Hamilton’s NXT UK Review 04.22.21

Quick Results
Joe Coffey pinned Eddie Dennis in 8:27 (**¾)
Sam Gradwell pinned Dave Mastiff in 4:53 (***)
Jinny pinned Dani Luna in 4:03 (*½)
Tyler Bate & Trent Seven pinned Sha Samuels & Noam Dar in 12:49 (***½)

— If you’re on Twitter, give me a follow over on @IanWrestling – and check out the GoFundMe that’s still open for Larry’s family.

Yep, it’s back to the BT Sport Studio for a quartet of matches that were built up on last weeks’ show. Three times, in the case of tonight’s main event.

Joe Coffey vs. Eddie Dennis
This was set up on the Supernova Sessions last week, with Eddie Dennis and the Hunt having a run in with Gallus…

Coffey boxes with Eddie to start, throwing uppercuts before a misdirection pounce took the Welshman to the outside. He keeps on him, throwing Eddie into the side of the ring, before Eddie busted out a Judo throw in the ring. A cravat keeps Coffey down, as did a knee drop, but Coffey’s up at one before he slammed his way out of another cravat.

A cravat suplex tosses Coffey across the ring, before a swinging side slam neutralises Coffey for a two-count. Elbows from Dennis knock Coffey into the ropes, but the Scotsman’s back with a headbutt and an overhead belly-to-belly, continuing to build up a head of steam before a diving elbow nearly wins it.

Dennis pushes Coffey away, then caught him in the corner, countering a springboard crossbody into a Severn Bridge for a near-fall. Coffey’s back though, charging Eddie into the corner before he rolled him into a Boston crab, only for T-Bone and Primate to appear and cause a distraction… Eddie can’t win with a roll-up though, and when Coffey lands a release German suplex, the rest of Gallus run out to ensure we get a trios match down the line. Oh, and throw the Hunt into the barricades.

Amid all that, Coffey heads up and lands the springboard crossbody off the top, before a Glasgow Send Off and Awra Best for the Bells gets the win. Decent, but the result was instantly thrown into the background… **¾

…as Gallus and the Hunt brawled, further guaranteeing that trios match.

Ilja Dragunov’s watching the WALTER match again. I don’t blame him. He’s twitching a lot, just watching the beating he took…

During the break, Gallus celebrate as Rampage Brown bumps into Joe Coffey again. Coffey reminisces over being beaten by WALTER, and asked for a rematch with Rampage.

Dave Mastiff vs. Sam Gradwell
This was set up when Mastiff refused to let Sam Gradwell into the PC the other week.

Gradwell’s backed into the ropes to start, as Mastiff tried to dictate the pace, grabbing a hammerlock before Gradwell got free. Mastiff beats Gradwell to the punch, throwing in a kitchen sink knee to the gut, then a rolling senton, before Mastiff took him down with a Finlay roll.

Another back senton ends with Gradwell getting his knees up, and that opens the door for a comeback as Gradwell worked over the back. A chinlock from Gradwell is powered out of, with Mastiff returning with a headbutt ahead of a running crossbody for a near-fall. Mastiff keeps going with a punch to the gut, then a lariat, but he doesn’t go for a cover…

Mastiff tries to go for a cannonball, but he hesitates because of his back… and ends up getting caught with a Samoan driver as Gradwell records the upset. That’s his first real win in NXT UK (save for the reversed decision), and well earned too as Gradwell’s been the MVP of this “era” of the show. ***

Video time for Aoife Valkyrie. She’s ready to step out of the shadows of Canary Wharf and take her moment: next week, she gets what she wants. That match with Meiko Satomura.

We then get a sit-down promo with Emilia McKenzie. There’s clips of her in PROGRESS (with and without fans), as she talks about NXT UK being the next logical step.

Dani Luna vs. Jinny
This was announced last week via a Jinny promo… and she’s out with Joseph Conners once more, whose mannerisms felt somewhat Lord Steven Regal-ish.

Luna tries to go for a German suplex early, but Jinny elbows free and found her way into some mounted punches on the mat. Jinny throws in an Octopus stretch, but Luna frees herself only to get elbowed some more. The Octopus is reapplied, but Luna again powers out before running into a Jinny kick.

