By Laurence Gibbons, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@Gibbonsgob)
NXT UK TV
Taped in London, England at BT Sport Studios
Streamed February 4, 2021 on WWE Network
The broadcast team was Andy Shepherd and Nigel McGuinness… The show started with Xia Brookside making her entrance whilst the broadcast team reminded us of the rivalry between her and Samuels. Samuels made her entrance with a male assistant wheeling a trolley of luggage…
1. Xia Brookside vs. Nina Samuels. Samuels pointed to her baggage assistant and told Brookside that she should be carrying her bags. Brookside slapped Samuels and the match was off and running.
Samuels controlled the majority of the early section of the match with a number of submissions and strikes, punctuated with trash talking to Brookside. Brookside rallied and sent Samuels to the outside.
Whilst outside, Samuels threw a luggage case into the ring. With the referee dealing with the case, Samuels hit Brookside in the jaw with a handbag to pick up the ring.
Nina Samuels defeated Xia Brookside in 4:58.
Gibbons’ Opinion: It was the right decision to give Samuels the win as their rivalry began when Brookside beat her in November. It was an entertaining finish to a decent opener. It makes no sense for Samuels to come to the ring with a baggage handler and a trolley full of luggage. That being said, I can’t recall anyone using this gimmick before and I liked that the bags played a pivotal role in Samuels picking up the win. This also adds to Samuels self-entitled “Lady of NXT UK” shtick.
Backstage, Jordan Devlin questioned Sid Scala’s professionalism for not finding him an opponent yet…
Jack Starz’s backstage interview was interrupted by Scala who pulled him aside for a chat away from the microphones …
2. Josh Morrell vs. Joseph Conners (w/Jinny). Morrell’s entrance was not televised. Conners was sent to the outside by Morrell and received a pep talk from Jinny, who reminded him he was ‘worthy’.
Back inside the ring, Conners upped the aggression, working Morrell in the corner and scoring a close fall from a clothesline. Morrell made a late attempt to get into the match. He missed a 450 splash but hit a standing huracanrana. Conners debuted a new neckbreaker finisher for the win…
Joseph Conners defeated in Josh Morrell in 5:38.
Gibbons’ Opinion: I have enjoyed Conners working as Jinny’s enforcer. It was great to see Jinny accompany Conners to the ring and to see her influence on him. Jinny looked as stylish as Miss Elizabeth or Sensational Sherri. Conners seemed like a new man compared to before the two joined forces. With Jinny and Conners standing side-by-side there could be no stopping the duo.
Next, we saw an entertaining package promoting Sha Samuels, which showed his duel lifestyle on the independent British wrestling scene and working as a butcher…
Sid Scala was accosted backstage by Xia Brookside, who demanded a rematch with Nina Samuels…
3. Ilja Dragunov vs. Tyson T-Bone. T-Bone attacked Dragunov from the bell with a flurry of punches into an armlock. As Dragunov took advantage, Sam Gradwell walked out to ringside and told him to watch his ‘temper’. T-Bone continued to kill any momentum Dragunov looked to develop as Gradwell continued to shout abuse at the “Moscow Madman”.
Dragunov avoided a T-Bone clothesline with Matrix-style agility. As both men went outside the ring, T-Bone hit a massive chop to the back of Dragunov. Dragunov seemingly ‘snapped’ and sent the “King of the Travellers” back in the ring. He locked on a submission and launched a succession of elbow strikes until the referee called for a stoppage.
Ilja Dragunov defeated Tyson T-Bone in 6:46.
After the match, Gradwell called Dragunov a ‘toddler’ and continued to tease him until he knocked the Blackpool loudmouth over the barrier. Enraged, Dragunov knocked a cameraman down. Referees and officials came to the ring to try and calm him down…
Gibbons’ Opinion: This was another good showing for Tyson T-Bone, who I still would like to see win a match sooner rather than later. A lot of enjoyment comes from waiting for Dragunov to lose his temper. This was a good development of the story of Dragunov losing his mind. I’m still really enjoying Sam Gradwell. His putdowns are hilarious. If we are building for a match between Dragunov and Gradwell, I’m all for it.
