NXT UK
Date: February 10, 2022
Location: BT Sports Studios, London, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Andy Shepherd

For once, we don’t have a title on the line and after last week, that might be a good thing. Last week’s Women’s Title match ended with a fluke injury to Blair Davenport and she is likely to be gone for a long time. This week’s show is about revenge though as Nathan Frazer gets his hands on Teoman. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Amale vs. Nina Samuels

Fallout for Samuels taking over Amale’s interview and mocking her. Amale slugs away with forearms to start but Samuels grabs a hiptoss. Back up and Amale grabs a butterfly suplex but they head to the apron where Samuels trips her down. A high kick into a slingshot splash gives Samuels two and she rakes Amale’s face into the mat.

The chinlock puts Amale in trouble for a bit until she fights up for the clothesline comeback. A backsplash crushes Samuels for two but she is right back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for her own near fall. That’s too much for Amale, who hits a running kick in the corner, setting up the Hope Breaker to finish Samuels at 4:18.

Rating: C. Amale gets a nice win to boost her a bit and that is the kind of thing that she can always use. It still seems like she is going to be one of the next big projects in the women’s division and a title match in a few months would not surprise me. Now just find something for her to do on the way there and things should be set.

A-Kid continues trying to teach Saxon Huxley etiquette, which doesn’t exactly work. Then A-Kid leaves and Huxley is completely sane and normal, only to go nuts again when A-Kid comes back.

Someone steals Noam Dar’s Heritage Cup and locks Dar and Sha Samuels in their locker room.

We look back at last week’s street fight, with Meiko Satomura defending her title due to Blair Davenport’s injury. There is no update on Davenport’s injury.

New #1 contenders Ashton Smith/Oliver Carter run into Moustache Mountain so trash talk can be exchanged. Their title match is in two weeks.

Gallus, now with the Heritage Cup, has taken over the Supernova Sessions set. Actually let’s make that Gallus Boys On Top, with Jordan Devlin as the first guest. Devlin isn’t happy with the changes and thinks they stole his sunglasses. I assure you that Wolfgang putting some sunglasses on is just a coincidence. We’re out of time…but here are Sha Samuels and Noam Dar to interrupt. Samuels makes a bunch of threats but Gallus stops for some pictures with the Heritage Cup. Arguing ensues and Joe Coffey tells Dar to enjoy the Cup while he can. Gallus dances to Dar’s funky music.

Jack Starz and Dave Mastiff try to talk about what happened last week. Starz wants one of Mastiff’s vests but Mastiff says he has to earn it. That’s cool with Starz.

Kenny Williams, in a thunderstorm, talks about how Sam Gradwell has been after him. Williams can weather any storm though.

Saxon Huxley vs. A-Kid

Huxley starts with the stalking and A-Kid has to dodge around in the corner. A-Kid is put on the apron where he gets in a shot to the face, followed by raising a boot in the corner. That doesn’t work for Huxley, who throws him down and then launches him with a slam. Huxley sends him chest first into the corner and gets two off a backbreaker.

Some running sits onto A-Kid’s back sets up a quickly escaped over the shoulder backbreaker. A-Kid picks up the pace with a dropkick and a running kick to the arm. Huxley is sent outside for a suicide dive but he plants A-Kid with another backbreaker back inside. Some forearms to the chest keep A-Kid in trouble until he hits….I think a Sliced Bread out of the corner. An enziguri sets up a springboard moonsault DDT (that was sweet) to finish Huxley at 7:04.

Rating: C+. A-Kid is one of those guys who can work well with anyone and that was on display here with the NXT UK version of Bruiser Brody/Berzerker. It’s nice to have someone as versatile as A-Kid around and he looked good against the monster. At the same time, Huxley does his thing very well, and I’m curious about the “he’s actually smart” deal from earlier.

Post match, respect is shown and the still slightly nuts Huxley runs off.

Gallus is happy with their show but Jordan Devlin jumps Wolfgang and steals his sunglasses back.

A-Kid is happy with his win but here is Die Familie. Charlie Dempsey nods at A-Kid but nothing gets physical.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Teoman vs. Nathan Frazer

The rest of Die Familie is here with Teoman. Frazer takes him down to start and hammers away before grabbing a headlock. Back up and some right hands stagger Teoman but he’s fine enough to counter a springboard into a neck snap across the top. Teoman grabs a chinlock and we get some rather blatant spot calling.

Some right hands to the ribs and then the back of the neck keep Frazer down but he punches his way back up. They fight to the floor and it’s Frazer hitting a moonsault off of the barricade to drop Teoman again. A few shots stagger Frazer though and it’s a double arm crank back inside.

Frazer fights up and manages a kick to the face, which is finally enough for a double knockdown. A running forearm and a Sling Blade drop Teoman and Frazer dives onto Die Familie for a bonus. Back in and a springboard moonsault is kicked out of the air to give Teoman two. Frazer grabs the rope for a Seth Rollins spin into an enziguri to drop Teoman and, after taking care of Die Familie, the Phoenix splash gives Frazer the pin at 13:11.

Rating: B-. It’s nice to see Frazer getting a win like this for a change as he hasn’t had the best win/loss record, at least in bigger matches. This time he got the chance to showcase himself, including beating the odds with the rest of the team. Other than that you have Teoman continuing to be just kind of there, though Charlie Dempsey still feels like someone who could be the breakout star from the team.

Overall Rating: B-. As usual, the show knows how to get through a bunch of stuff and cover a lot of stories at once. That is hard to do for most shows but NXT UK manages to make it work almost every time. Again, that might have something to do with the show being taped in advance, but I’ll take what I can get. Another good show here, which shouldn’t be a surprise.

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NXT UK
Date: February 3, 2022
Location: BT Sports Studios, London, England
Commentators: Andy Shepherd, Nigel McGuinness

It’s the second title week in a row around here as we follow up last week’s United Kingdom Title match with a Women’s Title match as Meiko Satomura defends against Blair Davenport. At the same time, we have the finals of the #1 contenders tag team tournament, which could be a good one. I continue to have high hopes for this show and that isn’t something you get to say very often these days. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a look at the Japanese street fight between Meiko Satomura and Blair Davenport.

Opening sequence.

Jack Starz/Dave Mastiff vs. Oliver Carter/Ashton Smith

The winners get a future Tag Team Title shot at Moustache Mountain, who is on commentary. Carter works on Starz’s wrist but can’t get very far as Starz takes him to the mat. An armdrag into an armbar works a bit better on Starz as Nigel tries to drive some tensions among the champs over the Heritage Cup. Mastiff comes in for a big headlock on Smith but it’s right back to Starz.

This time it’s Carter headlocking him down but Starz isn’t having that either. Instead Mastiff comes in and shrugs off some dropkicks before missing a springboard moonsault press. Everything breaks down and Carter/Smith clear the ring so Mastiff takes a breather on the floor. Back in and Starz dropkicks Smith twice before being backdropped outside.

Something like Private Party’s Silly String into a moonsault gets two on Starz and Smith slams him down for the same. A Doomsday Device is loaded up but Starz fights his way off of Smith’s shoulders (that’s a new one). The hot tag brings in Mastiff to clean house but Starz already wants back in. Mastiff waves him off and hits a German suplex, only to miss the Cannonball. A shot to the face drops Mastiff and an assisted moonsault finishes for Carter at 12:32.

Rating: C+. The ending surprised me a bit as they had some out of nowhere issues between Starz and Mastiff. Starz seeming to want to prove himself to the much bigger Mastiff makes sense but they had been working very well together for a long time. That could be an interesting story, but what matters here is Carter/Smith. You need to build up some teams at some point and they are a good choice.

