NXT UK
Date: July 8, 2021
Location: BT Studios, London, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Andy Shepherd

I’m not entirely sure what to expect from this show and that is a nice feeling. Above all else, there are a lot of ways things could go, but first we have a grudge match between Trent Seven and Eddie Dennis. I like both guys a good bit so hopefully they can do something good here. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Nathan Frazer vs. Kenny Williams

Williams works on the arm to start but gets flipped into the corner for his efforts. Frazer takes him down without much effort and they run the ropes until Williams gets taken down into an armbar. The stomping is on in the corner and Williams is sent outside for the dive. Back in and Frazer hits a running shoulder to the knee to take over and the cranking begins. The knee is fine enough for a sunset flip but Williams kicks him in the face for the same. There’s a running kick to the knee in the corner and Frazer is in trouble.

That doesn’t last long a Frazer kicks him away and starts the comeback with some forearms to the head. A top rope kick to the face (which Frazer probably shouldn’t be able to do) gets two but the leg gives out again. Williams hits a belly to back faceplant for two but Frazer is back up with an enziguri. The Nightmare on Helm Street plants Williams but he rolls to the apron before the frog splash can launch. There’s another kick to the ribs and the referee gets distracted, allowing Williams to pull him into the steel turnbuckle. Bad Luck finishes Frazer at 9:04.

Rating: C+. The ending surprised me as I wouldn’t have bet on seeing Frazer lose here. He is someone who seems to have all kinds of potential and it is odd to see him losing under almost any circumstances. That being said, they need some fresh names higher up on the card so letting Williams get a win is worth a chance giving how far he has come as of late.

We look at Jordan Devlin injuring A-Kid’s knee last week.

Joe Coffey and Rampage Brown have a chat in Sid Scala’s office.

Video on Meiko Satomura vs. Amele.

Mark Andrews vs. Lewis Howley

Sam Stoker is here too and if Andrews wins, Subculture gets a Tag Team Title shot. Howley drives him into the corner to start and cranks on the arm. That’s reversed into an armbar on Howley, followed by a Rey Mysterio sitout bulldog for two. Andrews sends him outside for the suicide dive but Howley sends him shoulder first into the post. Some quick posing sets up a legdrop for two on Andrews, who is right back with a spinning crossbody for two. Howley is sent outside but the baseball slid is countered with a ram into the barricade.

Back in and we hit the chinlock, which is broken up in short order. Andrews goes up to try a middle rope moonsault but gets pulled out of the air, only to snap off a tornado DDT. Howley doesn’t seem to like getting kicked in the face and a sunset flip gives Andrews two. Stoker pops up on the apron for a distraction so here is Subculture to take care of him. Andrews’ rollup gets two more but Howley loads up a suplex. That’s reversed into the Stundog Millionaire though and Fall To Pieces ends Howley at 9:18.

Rating: C+. There is something so goofy about Pretty Deadly that it is hard not to like them at least a bit. It helps that they can wrestle a decent enough match like this one, so there is actually a little substance there. You could all but guarantee Subculture getting the shot, though I’m not sure I can believe they’re winning the belts in one of Pretty Deadly’s first major defenses.

Jack Starz is disappointed after last week and Dave Mastiff comes in to say he did a good job last week, even if he is kind of the gatekeeper around here. Mastiff doesn’t care for this being filmed.

Tyler Bate doesn’t like Gallus trying to one up each other but he’s down to defend the Heritage Cup. Just ask.

Blair Davenport vs. Laura di Matteo

Davenport (more famous as Bea Priestley) cranks on the arm to start but gets blasted with a clothesline for her efforts. That doesn’t last long though as Davenport runs her over and hits a top rope double stomp for two. A neckbreaker gives Davenport two but Matteo is back with a short DDT for the same. Davenport hits a double springboard dropkick though and a hard knee finishes Matteo at 3:13.

Rating: C-. Not much time for this one and Matteo got in a lot of offense of her own. The good thing is that Davenport dominated in the end, as she should. Davenport is going to have to do a bit to get to the title picture around here, especially when her name is perfect for the stuck up 24 year old playing a rich high school girl in a CW drama series.

Post match Davenport says she is here to face everyone and you have never seen anyone who wrestles like her.

Jinny doesn’t like Aoife Valkyrie hiding in the shadows and promises to expose Valkyrie as a little girl playing dress up.

Teoman sits down with Rohan Raja, who says that he is forever loyal before they are family. Next week, they are facing Ashton Smith and Oliver Carter.

In two weeks: Ilja Dragunov vs. Walter II.

