said that they set a standard and were the team to beat. Joe Coffey said that he was concerned with Pete Dunne and was going to rip the WWE UK Championship from his mouth. But first, he would meet Travis Banks and squash him like a bug.
Joseph Conners beat Jack Starz in 2:16 with Don’t Look Down
This was basically a squash. Starz refers to him as the Self Made Machine, but Conners wasn’t impressed, grabbed his ear and yanked him down to the mat. He sent Starz into the ropes and hit a backbreaker as Starz came bouncing back. Conners worked him over, went to ringside and pounded on Starz who was on the apron.
Starz got a brief hope spot in and hit some European uppercuts, but that was ended quickly. Conners then hit a sunset bomb into the corner and followed up with Don’t Look Down fpr the quick win.
– Radzi was backstage with Xia Brookside, who said while she may not be the most experienced wrestler in NXT UK, Jinny better get read to “fly with Brookside”. Jinny then turned up, looked at Xia, turned away with a disgusted look on her face and walked off.
– There was a commercial for the Royal Rumble Axxess shows; no word on if any NXT or NXT UK talent would be on those events.
– A video package for Saxon Huxley and Tyson T-Bone aired, where Huxley said that T-Bone was violent, destructive and almost as twisted as he was. He also talked about his shadow being rooted in hell, channeling his best inner Undertaker from the 1990s. T-Bone and Huxley concluded that they would be the NXT UK tag team champions.
Jinny beat Xia Brookside in 4:13 after hitting her with A Touch of Couture
Xia wanted to shake Jinny’s hand, but she kicked it away. Xia went for a headlock and took her down, but Jinny quickly locked on a head vice with her legs, from which Xia escaped via head stand. Jinny kept working Xia’s arm, but Xia came back and eventually hit a huracanrana from the corner, followed by a dropkick and a cross body from the second turnbuckle.
Jinny came back with the Fashion Disaster, which is her STO into the corner. Jinny went to bend Xia’s arms backwards, working over her back until Xia managed to roll through on the move and escape. She hit a chin breaker, followed by a bulldog and a head scissors takedown.
As Jinny was propped up in the corner, Xia hit a running double knee to the back of the head and went for a surfboard variant, but her back gave out and Jinny rolled through on the move, sending Xia into the ropes. As she got back up, Jinny hit A Touch of Couture, her rolling kick, for the win.
– A Dave Mastiff video package aired, and a graphic announced Mastiff vs. Eddie Dennis next, followed by a WWE Custom Tees ad.
– Zack Gibson and James Drake came out for a short in-ring promo. Gibson said that people got a tiny glimpse of what they could do when they beat Jordan and Williams and that they would soon be recognized as the NXT UK tag team champions.
– An Eddie Dennis video package aired, where he said that NXT UK meant everything to him as he could apply his trade here; this was followed by a WWE Network commercial.
– A graphic announced Rhea Ripley defending against Isla Dawn next week.
“Bomber” Dave Mastiff beat Eddie Dennis in 11:47 after a cannonball into the corner
Mastiff pushed him into the corner early. Dennis tried for some shoulder blocks, but Mastiff wouldn’t budge. Dennis tried some striking but was stopped by a drop kick by the big man. Mastiff trapped Dennis’ arms and rained down some elbows on his jaw. Dennis was back on offense a little later but got mowed down by a running cross body block by Mastiff.
Mastiff missed a senton, allowing Dennis to recover, hot a running boot, followed by a kick to the jaw that sent “the Bomber” to ringside. Dennis kicked him off the apron as he tried to re-enter the ring, but a second kick showed no effect, so Dennis slid out of the ring and pulled Mastiff off the ring.
When they came back to the ring, Dennis applied a cravat but Mastiff eventually powered out, hit a head butt and eventually a big superplex. After exchanging some more strikes, Mastiff hit a Finlay roll and a senton for a near fall. Mastiff stepped things up with a bridging German suplex for another close two count.
Mastiff tried to hit the cannonball into the corner, but Dennis got up, caught him in mid-air and hit a black hole slam for a near fall. He tried to get the big guy up for his Severed Bridge into the corner, but Mastiff back body dropped out of it. Dennis was on the apron and put his upper body through the ropes, but Mastiff pulled him back into the ring and into the ropes.