A-Kid is ready to team with Saxon Huxley but isn’t sure about his mind. Therefore, we see a montage of A-Kid working with Huxley on mat, chess and manners. This goes very badly (Huxley ate a chess piece).

Video on Ilja Dragunov retaining the United Kingdom Title over Jordan Devlin last week.

Nathan Frazer’s car won’t start as he is leaving the Performance Center. As he checks on the engine, Die Familie jumps him from behind.

Myla Grace vs. Isla Dawn

Dawn drives her into the corner to start but gets caught with a dropkick for a fast two. That doesn’t work for Dawn, who chokes on the ropes and hits a running knee to the face. A headscissors gets Grace out of trouble though and it’s a 619 to the ribs into a tornado DDT for two. Dawn is done with this though and hits a fireman’s carry spun into a side slam for the pin at 2:58. Grace got to show off a bit here.

Amale’s interview is turned into the Nina Samuels Show. That’s not cool with Amale, so a match is set for later.

Sam Gradwell doesn’t like Kenny Williams and violence seems to be implied.

Gallus tries to put a bet down on themselves with Sha Samuels but the store is closed at the moment.

Women’s Title: Blair Davenport vs. Meiko Satomura

Satomura is defending in a street fight. Davenport’s kendo stick is kicked away to start and they’re on the floor early, with Davenport missing a chair toss. A whip sends Satomura into the barricade but Davenport talks too much trash. The distraction lets Satomura chair her in the ribs and whip out some nunchucks.

That’s broken up so they head back outside for another whip to send Satomura into the barricade. A chain is pulled out but Satomura wraps it around her foot for a kick to the chest. Davenport canes her in the leg though (with Nigel getting in a Harry potter reference by saying “Enemies of the heir beware” in regards to Davenport).

Back in and Davenport pulls out an extra turnbuckle, only to get pulled into a failed STF attempt. Some kendo stick shots to the back have Satomura in trouble so she makes the rope. That doesn’t make a difference, but Davenport lets her go anyway. Satomura goes to the apron and Davenport goes up for a double stomp, only to land on the floor awkwardly. That’s enough for a referee stoppage to retain Satomura’s title at 9:42.

Rating: B-. The ending aside (because it wasn’t their fault), this was good but it was the second week in a row with some kind of violent, street fight style main event. There was more of a story here though and Davenport had brought the violence. I could go for Satomura fighting and winning in an environment that she didn’t know, though they got cut off before they could really get there.

Davenport is taken out on a stretcher as Satomura quietly celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This show got in two big matches while also making Dawn feel like a bigger deal. They were coming off the big show last week and now we should be in for a pretty awesome tag match when they get around to it. Unfortunately the ending didn’t get to the real ending, but hopefully Davenport is back on her feet sooner than later.

Results
Ashton Smith/Oliver Carter b. Dave Mastiff/Jack Starz – Assisted moonsault to Mastiff
Isla Dawn b. Myla Grace – Fireman’s carry swung into a side slam
Meiko Satomura b. Blair Davenport via referee stoppage

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NXT UK
Date: January 13, 2022
Location: BT Studios, London, England
Commentators: Andy Shepherd, Nigel McGuinness

It’s the end of an era as we are going to see Walter’s final match around here. Walter is one of the people who has made this show feel special every time he appears and while it will be great to see him moving up the ladder, he is going to be missed around here. Hopefully there is a nice tribute to go with the match, so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a video looking back at Walter’s time in NXT UK. No one brought the big fight feeling like he did.

Opening sequence.

Jack Starz/Dave Mastiff vs. Die Familia

Charlie Dempsey is here with Die Familia and the winners face Ashton Smith and Oliver Carter for the #1 contendership. Raja muscles Starz up to start and throws him away without much effort. They fight over a lockup but Raja throws him off a front facelock. Starz can’t take him down by the leg but he can take him down with an armbar. A headlock gives Starz two and some dropkicks send Raja into the corner.

That’s enough for Raja to need a breather so it’s off to Mastiff vs. Teoman. Mastiff doesn’t mind, as he runs both of them over and hands it back off to Starz for the elbow between the shoulders. Mastiff’s backsplash into a slingshot crossbody gets two on Teoman, meaning it’s finally time for Dempsey to offer a distraction. Starz gets tied up in the ring skirt as a result and the big beating is on to put the villains in control.

The armbar goes on and it’s back to Raja to work on both arms and a leg. Starz isn’t having any of this switching limbs/ignoring his other leg and fights out of the corner, allowing the diving tag off to Mastiff. House is cleaned in a hurry, including a suplex to Raja and a toss over the top to send Teoman to the floor. Dempsey tries to get involved again but here is Gallus to take care of them. Mastiff German suplexes Raja for the pin at 9:48.

Rating: C. Totally watchable tag match with a lot of people involved to give us a surprising result. Die Familia seemed to be the perfect choice for the title match and they will probably get one in the future, but Mastiff and Starz are doing well as the big/little team. If nothing else, it is great to see some fresh teams in the division so let’s see what they can do.

Video on Walter’s path of dominance through NXT UK, with wrestlers talking about how awesome he is. Shouldn’t be hard to figure out something to compliment him on.

We look at Meiko Satomura retaining the Women’s Title over Blair Davenport last week, but Davenport laid her out after the match. The feud will continue.

Video on Jordan Devlin who wants the United Kingdom Title for the fame, while Ilja Dragunov wants to keep it to make things better for his family. The title match is in two weeks.

Amale vs. Stevie Turner

Jinny is on commentary. They strike it out to start but Amale sends her into the corner for a running clothesline. Turner kicks her in the face but gets knocked into the corner in a hurry. A running boot misses Turner so she takes Amale down to hammer away. There’s a knee lift for two and it’s time to work on both of Amale’s arms at once as we look at Jinny. Amale is back up with some clotheslines and a dropkick into the corner. Now the running boot connects, setting up a kind of Rock Bottom spinebuster for the pin on Turner at 4:00.

Rating: C-. Amale is still a bit of a work in progress but it is clear that she is one of the projects around here. Between the French Hope deal and Jinny focusing on her, there is something worth trying out here. It wasn’t a very good match, but it got Amale a win and that is what she needs most at the moment.

Pretty Deadly comes in to Sid Scala to complain about Sam Gradwell. Next week, they get to face Gradwell and a partner of his choosing. Scala doesn’t seem pleased.

Video on Walter’s dominance as the NXT UK Champion…until he met Ilja Dragunov for their pair of classics.

Video on A-Kid vs. Noam Dar for the Heritage Cup. Kid wants the title back, but Dar wants revenge on Kid for eliminating him from the original Heritage Cup tournament. Now it is time to fight, because they both want something.

Amale is happy with her win but here is Jinny to mock her for being weak. Jinny gets shoved and they shout at each other a lot, with security breaking it up.

Walter vs. Nathan Frazer

This is Walter’s Last Stand and my goodness does that entrance still work. The WALTER chants begin and Frazer starts to realize he’s in trouble. Walter throws him down to start and Frazer looks terrified. An armbar takes Frazer down and Walter isn’t having any of this flipping stuff for an escape. A dropkick staggers Walter so he puts Frazer on the apron and pats him on the head.

Frazer snaps into reality and starts striking away, earning himself a slam onto the turnbuckle. Walter chops him on the chest and steps on his face (geez), sending Frazer crashing down to the floor. Back in and a hard slam takes Frazer down again, setting up the sleeper. That’s broken up and Frazer scores with some running forearms….until Walter kicks him in the face. The double arm crank with a knee in Frazer’s back goes on, followed by a hard fist to the chest.