Trent Seven vs. Eddie Dennis

Seven unloads with chops in the corner to start but gets headlocked over. That earns Dennis a slam into a legdrop for two and Seven sends him outside. The suicide dive sends Dennis into the barricade but he takes Seven down on the floor. Back in and a swinging sitout Rock Bottom gives Dennis two, meaning it’s time to stomp away. Seven spins him around into a DDT though and they’re both down. Dennis blocks a German suplex and hits….kind of a Rock Bottom turned into a slam for two.

We hit the cravate (which you would expect to be more common around here) but Seven slips out and strikes away. The layout slam gives Seven two but he misses a top rope flip dive. Splash Mountain sets up the Severn Bridge, only to have Seven pop up and hit the half and half. Dennis nails a clothesline though and they’re both down again.

They slug it out from their knees and then their feet with Seven trying the Birminghammer. That’s broken up as well so Dennis kicks him in the face as Primate and Tyson T-Bone come out. Dennis says he has this and tries a superplex, which is reversed into a super sitout slam for a bunch of near falls. With nothing else working, the Birminghammer finishes Dennis at 11:34.

Rating: C+. Both guys looked good here and it is nice to see Seven winning more on his own. Tyler Bate would seem to be the big star of the team (as he should be) but Seven winning on his own is nice to see too. The match got some time and they went back pretty well, making this a solid TV main event.

Post match Primate and T-Bone come in for the beatdown but Tyler Bate runs in for the save. Bate even busts out some nunchucks to make it go faster to end the show. Really? Nunchucks? For these two?

Overall Rating: B-. That might be a bit high but I liked this one a good bit. They didn’t have anything major going on (though Walter vs. Dragunov II will be rocking) but everything was at least watchable if not quite good, continuing a trend with this show. It’s weird in that this show doesn’t really need a Takeover or any kind of a special on the horizon most of the time, though seeing what they could do at a high level would be nice. For now though, they can settle for being one of, if not the, best weekly wrestling show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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NXT UK
Date: July 1, 2021
Location: BT Studios, London, England
Commentators: Andy Shepherd, Nigel McGuinness

We have a pretty stacked card this week with Jordan Devlin vs. A-Kid and Tyler Bate defending the Heritage Cup against Jack Starz. This is a good example of what NXT UK does well, as they have built those matches up to feel important rather than throwing big names out there and having them do whatever. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Emilia McKenzie vs. Isla Dawn

McKenzie charges straight at her but Dawn hammers her down. That doesn’t seem to bother McKenzie, who is back with a swinging neckbreaker into a suplex. Dawn gets in some stomping and a forearm to the back of the neck gets two. What might have been a botched suplex is turned into a small package to give Dawn two more and McKenzie is sent outside.

A whip into the barricade has McKenzie in more trouble but she comes back in with an enziguri and a cutter. McKenzie’s spear only hits knee though and a Saito suplex plants her. A second spear connects with Dawn, who is right back with a superkick. Dawn takes a bit too much time being all freaky though and McKenzie takes her down, setting up a running knee for the pin at 6:07.

Rating: D+. Not much to see with this one and that shouldn’t be a huge surprise. This was a pretty low level women’s match and Dawn isn’t someone who is going to win very often. McKenzie has a long way to go but at least she has started off well enough. WWE might be able to do something with her and it isn’t like her matches have been terrible. For someone who is still getting started around here, this worked well enough.

Post match Dawn looks up and talks to someone.

We look back at Walter attacking Ilja Dragunov after last week’s main event.

Gallus is happy with their friendly rivalry, though Mark Coffey goes off to ask about a match. Everything is cool.

Heritage Cup: Tyler Bate vs. Jack Starz

Bate is defending and has Trent Seven as his second. Round one begins with a feeling out process into a rather early standoff. Bate goes for the wrist and pulls on an armbar to settle things down a bit Starz fights up into an armbar of his own. That’s countered into a fairly fast paced series of near falls until Bate hits a dropkick for two as the round ends. Round two begins on the mat again…and Bate rolls him up for the pin at 37 seconds of the round (4:10 total).

Round three begins with Bate grabbing a cravate but Starz shoves him away and hits a running elbow. Starz suplexes him out of the corner for two and grabs his own airplane spin into a pop up uppercut for two. Bate tries la majistral but Starz sits down on it to tie things up at 2:39 of the round (6:50 total). Round four begins with Bate trying a rolling Liger kick but Starz reverses into a Boston crab. That’s reversed with a flip though and now the Liger kick connects. The Tyler Driver 98 retains Bate’s title at 1:21 of the round (8:44 total).

