By Laurence Gibbons, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@Gibbonsgob)
NXT UK TV
Taped in London, England at BT Sport Studios
Streamed December 2, 2021 on WWE Network and Peacock
A hype package aired ahead of the NXT UK Championship main event between Ilja Dragunov and Rampage Brown… The broadcast team was Andy Shepherd and Nigel McGuinness…
Xia Brookside made her entrance for her NXT UK Women’s Championship shot. The Champion Meiko Satomura made her entrance…
1. Meiko Satomura vs. Xia Brookside for the NXT UK Women’s Championship. Satomura took Brookside down with an arm hook. She worked the arm for the opening moments. Brookside pulled the hair and backflipped to reverse the hold. With Brookside holding Satomura in a hammerlock, the champ reached between her legs and grabbed Brookside’s leg to take control. Brookside retreated to the ropes to force a break.
Brookside rained down some kicks to turn things in her favour. Satomura soon swung things back her way and treated Brookside to some kicks of her own. Brookside came close to winning from a running neckbreaker. She then hit the double knees to the face but got enraged when it didn’t end the match.
Brookside’s tantrum allowed Satomura back into the contest and she hit the Death Valley Bomb and Scorpio Rising for the win.
Meiko Satomura defeated Xia Brookside in 7:57 to retain the NXT UK Women’s Championship.
Gibbons’ Opinion: This was Brookside’s first match since her heel turn. The daughter of NXT Producer and Trainer Robbie Brookside has turned into a whiny and spoiled brat. She exploited her connections to get this match. As has been the case with all the title defences, Satomura had too much in her locker for her opponent. Despite Brookside’s close falls, Satomura still got the win in pretty routine fashion.
Rohan Raja and Charlie Dempsey chatted on a rooftop. Raja took a call from Teoman and then officially welcomed Dempsey to Die Familie…
Backstage, Satomura revealed she was going to Japan for a few weeks. Blair Davenport asked Emilia McKenzie what she would do without Satomura to protect her. McKenzie said she’d be ok and then accepted Davenport’s challenge to a match…
Saxon Huxley made his entrance. Kenny Wiliams made his entrance…
2. Saxon Huxley vs. Kenny Williams. Williams threw his ring jacket at Huxley but he caught it and took down Williams. Huxley dominated Williams with a number of takedowns and a crossbody into the ring ropes. Williams attempted to get away from Huxley but he followed him outside and continued his onslaught.
Huxley grabbed the throat of Williams and repeatedly pummeled him on the mat. Huxley attempted to squash Williams in the corner, but the Scot moved and Huxley went over the top rope to the floor outside.
Williams gained the advantage on the outside and sent Huxley back inside. Williams targeted the knee with a shoulder block. Huxley fought back and hit the chokeslam onto his thigh and a delayed power slam javelin. Huxley missed the elbow drop, allowing Williams to hit the DDT and get a close fall.
Williams was about to put Huxley away when Subculture’s music hit. The distraction allowed Huxley to hit the corner splash and reverse Death Valley Bomb for the win…
Saxon Huxley defeated Kenny Williams in 8:14.
Gibbons’ Opinion: Kenny Williams used to be a nice guy. But since his heel turn, he has reveled in winding up the rest of the NXT UK roster. Ultimate nice guy Mark Andrews was provoked into making the distraction in this match after Williams’ antagonized him last week. This distraction adds an extra bit of spice to this ongoing feud and also gives Huxley a much-needed win.
Sam Gradwell entered Sha Samuels’ bookies and took offense to having the longest odds in his next No.1 Contender betting odds. Gradwell bet he could beat Samuels in the ring next week…
We got confirmation that Emilia McKenzie will take on Blair Davenport next week too. Pretty Deadly will defend the NXT UK Tag Team Championships against Moustache Mountain next week. We got a final hype package ahead of this contest…
Rampage Brown made his way into the BT Sport Studios for the main event. His challenger and the NXT UK Champion Ilja Dragunov made his entrance…
3. Ilja Dragunov vs. Rampage Brown for the NXT UK Championship. The two men jostled to gain advantage for the first minute or so. Rampage finally landed a shot on Dragunov. The champion responded with several forearms before using a side headlock to gain control. Brown lifted Dragunov and slammed him to the mat but Dragunov still kept hold of the side headlock.
Brown struggled to get out of the side headlock for a few moments. He eventually hit a backdrop with so much force it sent Dragunov to the outside. Brown sent him into the ring post to inflict pain to the back. Brown worked the back and took control of the match. Brown inflicted so much pain to the back of Dragunov that even sending him into the ropes would force the Russian to his knees.
Both men struggled to get the other up for a suplex. They traded blows until Dragunov took Brown to the mat hard with an enzuigri. Brown failed to get to his feet and the referee called for a stoppage.
Ilja Dragunov defeated Rampage Brown in 8:51 as a result of a referee stoppage to retain the NXT UK Championship.
Gibbons’ Opinion: This was a fun bout. Dragunov sells as well as anyone in this business and Brown can hit as hard as anyone. This makes them a great match in the ring. The stoppage means we will almost certainly get a rematch. It feels like Dragunov and Rampage Brown have a lot left to show together.
The two champions winning this week makes me think we might get a title change in the NXT UK Tag Team Championship showdown next week. It was a decent show but there was little doubt that the championships wouldn’t change hands which did prevent there being any suspense.
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