By Laurence Gibbons, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@Gibbonsgob)
NXT UK TV
Taped in London, England at BT Sport Studios
Streamed June 24, 2021 on WWE Network and Peacock
Andy Shepherd and Nigel McGuinness were the broadcast team… Mark Coffey made his entrance. Sha Samuels entrance was also shown…
1. Mark Coffey vs. Sha Samuels. Coffey took down Samuels with an arm drag and kept a submission on. Samuels hit the penalty kick to the back of Coffey and followed it up with a hard scoop slam. Samuels kept the pressure on Coffey.
Samuels went for the Butchers’ Hook but Coffey broke free and flung him into the air. The Gallus man turned the momentum with several shoulder blocks. Coffey hit the bulldog from the top rope for a close two count.
Coffey sent Samuels into the rope but missed the kick, allowing Samuels to hit the spinebuster for a close fall. Samuels again went for the Butchers’ Hook. This time Coffey used the corner to shift both their weight backward to the canvas. Coffey hit the kick and the sliding forearm smash – known as the Crowning Glory – for the win.
Mark Coffey defeated Sha Samuels in 6:36.
Gibbons’ Opinion: This was a very solid opening match between two big guys. Mark Coffey is in friendly competition with his Gallus stable mate Wolfgang to see who is the best. With Wolfgang going 1-0 up when he defeated Sam Gradwell last week, it felt inevitable that Coffey would put away Samuels. But Samuels was in control for the majority of this match, making you feel like it wasn’t a foregone conclusion. In the end, Coffey got the win and we will see how the game of oneupmanship goes.
Emilia McKenzie was giving an interview gushing about Meiko Satomura’s title win when the lights flashed and Isla Dawn appeared. Dawn attacked like a possessed witch. McKenzie called her a weirdo and said they had unfinished business…
New recruit Mila Smidt was training when the lights went out. Aoife Valkyrie jumped in the ring and Mila watched. Jinny trashed talked Mila for admiring Valkyrie…
Subculture and Pretty Deadly had an altercation on the stairs and Mark Andrews challenged them to put their money where their mouths are…
2. Laura Di Matteo vs. Stevie Turner. Turner controlled the debuting Di Matteo by transitioning between a headlock and a rear chin lock. The two traded wrist locks until Turner sent Di Matteo into the middle rope. On the apron, Turner first punted Di Matteo and then hit a forearm. Turner hit her punt kick in the ring but it only brought a two count.
Turner put Di Matteo in a straitjacket submission but Di Matteo eventually escaped. She struggled to gain momentum and Turner sent her onto the ropes and hit the Rope-Assisted Flatliner for the win.
Stevie Turner defeated Laura Di Matteo in 4:14.
Gibbons’ Opinion: This was a fun match between the two newest women to the NXT UK women’s division. Turner looked impressive and has a unique move set and character. We didn’t see a lot from Di Matteo but it’s great that she’s finally in NXT UK. I’ve seen her live a couple of times on independent UK shows and she’s a real talent.
Nathan Frazer was working out with a trainer when Kenny Williams interrupted and belittled him for messing around with old trainers. Williams bragged about winning matches, not training…
A vignette aired of a hooded figure opening a briefcase and signing a contract. The name was signed as Blair Davenport (if rumor is to be believed this will be the debut of Bea Priestley)…
A package aired in which Tyler Bate said why he felt Jack Starz should be his first opponent for the Heritage Cup Championship. Starz said at first he felt he wasn’t worthy but had realized that he had worked his way up from the summer camp circuit and would accept the offer for next week…
Oliver Carter made his entrance whilst a promo aired from earlier in which he said his tag partner Ashton Smith was missing because he was dealing with family issues. How apt. Teoman entered the BT Sports Studio…
3. Oliver Carter vs. Teoman. Teoman went straight to work on the arm of Carter. Carter hit a hurricanrana but Teoman popped up and slapped him hard across the face. Carter sent Teoman to the outside and vaulted over the top rope onto him. On the outside, Teoman slammed Carter’s arm into the steel steps. Back in the ring, Teoman continued to dissect the arm of his opponent. Teoman looked to lock in the crossface but as Carter riggled free, he put the Fujiwara armbar on. Carter grabbed the rope but Teoman held the move for the referee’s four count.