Mastiff set Dennis up for another superplex attempt, but he escaped and got Mastiff up for the Severed Bridge. Mastiff escaped the move. A hard clothesline by Dennis led to another near-fall. Mastiff cut him off, hit a snap mare followed by a head butt, a release German suplex and eventually the cannonball senton into the corner to end Eddie Dennis’ undefeated streak and pick up the win.
Next week:
Rhea Ripley will defend the NXT UK Women’s championship against Isla Dawn and more tag teams will be in action.
Episode eleven (taped August 26 at the NEC Arena in Birmingham, England)
Quick recap
Pete Dunne successfully defended his WWE UK championship against Jordan Devlin in an outstanding main event, as both men delivered and had a great match. In women’s tag team action, the young up-and-comers Xia Brookside & Millie McKenzie beat the debuting Charlie Morgan & Killer Kelly in a fun match. Eddie Dennis kept his undefeated streak, beating Ashton Smith in another fun match. Joseph Conners beat former tag team partner Saxon Huxley in a slobber knocker mean guy match. All in all an entertaining episode.
Full rundown
Show opened to a graphic promoting the NXT UK women’s title finals next week, when Toni Storm meets Rhea Ripley. Another graphic informed us that Pete Dunne would defend his WWE UK title against Jordan Devlin tonight.
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Xia Brookside & Millie McKenzie beat Charlie Morgan & Killer Kelly in 5:13 when Xia pinned Morgan with a bridging pin
Charlie Morgan, who was trained by Danny Collins and the Knight wrestling family (Paige, her brothers and parents), started out in 2011. She wrestled for all the major UK women’s promotions, such as WAW, Bellatrix and Pro Wrestling: EVE. She also performed for PROGRESS, RevPro and Southside Wrestling Entertainment among others and is a former Bellatrix and EVE champion. She is openly gay and had her coming out at a Pro-Wrestling EVE show in 2017. She also was born prematurely at only 28 weeks old.
Morgan and Xia started out and Xia took her down with a top wrist lock. After some back and forth, Morgan escaped with an impressive headstand. Xia hit a huracanrana and a drop kick and tagged McKenzie, who came in with a swinging neck breaker. Kelly managed to tag in but also quickly got locked in a Fujiwara arm-bar style submission which looked like Millie almost ripped her shoulder out of the socket.
Kelly came back with a surfboard attempt that ended with Millie’s face firmly getting planted in the mat after a hard stomp to the back of the head. Millie eventually came back with a release German suplex, after which both women tagged out. Xia hit a chin breaker and double knees into the corner on Morgan.
She went to the top, but Kelly pulled her off. Meanwhile Millie came in and hit a hard spear on Charlie Morgan, who then got pinned by Xia using a bridging pin.
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We saw Pete Dunne backstage, preparing for his upcoming match.
There was a graphic for Eddie Dennis vs. Ashton Smith, followed by a TLC promo.
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Eddie Dennis beat Ashton Smith in 6:00 after the Neck Stop Driver
This match had been built up for a few weeks, with Dennis telling Smith to watch his debut match and Smith then interrupting Dennis’ backstage interview.
Dennis took Smith down early, but Smith escape and locked in a head lock for a bit. He flipped out of a back suplex attempt, did a leap frog over the much taller Dennis, hit a drop kick that rocked the bigger man and finally a leg lariat that briefly took him down and to ringside. Smith tried a dive as a follow-up, but Dennis caught him mid-move and gave him a black hole slam on the apron.
Back in the ring, Dennis used his judo background and threw Smith, then locked in a cravat and held it for quite a while. Smith finally escaped and hit a springboard dropkick on Dennis who was on the apron. A somersault plancha connected and back in the ring, Smith hit a leg lariat from the top for a near-fall.
He then hit a drop kick on Dennis, who was sitting on the top rope, but failed a superplex attempt as Dennis slipped beneath him and picked him up for the Severed Bridge, a Razor’s Edge style buckle bomb. He followed that his the Neck Stop Driver for the win.