It’s off to the chinlock for a change before Walter starts yelling at him. Frazer fires off some chops of his own and Nigel knows what’s coming. One Walter chop has Frazer looking like he has been shot but he manages to counter a powerbomb into a hurricanrana. Back up and Walter misses a dropkick, allowing Frazer to hit a running shooting star press. Frazer strikes away but has to flip out of a German suplex attempt.

Another boot rips Frazer’s head off but he is still able to counter another powerbomb into a Code Red for two. Frazer kicks away at the leg some more and some superkicks stagger Walter again. A Nightmare on Helm Street sends Walter outside, where Frazer hits a shotgun dropkick into the barricade.

Back in and Frazer kicks away some more, setting up a running chop block. A springboard takes too long though and Frazer gets chopped out of the air. The powerbomb is countered again and a low superkick rocks Walter. Seth Rollins’ (Frazer’s trainer) stomp sets up a frog splash for two but the Phoenix splash is broken up. Now the powerbomb can finally connect to finish Frazer at 14:01.

Rating: B+. They told a great story here with Walter having the game plan of trying to get to the powerbomb over and over again while Frazer was doing everything he could to get out of it. Frazer was trying to hang in there as well as he could and finally got caught, but he gave it a great ride on the way there. I didn’t think Walter would lose in his last match for NXT UK but they made you believe there was a chance, and that is better than I would have bet on. Heck of a match.

Overall Rating: B+. The main event blows everything away but at least they were trying to do something with the other two matches. The women’s match was only ok at best, but they have a point to what they’re doing there. That being said, this is all about Walter and there is nothing wrong with focusing on the most successful star the show has ever had as he is leaving. Check out the main event for sure and the rest if you have time, as this is still the most well put together show going today.

Results
Jack Starz/Dave Mastiff b. Die Familia – German suplex to Raja
Amale b. Stevie Turner – Spinebuster
Walter b. Nathan Frazer – Powerbomb

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NXT UK
Date: January 6, 2022
Location: BT Studios, London, England
Commentators: Andy Shepherd, Nigel McGuinness

We’re in a new year over in England and that means it is time for a major title match. This time around that means we have the Women’s Title on the line, with Meiko Satomura defending against Blair Davenport. Other than that, we could be in for almost anything else. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Meiko Satomura vs. Blair Davenport.

Opening sequence.

Ashton Smith/Oliver Carter vs. Symbiosis

Eddie Dennis is here with Symbiosis. Primate drives Carter into the corner to start before cranking on the arm. Carter kicks his way to freedom and brings Smith in to flip T-Bone over by the arm for a change. A slingshot shoulder drops T-Bone again and it’s Carter grabbing the armbar. Smith comes back in for his own shoulder and Carter’s slingshot splash gets two as this is one sided so far.

T-Bone finally powers Carter over to the corner but Smith breaks up a double suplex attempt (though Nigel didn’t see a tag). A fireman’s carry is loaded up so Dennis offers a distraction…which doesn’t seem to matter as Primate elbows his way to freedom anyway. An assisted splash to the back hits Smith and Dennis is rather pleased on the floor.

The chinlock goes on for a bit, followed by a spear from Primate and a frog splash from T-Bone. Carter makes a VERY last second save, so late that Smith had to kick out and almost kicked Carter in the face. Smith fights up and brings in Carter to clean house as everything breaks down. Symbiosis is sent into each other and a doomsday cutter finishes Primate at 9:38.

Rating: C+. At some point, you have to build up another team and that is what they were doing here with Smith and Carter. They have been around for a long time now and while I’m not sure I can picture them being a real threat to Moustache Mountain, you have to have some kind of a credible threat to them. Then again there is a real chance that they lose to Die Familia on the way there.

Pretty Deadly doesn’t like the idea of the tournament to crown new #1 contenders when they never got a title shot. Sam Gradwell comes in to call them stupid and leaves. Pretty Deadly will deal with this.

Ilja Dragunov is training in Dresden by running up some steps and jumping ropes. He is fighting to keep what matters the most for him, meaning his family. We hear about Dragunov’s wife, who was the first person to accept him as he is. They had a son and he is perfect just as he is too. Sometimes he falls down and Ilja asks him why they fall. It’s so they can get back up again and that means something to Ilja. Then you have Jordan Devlin, who brought the family into this, and that isn’t going to work.

We look at A-Kid beating Nathan Frazer to become #1 contender to the Heritage Cup and Noam Dar.

Dar seems worried but he is so confident that he is going to let Sha Samuels pick the way he beats A-Kid. The worst odds are on Dar in the fourth round so we’ll go with that.

Die Familia wants the Tag Team Titles.

Myla Grace vs. Xia Brookside

Brookside isn’t happy that the ropes weren’t held for her but she gets in anyway. Grace’s wristlock has Brookside in the ropes in a hurry and she puts on a wristlock of her own, complete with a little dance. The fans ask Brookside who her daddy is before Grace takes her down in a hurry.

A hard forearm in the corner wakes Brookside up though and she really isn’t happy about the fans singing at her. That means a bunch of stomping on Grace’s back and a kick to the spine gets two. Grace fights out of a seated abdominal stretch and starts the clothesline comeback. Brookside pulls her off the middle rope though and Broken Wings finishes Grace at 3:48.

Rating: C. I’m starting to dig this heel Brookside as she kind of nailing the spoiled brat character. That’s quite the departure from what she did well for so long and it’s working rather well. Grace didn’t get to do much here but she had a bit of fire in defeat and that could be a lot worse.

A-Kid wants the Heritage Cup back.

Jack Starz and Dave Mastiff are ready for a great 2022 but Starz thinks Mastiff might want to kill him. Mastiff just wants the Tag Team Titles.

Amale says she is hope.

Amale arrived at the Performance Center when Angel Hayze comes up to say Amale’s video package inspired her. Jinny pops in to mock Amale before leaving, with Stevie Turner replacing her. Turner says Amale has a point and gets shoved up against a wall so Amale can yell at her in French.

Next week is Walter’s Last Stand in NXT UK, with his last match coming against Nathan Frazer.

Walter says he has dominated NXT UK and after a title reign of 870 days, he has brought dignity to this sport. Now he is ready to face Nathan Frazer but Walter is not impressed. Frazer will teach him next week and come out victorious.

Women’s Title: Blair Davenport vs. Meiko Satomura

Satomura is defending. They start slowly before going into the test of strength, with Satomura tossing her down. A headlock takeover sets up an armbar on Davenport, which is switched into a wristlock to keep her in trouble. Davenport fights up so Satomura kicks away in the corner. An attempt at a springboard is kicked down and Davenport lands face first on the apron.

Back in and we hit the double arm crank as this is all Satomura to start. Kicks to the chest and head get two on Davenport as the fans are behind Satomura. Davenport finally manages to score with a kick of her own and a hanging DDT from the apron plants Satomura hard. Another kick sends Satomura into the ropes for two more and we hit a neck crank.

That’s broken up as well and it’s a spinwheel kick to rock Davenport again. Satomura drops her hard with a suplex but the STF attempt is countered into an armbar. Davenport can’t keep her down though and Satomura is back up with a DDT for a break. Satomura’s Pele kick is countered into an STF, with Satomura fighting up again. Davenport knocks her into the ropes and a top rope double stomp puts Satomura on the floor.