A Koppo kick is caught as Luna tosses Jinny with rolling gutwrench suplexes… a Fireman’s carry is elbowed out of, but Jinny’s slapped away before a clothesline knocked her down. Joseph Conners distracts as Jinny ends up kicking out Luna’s knee, before a ripcord Koppo kick and a roll-up got the win. I mean… it was a match, but this entire set-up just didn’t grab me at all.
*½

Post-match, Flash Morgan Webster and Mark Andrews save Dani Luna from Jinny’s attack… and I guess we’re getting the lads tagging out of this?

The Assistant to the Regional Manager’s interviewed and interrupted by Amir Jordan. He wants a rematch with Kenny Williams. Kenny’s agreed to a no-DQ match, but it’s under loser leaves town rules. HUH. Amir signs it, and now I’m wondering what the end game is.

Rohan Raja gets a promo – he’s a newcomer to NXT UK, having previously wrestled in Impact as Gursinder Singh. Raja’s facing Teoman next week, and promises to bring his best.

After a break, Teoman has a response. He’s a little dismissive of Raja, and says he’ll die for his family. Alright then!

Also next week: Aoife Valkyrie vs. Meiko Satomura… plus Gallus vs. The Hunt in trios action. THAT SOON? What’s the rush?

Sha Samuels & Noam Dar vs. Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven & Tyler Bate)
The last time Moustache Mountain appeared on NXT UK – in two-on-two tag team action – was all the way back in July 2019, going to a no-contest with the Grizzled Young Veterans.

Bate and Dar start off, with Tyler getting the early advantage as he took Dar down with an armdrag, then pulled the Scotsman away from the corner. Tags bring us to Trent and Sha, who have their own beefs… and Sha pulls ahead with a shoulder tackle. Trent’s back with a crossbody and a slam, before he Hogan’s it up with a legdrop for a two-count.

Tyler tags in for a flip senton off of Trent’s shoulders for a two-count, before Dar returned to try and build on Sha’s work. A blind tag has Sha back in to break up an Airplane spin as Trent looked a little miffed in the corner… Trent’s quickly in though to hit a backhand on Sha, before a Seven Star lariat’s countered with a uranage backbreaker by Samuels.

Dar returns to hook away on Trent’s moustache, as Dar and Sha continue to exchange rapid tags as they wear down Trent. Kicks to Seven’s back seem to wake him up, but he’s quickly cornered as Trent was kept on the wrong side of the ring. Sha’s slam gets a two-count, before he shrugged off Trent’s attempt to fight back by grounding him in a chinlock.

Another hairpull keeps Trent down as Dar returns, hooking the arms like he were to do a Tyler Driver, but instead he just strikes down Seven. Trent fakes out a chop but can’t hit a DDT as Dar kicks his leg out for a near-fall, before Sha nearly lost track of Trent, having to dive on him to stop a tag.

Finally, Trent manages to land a DDT to buy him time… and while Tyler’s eager to tag, Trent’s got a lot of ground to cover. He finally gets there after a snap Dragon suplex as Bate comes in, clearing house on Sha with uppercuts and an Exploder. The former NXT tag champions continued to surge… but Sha counters a rebound lariat with a spinebuster on Tyler, before a Michinoku driver on Trent almost gets the win.

Trent ducks a clothesline and takes Sha outside – with a nasty spill too. Tyler tags in as Trent does a dive… then throws himself into the pile with a plancha into the barriers. Throwing Sha back inside allows Tyler to head back up as he nails the flying stomp to Trent’s Birming-Hammer… and that’s the win for Moustache Mountain. A really good TV tag match, as they continue to have Tyler build up steam ahead of his Heritage Cup match with A-Kid. ***½

You know, it wouldn’t be the absolute worst idea in the world if they went the Bret Hart/Owen Hart route if they ever wanted to split and freshen up Moustache Mountain. “All you had to do was tag me Trent, but you were just too damn selfish…”

7.3

The final score: review Good

The 411

NXT UK’s back to normal this week - although I could do without so much week-to-week booking. Something like the Gallus/Hunt match could have had a couple of week’s build, not be a match that led to a trios match the following week - I mean, in the current climate, what’s the rush?