Teoman missed the springboard elbow, allowing Carter to hit his own springboard. Carter landed a few strikes and hit the superkick. Teoman kicked out at two. Carter hit the scissors kick but again could only get a two count. Teoman hit the top rope DDT and went for the cover. Carter kicked out but Teoman transitioned straight into the crossface, forcing Carter to tap out.
Teoman defeated Oliver Carter in 7:11.
After the bell, Teoman locked on the crossface again until Rohan Raja came out to split it up. Raja and Teoman had a stare down until Raja turned and stomped on Carter. Teoman and Raja left together, signially an allegiance.
Gibbons’ Opinion: NXT UK has done a good job with Teoman in recent weeks. They have identified his crossface as being extremely dangerous and clearly defined his character as someone obsessed with family. This allegiance will suggest Teoman will build a family around him in NXT UK instead of referencing an unseen family as he did in wXw.
A video package aired in which A-Kid declared he would educate Jordan Devlin in inevitable defeat when they go on-on-on, next week… Ring entrances for the main event took place…
4. Ilja Dragunov vs. Joe Coffey vs. Rampage Brown in a Triple Threat. Coffey started the match better hitting a suplex on Rampage Brown and sending Dragunov to the corner. Brown flung Dragunov into Coffey but “The Iron King” caught the “Moscow Madman” and hit a German suplex so hard it sent him out of the ring. Coffey and Brown squared up. With Coffey holding Brown in a Boston Crab, Dragunov returned to the ring and kicked Coffey in the face over and over until he released the submission.
The match swung back and forth. Whenever one man put another down, the third man would then take them out. Rampage Brown hit the double suplex on the other two men. As he went for the Dr. Bomb on Coffey, the Scot sent him over the top rope and to the outside. Dragunov used this as an opportunity to hit the Gotch Lift German suplex on Coffey.
Brown returned and hit the spinebuster on Coffey onto Dragunov, who was lying on the mat. Brown and Dragunov traded strikes. Dragunov eventually floored Brown and hit the knee to Coffey. Dragunov hit the missile dropkick on Brown. Coffey hit the Glasgow Send Off on Dragunov which sent him flying into Brown. Both men rolled to the outside so Coffey hit the crossbody from the top rope to the outside.
Back in the ring, Coffey went for the crab on Dragunov but Brown returned and hit the lariat to send himself and Coffey through the ropes. Brown put Coffey down with a slam on the outside.
Brown came into the ring to pick at the bones of Dragunov but the Russian came to life with kicks punctuated by a couple of German suplexes. He went for a third when Coffey grabbed him and went for the double German suplex. Brown wriggled to the back and hit the double German to both men.
Brown seemed to have the win after hitting the Dr. Bomb on Coffey but Dragunov split it up. Dragunov hit the top rope Torpedo Moscow on Brown for the win.
Ilja Dragunov defeated Rampage Brown and Joe Coffey in 16:17 in a Triple Threat.
After the match, Walter entered the ring and held the NXT UK Championship title in front of Dragunov. “The Ring General’ then hit Dragunov and locked on the sleeper until he passed out. Walter put his foot on Dragunov and held the championship aloft to close the show…
Gibbons’ Opinion: What an excellent match that was. It was so chaotic and fast flowing. I’ll probably rewatch it at some point to make sure I didn’t miss anything. Dragunov injected himself into Brown and Coffey’s rivalry to prove to everyone that he was still the top guy in NXT UK. His involvement in this match added a nice amount of pace to proceedings. He’ll be pleased he did challenge the two big guys as it now looks like he will get another shot at Walter. Their last match in NXT UK was heralded as a classic. They’ve had many fantastic matches on the indies too. I’d love to see this title match in front of fans. If it can’t happen in the UK, is it too big a dream to imagine it makes the SummerSlam card? My weekly NXT UK audio reviews are available for Dot Net Members on Fridays.
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