Back in and Satomura counters what looked to be a knee to the face into a Death Valley Driver. Another Death Valley Driver gets two but Scorpion Rising misses. Now Davenport can knee her in the face for a close two and frustration is setting in. They go into a pinfall reversal sequence, with Satomura sitting down on a rollup to retain at 12:58.

Rating: B. This was good but never quite got all the way to the highest level. What we got was a pair of women beating on each other until Satomura caught her in the end rather than flat out defeating her. That makes for a good match, though it isn’t quite as definitive as I was expecting. Davenport is a good heel though and should be fine with whatever she does next.

Post match, Davenport is back up to knee the heck out of Satomura, meaning the feud will continue.

Overall Rating: B-. This was the kind of show I like from NXT UK, as they set up and delivered on the main event, while also doing some good stuff on the rest of the show. It flew by and left me wanting to see what happens next week, despite a lot of those people not being major players on this show. As usual, nicely done and that isn’t even a surprise anymore.

Results
Oliver Carter/Ashton Smith b. Symbiosis – Doomsday cutter to Primate
Xia Brookside b. Myla Grace – Broken Wings
Meiko Satomura b. Blair Davenport – Rollup

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NXT UK
Date: November 11, 2021
Location: BT Sports Studios, London, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Vic Joseph

It’s time to crown some new #1 contenders as we have a four way tag match to find the next challengers for the NXT Tag Team Titles. This show continues to follow the old NXT formula, which allows such a match to feel that important. That’s a heck of a trick and they’ve done it again here. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Nathan Frazer vs. Mark Andrews

This should be good. Andrews takes over on the arm to start and Frazer can’t quite spin out of it yet. Back up and Frazer flips forward to stay on his feet but Andrews armdrags him down. That’s countered into a headscissors, setting up Frazer’s armdrag, which is countered into a headscissors for a standoff. Frazer snaps off a dropkick into a snap suplex for two but Andrews is back up with a running dropkick in the corner.

They fight over a double arm crank until Andrews northern lights suplexes him for two. The Iron Octopus has Frazer in more trouble but he comes back with a swinging suplex. Frazer Sling Blades him down and hits a running shooting star press for two. Andrews slides underneath a clothesline though and hits the enziguri.

The tornado DDT is countered though and a lawn dart sends Andrews hard into the corner. Andrews is able to head fake him to break up a springboard and Frazer is sent into the barricade. Back in and Frazer runs the corner for a springboard Spanish Fly (because he can do that) for two more. The Phoenix splash misses though and Andrews grabs the Stundog Millionaire. Fall To Pieces misses but Andrews manages to counter a cradle for the pin at 10:27.

Rating: B-. This was about having two exciting wrestlers go out there and tear down a good chunk of the house. Sometimes that’s all you need and both of them came out of it looking rather good. Frazer has kind of fallen back a bit after his hot debut, but it’s nice to see him getting to go out there and do his thing. The same is true for Andrews, who hasn’t done much since Subculture began, but at least he won here.

We look back at Rampage Brown answering Ilja Dragunov’s challenge and jumping him.

A-Kid doesn’t like what Sam Gradwell has been saying about him and wants to fight.

Pretty Deadly met the cast of the play version of Magic Mike and trained with them.

Kenny Williams gets caught writing something about Sha Samuels on a wall but gets chased off by a rather angry Saxon Huxley.

Dani Luna vs. Stevie Turner

Luna powers her into the corner without much trouble to start and then does it again for a bonus. For some reason Turner wants to try a test of strength and is taken down in a hurry. A Thesz press gets Turner out of trouble for all of two seconds before Luna spins her over into a powerbomb. Back up and Turner hits her in the face for two, setting up a Rude Awakening for the same. Luna isn’t having that and it’s a World’s Strongest Slam into a running clothesline in the corner. A pump kick into a snap suplex sets up a fireman’s carry flipped into a sitout powerbomb to finish Turner at 5:08.

Rating: C. I’m not sure what the deal is with Turner, as she seems like someone who is ready to become a star, but for some reason she has never really gotten out of the blocks. That being said, I can go with having Luna turning into a powerhouse who wrecks through some women. It’s what she did here and it worked out well enough. Maybe she can even get up towards the title picture down the line.

It’s time for the Nina Samuels Show where Aleah James interrupts her and doesn’t seem to like what Samuels has had to say lately. A match seems to be made for later.

Gallus is ready for Teoman and Rohan Raja…and the cops seem to pull them over.

Blair Davenport interrupts Subculture’s celebration and a match with Dani Luna seems set.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Moustache Mountain vs. Symbiosis vs. Oliver Carter/Ashton Smith vs. Jack Starz/Dave Mastiff

One fall to a finish for a future Tag Team Title shot. Starz and Seven start things off with an early rollup giving us a standoff. Some rolls have Seven a bit perplexed so Starz takes him down by the leg. That’s broken up so it’s off to Mastiff to run Seven over. For some reason Seven tries a slam, earning himself a large crash down onto his chest. Smith comes in to work on the arm until he kicks Seven into the wrong corner.

That means a tag from Primate, who gets caught by the arm as well. Smith comes in to stay on said arm but Mastiff tags himself in for the backsplash to crush Primate. Starz comes back in to knock a bunch of people off the apron until it’s Bate coming in for a headlock. Eddie Dennis gets caught interfering on the floor for an ejection, meaning he misses Tyson T-Bone fall away slamming Mastiff.

A double stomp gets two on Starz but Carter comes back in to pick the pace way up. Some kicks to the face send T-Bone into the corner, where Seven tags himself in. Everything breaks down again and it’s Bate and Carter slugging it out. Seven gets tossed off the top and onto a pile at ringside. Primate follows with a dive of his own but Bate rolls through a high crossbody to set up the airplane spin.

That’s not enough so Bate giant swings Starz at the same time (because that’s something he can do). Everything breaks down again and Carter manages to get Mastiff up in an electric chair for a springboard cutter from Smith. Primate’s top rope headbutt is good for the save and T-Bone powerslams Bate. Another top rope headbutt misses though, leaving Seven to hit the Seven Star Lariat for two on Primate. The torture rack/top rope knee is enough to finish Primate at 14:03.

Rating: C+. Normally I would say there was no doubt here, but there actually kind of was for a change. This time around you could have easily seen Moustache Mountain lose as their issues continue, but that’s not where they went this time. That made for a bit more drama than expected, which is a good little perk. At the same time, Starz and Mastiff continue to be a rather nice team and I could go for seeing more of them.

Pretty Deadly comes out for the staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. What works here is there are different paths the main event could lead to. You could very well do the title change, but you could also have Bate and Seven fall apart. That’s a sign of a well put together story and NXT UK has figured that out. I’m curious to see where this and other things go, as this continues to be one of the best shows going today.

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NXT UK
Date: October 21, 2021
Location: BT Sport Studios, London, England
Commentators: Andy Shepherd, Nigel McGuinness

The fans came back last week and saw a classic with Ilja Dragunov successfully defending the United Kingdom Title against A-Kid. It did feel like something was changing around here and that is quite the upgrade as it just makes the show feel that much bigger. Hopefully they do that again this week so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Xia Brookside vs. Aleah James

Brookside cranks on the arm to start but neither can get very far. A headlock takeover puts James down but she reverses into a headscissors to keep Brookside in trouble. That’s finally reversed and it’s a seated abdominal stretch to put James in trouble. Back up and James fires off some kicks, only to get taken down with a running neckbreaker. The Iconoclasm is loaded up but James kicks her away and grabs a sunset flip for the pin at 4:17.

