By Laurence Gibbons, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@Gibbonsgob)
NXT UK TV
Taped in London, England at BT Sport Studios
Streamed July 29, 2021 on WWE Network and Peacock
The broadcast team was Andy Shepherd and Nigel McGuinness…
1. Jordan Devlin vs. Tristan Archer. The two locked up to kick off NXT UK. Devlin struck first with a shoulder tackle before taking Archer down with a wrist lock. Archer tried to escape with a fireman’s carry but Devlin kept hold of the lock. Devlin continued to control the bout. Devlin hit a nice elevator drop backbreaker and then locked on a rear chin lock. Archer fought back with a couple of strikes and a scoop slam. The Frenchman sent the “Irish Ace” into the ropes and hit a double knee stabber. As Archer went for the GTS, Devlin hit a headbutt and the Devlin Side for the win.
Jordan Devlin defeated Tristan Archer in 5:38.
After the bell, Devlin said that A-Kid’s career would be on the line when they go one-on-one in a 30-minute Iron Man match. A-Kid came out on crutches and squared up to Devlin. Devlin kicked A-Kid’s crutches away but the Spaniard rained down strikes and hit a suplex and a dropkick – revealing that he had recovered from his ACL injury. A-Kid said Devlin had failed to injure him and that he would fail again next week in the match.
Gibbons’ Opinion: Tristan Archer really looks the part. The commentators mentioned that he had been in the Cruiserweight Classic and had developed since then. It is good for him that he is getting a showing over here and I’d like to see him develop beyond constantly losing. It was an enjoyable match. Devlin vs. A-Kid has had a nice build to their rematch. It was a very theatrical moment when Devlin kicked the crutches away and A-Kid stayed steady on his feet.
A hype package aired for Jinny and Aoife Valkyrie’s grudge match…
A vignette aired for Walter in which he said that he would always be United Kingdom Champion…
Meiko Satomura entered the NXT UK women’s locker room and declared herself the champion. All the women squared up with each other…
Aoife Valkyrie made her entrance. Jinny made her way into the BT Sports Studio…
2. Aoife Valkyrie vs. Jinny (w/Joseph Conners). It was an even start to the match. Jinny missed a charge and Valkyrie cartwheeled away from her and then hit a sunset flip. Conners leapt on the apron and distracted Valkyrie, allowing Jinny to take her down with a headlock. Valkyrie worked her way back into the match but as she jumped on the ropes Conners knocked her off. Jinny was able to use this advantage to control proceedings.
Jinny enraged Valkyrie when she trash-talked at her and slapped her across the face. Valkyrie hit a spinning heel kick but only kept Jinny down for a two count. Valkyrie went to the top rope but Conners again distracted her so she jumped down. Valkyrie hit Conners from the apron. Jinny struck Valkyrie from behind and hit the rolling Liger kick for the win.
Jinny defeated Aoife Valkyrie in 07:00.
Gibbons’ Opinion: This match has been building for a few weeks as a result of Jinny taking a disliking to Valkyrie. Jinny has claimed Valkyrie was broken when she lost to Meiko Satomura. With Conners in her corner, Jinny has a lot of help backing up her harsh words. Conners was the real difference-maker by constantly killing Valkyrie’s momentum. Jinny and Conners will very much enjoy gloating about this victory and how they got one over Valkyrie.
Backstage, A-Kid said he was feeling very confident about winning the first Iron Man match in NXT UK…
Aleah James made her entrance. Stevie Turner’s entrance was also shown…
3. Aleah James vs. Stevie Turner. Turner put on the wrist lock but James cartwheeled out to reverse the hold. Turner escaped but struggled to capitalize as the acrobatic James avoided her offense with a front flip and a Matrix-style backbend. Eventually, Turner got hold of James and landed with a succession of kicks. James again turned the match back in her favor with a dropkick and a springboard crossbody. Turner sent James to the corner and hit a couple of strikes. She followed this up with her rope-assisted flatliner 4D for the win.
Stevie Turner defeated Aleah James in 4:26.
Gibbons’ Opinion: This was the best showing for Aleah James so far, who is fun and inventive in the ring. It was a nice mix of styles as James is super acrobatic whilst Turner’s attacks center on strikes and kicks. It was good that we saw these two meet after being two of the women who stood up to each other in the previous backstage segment with Meiko Satomura.
Symbiosis made their entrance for the main event. Moustache Mountain made their entrance with Bate carrying his Heritage Cup Championship…
4. “Symbiosis” T-Bone and Primate (w/Eddie Dennis) vs. “Moustache Mountain” Trent Seven and Tyler Bate. T-Bone and Primate jumped Bate and Seven as they entered the ring. Bate whipped out his nunchucks and the Symbiosis lads ducked out the ring. The referee managed to control the four men to restart the match.
Bate and Seven worked a couple of quick tags to control the opening portion of the match. Dennis grabbed the leg of Seven which gave T-Bone the chance to swing the tide of the match. Primate and T-Bone isolated Seven in their corner. T-Bone tossed Seven into his corner where Primate met him with a strike. T-Bone held Seven by the legs allowing Primate to hit the double stomp from the top rope. Seven refused to quit and constantly kicked out at two despite Symbiosis’s double teamwork.
Seven hit an enzuigiri on T-Bone but as he went for the tag to Bate, Dennis knocked “The Big Strong Boy’ off the apron. Seven hit the DDT on T-Bone and this time managed to tag in Bate. Bate took out T-Bone and then dominated Primate once he had tagged in. Bate put the Airplane Spin on Primate and used his legs to knock down T-Bone. Bate hit the Tyler Driver 97 on Primate but T-Bone broke up the pin.
T-Bone tagged in and gained control of Bate. Primate tagged in and hit the diving headbutt but Bate kicked out at two. All four men came into the ring and as the referee removed Seven, Eddie Dennis grabbed Bate and hit the Severn Bridge into the barricade. Seven split up the resulting pin. Bate dived over the top rope and took out Dennis and T-Bone. Bate and Seven hit the assisted Burming Hammer for the win.
“Moustache Mountain” Trent Seven and Tyler Bate defeated “Symbiosis” T-Bone and Primate in 11:36.
After the bell, Pretty Deadly came out and applauded Moustache Mountain.
Gibbons’ Opinion: T-Bone and Primate looked much more of a cohesive unit than the last time we saw them. If they can continue to develop and make use of having Eddie Dennis as their ace in the hole they could become seriously dangerous. It was a classic Mustache Mountain tag match with Seven taking a beating and Bate waiting for a hot tag. You wonder if one day Bate will feel like he’s had enough of looking after Seven. But as they keep winning, he’ll be happy. Looks like we will get Moustache Mountain vs. Pretty Deadly next which would be a great scalp for the current tag champs.
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