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We took a look back at Joseph Conners turning on Saxon Huxley last week and were informed that this match was next. Also, a WWE Shop commercial aired.
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Joseph Conners pinned Saxon Huxley in 5:16
These two had a mean guy match, right out of a Vinny V dream sequence. The first 90 seconds or so were just punches and kicks, as Huxley tore into Conners with punches and Conners came back with body shots. Huxley got whipped into the corner, but stormed right back out with a shoulder block. Conners came back with a clothesline and more punches, then draped Huxley over the ropes in the corner and rained down some more punches on him. Huxley came back with a knee lift and a dropkick.
Conners escaped an over-the-shoulder power bomb attempt and hit some more. you guessed it, punches. Huxley briefly got the upper hand with a clothesline but Conners hit a nice sit-out spine buster for another near fall. He grabbed Huxley by the hair and screamed “this is my world, you are just visiting” at him, before finishing him off with a kind of reverse-spinebuster-face slam type of move.
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Nigel and Vic were in studio as we got a Toni Storm video with sit-down segments and in-ring highlights, including her winning the Mae Young Classic this year. She said that she always had felt pressure, but if you wanted to be a history maker that’s what it took. Her whole life led up to this point and that this was not something she wanted but she needed.
She said that she was going to be the first NXT UK Women’s champion, after nine years of hard work and sacrifices. She concluded by saying that it was Toni Time.
We saw Jordan Devlin prepare backstage, followed by a WWE 2K19 commercial.
Next, we took a look at Rhea Ripley. She came to the UK to rip the women’s division apart, and that Toni would just be another victim. Toni’s last step was Rhea Ripley, her name was going to be on the NXT UK Women’s title. She will be the first champion and this is where it all ends.
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WWE UK Championship: Pete Dunne (c) submitted Jordan Devlin in 15:07
They locked up right away and Dunne immediately took him down with an arm bar and kept working the arm, but Devlin head scissored his way out amd slapped Dunne, prompting and immediate slap back from Dunne. Dunne tried stomping Devlin’s elbow and forearm, but Devlin rolled out of the way. A monkey flip by Dunne sent Devlin flying. then the champ followed with a hard forearm and an even stiffer lariat.
Dunne worked over Devlin’s arm and when to manipulate his fingers as well. Dunne tried his backflip off the turnbuckle on a whip but Devlin caught him and gave him a back stabber for a two count, which established Dunne’s lower back being hurt. Devlin hit his uranage/standing moonsault combo for a two count.
Dunne came back with a running enzuigiri into the corner, after successfully completing his backflip this time around. Dunne went for a German but got countered and Devlin hit a German of his own, which Dunne flipped over on and landed on his feet and hit a snap German of his own. He followed that by suplex into an arm bar, but Devlin escape by rolling up Dunne.
Devlin hit a running kick that had Dunne down in the corner and in an impressive spot, Devlin pulled Dunne up from the corner by the arm, straight into a backdrop driver for another two count.
After missing a standing moonsault, Dunne stomped his hand but then ran into a Spanish Fly out of nowhere. Devlin couldn’t capitalize on the momentum though, as Dunne immediately locked in a Koji clutch. The action spilled to ringside, and as Dunne tried to stomp Devlin’s arm on the ring steps, Devlin pulled his legs away and Dunne crashed onto the steel steps face-first. Devlin then hit a Spanish Fly off the steps onto the floor, which looked brutal.
They both narrowly got back in the ring at 9. After a double stomp on Devlin’s fingers, Dunne went for the Bitter End, but Devlin countered it into a reverse huracanrana for another near-fall. A quebrada by Devlin was stopped mid-air by a forearm smash by Dunne, who hit the Bitter End, but on landing, hurt his back even more and couldn’t go for the pin. They both were on the apron and Devlin shoved Dunne hard into the ring post back first.
They both got to the top rope and Devlin hit a Super Spanish Fly for a 2.99 cover. Dunne got up in a fighting stance, but Devlin hit a head butt that took both men down. Devlin removed Dunne’s mouth guard and hit a super kick for another close near-fall.