Rating: C. I’m not sure what has happened to Brookside but this feels like the kind of losing streak that you see before someone turns heel. The idea of Brookside as a villain is almost hard to fathom but that might be where things are going. James looked good here and we could be in for a nice new batch of women moving up the ranks here soon.

Post match, Brookside shows frustration as the heel turn is looking imminent.

Meiko Satomura is the Final Boss so she’s not scared of Jinny.

Kenny Williams is looking a little nuts and says he can be even badder after his Heritage Cup loss. Then we see some bugs on the ground because….someone needs to be like Bray Wyatt?

Jack Starz/Dave Mastiff vs. Symbiosis

Fallout from Starz/Mastiff cutting off Symbiosis’ failed interference attempt in a Tag Team Title match. Eddie Dennis is at ringside and Pretty Deadly is on commentary, which should be downright snazzy. T-Bone shoves Starz down without much trouble to start but gets pulled into an armbar. That earns Starz a fall away slam and it’s off to Primate as commentary talks about Tik Tok. Starz gets up and cleans house with some dropkicks, setting up a clothesline from Mastiff to clear the ring.

Mastiff’s backsplash sets up Starz’s slingshot splash for two on Primate. T-Bone comes back in and it’s time to wreck Starz, including sending him crashing out to the floor. Back in and a sitout powerbomb gets two on Starz and Primate pounds on his (own) chest. There’s a delayed vertical suplex for a delayed two on Starz, who is then tossed outside. That’s actually fine with Starz, who slams T-Bone on the floor and makes the hot tag to Mastiff. Everything breaks down with Mastiff hitting Into The Void but Dennis hits Starz with a chair for the DQ at 8:26.

Rating: C. They went pretty fast here and the match didn’t feel nearly as long as it was. What we got was a way to keep things going between the two teams as Starz/Mastiff seem ready to move into a Tag Team Title feud with Pretty Deadly. Good enough match here, as the tag division is bringing in some fresh blood, just like the women’s division.

Post match the beatdown is on but Ashton Smith and Oliver Carter save Starz and Mastiff.

Video on Amale, who says her loss to Emilia McKenzie was a fluke.

Charlie Dempsey thinks his time in NXT UK has been great so far but Gallus interrupts. They don’t think he should get too confident, but here are Teoman and Rohan Raja to brawl with Gallus.

It’s time for Supernova Sessions, though this time it’s actually in the ring. Noam Dar is ready to take the Heritage Cup next week, and it happens that he’ll be taking it from this week’s guest, Tyler Bate (with Trent Seven). Dar says he respects Bate so much that he’s willing to let Bate forfeit the Heritage Cup to him right now.

That isn’t happening, so Dar accuses Bate of going soft and blames Seven for the problems. Seven is ready to take him down but Bate says hold on, because this is going to be Bate beating Dar again. Dar gets in a cheap shot and bails with Sha Samuels. I think you know where this is going and that’s not a bad thing.

Gallus steals Jordan Devlin’s jacket as he’s warming up.

Jordan Devlin vs. Joe Coffey

The jacketless Devlin jumps him in the aisle before the bell but Coffey says ring the bell. Devlin shrugs off the early flurry and grabs a headlock takeover but Coffey fights up and hits a quick powerslam. The armbar has Devlin in trouble until he fights up and sends Coffey shoulder first into the post.

Coffey’s ribs get wrapped around the post as well and there’s a knee to the ribs to make it worse. Some kicks to the chest set up an abdominal stretch, followed by a bodyscissors. That’s countered with a ram into the corner but Coffey bangs up his ribs again. Devlin goes up top but dives into a hard uppercut. A pop up World’s Strongest Slam gets two on Devlin and the springboard spinning crossbody gets the same.

Another shot to the ribs puts Coffey on the floor though and Devlin hits the Penalty Kick off the apron. Back in and Devlin goes up, earning himself a belly to belly superplex right back down. Coffey is up first and slugs him down for two, setting up the running headbutt to the ribs in the corner. Devlin kicks him right back though and the 450 is good for a rather near fall. Back up and the Devlin Side finishes Coffey at 14:10.

Rating: B-. The latest rise of Devlin continues and that is an interesting way to go. I’ve long since thought that he seems primed for a main event run around here and Ilja Dragunov could use some new challengers. Beating someone as big as Coffey could get him in that direction, but I’m not sure how soon a match like that would happen, assuming it ever does.

Overall Rating: C+. This show seemed designed to help move us towards the next batch of challengers and stories, which is not a bad thing. At some point you need to move forward and it would make a lot of sense to do so now that the fans are back. NXT UK has been good for a long time now and it would be nice to see them take another step forward, which might have started this week.

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NXT UK
Date: September 30, 2021
Location: BT Studios, London, England
Commentators: Andy Shepherd, Nigel McGuinness

We’re back to the show that just kind of exists but still does enough good things to be one of the best wrestling shows going. This time around we get a visit from one of the best tag teams the show has ever seen as Moustache Mountain is getting back together. Other than that, the road to the Heritage Cup #1 Contenders tournament continues, because it can never end. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Oliver Carter/Ashton Smith vs. Moustache Mountain

Tyler Bate slams Carter down to start and Trent Seven comes in for a spinning slam. Carter takes him down by the arm though and it’s off to Smith to work on the arm. Seven gets slammed down onto some raised boots and we hit the quickly broken chinlock. Back up and Seven takes over on Smith, allowing Bate to…miss the flipping splash off of Seven’s shoulders. Bate is back with the airplane spin and now the flipping splash from Bate’s shoulders connects for two.

Seven powerbombs Smith out of the corner and hits the Emerald Flosion for two more. It’s back to Bate for a German suplex but Smith flips out and hits a Lionsault to a standing Bate for another two. Bop and Bang drops Smith for two as Symbiosis comes out to watch. Bate gets backdropped onto the floor but here are Jack Starz and Dave Mastiff to cut Symbiosis off. Back in and a superkick gets two on Bate but Seven pulls Carter outside for a dragon suplex. That leaves Bate to hit an apron German suplex on Smith (geez), setting up the rebound lariat/dragon suplex combination to finish Smith at 9:59.

Rating: B-. This was the kind of match that can help Carter and Smith go a long way, even in defeat. They made the famous team sweat and that is more than most teams can do. Moustache Mountain is in a weird place as they are too big of a deal to be a team without the title reign but no one can really come off as a threat to them. That leaves them as singles wrestlers, which isn’t going to be the best news for Smith. At least they’re good when they get together though, which was the case here.

Jinny and Joseph Conners don’t have much to say but Emilia McKenzie comes up. They run into Emilia McKenzie and Jinny mocks her, but McKenzie keeps training. Sounds like the next step towards McKenzie challenging Meiko Satomura for the Women’s Title.

Jack Starz and Dave Mastiff are interrupted by Nina Samuels who is trying to have her own talk show. They aren’t interested, but Samuels goes into a rant about Isla Dawn.

Dani Luna vs. Xia Brookside

They go with the grappling to the mat to start with Brookside having to slip out of a waistlock. Brookside tries to pick up the pace but her crossbody is caught in midair. A headscissors is countered into a faceplant though and Luna grabs a suplex for two. The armbar goes on to keep Brookside in trouble but she reverses another suplex into a small package for two of her own. Now it’s a crossface chickenwing to stay on Brookside’s shoulder but this time she fights up and hits a middle rope hurricanrana. Some running dropkicks put Luna in trouble for a change and a neckbreaker gives Brookside two. What looks like a Codebreaker is countered into a World’s Strongest Slam and a fall away slam. Luna flips a fireman’s carry into a sitout powerbomb for the pin at 5:37.

