Another double header of NXT UK kicked off as the battle between Moustache Mountain and Gallus continued!
We opened with a video package of Pete Dunne and his renamed NXT UK title… Rhea Ripley’s NXT UK Women’s title. So guess what’s completing the set? They announce the NXT UK tag team championship… with video from Liverpool’s tapings. Cross-pollination between tapings, eh?
So the relatively non-existent tag team division needs to impress management to get into the tournament. Judging by Sid Scala at the end, he’s easily impressed.
We’re back inside Plymouth – but first, Nigel and Vic by the green screen! They announce this show’s main event of Joe Coffey vs. Trent Seven.
Flash Morgan Webster vs. Fabian Aichner
We kick off with the match that was sparked from what happened (ahem) “2 weeks ago” – and we see Mark Andrews giving Flash some advice. Which we can barely hear because Flash’s music is too high. So yeah, Flash Morgan Webster versus the unacknowledged EVOLVE champion…
Webster kicks away Aichner’s offer of a handshake early, prompting the Italian to shove Flash into the corner as he looked to use his size difference early. Flash’s swinging armdrag finds its mark, as does a lucha-style armdrag before he low bridges Aichner to the floor… only to get charged into the ring post as Flash’s plancha missed.
Mark Andrews appears at ringside to offer support, right as Flash rolled back into a stomping from Aichner. It’s pretty much one-way traffic from there too as Aichner dominated Webster with clubbing forearms and the dreaded nerve hold! I feel young again! Flash elbows out, but he’s quickly whipped into the corner for a two-count, before another whip looked to have Aichner charge after Flash… but Webster sidesteps as the Italian sent himself sailing to the outside.
Back in the ring, Flash scores with some dropkicks, before a diving knee gets a near-fall. After doing the Cesaro neck crank to himself, Webster lands an enziguiri and the Rude Boy corkscrew moonsault press for a near-fall. Aichner’s right back with a hot shot and a big lariat though, leaving Flash down, before a brainbuster proved to be enough for a near-fall.
Webster hits back with some headbutts after Aichner yelled at him, but Aichner rolls to the outside to avoid any follow-up. That attracted Webster outside, as he gets thrown into the guard railings, then the steel steps… but Mark Andrews stops Aichner from crashing in with a knee like what happened to him. Instead, Aichner takes the match back inside where he looked for a spinning powerbomb, only for Flash to counter with a jack-knife roll-up for the win. A desperation win after a really good outing for Flash, but you know some will not be happy with Aichner losing already. ***¼
Radzi’s backstage with Amir Jordan. Amir’s happy to be here, and he’s got a chance to qualify for the NXT UK tag team championship tournament… but they’ve got to get past Zack Gibson and James Drake. Jordan tries to have Radzi dance, and I can’t help but think of the ghost of Michael Cole saying that “he just likes to have fun!” Kenny Williams interrupts as he wants to prove that this thrown-together team wasn’t thrown-together, as it’s time to get serious. As ever, the production and focus was on point. Sarcasm!
They replay Isla Dawn’s win from, ahem, two weeks ago… and she’s up next.
Backstage, Wolfgang breaks the Gallus dress code by not wearing the default NXT UK t-shirt. He’s geeing up Joe Coffey ahead of the main event as Mark Coffey and Wolfgang promise to go for the tag titles.
Isla Dawn vs. Killer Kelly
This was Kelly’s first singles outing since way back on episode two, and for some reason her entrance video doesn’t load. You can’t get the staff, eh?
Dawn throws some kicks early on, before she looked for a toe hold on Kelly, working over the legs to make sure that the Portuguese native couldn’t throw anything herself. Isla goes for a takedown, but it’s stuffed as Kelly clubbed away on her back ahead of a suplex into the corner.
Hobbling, Kelly lands the Shibata-ish dropkick for a two-count, before a cravat followed – but she couldn’t follow through with knees as Dawn went for the hair, then Kelly’s knee before she broke free, and went back to that left leg. Kelly’s sent into the corner as Dawn took her time following up with forearms, before a Saito suplex and a running knee leaves Kelly loopy as a floatover suplex gets the win.
That finisher’s not exactly impactful, but it gets the job done. A decent story, but with just over three minutes, this felt very much like a “get the win, but don’t expose yourself”. Isla’s clearly being positioned as Rhea Ripley’s first challenger, but even with these wins she’s not been shown on her level. **
Radzi’s in the ring to interview Isla about her winning streak. She’s asked “what’s next”, and of course it’s the women’s title. That brings out Rhea Ripley, known to some as “Ripple H”, and we have a staredown from the stage. Dawn challenges Rhea to put her title on the line… and Ripley walks off.
Glen Joseph and friends interview Dave Mastiff in an empty arena. There’s a shadowy figure in the background that quickly comes into focus as Eddie Dennis interrupts. He questions whom the “undefeated monster of NXT UK” is. He’s got the slowed-down spelling out of the acronym down pat, as Mastiff accepted the challenge I guess, as someone’s undefeated run has to go.
