By Laurence Gibbons, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@Gibbonsgob)
NXT UK TV
Taped in London, England at BT Sport Studios
Streamed September 30, 2021 on WWE Network and Peacock
The broadcast team was Andy Shepherd and Nigel McGuinness… Moustache Mountain made their entrance to kick off the show. Smith and Carter entered the BT Sports Studio…
1. “Moustache Mountain” Trent Seven and Tyler Bate vs. Ashton Smith and Oliver Carter. Bate and Carter started the match, with the “Big Strong Boi ‘ working the wrist lock. Carter reversed the hold but Bate – in typical style – found a way out.
Seven tagged in and teased an assisted backflip but Bate flipped him back to hit an assisted senton. Carter and Smith isolated Seven to gain control of the match. Seven rallied with a crossbody, scoop slam and leg drop. Bate tagged in and hit the assisted rolling senton. Bate performed the Airplane spin and tagged in Seven for another assisted rolling senton.
Carter kicked out at two. Seven knocked Smith off the apron and hit the Emerald Flowsion. Seven tagged in Bate but Carter used his speed to swing the match back in his favour. Smith and Carter went for their double team finish but Bate rolled off the shoulders and went for a pin. With Smith and Bate both down in the ring, Symbiosis came to ringside.
Carter sent Bate to the outside and as Symbiosis tried to get involved, Jack Starz and Dave Mastiff came out. A mass brawl ensued. Carter hit the senton over the top rope to take everyone out. Back in the ring, Carter hit the assisted kick on Bate but only kept him down for two. Seven pulled Carter from the ring and hit the snapdragon suplex on the outside. Bate brought Smith in the hard way and Seven hit the assisted snapdragon suplex for the win.
“Moustache Mountain” Trent Seven and Tyler Bate defeated Ashton Smith and Oliver Carter in 09:59.
Gibbons’ Opinion: Really fun tag match to start the show. Both teams have plenty of double-team offense and complement each other well. The appearance of Symbiosis and Starz and Mastiff would suggest these four teams meet to determine who gets the next crack at the NXT UK Tag Team Championship.
Backstage, Jinny confronted Emilia McKenzie and Meiko Satomura. Jinny said it was pathetic that McKenzie played second fiddle to Satomura. McKenzie said she didn’t care about her opinion so Jinny said she’d make her care…
Nina Samuels confronted Jack Starz and Dave Mastiff in the corridor and welcomed them to the Nina Samuels Show. Mastiff and Starz said they didn’t appreciate Symbiosis sticking their nose in where it didn’t belong before Samuels made the interview all about her beef with Amale and Blair Davenport…
Dani Luna made her entrance. Xia Brookside made her entrance…
2. Dani Luna vs. Xia Brookside. Luna went to grab Brookside but she rolled out the way. Brookside locked on the wrist lock but Luna used her strength to hit a scoop slam. Brookside went for a crossbody but Luna caught her. As Luna tossed Brookside, the Liverpudlian landed on her feet. Luna struggled to get a hold of Brookside, who continued to use her speed to avoid her grasp. Luna eventually hit the delayed suplex and locked on an arm lock.
Luna went for another suplex but Brookside rolled into a pin. Luna kicked out and hit a massive clothesline and locked on a chinbar. Luna sent Brookside to the corner but she hopped onto the top rope and hit the hurricarana. Brookside hit the dropkick, double knees, and neckbreaker but Luna still kicked out. Luna fought back and hit a sitdown powerbomb for the win.
Dani Luna defeated Xia Brookside in 5:37.
After the bell, Luna went to shake Brookside’s hand but she slapped it away and rolled out the ring…
Gibbons’ Opinion: This was a really fun match. Luna’s combination of strength and submission holds was too much for Brookside. It was enjoyable to see the speedy Brookside fight against her bigger opponent. The two were both trying to prove themselves after Meiko Satomura said she would reward women that impressed her with a title shot. That would put Luna next in line but we may see a Brookside heel turn in a bid for her to get a title shot.
