By Laurence Gibbons, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@Gibbonsgob)
NXT UK TV
Taped in London, England at BT Sport Studios
Streamed July 22, 2021 on WWE Network and Peacock
NXT UK began with a hype package for the show that promised an update on when Walter vs. Ilja Dragunov II would happen, plus a Tag Team Championship match between Pretty Deadly and Subculture… Andy Shepherd and Nigel McGuinness were the broadcast team…
Sid Scala opened the show in the ring and passed over to a video of William Regal, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H. They said Walter vs. Ilja Dragunov II should be seen by the entire world and revealed it would take place at NXT TakeOver 36 on August 22 in the United States…
A vignette aired for Symbiosis in which they claimed they would fire their ammunition at Moustache Mountain… Nina Samuels made her entrance…
1. Laura Di Matteo vs. Nina Samuels. The two locked up and Samuels put the wrist lock on Di Matteo. The Italian Di Matteo reversed the hold into a takedown. The two women traded wrist locks. Samuels rolled from the hold into a pin but Di Matteo shifted the weight and got a close fall. This enraged Samuels, who shifted up a gear and rained kicks to the back of her opponent.
Samuels worked to force Di Matteo to quit by applying a few submissions. Samuels missed an attack in the corner and Di Matteo rolled her up for another close fall. Di Matteo hit a top rope huracanrana and then a few clotheslines. As she went for the spinning DDT Samuels caught her. Samuels hit a new finisher for the victory.
Nina Samuels defeated Laura Di Matteo in 6:10.
Gibbons’ Opinion: This was the best showing for Di Matteo so far. I felt like she was going to score a roll-up victory at one point which would have done her the world of good. Samuels would have been a good person for Di Matteo to steal her first victory from as it wouldn’t have hurt her. But the longer this match went on the more about Samuels it became. She had added a lot of new moves to her arsenal since we last saw her. The commentators did a good job to highlight this.
In a vignette at their dinner table, Teoman said he and Rohan Raja were brothers and that family always wins… Blair Davenport confronted Xia Brookside backstage and said people only knew who she was because of her father. She told Brookside not to talk to her until she got her own last name …
Noam Dar welcomed ‘10 out of 10’ Jinny and Joseph Conners to Supernova Sessions. Jinny seemed unimpressed with her seat so Dar gave her a cushion to sit on. Dar asked Jinny for her phone number and said they were both ‘fashionistas’. Jinny said he was cheap. Dar asked if her and Conners’ relationship was ‘personal’. The two said it was a smart association between two smart people. Jinny said the only reason she had come on the show was to tell Aoife Valkyrie that she was a ‘scared and fragile little girl’.
Gibbons’ Opinion: This was an entertaining enough segment. Dar and Jinny had good chemistry together. I was expecting to see Valkyrie turn up to attack Jinny but instead “The Fashionista” just repeated the same insult she used on her a few weeks ago.
A hype package aired for the final in Rampage Brown and Joe Coffey’s trilogy…
2. Tristan Archer vs. Joseph Conners (w/Jinny). Conners locked on a wrist lock so powerful it sent Archer to the mat. Archer got to his feet and took Conners down. Archer locked on a headlock. Archer hit a couple of power moves and looked in control. Jinny screamed advice which led to Conners hitting a clothesline and his rolling neckbreaker.
Conners took control of proceedings, whipping Archer from pillar to post. The two exchanged big strikes in the center of the ring and then in the corner. Archer hit a kick to the back of the neck and went to the top rope. Archer sent Conners head into the turnbuckle and hit a slam for a close fall. Archer got another close fall from a small package. He came close again from a twisting suplex. Eventually, Conners hit the Hierarchy for the win.
Joseph Conners defeated Tristan Archer in 6:03.
After the bell, as Conners and Jinny celebrated, Valkyrie appeared at ringside. Valkyrie gave Jinny a feather to mark her traditional way of challenging an opponent. Jinny dropped the feather to the ground.
Gibbons’ Opinion: This was a decent match for Conners. When challenged by Archer, he was able to dig deep and prove he was in a different league to the French grappler. The altercation between Valkyrie and Jinny means that they will definitely go one-on-one, but we still don’t know when.
Backstage, Jordan Devlin cut a promo and said A-Kid was stupid to demand a 30-minute Iron Man match with him and that he would finish the job he started when he tore his ACL in their last match…
Jack Starz thanked Dave Mastiff for his help and advice which led to him challenging Tyler Bate for the Heritage Cup. Mastiff said there was more to come from their relationship…
Trent Seven and Tyler Bate responded to Symbiosis’s challenge and said they would finish things once and for all, next week in a tag team match…
Subculture made their entrance. The NXT UK Tag Team Champions Pretty Deadly made their way into the BT Sports Studio…
3. “Pretty Deadly” Sam Stoker and Lewis Howley vs. “Subculture” Flash Morgan Webster and Mark Andrews (w/Dani Luna) for the NXT UK Tag Team Titles. Webster started the match by using his speed to control Stoker. Webster tagged in Andrews and they hit the double suplex on Stoker. Howley tagged in and immediately powered over Andrews and sent him to the corner.
Howley sent Andrews to the outside and then brought Webster in the ring the hard way. Andrews came back to the ring and sent both members of Pretty Deadly to the outside. Howley was distracted by Luna on the outside and Andrews struck him and sent him back to the ring.
Pretty Deadly managed to work a succession of quick tags which allowed them to take control of Andrews. They sent Andrews to the outside and mocked Luna as he lay on the ringside floor. Pretty Deadly hit the double shoulder block into the leg drop/ splash tandem on Andrews.
Webster finally got the hot tag and hit multiple dropkicks to both members of Pretty Deadly. Webster sent Howley to the outside with a huracanrana and then whipped Stoker over the top rope too. Andrews joined Webster in the ring and they hit the double senton over the top rope to the outside on Pretty Deadly. Webster headbutted Howley which sent him to his corner where he tagged Stoker as he dropped to the mat. Webster welcomed him to the ring with a head but.
Webster missed the 450 on Stoker. Pretty Deadly hit a double team move where Howley vaulted Stoker into Webster. It only got a two count. Stoker launched Andrews into Howley who hit him with a forearm. Again, only a two count.
Andrews rallied enough to hit Stundog Millionaire on Stokes. He tagged in Webster and they hit their tandem knee strike. It would have ended it but Howley made the save. Andrews went for the Fall to Pieces on Stoker but Howley dragged him from the ring. Webster went for a dive but Stoker and Howley caught him and dumped him into the barrier.
Howley brought the tag belt into the ring but the referee grabbed it. As the referee dumped the belt outside, Howley snuck in and Pretty Deadly hit Spilt Milk for the victory.
“Pretty Deadly” Sam Stoker and Lewis Howley defeated “Subculture” Flash Morgan Webster and Mark Andrews in 15:47 to retain the NXT UK Tag Team Titles.
Gibbons’ Opinion: Pretty Deadly excels at the classic heel tag team strategies. They cut the ring in half very well and have some decent tandem moves. No matter what, they always seem to have something left in their locker. I’m really enjoying them as tag champs and so I was glad to see them get the win. One of them seems to be right there when his teammate needs him. The fun thing with Subculture is you know whoever makes to hot tag will come into the ring with a lot of fast-paced moves. What a fun tag match that was.
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