Kenny Williams & Amir Jordan vs. Zack Gibson & James Drake
So, it’s an unofficial qualifier for the tag title tournament, as their entrance music drowns out commentary.
Drake and Jordan start us off as Drake grabs a waistlock, only for Jordan to escape and get a roll-up for a near-fall. A crossbody from Jordan keeps him ahead as does a jack-knife roll-up, as Kenny Williams comes in to keep up the momentum. There’s a leapfrog and a back elbow for Drake, who looked to be struggling to get going, not helped when he’s sent outside as Drake and Gibson ate a pair of topes!
Back inside, Jordan’s got another crossbody for a near-fall as the anti-Gibson chants piped up, which commentary tried to play off as the “unexpected NXT UK” fans being themselves. Yeah. Go with that! Just like that, a blind tag from Gibson turns things around as Jordan ate an assisted backbreaker on the outside, before a short-arm clothesline left Amir down.
There’s a cobra clutch from Zack as the odour of smelly socks permeated Plymouth. Jordan breaks it with a chinbreaker, then with a leaping neckbreaker before James Drake tagged in and stopped Amir from tagging out. A missed charge helps Jordan get free as he eventually worked into the corner to tag in Kenny Williams, who clears house with clotheslines and a springboard back elbow for a near-fall.
Williams scrambled for some pinning attempts, but more tags bring us back to Gibson and Jordan, with the latter almost stealing a win. From there though, Gibson shoves Williams off the apron and holds Jordan for Drake’s Deftones enziguiri. Apparently Williams is the legal man though, and he fends off both opponents, knocking down Gibson with a dropkick through the ropes… only for his skinning of the cat to get caught as Drake pulls him back inside, then feeds him to Gibson for the Ticket to Mayhem for the win. The hot crowd made this one, with Jordan and Williams looking like good babyfaces in peril. If Drake and Gibson don’t end up at the very top of the tag title hunt, then something’s sorely wrong here. ***¼
Backstage, Trent’s warming up and gets a pep talk from Tyler Bate.
They confirm we’re getting Dave Mastiff vs. Eddie Dennis “next week”. C’mon lads, I know this is for the on-demand crowd, but surely there’s a better way than saying “next week” for these double headers?
Joe Coffey vs. Trent Seven
Hey, Gallus has new music and a video too! Wolfgang’s back in his dress code of the NXT UK t-shirt as he and Mark Coffey accompany Joe to the ring.
Tyler Bate and his pleather trousers accompany Trent as Plymouth… certainly aren’t as hot as commentary made out here. Joe Coffey shouts about his kingdom at the start of the match, before we start with the big lads’ tie-up into the ropes. Coffey grabs a front facelock, but Trent slips out and throws chops as he fought back, only to run into a shoulder charge as Coffey tried to keep the momentum.
Trent slips out of a suplex, but his knee gives way. It seemed to be a ruse as he suckered in Coffey for a DDT, but Trent can’t make the cover. He’s thrown outside, as Tyler Bate and Gallus stood over Trent menacingly, allowing Joe Coffey to hit a stomp off the apron before charging him into the guard rails.
Back in the ring, Trent keeps trying to send Coffey outside, who composes himself as Trent tried to shake off his knee. We get a two-on-three staredown mid-match, with Tyler and Trent clearing Gallus off the apron before Tyler hit a tope on Wolfgang as the outside forces brawled to the back. Trent gets a tope in too, wiping out Joe Coffey, before returning to the ring for a hobbling cricket chop.
Coffey lands a chop block to take out Trent’s knee, wrapping it in the ropes as the obvious body part was targeted. A shoulder charge goes awry as Coffey hits the ring post, allowing Trent to fire back with some chops as Coffey was lifted up top ahead of a superplex. There’s another cricket chop as Trent hobbled his way back into it, following up with a snap Dragon suplex and a sit-out side slam for a near-fall.
Trent looked to finish off Coffey with a figure four, but Joe fights out by punching the bad knee before he rolled the hold over… eventually with it breaking in the ropes. On the apron the pair trade shots, leading to Trent taking a belly-to-belly to the floor, which led to a count-out tease… one that Trent barely broke!
The pair keep fighting on, but Trent’s bad knee had him at a major disadvantage as Coffey lands a pair of powerbombs for a near-fall, before he rolled Trent into a Boston crab. After he dragged Trent from the ropes, the hold was turned into a single leg crab, but Trent gets the rope break before he hobbled into a clothesline. Trent’s still throwing, and eventually gets off a not-so-snap Dragon suplex before he looked for a Burning Hammer… but the knee gives out, allowing Coffey to hit back with a German suplex, a spear and finally Awra Best For The Bells as the discus lariat got the clean win. This was an enjoyable main event, with Coffey getting a decisive win over Trent Seven. ***½
This was a much better episode of NXT UK after last week’s relatively disposable pair of shows. It’s amazing what having a vague sense of direction does – although yet again, we’re still dealing with “the same characters you’ve seen on the indys”, which says a lot about the lack of character work that’s going on…