By Laurence Gibbons, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@Gibbonsgob)
NXT UK TV
Taped in London, England at BT Sport Studios
Streamed August 12, 2021 on WWE Network and Peacock
Andy Shepherd and Nigel McGuinness were the broadcast team… Flash Morgan Webster made his entrance with the rest of Subculture whilst a recap package aired to show Webster’s unprovoked slap to set up this match. The rest of Subculture ducked out to the back. Wolfgang made his way into the BT Sports Studio…
1. Flash Morgan Webster vs. Wolfgang. Webster hit Wolfgang with another slap to start the match. Wolfgang tried to work a wrist lock but Webster flipped out of it and hit another slap. Webster worked a couple of headlocks and went for a third slap but Wolfgang blocked it and took control of the match. Wolfgang dominated the ribs of Webster on both the outside and inside of the ring.
The Scot held the Welshman in a long bearhug and worked it into a stretch. Wolfgang sent Webster to the ropes and went for a charge, but Webster flipped over. Webster hit a headbutt. Webster scored a close two count from a poisonrana to knee strike. Webster went for the senton but Wolfgang got the knees up and followed it up with a driving spear for the win.
Wolfgang defeated Flash Morgan Webster in 7:26.
Gibbons’ Opinion: This was a decent start to the show. Webster was showing a new more aggressive side in a bid to gain some success. Wolfgang seemed relaxed and ultimately got the victory. This match may have been a precursor to Wolfgang having a successful run in the Heritage Cup No.1 Contender Tournament.
Sid Scala revealed that Joe Coffey and Rampage Brown would compete in a submission or knockout match in two weeks’ time…
Mark Andrews and Dani Luna were giving an interview about Webster’s match when Isla Dawn appeared and started poking Luna…
In the PC, Moustache Mountain said they were looking forward to Tyler Bate becoming the first NXT UK triple crown champion and Trent Seven picking up his first championship when they win the NXT UK Tag Team Championships…
Backstage, Scala told Jinny that she would meet Aoife Valkyrie in two weeks in a no-DQ match and that Joseph Conners would be suspended in a shark cage…
Nina Samuels made her entrance. Amale made her entrance…
2. Nina Samuels vs. Amale. Samuels landed a kick to the gut and took Amale to the corner from the bell. Amale dodged a leg drop and hit a clothesline to turn the tide of the match. “The French Hope” landed a number of strikes and worked the chin lock. Samuels got back into the match and displayed some new offense. The match swung evenly between the two women.
Samuels hit a double tilt-a-whirl backbreaker but it only scored a two. She went for the knees to Amale on the rope but her opponent dodged. Amale hit a modified backbreaker using the ropes. Amale hit the Hope Breaker for the win.
Amale defeated Nina Samuels in 4:52.
Gibbons’ Opinion: I really enjoyed the match. It started fast and kept that pace throughout. Samuels is adding more and more moves to her arsenal each time we see her. I wasn’t sure which of these two were being pushed so felt it could go either way. Amale finished Samuels off convincingly and I’ll enjoy seeing where they go with her push.
A vignette aired for Ilja Dragunov vs. Walter and a recap of the “Moscow Madman’s” debut on NXT… Symbiosis was cutting a promo backstage when Saxton Huxley stormed past screaming ‘better luck next time’…
A vignette aired ahead of Meiko Satomura defending her NXT UK Women’s Championship against Stevie Turner next week. Satomura said she would teach Turner a lesson in respect…
Pretty Deadly took us on a tour of the WWE warehouse. They held up framed pictures of Moustache Mountain and bragged about beating them in their Tag Team title defense next week… The broadcast team ran us over the rules of the Heritage Cup ahead of the first match in the Heritage Cup No.1 Contender tournament …
Mark Andrews made his entrance with Dani Luna. Noam Dar made his entrance…
3. Mark Andrews (w/Dani Luna) vs. Noam Dar in a Heritage Cup No.1 Contender Tournament match.
Round One: Dar took Andrews down first but the Welshman turned things over. Andrews worked the headlock. Andrews hit the ropes but Dar grabbed the legs and took him down. Dar hit a kick to the back and blew Luna a kiss. The round with Andrews holding Dar in a wrist lock.
Round Two: They started with a test of strength. Dar took Andrews down and landed a couple of kicks. Dar worked the arm of Andrews and continued to flirt with Luna. Dar sent Andrews to the outside and into the barricade. Back in the ring, Andrews rallied with a succession of arm drags to see out the round.
Round Three: Andrews looked to pick up the pace of the match from the start of the round with some sunset flips. He went to the top rope but Dar kicked him off. Teoman and Rohan Raja came to ringside. Dar went for a suplex but Andrews reversed it into Stundog Millionaire. Dar rolled to the outside but Andrews hit the senton. Back in the ring, Andrews went for the dive but Dar caught him and locked on the Champagne Super Kneebar, forcing Andrews to tap out with 17 seconds left. Teoman and Raja headed backstage.
Round Four: Andrews came out fighting. He targeted the knee of Dar with kicks and a dropkick. Dar went for a kick but Andrews caught the leg and rolled up Dar to win the round.
Round Five: Both men came out kicking the legs of each other. Dar went for an ankle lock but Andrews rolled out. Dar hit a back elbow and forced Andrews to use all his energy to kick out at two. Andrews landed a kick and went to the top rope. Dar kicked Andrews off the rope. Dar started trash-talking Luna on the outside. As Andrews tried to grab Dar, he hit a low blow and the Nova Roller for the win.
Noam Dar defeated Mark Andrews 2 rounds to 1 in 12:49.
Gibbons’ Opinion: Pitting Dar vs. Andrews in the first round of the Heritage Cup No.1 Contender tournament made a lot of sense as they are probably the two favorites to win the whole thing. I enjoyed Teoman’s appearance in the match as I would like to see him make it to the final of this tournament. Dar has obviously squared up with Bate recently so I’d imagine he won’t get much further in the tournament. But saying that he is due a bit of a push so perhaps we will see him get to the final. I’d say it’s between Dar and Kenny Williams on that side of the bracket. I fully expect Teoman to make it to the final and possibly win the whole thing. My audio review of NXT UK will be available for Dot Net Members shortly.
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