By Laurence Gibbons, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@Gibbonsgob)
NXT UK TV
Taped in London, England at BT Sport Studios
Streamed July 8, 2021 on WWE Network and Peacock
Andy Shepherd and Nigel McGuinness were the broadcast team… Nathan Frazer made his entrance. Kenny Williams entered the BT Sports Studio…
1. Nathan Frazer vs. Kenny Williams. Williams started on the front foot but Frazer used his agility to escape a front face lock. Frazer then used his speed to stay on top. Frazer flipped over the back of Williams and hit a dropkick. He sent Williams to the outside and hit the front flip over the top rope, landing on his feet.
Back in the ring, Frazer was still on top until Williams tackled his knee. Williams dragged Frazer to the apron and slammed his knee into it time and time again. Williams continued to target the knee. He wrapped the leg of Frazer around the middle rope and rained stomps down on his back. Frazer went to spring off the top rope but his leg gave way.
Not to be deterred, Frazer hit a single-leg springboard dropkick on Williams. Frazer missed a springboard moonsault which tweaked his knee. As Frazer tried to recover, Williams exposed the bottom turnbuckle. Frazer limped towards Williams, who slammed his face into the exposed turnbuckle. Williams hit Bad Luck for the win.
Kenny Williams defeated Nathan Frazer in 9:02.
Gibbons’ Opinion: This was a nice, fast-paced opener. Frazer continues to offer an original and acrobatic offense which is fun to watch. Williams again found a body part and exploited it. In the end, Williams needed the dirty tactics to get the win which keeps Frazer looking strong and emphasizes his “Scum of the Earth” persona. It was a good win for Williams and continues his push.
A recap focussed on Jordan Devlin vs. A-Kid from last week and confirmation that A-Kid is now injured…
In Sid Scala’s office, Joe Coffey and Rampage Brown discussed both holding a victory over each other. Scala forced the camera crew to leave his office to iron out the details on their upcoming rubber match…
A hype package aired for Meiko Satomura’s NXT UK Women’s Championship title defence against Amale…
Mark Andrews made his entrance along with the rest of Subculture but then Dani Luna and Flash Morgan Webster ducked out. Lewis Howley made his entrance along with his fellow Tag Team Champion Sam Stoker…
2. Mark Andrews vs. Lewis Howley (w/Sam Stoker). Howley used his strength and size advantage to control the start of the match. He worked a headlock and then a wrist lock. Andrews sent Howley to the corner but Howley flipped over the turnbuckle and landed on the apron. He celebrated his agility – ala Rick Flair – but Andrews dropkicked him to the outside. As Andrews tried to bring Howley back into the ring, Stoker distracted him. Howley sent Andrews into the turnbuckle. Howley hit a leg drop.
Howley sent Andrews into the rope but he came back and hit an acrobatic crossbody. Andrews sent Howley to the outside. Howley sent Andrews into the barricade and sent him back inside. Howley locked on the sleeper. Andrews worked his way out and hit a couple of strikes. Howley caught Andrews as he went for a moonsault but Andrews still landed a spinning DDT. Andrews scored a close two count from a pop-up sunset flip.
Andrews hit the springboard huracanrana and looked to have the win but Stoker distracted the referee. Webster and Luna ran to ringside. Luna took Stoker out with a Fireman’s Carry Slam. In the ring, Andrews hit Stundog Millionaire and Fall to Pieces for the win.
Mark Andrews defeated Lewis Howley in 9:16.
Gibbons’ Opinion: A decent match. It was a good opportunity to get an extended look at Howley’s power in the ring as he’s normally tagging in and out. It was fun to see Dani Luna hit the slam on Stoker. The resulting tag match should be fun and will be the biggest challenge Pretty Deadly have faced as champs. I’m unsure about who will come away with the win in that one, but the feeling in my bones is Pretty Deadly will retain through nefarious ways.
Jack Starz told an interviewer backstage that he was ‘ok’. Dave Mastiff approached Starz and said he was impressing everyone and that any newcomers would have to prove their worth through him…
Tyler Bate gave an interview in which he confirmed he would let Joe Coffey have a shot at his Heritage Cup Championship… Blair Davenport made her debut entrance…
3. Laura Di Matteo vs. Blair Davenport. Davenport took Di Matteo down with a wrist lock from the bell. She stomped on the arm and Di Matteo and punctuated the assault with a scoop slam. Di Matteo fought back but Davenport took her to the mat and hit a devastating stomp from the middle rope for a close two.