Rating: C-. This was power vs. speed and it worked well enough for a short match. Brookside’s downward trend continues but it is nice to see Luna getting somewhere. I’m not sure how much a win over Brookside really means, but a Brookside heel turn in the future would not surprise me. I’m jut not sure how well it would work.

Video on Blair Davenport being suspended but raiding the ring anyway.

Stevie Turner wants Davenport reinstated but Sid Scala will only think about it.

Sam Gradwell doesn’t like Mark Andrews, who comes in for the pull apart fight.

Josh Morrell vs. Charlie Dempsey

This is Dempsey’s debut (if you don’t count a one off match) and he is an old school technical guy. Dempsey takes him down without issues and works on the wrist in a variety of ways. After escaping a quick armbar, it’s a monkey flip to put Morrell down and we hit the pinfall reversal sequence. A Fujiwara armbar has Morrell screaming and Dempsey switches into a kneebar.

With that broken up, Dempsey sends him into the corner and comes out with a suplex for two. Morrell hits a kind of flipping powerbomb but Dempsey is back with a German suplex for two more. An armbar sets up…well it looked like a cover with Morrell’s head hooked but Dempsey bent the lower half of the bent knee down and grasped his hands, making it something like a cover into a surfboard? Either way, Morrell taps at 6:13.

Rating: C. It was a fine debut with some crazy good submission stuff, though I’m going to need a name for that finisher so I don’t have to try and describe it every time. They have something with the submission master in Dempsey, who looks just simple enough to seem like a threat. Nice start here, with the finish looking creative and deadly.

We get a sitdown interview between Ilja Dragunov and A-Kid. Dragunov talks about beating Walter but A-Kid talks about having experience. A-Kid isn’t interested in picking a fight and asks what would have happened if Dragunov had been forced to face everyone instead of one man. We get Shayna Baszler’s tap, nap or snap line and A-Kid talks about knowing that Dragunov is going to lose his temper. Dragunov promises to keep the title in two weeks.

Noam Dar and Wolfgang talk about what it means to win the Heritage Cup. Dar isn’t quite as serious. The tournament final is next week.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Joe Coffey vs. Jordan Devlin

Gallus is here with Coffey. Feeling out process to start with Devlin working on the wrist to limited avail. Coffey grabs a hammerlock so Devlin uses a flying mare to escape. A test of strength can’t keep Devlin down but he is shocked when Coffey flips over into the standoff. The headlock takeover works a bit better for Devlin but Coffey fights out in a hurry. Coffey hits him in the face and clotheslines Devlin outside.

Back in and Coffey gets two off a side slam before cutting off a comeback with a running elbow to the face. Devlin crotches him in the corner though and there’s a Backstabber to take him down. A running legdrop gets two on Coffey but he’s strong enough to block a backslide attempt.

Devlin is back with a release Rock Bottom into a standing moonsault but he takes too much time MOCKING THE GALLUS POSE, allowing Coffey to launch him into the corner. The springboard spinning crossbody gives Coffey two but Devlin counters All The Best For The Bells with a Spanish Fly. Mark Coffey offers a distraction though, allowing Wolfgang to grab Joe’s hand. The delay lets Joe score with All The Best For The Bells and the pin at 11:35.

Rating: B. The ending was a bit unnecessary but I guess they were going for the strength in numbers. That’s a little weird when Devlin was the heel the whole time and Gallus has been leaning face for weeks, but at least they had a good match to get here. I could go for more of this and there is a good chance that they aren’t done.

Devlin yells a lot to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Another good show here as they had a pair of pretty awesome bookending matches, which is more than you should expect in an hour long show. The talent is here and they have set up the title match in two weeks, but it would still be nice to have SOMETHING to look forward to. Getting fans back will help, but a Takeover would help even more. Still though, another solid week, which isn’t even a surprise anymore.

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NXT UK
Date: September 2, 2021
Location: BT Studios, London, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Andy Shepherd

With the reaction to the UK Title change out of the way, it’s time to move forward around here. Now in this case, that makes me interested in where they’re going, as NXT UK has been quite the fun show for a rather long while now. That being said, there is always the chance that WWE pulls the plug around here and none of this matters again. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Blair Davenport vs. Nina Samuels

Hold on actually as Davenport jumps Samuels before the bell and hits her with a Falcon Arrow. Officials, including Sid Scala, come out, with Davenport laying out Scala as well. No match.

We look back at Aoife Valkyrie beating Jinny last week in a heck of a fight. Valkyrie has injured her knee though and will be out of action for a “significant period of time”.

Jinny takes credit for injuring Valkyrie.

Symbiosis is ready for Saxon Huxley and whoever he can get to team with him.

Jack Starz/Dave Mastiff vs. Dan Moloney/Andy Wild

Wild can’t do anything with the much bigger Mastiff to start, including a headlock having no effect. Mastiff’s bridging northern lights suplex gets two and it’s off to Starz for the same. Moloney comes in to go after Starz’s arm but a standing armbar doesn’t get him very far. It’s back to Mastiff for the backsplash but a Wild distraction lets Moloney dropkick Starz to take over. We hit the nerve hold to keep Starz in trouble for all of ten seconds before Starz makes the tag back to Mastiff. House is cleaned and Moloney is tied in the Tree of Woe, with Starz adding a running headbutt. Into The Void finishes Moloney at 5:50.

Rating: C. Totally fine squash here with Starz and Mastiff as the latest oddball team, though they have played it straight so far. Starz has come a long way since being the whipping boy for new names and the team is doing well at what they’re trying. Nice opener here and I wouldn’t mind seeing Mastiff and Starz out there again.

Pretty Deadly danced in a fountain earlier this week, until Gallus shoved them into the water. Are they already out of challengers?

Amele vs. Emilia McKenzie

McKenzie takes her down into a leglock to start and goes with a variety of mat grappling. Back up and a running dropkick puts Amele down again and a neckbreaker gets two. Amele sends her to the apron though and a running kick to the face puts McKenzie on the floor. Back in and a corner clothesline gives Amele two and we hit the chinlock.

McKenzie’s comeback just frustrates Amele and she hammers away to drop McKenzie again. A cobra clutch sets up a running shoulder to give Amele two and McKenzie is in trouble. Amele’s shotgun dropkick into the corner sets up a running boot to the face….but McKenzie rolls her up for the surprise pin at 6:44.

Rating: C-. This was mostly a squash until the surprise ending, which will likely set up Amele to wreck McKenzie even more to set up her title shot. Amele did well here and had the aggression, though I’m not sure if she needed to lose here. It was certainly a surprise ending, though hopefully it doesn’t derail Amele’s momentum too badly.

We look back at Blair Davenport attacking Nina Samuels and Sid Scala.

Oliver Carter and Ashton Smith agree to team with Saxton Huxley next week. Carter: “I LOVE THAT MADMAN!”

Sam Gradwell and Wolfgang are ready to face each other in the Heritage Cup #1 contenders tournament.

Here’s what’s coming next week, including another look at the Walter vs. Ilja Dragunov rematch, with additional insight from legends and WWE stars. Could be interesting.

Heritage Cup #1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Teoman vs. Nathan Frazer

Rohan Raja is here with Teoman. Round one begins with a fight over a lockup and they take it to the mat to make it more interesting. Teoman starts cranking on the arm by driving Frazer to the mat, complete with a knee in the shoulder. Frazer fights up and doesn’t care for being hit in the face, meaning it’s a slugout to put Frazer in control. A dropkick takes Teoman down to end the round in a hurry.