Rating: C+. They had me thinking of an old low level Ric Flair NWA World Title defense here, as Flair gave up enough to make you think a miracle might happen but then everything got back to normal. Starz was never going to win here but it was a fine example of looking good in defeat. That seemed to be what Bate had in mind when he made the challenge, so well done on setting things up and then making them work.

Post match, Wolfgang and Mark Coffey come out for some mock praise.

Pretty Deadly is having a photo shoot when Sid Scala interrupts. The champs don’t like being interrupted but Scala has news: next week it’s Lewis Howley vs. Mark Andrews. If Andrews wins, Subculture gets a title shot. Short and to the point here.

Here is Women’s Champion Meiko Satomura for a chat. The title is one of the few things she had never accomplished but now NXT UK is her home. Cue Nina Samuels to congratulate her on the, but now Satomura needs a win over a star to establish her reign. Amele runs in to jump Samuels and say she wants a title shot. Satomura may be the final boss, but Amele doesn’t play games. That’s fine with Satomura, who knocks her down and grants the title match.

After last week’s triple threat, Joe Coffey sat down next to Rampage Brown and respect seems to be shown.

Blair Davenport is here and as all but already known, it’s Bea Priestly.

Mila Smidt vs. Aoife Valkyrie

Smidt seems to have an amateur background and stays low to the mat to start. They trade takedowns until Valkyrie starts in on the arm. A running dropkick sets up another armbar as we hear about Smidt training for the Olympics. Valkyrie strikes away until Smidt suplexes her down for two. Cue Jinny to watch as Valkyrie kicks Smidt down, setting up the top rope ax kick for the pin at 3:41.

Rating: C. This was a double shot as Valkyrie gets back on track with an impressive outing, which Smidt also got her first chance to shine. Valkyrie winning isn’t a surprise but they did a nice job of making you buy Smidt having a tiny chance. Smidt’s amateur background can get her pretty far and this kind of a match suggests she is going to get at least one chance.

Post match, Valkyrie stars Jinny down.

An intense looking Kenny Williams is ready for Nathan Frazer next week.

Trent Seven is answering questions when Eddie Dennis interrupts. Dennis asks how it feels to always be a bridesmaid but never a bride. Seven reminds him of the Burning Hammer through a table to destroy Dennis’ shoulder, which gets him to back off.

Jordan Devlin vs. A-Kid

Devlin takes him down by the arm to start until Kid reverses into a headscissors. They continue the reverses on the mat until Kid’s near fall gives us a standoff. Kid flips over him a few times and tries what looks to be a monkey flip, only to be shoved off the top and down to the floor in a nasty crash. That’s almost enough for a countout so Devlin grabs a belly to back suplex for two more.

We hit the neck crank for a bit before Devlin drops down onto Kid’s banged up back. Kid comes back up with a dropkick but Devlin snaps off a cutter for a double knockdown. A fisherman’s suplex gives Kid two and he grabs a guillotine to put Devlin in real trouble. That’s escaped with a suplex and an exchange of rollups gets two each. A triangle choke puts Devlin in trouble again, with a rope grab getting him out of trouble this time.

Devlin snaps off a Spanish Fly but Kid pulls him into the modified Rings of Saturn. Another rope grab breaks it up and they slug it out with Devlin getting dropped for two more. Some rolling German suplexes rock Devlin, who comes back with a headbutt to knock himself outside. Kid hits a dive to drop him again but Devlin snaps the rope into his face for a clever counter.

Devlin drops him knee first onto the steps but the Devlin Side is countered into a sunset bomb. A half crab goes back to the knee and they go into an exchange of submission attempt until Devlin BENDS KID’S LEG AROUND for the tap at 15:23. Kid was laying face down on the mat and Devlin pressed the leg so far that it bent around so that it was laying on the mat, foot up.

Rating: B. The ending alone makes this worth seeing (assuming you don’t have a weak stomach) but this was a heck of a technical showdown for the most part. They were trading holds back and forth until Devlin had to cheat with the steps. Devlin has cooled off a bit in recent weeks and this is the kind of win that could bring him back a bit. Now it’s Kid needing a win, which is weird after a nice title reign.

Medics come out to check on Kid immediately as Devlin celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The long main event is the boost that the show needed as it was only so good going into it. Just like NXT though, one of the best things to be said about NXT UK is they know how to make something out of not much. They didn’t have the top names featured this week and the show worked anyway. That’s a good sign for the show and it is a sign we have seen a lot more than once now. NXT UK is on solid footing and that’s more than most shows can say these days.

Results

Emilia McKenzie b. Isla Dawn – Running knee

Tyler Bate b. Jack Starz 2-1

Aoife Valkyrie b. Mila Smidt – Top rope ax kick

Jordan Devlin b. A-Kid – Knee crank

 

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

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