By Laurence Gibbons, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@Gibbonsgob)
NXT UK TV
Taped in London, England at BT Sport Studios
Streamed January 13, 2022 on WWE Network and Peacock
The show kicked off with a hype vignette for Walter’s Last Stand on the brand. Dave Mastiff and Jack Starz made their entrance to kick off the in-ring action. Die Familie made their entrance with new theme music… Andy Shepherd and Nigel McGuinness were on commentary…
1. Dave Mastiff and Jack Starz vs. “Die Familie” Teoman and Rohan Raja (w/Charlie Dempsey) in an NXT UK Tag Team Tournament match. Raja hit an early deadlift toss and used his strength to keep Starz at bay. Starz cartwheeled away from Raja and managed to work the arm. Starz dominated Raja with three corner dropkicks and a suplex before tagging Mastiff in.
Teoman tagged in when Raja failed to move Mastiff. Mastiff clotheslined both men. Starz and Mastiff stayed on top of Teoman with quick tags. Starz sent Teoman to the rope but Dempsey dragged him out of the ring to save his stablemate. Dempsey distracted the referee allowing Teoman and Raja to double team Starz on the outside.
Back in the ring, Teoman hit a top rope dropkick and beat on Starz. Now Die Familie used fast tags to stay on top of Starz. Mastiff eventually got the hot tag and hit a splash and rolling Fireman’s carry senton. Mastiff hit the senton on Raja and drop-kicked Teoman at the same time. Dempsey took out Starz. Gallus came to ringside. Teoman and Dempsey squared up to Gallus. Mastiff hit a German suplex on Mastiff for the victory.
Jack Starz and Dave Mastiff defeated “Die Familie” Teoman and Rohan Raja in 9:24 to advance in the NXT UK Tag Team Championship No.1 Contender tournament.
Gibbons’ Opinion: Raja looks like he’s put on a fair bit of muscle. Both teams used classic tag phycology of dominating a single opponent in their corner. I was expecting Die Familie to progress to the next round but the Gallus interference means their rivalry will continue. I’d love to see some tougher stipulations added to the Gallus vs. Die Familie bouts that it looks like we will see. Starz and Mastiff will face Carter and Smith to see who gets the next crack at Moustache Mountain and the NXT UK Tag Team Championship. I’m enjoying Starz and Mastiff more each time I see them. They are a great mix of underdog and brute.
We got a recap of Meiko Satomura’s successful NXT UK Women’s Championship defense over Blair Davenport last week…
A hype package aired ahead of Ilja Dragunov’s NXT UK Championship match against Jordan Devlin. We got confirmation the match will take place in two weeks…
Amale made her entrance whilst Jinny was introduced on guest commentary. Stevie Turner made her way to the ring…
2. Amale vs. Stevie Turner. Turner charged at Amale with a big boot but “The French Hope” avoided her. Amale sent Turner to the outside. Turner took her time to come back in. She landed a couple of kicks but Amale retaliated with a bulldog. Amale missed the kick in the corner allowing Turner to take control.
Turner dominated Amale for a few minutes. Turner locked on a painful armbar and then hit a few more kicks. Turner came off the ropes but Amale met her with a scoop slam. Amale followed it up with the kick in the corner and the Hope Breaker for the victory.
Amale defeated Stevie Turner in 3:59.
Gibbons’ Opinion: Turner dominated the match but Amale had a very impressive big finish that was too much for her to handle. It was a decent showing from both competitors. Jinny was both articulate and cutting on commentary. She said she wanted to kill the hope of Amale.
Pretty Deadly accosted Sid Scala and said they were unhappy with Sam Gradwell calling them a yogurt last week. Scala said they could have a tag match against him and a partner of his choice. Pretty Deadly said it would be a handicap match as Gradwell has no friends…
A preview video aired ahead of Noam Dar defending his NXT UK Heritage Cup Championship against A-Kid…
Amale was giving an interview backstage when Jinny arrived and said she was nothing. Amale slapped her and screamed at her in French. The two women had to be pulled apart…
Nathan Frazer made his entrance. Walter entered the BT Sport Studios for the final time…
3. Nathan Frazer vs. Walter. The fans in attendance sang ‘Walter’s gonna kill ya’ whilst the two locked up. Walter threw Frazer away. The Austrian then took him to the corner. Frazer dodged a chop and retreated to his corner. Walter grabbed the arm and hoisted Frazer over his shoulder and to the mat. Walter worked the arm. Frazer flipped and rolled his way out of the hold. Walter tapped Frazer on his head. Frazer slapped him. Walter grabbed Frazer and stretched him over the top turnbuckle. Walter chopped Frazer out of the ring.
Frazer came back in the ring but Walter chopped him over the back. Frazer struggled to get to his feet as Walter stayed on top. Frazer missed a springboard allowing Walter to lock on a sleeper. Frazer got out and landed some strikes on Walter but “The Ring General” soon hit a big boot to floor him. Walter hit the neck twist and another huge chop. Frazer hit a few chops to Walter. Walter went for a powerbomb but Frazer reversed into the huracanrana for a close two.
Walter floored Frazer with another chop. Walter hit some more chops and put the sleeper on. Frazer rolled out and hit the standing shooting star press. Walter put the sleeper on again but Frazer backflipped out.
Walter hit a big boot and went for a powerbomb but Frazer reversed with the destroyer. Frazer hit two superkicks and the springboard backflip to inverted DDT. Walter now retreated to the outside. Frazer dove through the ropes but Walter caught him. Frazer hit the superkick on the outside.
Walter returned to the ring and Frazer targeted the leg. With Walter struggling to stand Frazer went for a springboard dive but Walter swiped him out of the sky. Walter struggled to get Frazer up for a powerbomb allowing him to hit a superkick, curb stomp and frog splash. Walter kicked out. Frazer went up top but Walter knocked him off and hit a powerbomb for the win…
Walter defeated Nathan Frazer in 14:12.
Gibbons’ Opinion: Walter showed us what we would miss with his unrivaled intensity and presence. He absolutely dominated Frazer like only he can in this match until Frazer managed to find a way to reverse his powerbomb attempts. It looked like Frazer may have found a way to beat him but Walter stepped up his gear to get this job done. This whole show acted as a celebration of Walter and his time in the UK. He was a massive name on the UK indies before joining NXT UK. This was a fitting end to his time in British rings. It was a really fun match and Walter and Frazer were a great mix. I’d love to see Walter make an appearance in the Royal Rumble and on the main roster soon.
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