Round two begins with Teoman going after the arm but Frazer hits him in the face some more. Teoman is sent outside and Frazer’s suicide dive takes him down. That’s fine with Teoman, who sends Frazer hard into the steps. Back in and a sliding forearm gives Teoman the pin at 1:03 of the round (4:43 overall) to go up 1-0.

Round three begins with Teoman kicking Frazer down and a shot to the face gets two more. Frazer manages to headscissor him outside but Teoman ties him in the ropes and stomps away. Back in and Teoman misses another sliding forearm and gets crotched on top. A springboard super hurricanrana gets two on Teoman as time expires just before the three.

Round four begins with Frazer slugging away and driving him into the corner. That’s broken up and Teoman’s missile dropkick hits Frazer in the back of the head for another near fall. Back up and Frazer grabs something like a powerslam small package at 1:50 of the round (10:51 overall) to tie it up.

Round five begins with Frazer grabbing a fast Sling Blade for two but Teoman goes right back to the arm. Teoman grabs a spinout inverted DDT for two more but Frazer drives him to the floor. A suicide dive drops Teoman and a springboard elbow connects. Hold on though as a Raja distraction means the Phoenix splash completely misses, allowing Teoman to hit….kind of a dragon sleeper into Natural Selection for the win at 2:47 of the round (14:10 overall).

Rating: B. I was expecting good things here and it lived up to the hype, as Frazer seems incapable of having a bad match and Teoman is moving up the villains’ ladder. They put together a nice match here and I liked what we were getting throughout. Teoman is probably the favorite to win the whole thing and I could certainly go for his showdown with Tyler Bate.

Overall Rating: C+. As usual, NXT UK is a good show and I don’t think that’s even a surprise anymore. The main event is by far the best thing on the card but the rest of it was far than bad. This show knows how to set something up and then knock it down, which is exactly what you should be able to do on a weekly show. It’s still mostly slow and steady and, again, it still mostly works.

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NXT UK
Date: August 5, 2021
Location: BT Studios, London, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Andy Shepherd

We’ve got a big one this week as it’s Jordan Devlin vs. A-Kid in a thirty minute Iron Man match. Devlin injured A-Kid’s knee in a previous match to set this up so let’s have a good one. That alone should be enough to carry the show but you know there is going to be at least a little bit more. Let’s get to it.

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

Shawn Michaels narrates a video about the history of the Iron Man match and what it means. Devlin is ready to win however and A-Kid says this is wrestling instead of a way to hurt people, as Devlin likes to do.

Opening sequence.

Xia Brookside vs. Blair Davenport

Brookside goes after the arm to start and takes Davenport down twice in a row. Back up and Davenport cranks on the arm as well until Brookside is back with a dropkick. Davenport takes her down and a baseball slide puts Brookside on the floor. Back in and Davenport is back on the arm until a headscissors gets Brookside out of trouble. A neckbreaker gets two on Davenport, who kicks her in the head. Two knees to the head put Brookside away at 4:23.

Rating: C. This was a way to make Davenport look like a bigger deal as she beat up a more established name. There was some nice storytelling to it also, as Brookside isn’t quite as serious in the ring and was taken out by the aggressive power stuff. Davenport seems to have started fast and it would be nice to see how far she can go. Brookside still has potential, but eventually she needs to do something with it.

We look back at last week’s staredown between Moustache Mountain and Pretty Deadly.

Pretty Deadly and Moustache Mountain agree to a match in the future.

We are getting an eight man tournament to crown a new #1 contender to the Heritage Cup Title. Here are the brackets:

Mark Andrews
Noam Dar

Kenny Williams
Oliver Carter

Wolfgang
Sam Gradwell

Teoman
Nathan Frazier

Isla Dawn finds a box buried in the woods and opens it to find that it’s empty. She puts a watch inside and I think we have a curse.

Wolfgang runs into Subculture, who isn’t happy with him costing them the Tag Team Titles. Flash Morgan Webster slaps him and leaves.

Josh Morrell/Danny Jones vs. Dave Mastiff/Jack Starz

This is Mastiff and Starz’s first time as a team. Starz grabs a front facelock on Morrell and takes him down. It’s time for some shouts to the arm, setting up the armbar. Morrell and Mastiff come in, with Mastiff suplexing him over the top and outside in a huge. Starz comes back in so Morrell kicks him in the face. Jones sends him into the corner for a running knee but charges into a backdrop. It’s back to Mastiff to clean house for a few seconds before Starz puts Morrell in the Tree of Woe. A running headbutt sets up Mastiff’s Into The Void for the pin at 5:27.

Rating: C-. A big/small team has worked forever and it can work here, even if it feels like a recycled Killian Dain/Drake Maverick story. It’s not like the division is deep in talent at the moment so throwing another team out there could do some good. If nothing else, I’ve wanted to see something more from Mastiff and this could be a good place for him.

Nina Samuels and Amele scream at each other in the makeup room.

Noam Dar and Mark Andrews have met before and they both wound up leaving on stretchers. Now they are ready to face each other again in the first round of the Heritage Cup #1 contenders tournament.

Aoife Valkyrie is ready to face Jinny one on one and has an idea to deal with Joseph Conners. The camera pans out to reveal a shark cage. Fair enough.

Stevie Turner interrupts Meiko Satomura’s training with what sounds like a challenge.

Here’s what’s coming over the next few weeks.

A-Kid vs. Jordan Devlin

Thirty minute Iron Man match and A-Kid might have a bad knee coming in. Feeling out process to start and they take turns going after wrist control. Devlin gets him down into an armbar but A-Kid is right back up. A dropkick puts Devlin on the floor but it’s back inside for more grappling. The threat of an armbar sends Devlin over to the ropes and he grabs a Gory Stretch to put A-Kid in trouble for a change. That’s broken up as well so they go to the pinfall reversal sequence.

A-Kid grabs a cross armbreaker, sending Devlin straight to the ropes. Devlin kicks him down though and starts cranking on the arm until A-Kid is up with a dropkick of his own. A slap to the face doesn’t annoy A-Kid, who grabs a headlock on the mat. That’s broken up as well and Devlin ties the bad leg into the ropes. A hard stomp onto the leg sets up a Texas Cloverleaf to give Devlin the first fall at 9:45.

We’re down to 20:00 to go as A-Kid insists that he can continue. Devlin is smart enough to stay on the leg with a kick to the knee into a chop block but A-Kid pulls him into a rear naked choke. The rope is reached though and Devlin drives the knee into the apron. Devlin wraps it around the post as well and the Figure Four around the post makes it even worse. Back in and a Boston crab sends A-Kid bailing to the rope.

With that not working, they trade German suplexes until they fall out to the floor for the double crash. They both beat the count back inside, where Devlin can’t get a Crossface. Instead he hits a running knee to the face for two but Devlin is back up to win the slugout. A-Kid pulls him right back down into the cross armbreaker though and Devlin taps to tie it up with 11:43 to go.

Devlin has to pause to get his elbow back to normal and gets knocked off the apron to make it worse. A-Kid kicks him down to get rid of a chair and snaps off a hurricanrana for two. The running knee gets the same on Devlin and they’re both down with a banged up limb. Devlin gets kicked outside with just over seven minutes to go but comes back in and headbutts A-Kid down for two.

