Nigel McGuinness was back for live commentary, having provided commentary remotely since NXT UK’s post-pandemic 2020 reboot. McGuinness and Andy Shepherd spoke about tonight’s contract signing between the UK champion United NXT Ilja Dragunov and Jordan Devlin.
Mark Andrews and Wild Boar defeated Symbiosis (T-Bone & Primate) with Eddie Dennis (7:28)
Andrews and Boar went wild on Symbiosis before the bell and brawled with them around the ring. Eddie Dennis ran away right away. The match finally started in the ring with Andrews in control.
The symbiosis took over once Wild Boar was tagged, and Dennis reappeared at ringside as well as Andrews was worked on. Andrews finally made the hot tag and Boar went wild on the two Symbiosis members, then smashed Primate with a seated senton. Boar took out T-Bone at ringside with a running clothesline from the apron before scoring a near pinfall on Primate.
Dennis climbed onto the apron with his steel chain, allowing Primate to smack a spear at Boar. Boar managed to ram Symbiosis into each other, then hit a running senton into T-Bone in the corner. He tagged Andrews, who hit a Shooting Star Press on T-Bone for the win.
After the match, Boar dove into Dennis through the ropes, then chased him across the arena with Dennis’ steel chain/dog collar.
– Robert Stone recorded a promo about Von Wagner and why Wagner is unlike any other athlete. As Wagner Highlights from NXT 2.0 aired, Stone explained how this was Wagner’s world and Saxon Huxley lived in it.
– Mustache Mountain visited the arena and was asked about their game last week. Tyler Bate has confirmed that he thinks Trent Seven cheated – and Bate didn’t seem too thrilled about it. Seven blasted it, saying a win is a win and it’s only cheating if you get caught, which Bate also took offense to.
Seven said there was water under the bridge and he and Bate talked about it. Seven said they wanted Johnny Saint and Sid Scala to find them reputable opponents.
– Eddie Dennis always fled the backstage of Wild Boar and met Sid Scala. He told Scala to do something about Boar. Scala said he would do a dog collar match between Boar and Dennis with Symbiosis banned from ringside. Dennis looked scared, then fled as Boar came around the corner to chase after him.
Xia Brookside (with Eliza Alexander) defeated Angel Hayze (5:06)
Hayze took offense and put Brookside in trouble in the opening minutes of the match. Brookside got the upper hand with some nefarious tactics, then locked in a Camel Clutch on Hayze, who eventually went off.
Hayze came back with an elbow in the corner, then reversed a roll-up for a near fall. Eliza Alexander got on the apron and Hayze tricked her with a forearm, allowing Brookside to roll up Hayze for the win.
Alexander and Brookside beat Hayze after the match until Amale rushed for the stoppage and sent Alexander and Brookside packing.
– Earlier in the week, A-Kid (who still seems to be a regular here) took on Charlie Dempsey at the UK Performance Centre. He told Dempsey that they needed to set the record straight and that “there was something in his legacy” that makes A-Kid believe Dempsey will say yes. Dempsey nodded. I think Dempsey’s legacy is even more secret than Bron Breakker’s.
– Sid Scala was in his office with Damon Kemp. He’s gone through all of Kamp’s amateur wrestling accomplishments (none of which show up if you Google “Damon Kemp” instead of his real name). Kemp, who is the brother of Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson, was thrilled to learn the “little details of British style” and Scala was happy to introduce him to Johnny Saint, the style master.
Von Wagner beats Saxon Huxley (4:05)
They showed the scene from last week where Wagner tore up Huxley’s autograph.
Huxley was unimpressed with Wagner and beat him early, but Wagner came back with a knee and a suplex. Huxley eventually hit a Thesz Press, but Wagner caught him on a body press attempt, then hoisted him to his shoulders and hit a DVD for the eventual victory.
After the match, Wagner cut a brief promo, saying it was just his first win and we all live in his world.
– Joe and Mark Coffey having had a falling out last week, Gallus held a press conference. Wolfgang introduced them and asked “the press” to turn off their flashes. “The Press” ignored his request and happily clicked and flashed, so someone now has about 200 photos of Gallus sitting at a table. They basically said that everything was fine, that they were all on the same page and that they were hungry for competition.
– Tiger Turan, “a mysterious and sensational superstar emanating from the Himalayas”, will make his debut next week. He’s the masked guy who stalked Kenny Williams last week and looks suspiciously like former Williams partner Amir Jordan under a mask.
– Isla Dawn did a weird promo on Meiko Satomura ahead of their NXT UK Women’s Championship match next week, which will be subject to ‘World of Darkness’ rules.
– A highlight video of Lash Legend has been released. She will be the guest of Noam Dar’s Supernova Sessions next week.
Ilja Dragunov-Jordan Devlin contract signing
Johnny Saint and Sid Scala were in the ring, where a table and chairs were set up. Devlin walked in first, wearing a ridiculously silly shirt. Dragunov stepped into a cute black suit to his new music, which is even more ridiculous than Devlin’s shirt.
Devlin put his feet up and talked about the winds of change. Dragunov told Devlin to get his feet off the table.
Devlin said they were only in the ring with GMs for a contract signing because their match is a big deal – and Dragunov had none of that for his previous matches. Devlin vowed to become champion, to which Dragunov said seeing Devlin as champion was his biggest nightmare. Devlin said he would give Dragunov his nightmare.
Dragunov suggested they raise the stakes for their match, and Devlin said he was a player and would listen. Dragunov said he dreams of an NXT UK without Jordan Devlin – and he wants their title match to be Loser Leaves NXT UK.
Devlin said that when he becomes champion, Dragunov won’t want to show his face here anyway, so he agrees. Saint and Scala also agreed, and the two contestants signed the contract.
Dragunov stood up and lifted his championship belt into the air. Devlin went to headbutt him, but Dragunov dodged the shot and headbutted himself.
They brawled in the ring. Devlin looked to bomb Dragunov through the table, but Dragunov escaped and backed the table into the corner instead. He went to hit Torpedo Moscow, but Devlin pulled Scala past him like a human shield, stopping Dragunov. Devlin then punched Devlin Side on Dragunov across the table, as Scala yelled at Devlin to leave. Devlin posed with the NXT UK Championship and walked past a snarling Johnny Saint on his way to the back.
Final Thoughts —
Basically a fun show. The opener set up the inevitable dog collar match with Eddie Dennis and Wild Boar, while the women’s match established Eliza Alexander as an asset to Xia Brookside and set up a future match with Amale.
Von Wagner’s match was short and painless and he’s decent, but I’m not a big fan of NXT 2.0 wrestlers coming here. I understand they need all the in-ring experience in front of a crowd they can get, but I preferred NXT UK as the only brand virtually untouched by current “WWE management”. I also don’t like that NXT 2.0 wrestlers are described as the “biggest stars” – when most of them really aren’t.
The show’s closing angle was good, and the added stipulation gives more intrigue to Dragunov and Devlin’s match two weeks from now, which should be a slobberknocker.
Next week —
- Match World of Darkness: NXT UK Women’s Champion Meiko Satomura Defends Against Isla Dawn
- Supernova sessions with Lash Legend
- Tiger Turan makes his debut
In two weeks (NXT UK #200) —
- Loser Leaves NXT UK Match: NXT UK Champion Ilja Dragunov Defends Against Jordan Devlin