Devlin went for a moonsault, but got caught in a triangle on impact. He managed to briefly touch the ropes, but Dunne rolled over with the triangle still locked in, bent Devlin’s fingers apart, then grabbed the remaining fingers and bent them as well, forcing Devlin to tap.
Devlin sulked backstage, as the Bruiserweight celebrated in the ring.
Episode nine (taped August 25 at the NEC Arena in Birmingham, England)
Quick recap —
Ligero and Jordan Devlin had a very good main event match. Toni Storm and Rhea Ripley advanced in the NXT UK women’s tournament, joining Dakota Kai and Jinny in the second round. Eddie Dennis and Mark Andrews also were victorious and Ashton Smith challenged Dennis to a match.
Full rundown —
A graphic informed us about tonight’s main event of Ligero taking on Jordan Devlin. We got a quick recap of the NXT UK women’s title tournament and went to Xia Brookside taking on Rhea Ripley.
Rhea Ripley beat Xia Brookside in 4:13 after the Riptide
The “Mosh Pit Kid” Rhea Ripley at just 22 years old (21 when this was taped) has a football (soccer) background and hails from the land Down Under, where she started out at Riot City Wrestling at just 16 years of age, where she eventually won the women’s title twice.. She moved on to Japan in 2015, competing for Diana and REINA and eventually participated in the Mae Young Classic in 2017 and returned again in 2018.
Xia Brookside is the 20-year-old daughter of NXT trainer Robbie Brookside and started out in 2015 with All Star Wrestling. She wrestled for IPW:UK, ICW, RevPro, GWF (in Germany), Defiant and Southside among others and first went to Japan to wrestle for Stardom in 2017. She is a former IPW:UK women’s champion and part of the current Southside tag team champions with Sean Kustom in a mixed team and also competed in the 2018 Mae Young Classic.
Ripley pushed Xia away as she went to shake her hand and proceeded to power the smaller woman down. Xia went for some head scissors in the corner, but Ripley picked her up and buckle bombed her into the turnbuckles before hitting a delayed vertical suplex. Rhea then applied a variation of the clover leaf, using just her hands and picked Xia up almost completely from that position which looked both cool and impressive.
Xia eventually managed to counter and dive between Ripley’s legs and threw Rhea into the turnbuckles head-first in the process. Xia hit a bulldog, tilt-a-whirl head scissors and double knees into the back of Ripley’s head. She went for a body press, but Rhea caught her and transitioned into the Riptide, a pump-handle power bomb for the win.
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We saw Toni Stom and Isla Dawn backstage, preparing for their match.
A graphic informed us that Eddie Dennis would be in action tonight, followed by a NXT UK taping commercial.
Radzi Chinyanganya interviewed James Drake and Zack Gibson backstage, asking about why Drake helped Zack against Trent Seven last week. Gibson stopped him, told him he had known Drake for 13 years and this was just a friend helping a friend. He then threw their names into the hat for the NXT UK tag team title tournament and stated that no team could come close to beating them and nonchalantly ended the interview.
Nigel and Vic discuss the interview and throw it to a WWE.com Exclusive video of the Coffey Brothers and Wolfgang continuing their attack on Moustache Mountain backstage last week, seemingly injuring Seven’s hand in the process.
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Eddie Dennis beat Jack Starz in 3:16 with the Neckstop Driver
Starz is a Robbie Brookside and Dan Collins trainee, who started in 2012 and wrestled for All Star Wrestling, Kamikaze Pro and Preston City Wrestling, among others. He also is a former Kamikaze Pro tag team champion.
This was a glorified squash, with the much taller Dennis toying with his much smaller opponent, patting him on the head to start the match. Starz came back but got caught when attempting a body press, which Dennis turned into a back breaker. A series of European uppercuts actually got the big man down to one knee before Starz missed a dropkick when Dennis stepped out of the way. Starz received a big buckle bomb out of a splash mountain position for his troubles and was pinned after a Neckstop Driver.