They slug it out from their knees and wind up on the apron, where Devlin is smart enough to hook the rope to avoid any suplex attempt. Instead, he drops to the floor and pulls him down with the Devlin Side for the big crash with 4:00 left. They both dive back inside, where another Devlin Side is countered into a Canadian Destroyer. A kick to the head gives A-Kid two at 3:00 left.

A-Kid tries to pull him into the Rings of Saturn with his legs and finally gets the whole thing on to make Devlin tap with 1:30 left to make it 2-1. Devlin tries some rollups but can’t get anywhere with less than :30 left. They slug it out until Devlin gets two at 30:00, with A-Kid winning 2-1.

Rating: B+. The highest compliment that you can give a match like this is that it didn’t feel long and that was the case here. It felt like two guys beating each other up until one of them couldn’t hang in there any longer, but not through violence. Instead, this was a technical exchange with both guys working on a body part to have an advantage later in the match. Heck of a fight here and worth checking out.

Overall Rating: B. It’s kind of hard to complain about a show where about half of it was a rather awesome match. This was a great showcase for two of the potential breakout stars around here while the rest of the card was fine as a supplement. What matters here is they built up a big match and then delivered, which is a lot more than you would get on a lot of shows these days. Great main event on a good show.

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NXT UK
Date: July 29, 2021
Location: BT Studios, London, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Andy Shepherd

We’re coming up on Ilja Dragunov vs. Walter II for the United Kingdom Title….but it’s going to take place in Florida on the regular NXT Takeover. Well so much for that. Instead, we’ll have to get read for the Iron Man match between Jordan Devlin and A-Kid. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Jordan Devlin vs. Tristan Archer

Devlin takes him down by the arm to start without much effort and the cranking begins. Back up and Archer reverses into a wristlock of his own so Devlin nails a dropkick. Archer tries to knee away but gets hit in the face to drop him without much trouble. A belly to back backbreaker plants Archer again and Devlin grabs the chinlock with a knee in the back. We hit the neck crank for a bit until Archer fights up again. Devlin gets dropped for a running backsplash but Archer’s back is banged up. That’s enough for Devlin, who snaps off the Devlin Slide for the pin at 5:32.

Rating: C. They packed in a bit of a story into a five and a half minute match, which is quite the little trick. Archer has looked good in his limited appearances so far and I could see him doing something more in the future. Devlin continues to be one of the bigger stars around here and I’m still expecting him to become a main eventer at some point in the future.

Post match, Devlin says he has heard about a thirty minute Iron Man match against A-Kid. That’s cool with Devlin, but he has warned Johnny Saint that it will be the end of A-Kid’s career. Cue A-Kid on his crutches, which Devlin kicks away while issuing threats. A-Kid hits him anyway and cleans house, including some dropkicks. With Devlin on the floor, A-Kid says Devlin failed to get rid of him and next week, he’ll have thirty minutes to fail again.

Video on Jinny vs. Aoife Valkyrie.

We get the announcement that Ilja Dragunov will face Walter at Takeover on August 22. Walter is ready to destroy Dragunov for the greater good.

Meiko Satomura comes in to the women’s locker room and says she wants a challenge. Satomura then stands back while everyone else argues and smiles at all of them.

Aoife Valkyrie vs. Jinny

Joseph Conners is here with Jinny. Valkyrie works on the arm to start and Jinny can’t snapmare her way out of it. A kick to the head staggers Valkyrie, who is right back up with a running sunset flip for two. Conners offers a quick distraction though and Jinny gets in a shot from behind to take over. A shoulder takes Valkyrie down again but she sweeps the leg. Back up and Conners offers another distraction, allowing Jinny to snap the arm.

It’s off to the double arm crank until Valkyrie flips forward and kicks her way to freedom. Something like a surfboard takes Valkyrie down again and Jinny kicks her in the back to make it worse. That’s broken up and Valkyrie strikes away, including some kicks to the head. There’s a spinning kick to the face for two so Valkyrie goes up for the ax kick. Conners gets up for another distraction though, meaning Valkyrie has to settle for an enziguri. ANOTHER Conners distraction lets Jinny get in a shot from behind though and a rolling kick to the head finishes Valkyrie at 4:59.

Rating: C-. I wasn’t exactly feeling Conners having to interfere that many times but it isn’t like there is much of a reason to believe that Jinny is going to be a real threat to Valkyrie otherwise. That is Jinny’s biggest problem by a wide margin: she is a great character and can talk, but she is only so much inside the ring. She did fine enough here, but there is a gap between this and the top of the division.

Video on Joe Coffey vs. Rampage Brown, who are geared up for a hard hitting hoss fight.

A-Kid is ready to make history again when he wins next week’s Iron Man match.

Aleah James vs. Stevie Turner

They go technical to start with a wristlock not working, though Turner’s headlock doesn’t either. James ducks underneath a clothesline, but Turner stomps her down into the corner without much effort. There’s a facewash against the ropes but Turner misses a running boot and gets rolled up for two. James is back up with a running forearm and a dropkick, setting up a crossbody for two more. A missed charge rocks James so Turner hits a running clothesline, only to bounce off the ropes into a Downward Spiral to put James away at 4:28.

Rating: C. Turner is growing on me and James looked fairly smooth out there. I’m curious to see where Turner can go, but I don’t know if it is going to work out that well with her futuristic deal. It works fairly well, but I’m not sure if it is going to be good enough to get her into the title picture.

Jack Starz and Dave Mastiff train in the ring, with Starz having some issues with the size.

Symbiosis vs. Moustache Mountain

Eddie Dennis is in Symbiosis’ corner. Symbiosis jumps Bate and Seven during their WAY too choreographed entrance (it wasn’t hard to get in a cheap shot) and we start in a hurry. That’s fine with Bate, who busts out some nunchucks to clear the ring before the bell. Back in and T-Bone hammers Seven into the corner but Seven is back with a crossbody. A slam puts T-Bone down and it’s off to Bate for some driving shoulders. Seven comes back in and gets caught in a fast hot shot.

There’s a whip into the corner to keep Seven in trouble, followed by a catapult into a right hand to make it worse. A double stomp gives T-Bone two, followed by a backbreaker for the same. Seven fights up and hits Primate in the ribs, setting up a quick DDT for the hot tag to Bate.

Everything breaks down with Bate hitting Primate in the face and getting two off the running shooting star press. There’s the airplane spin with T-Bone attempting a save, only to have Bate throw Primate at him. The Tyler Driver 97 gets two on Primate with Primate making a save. T-Bone powerslams Bate down and takes out Seven, allowing Primate to hit his top rope head butt for two.

Bate chokes Primate on the apron but Eddie Dennis pulls him into the Severn Bridge into the barricade (egads). Back in and Bate manages a double clothesline to get him out of trouble, allowing Seven to make a blind tag. Bate dives onto Dennis and T-Bone, leaving Seven to hit the Seven Star Lariat for two on Primate. The top rope knee/Burning Hammer combination finishes Primate at 10:56.

Rating: B-. The ending was the right call as you don’t want to have Moustache Mountain losing unless it’s a big change. Symbiosis made the better team sweat a bit here with some of those near falls at the end being pretty hot. Other than that, this was a good showcase for both teams and a nice main event for a lower level TV show.

Pretty Deadly comes out for the staredown with Moustache Mountain to end the show. They had to get there at some point.

Overall Rating: C. While it wasn’t bad by any means, this show was pretty flat without much of anything that you need to see. The main event was by far the biggest thing this week and the ending has me interested in the title showdown, but there wasn’t much else worth mentioning. That is going to happen from time to time but NXT UK has enough of a reputation to be fine for a single off week.

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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