Davenport scored another close fall from a neckbreaker. Davenport missed a forearm, allowing Di Matteo to hit a DDT. Davenport hit a springboard dropkick and sent Di Matteo onto the middle rope. She landed the knee strike to the back of Di Matteo’s head. Davenport hit the knee strike in the center of the ring for the win.
Blair Davenport defeated Laura Di Matteo in 3:14.
After the bell, Davenport cut a promo and said she was putting the NXT UK women’s roster on notice and that none of them had seen anyone like her before…
Gibbons’ Opinion: In Davenport’s post-match promo, she claimed to offer something nobody else does in the ring. On this showing, she’s backing that up. She has great aggression teamed with a measured approach. She certainly works the Strong Style you’d expect from someone that’s spent so much time in Japan. It was an energetic debut and a decent promo, I’ll look forward to seeing her again.
A vignette aired for Jinny in which she said Meiko Satomura had broken Aoife Valkyrie when she beat her. Jinny claimed Valkyrie was just a little girl playing dress up that wouldn’t survive against her…
Around a table, Rohan Raja thanked Teoman for his support. Teoman said he was part of his family now and asked if he was loyal. Raja said he was loyal. We got confirmation Teoman and Raja would take on Ashton Smith and Oliver Carter…
Scala announced that Walter would meet Ilja Dragunov for the United Kingdom Championship in two weeks…
Trent Seven made his entrance whilst a promo he cut earlier he played. He recapped his rivalry with Eddie Dennis so far. Dennis made his entrance…
4. Trent Seven vs Eddie Dennis. Seven threw his ring jacket at Dennis and sent him to the corner. Seven landed several chops until Dennis took him down. Seven hit a crossbody and a scoop slam. Dennis rolled out the ring. Seven hit the missile dive through the ropes to the outside. Dennis landed a massive strike on Seven and sent him back inside. Dennis hit a side slam and took control of the match. Dennis stomped on Seven, who struggled to get to his feet. Dennis looked to set up for the Severn Bridge but Seven hit a chop and the DDT.
The match swayed back and forth between the two men. They traded stiff chops. Seven scored a close fall from his version of the Emerald Flowsion. Dennis ducked out of the way of Seven’s attempted crossbody. “The Welsh Dragon” went to the top rope and hit the Splash Mountain Severn Bridge. He hit a second Severn Bridge into the corner. Dennis missed the Seven Star Lariat and allowed Seven to hit a snapdragon suplex. Dennis landed the lariat and both men collapsed to the mat.
They got to their feet and again traded strikes. Seven landed a Seven Star Lariat and got a close two count. Seven looked for the Burning Hammer but Dennis grabbed the top rope. Dennis hit a boot to the face. Primate and T-Bone came to ringside. Seven hit the slam from the top rope but T-Bone put Dennis’s foot on the rope to break up the resulting fall. Seven took out T-Bone and Primate by diving through the ropes. Seven hit the Burning Hammer for the win.
Trent Seven defeated Eddie Dennis in 11:34.
T-Bone and Primate beat down on Seven. Tyler Bate came out and helped Seven take out all of Symbiosis. Bate hit Primate with some nunchucks. Seven and Bate hugged as the show went off the air…
Gibbons’ Opinion: This match was made because Eddie Dennis offended Trent Seven while he was doing media interviews and teased him about his win against him at Takeover: Blackpool II in 2020. The two have tangled since then and we’ve come to expect enjoyable matches. This didn’t disappoint. It was a solid way to end a decent NXT UK show.
It looks like Seven and Bate will have a match against Symbiosis at some point. With Bate seemingly going to defend his Heritage Cup against Mark Coffey and then Wolfgang, he’s going to be a very busy “Big Strong Boy”. We now have confirmation Walter vs. Ilja Dragunov will take place in two weeks, which crushes my dreams of it taking place in front of people. I’m sure it’ll be great anyway. My NXT UK audio reviews are available for Dot Net Members every week.
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