By Laurence Gibbons, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@Gibbonsgob)
NXT UK TV
Taped in London, England at BT Sport Studios
Streamed December 16, 2021 on WWE Network and Peacock
The broadcast team was Andy Shepherd and Nigel McGuinness… Joe Coffey made his entrance to start the show. Charlie Dempsey made his way into the BT Sport Studios…
1. Joe Coffey vs. Charlie Dempsey. Coffey looked to get hold of Dempsey but he used his long legs to kick away “The Iron King’s” advances. Dempsey finally got things going his way when he hit a crossbody after about two minutes. Coffey sent Dempsey from pillar to post and then targeted the arm. Dempsey used his legs to reverse the hold and put Coffey in the head scissors.
Both men jostled to gain the upper hand until Dempsey grabbed the wrist of Coffey and sent him to the corner. Dempsey followed it up with a gutwrench suplex. Dempsey put Coffey in the hammerlock and punctuated it with a succession of European uppercuts. Coffey got Dempsey on his shoulders but Dempsey raked the nose and stayed on top. Dempsey put the arm bar on and forced his thumb into Coffey’s nose.
The two men traded uppercuts and strikes as the match descended into a slugfest. Coffey hit a springboard crossbody and Glasgow Send Off. At that point, Rohan Raja and Teoman came out and dragged Dempsey out of the ring. The rest of Gallus came out. Dempsey sent Cofeey into the ring steps and back into the ring. Dempsey locked on the dragon sleeper, forcing Coffey to sleep…
Charlie Dempsey defeated Joe Coffey in 12:32.
Gibbons’ Opinion: Man, that was physical. Dempsey constantly attacked the nose of Coffey which looked brutal. He seemed to open Coffey up too. Seeing Dempsey against Coffey made you realize how tall he actually is. This was a massive win for Dempsey as this was his biggest challenge to date. The interference will save a bit of face for Coffey but the record will accurately show that Dempsey put him to sleep with a wrestling move.
We got a recap of Moustache Mountain winning the NXT UK Tag Team Championship from Pretty Deadly last week…
Sid Scala congratulated Moustache Mountain and revealed that there would be a tournament to decide the No.1 Contender to the NXT UK Tag Team Championship. Symbiosis will face Oliver Carter and Ashton Smith and Die Familia will face Jack Starz and Dave Mastiff. The two winners will meet to see who gets first shot at Moustache Mountain…
A vignette aired for Jordan Devlin in the style of an uplifting TV commercial…
Moustache Mountain came out to the ring to celebrate their title win. Trent Seven said he needed the win after all the times they had fallen short in the past. He went on to say he was worried about what he would do if they lost the titles. Bate said they had won the titles as a result of the power of patience, hard work and the support from the NXT UK fans. Seven celebrated Bate being the first ever grand slam winner in NXT UK history. They thanked the crowd and the rest of the NXT UK roster…
Smith and Carter cut a promo backstage saying now was their time to win the NXT UK Tag Team Championship…
A package aired highlighting the rivalry between Blair Davenport and Meiko Satomura. Davenport said they had conquered each other’s countries and that she had been chasing her. We got confirmation they would meet in three weeks…
Kenny Williams made his entrance and told Danny Jones to get out the ring, claiming he wanted Mark Andrews instead. Jones refused to leave and the referee rang the bell…
2. Danny Jones vs. Kenny Williams. Jones took Williams down with a wrist lock. Jones used his size and strength to control the opening moments until Wiliams slapped him to the mat. Williams stomped on Jones in the corner and then slapped him around the ring.
Williams antagonized Jones, who burst back into life. Williams attacked the leg to swing things back in his favor. Williams hit Bad Luck twice in a row for the win…
Kenny Williams defeated Danny Jones in 3:49.
After the bell, Williams told the camera that he was coming to the back to find Andrews…
Gibbons’ Opinion: Not much to report on this one. Williams seems obsessed with a match with Mark Andrews. I enjoyed how he attempted to switch Jones out for Andrews before the match.
A vignette aired for Symbiosis looking ahead to a new year…
Backstage, we saw Kenny Williams leave a room and Mark Andrews lying on the floor in pain…
Nathan Frazer made his entrance. A-Kid made his entrance…
3. Nathan Frazer vs. A-Kid in a Heritage Rules match for the No.1 Contendership for the Heritage Cup Championship.
Round 1: A-Kid swept the legs of Frazer and put the headlock on. A-Kid landed a massive dropkick and went for the Fujiwara armbar. Frazer hit a monkey flip but A-Kid kept hold of the arm. The round ended with neither man in control.
Round 2: A-KId took Frazer down with a waistlock but Frazer worked out and hit a dropkick to his ribs. Frazer hit a springboard arm drag and then rolled up A-Kid. A-Kid reversed the pin. The two exchanged pins until Frazer managed to keep A-Kid down for three to win the round.
Round 3: A-Kid attempted to get the Fujiwara armbar on again but Frazer made it to the rope. Frazer hit the springboard backflip to inverted DDT but A-Kid kicked out. A-Kid came close to a fall from a kick to the chest. A-Kid locked on the Fujiwara armbar but the clock ran out to save Frazer.
Round 4: A-Kid locked on the sleeper straight away but Frazer wriggled out. Frazer hit a slingblade and a twisting neckbreaker for a close two count. Frazer locked on the Boston crab but A-Kid reversed it into a pin. Frazer went for a springboard but A-Kid dove through his legs to knock him off the ropes. A-Kid hit a superkick to draw level.
Round 5: A-Kid hit a Fisherman suplex for a close two. Frazer retaliated with a kick to the jaw for a close two of his own. Frazer went up top but A-Kid booted him in the head. Frazer hit a middle rope slam and looked to follow it up with the moonsault. A-Kid rolled out of the way of the moonsault and soon locked on the double armbar to force Frazer to tap out.
A-Kid defeated Nathan Frazer 2 rounds to 1 in 12:28 to become the No.1 Contender to the NXT UK Heritage Cup Championship.
Gibbons’ Opinion: I keep a list of NXT UK Matches of the Year and thought I’d probably have to add this to it when I saw it on paper. This match didn’t do enough to make that list but it was still fantastic, fast-paced and a lot of fun.
It’ll be very interesting to see if they put the Heritage Cup back on A-Kid or if Dar manages to defeat him. A-Kid has had some extremely good matches this year with Ilja Dragunov and Jordan Devlin. I’d be very surprised if this time next year he isn’t part of the NXT roster in the US. It was announced that there would be a ‘Holiday Special of NXT UK’ next week but no more information was given. I imagine it’ll be a collection of the best moments of the year. My audio review of this episode will be available for Dot Net Members on Friday.
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