A hype package aired for Meiko Satomura’s debut next week. It included NXT UK wrestlers putting her over in interviews…
Sid Scala had another inaudible conversation, this time with Amir Jordan…
4. Danny Jones vs. Joe Coffey. Jones’s entrance was not shown. Coffey used his power and pace to gain the upper-hand at the start of the match. Coffey slapped Jones whilst he was down and verbally antagonized him, prompting Jones to swing the match momentarily in his favour. “The Iron King” hit the Glasgow Send Off and his discus lariat Best of the Bells for the finish.
Joe Coffey defeated Danny Jones in 2:50.
After the bout, Coffey grabbed a microphone and began to answer Rampage Brown’s challenge from last week. Brown came to the ring and said he would face him ‘anytime’ and ‘anywhere’…
Gibbons’ Opinion: This was another good showing for Coffey. Coffey hit a number of big power moves on Jones, who although not large in reputation is a big guy. The post-match interaction between Coffey and Rampage Brown was good and helped set the tone for what will be a massive collision when the two finally do meet.
A hype package aired for the NXT UK Tag Team Championship match between Gallus and Pretty Deadly that was set last week…
A video montage told the story of the almost year-long feud between Eddie Dennis and The Hunt and Morgan Webster and Mark Andrews over the past year. McGuinness announced that the two teams would meet in a street fight next week…
Andy Shepherd announced Sha Samuels as the guest of Noam Dar’s Supernova Sessions for next week…
NXT Cruiserweight Champion Jordan Devlin made his way to the ring for his title defense. Devlin cut a promo bragging about holding the one real NXT Cruiserweight Championship and daring anyone under 205 pounds to challenge him for the title.
Dave Mastiff made his way into the arena. Devlin said he was too heavy to challenge for the title. Mastiff said Devlin was just keeping the title warm whilst Trent Seven lost the weight needed to challenge him. He added he wasn’t here for the title but simply to ‘kick Devlin’s head in’.
5. Jordan Devlin vs. Dave Mastiff. The two traded wrist locks before matching each other with agile reversals. First, Devlin leapfrogged over Mastiff before “The Bomber” cartwheeled to avoid a Devlin grapple.
Devlin targeted the knee to take the big man down and then took advantage with heavy strikes on the mat. As the “Irish Ace” looked for the Devil Inside from the top rope, Mastiff hit a huge diving shoulder to swing the match in his favour. He whipped the Cruiserweight champion to the turnbuckle with so much force he flew over the top rope.
The action returned to the ring for a few moments before Devlin hit a reverse rana on Mastiff over the top rope and to the outside. Mastiff attempted a cannonball on Devlin, who rolled out the way to send him crashing through the barricade. Devlin used this as a moment to rest but Mastiff got back up to headbutt him and send the action back between the ropes.
Mastiff scored a two-count with a diving headbutt from the top rope. Devlin reversed a Finley Roll and hit a dropkick to the injured knee of Mastiff. He followed it up with a cutter to set up his 450 Splash for the victory…
Jordan Devlin defeated Dave Mastiff in 12:05.
Gibbons’ Opinion: My worry going into this show was that NXT UK would struggle to continue to match the levels it has hit so far this year. Although the show didn’t have the marquee main event that the past three have, this was a great match to end an enjoyable show.
The mystery of who would fight Devlin in the main event built interest during the hour-long show. Mastiff answering the challenge was unpredictable. The match delivered with a heavy intensity throughout and Devlin and Mastiff had good chemistry and a nice dynamic. Devlin has pretty much constant great matches so I would like to see him offer up more open challenges.
On a whole, it was a show that continued a lot of engaging storylines but it did miss some star power. Next week, we have the debut of Meiko Satomura and the street fight to look forward to. These are sure to hit the right notes, but I feel like we need to see Walter and the development of who will be his next challenger for the NXT UK Championship.
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