We got a recap of Blair Davenport’s attack on Stevie Turner. Turner then charged into Sid Scala’s office and demanded he reinstated the suspended Davenport so she could get her own back…
Sam Gradwell gave an interview in which he bemoaned Mark Andrews being held in higher regard than him. Andrews attacked Gradwell with his skateboard… Charlie Dempsey made his entrance…
3. Charlie Dempsey vs. Josh Morrell. The two locked up and Dempsey went behind Morrell before crouching down and crawling between his legs and striking his front. Dempsey locked on the headlock and then employed a standing one-arm lift. Dempsey worked the wrist. Then two leapfrogged each other and Dempsey hit a hip toss. The two exchanged pins with seesaw covers. Dempsey locked on the Fujiwara armbar and when Morrell refused to quit he rolled over and hooked on an ankle lock.
Dempsey hit a suplex and pinned Morrell. Morrell kicked out at two but Dempsey pinned him three times in a row – ala William Regal. Dempsey hit a German Suplex but Morrell kicked out at two. Dempsey held on to the arm and rolled into a wristlock and transition into an armbar. Dempsey hung on but Dempsey rolled and combined the armbar with a toe hold. It looked seriously painful and Morrell tapped.
Charlie Dempsey defeated Josh Morrell in 6:16.
Gibbons’ Opinion: Charlie Dempsey is the new moniker for Bailey Matthews, who you may remember made his NXT UK debut in February against Tyler Bate. Dempsey is William Regal’s son so a lot is expected from him. He impressed against Bate earlier this year and looked good again tonight. He promised in a promo last week that he would display traditional wrestling that nobody had ever seen before. That’s exactly what we got. Dempsey came across as traditional yet fresh and unique. Can’t wait to see more.
A sit-down interview aired between Ilja Dragunov and A-Kid ahead of their NXT UK Championship match in two weeks. Dragunov claimed he would put A-Kid in his place and retain his championship…
A hype package aired ahead of Wolfgang and Noam Dar’s NXT UK Heritage Cup No.1 Contender tournament final match next week…
We also got the news that Jinny vs. Emilia McKenzie and Mark Andrews vs. Sam Gradwell will take place next week…
Joe Coffey made his entrance flanked by the rest of Gallus. Jordan Devlin entered the BT Sports Studio…
4. Joe Coffey (w/Mark Coffey, Wolfgang) vs. Jordan Devlin. Devlin and Coffey locked up and worked to get the better of each other. Coffey worked a hammerlock but Devlin grabbed his head and vaulted out the move. Both men seemed to have an answer for each other’s offenses and expertly countered the other. Devlin took Coffey to the mat with a headlock. “The Irish Ace” brought Coffey down again with a leg takedown and cockily walked across his back. Enraged, Coffey hit a shoulder block and sent Devlin to the outside with a clothesline.
Back in the ring, Coffey stayed on top with a side slam. As Coffey jumped on the middle rope – seemingly looking for his springboard crossbody – Devlin knocked him off the ropes and hit a lungbuster. Devlin took control with a methodical onslaught of strikes. Devlin hit a hip toss and locked on the shoulder lock whilst working the ribs. Devlin hit a standing moonsault and mocked Coffey with his own taunt.
Coffey burst into life with a big boot and a belly-to-belly suplex. Coffey hit the springboard crossbody but Devlin kicked out at two. Devlin and Coffey traded strikes and the match descended into a slugfest.
Coffey went for Best of the Bells but Devlin reversed it into a Spanish Fly. Mark Coffey leapt to the apron taunting Devlin with the sunglasses he’d stolen from him a few weeks’ ago. Devlin went to lift up Joe Coffey but Wolfgang held Coffey’s arm so he wouldn’t budge. Coffey hit the Glasgow Send Off and the Best of the Bells for the win.
Joe Coffey defeated Jordan Devlin in 11:40.
Gibbons’ Opinion: When students go to university and live in halls of residence they will typically fall into one of two categories. They will either insist on being the life and soul of the party and make noise in the corridors or will sit in their rooms quietly. The Gallus lads, in their role as the former, have annoyed Jordan Devlin by singing outside his dressing room when he’s trying to relax and stolen his sunglasses and coffee when he’s been away. Devlin demanded a match with Gallus ‘top boy’ Joe Coffey. The build may have been comedic but the match was not.
It was a real joy of an 11-minute wrestling match. Devlin looked to be in control until the Gallus interference would prove too much. That would suggest this rivalry will continue but Devlin will need to find a way to get Joe Coffey to himself for a fair fight.
On a whole, this was a really solid NXT UK that despite not having any champions on the show was stacked with its biggest names. Rivalries developed nicely and everyone seemed to be fighting for a reason.
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