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After a WWE Shop commercial, we got another WWE.com Exclusive, this time showing a backstage confrontation between Dave Mastiff and Tyson T-Bone ffrom last week. A Tweet by NXT UK GM Johnny Saint conformed a match between the two behemoths for the next episode.
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Mark Andrews pinned “Wild Boar” Mike Hitchman in 5:28 after a shooting star
Boar hit an amateur-style suplex takedown early and worked over Andrew’s arm. Andrews kipped up and eventually flipped out of the hold using the top rope and used some arm drags and a huracanrana for his comeback. Boar escaped to ringside, Andrew hopped the ropes and attempted a moonsault body block, but Boar wasn’t where Andrews expected so he landed on his feet on the floor and got dropped face first on the apron for his troubles.
Hitchman used his body as a weapon with a number of senton variations and a jumping head butt into Andrews’ back. Andrews slid on his knees beneath an attack by the Boar, hit an enzuigiri that sent Hitchman to the outside and this time hit his moonsault body block off the apron perfectly. Back in the ring, he hit a nice springboard somersault seated senton for a two count.
They traded full nelsons until Boar flipped Andrews over with a half-and.half suplex. Hitchman eventually missed a frog splash but still managed to turn Andrews inside out with a stiff clothesline. A suplex attempt got turned into the Stunt Dog Millionaire by Andrews, who finished things off with a beautiful shooting star press.
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Nigel and Vic threw us to an interview with Eddie Dennis. Radzi talked about Dennis being undefeated to which he replied that Starz didn’t even knock him off his feet once. Ashton Smith interrupted, telling Dennis he watched his match last week. Dennis freaked out, telling Smith not to touch him, asking if he knew who he was and telling Smith he’d destroy him.
After a commercial for the Dean Ambrose documentary, we took a look a the women’s title tournament again.
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Toni Storm beat Isla Dawn in 4:07 with the Strong Zero
Isla started strong, hitting a running dropkick into the corner at the bell, followed by a backdrop driver and double knees for a near fall. SHe followed with stomps and kicks, a running knee and then transitioned into the Rings of Saturn, from which Toni eventually escaped. Storm came back with strikes and kicks of her own and took Isla down with a big left boot, followed by a hip attack.
She got stopped by a head kick from Isla though that got her down on her knees, but she quickly transitioned into a release German suplex and quickly hit the Strong Zero (the tiger driver variant this time) for the win. Afterwards, she helped up a devastated Isla Dawn.
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After a WWE 2K19 promo, graphics informed us that both Rhea Ripley vs. Dakota Kai and Toni Storm vs. Jinny would be on the next episode.
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Jordan Devlin beat Ligero in 11:45 with the Island’s Call
This was a very good match, with both guys looking impressive again. They traded arm locks early and Ligero managed to get a two count early on. Ligero escaped to ringisde as Devlin was charging at him, so Devlin bumped into the ropes and Ligero swept his legs. Ligero hit some head scissors and a side kick before falling victim to Devlin’s uranage/moonsault combination. Devlin went for a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker but Ligero turned it into a body block, followed by a running kick and a Code Red for another close call.
Devlin came back with a running knee into the corner and then, in an impressive spot, pulled Ligero up into the air and hit a backdrop driver in one swift motion. Devlin then escaped to ringside when Ligero was on the top rope, so Ligero tried a baseball slide, charged Devlin who moved, jumped up and did a hand stand on the apron, bounced back off the ropes and took Devlin down with another pair of head scissors.
Back inside Ligero went to the top again, but Devlin hit an enzuigiri and got on the ropes as well. Ligero eventually threw him down and tried a splash but got caught in Devlin’s knees. Devlin hit a beautiful standing Spanish Fly for a near fall and went for Island’s Call, but Ligero turned it into a victory roll. They battled up on top once more, but this time Ligero managed to throw Devlin off and hit the splash for another near-fall.
They battled on the apron and on top of the steps, but Devlin kicked Ligero’s legs way and he took a dive onto the steel steps. Devlin hit a moonsault off the second turnbuckle to the outside and back in the ring followed things up with a running knee and the Island’s Call for the victory.
Afterwards, Devlin screamed into the camera that Pete Dunne was on his radar as the credits rolled.
