Hamilton’s NXT UK Review 05.26.22

Quick Results
Mark Coffey pinned Saxon Huxley in 4:13 (**¼)
Lash Legend pinned Emilia McKenzie in 6:06 (*¾)
Sha Samuels pinned Damon Kemp in 5:42 (**½)
Heritage Cup Rules: Charlie Dempsey beats A-Kid by 2 rounds to 1 at 1:24 of Round 6 (***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.

We’re back at the BT Sport studios in London, with Andy Shepherd and Nigel McGuinness on the call.

Mark Coffey vs. Saxon Huxley
We get a picture in picture promo from Coffey, saying he’s going to take his chance at a singles run while brother Joe’s off on hiatus…

Starting with shoulder tackles, Coffey caught Saxon with an uppercut and an armdrag, before he began to work over Huxley’s left arm. Huxley pushes free and returned with a body attack, then a knee to the midsection as Coffey was spun down. An elbow drop’s next for a two-count, before the pair swung at each other.

Coffey lands a clothesline, which doesn’t budge Huxley, nor does another, but he slides under another body attack then scored with a delayed back body drop. Clotheslines keep Huxley at bay, as did a chop, before a bulldog out of the corner was pushed away. Coffey lands a leaping high kick instead for a two-count, before a tree slam from Huxley nearly won it.

Huxley runs into an elbow strike, then hit a back suplex for a near-fall, while a sliding elbow just ends it. That felt a little out of nowhere, but then again, what IS Mark’s finisher? **¼

Mark “dedicated” the match to Joe, even having his initials on his wrist tape. He’s not dead, you know…

Video package time for Ivy Nile – she gets her shot at Meiko Satomura in two weeks’ time. We’ve clips of her from NXT 2.0, along with some B-roll.

Sam Gradwell’s watching tape of Von Wagner, and looks to have picked out a lack of cardio? Wagner’s doing the same thing it seems, with equally weirdly overlaid video on the TV screens. They’ve both realised the challenge ahead, it seems, and it’ll be next week.

Emilia McKenzie vs. Lash Legend
We start with Legend pushing away McKenzie from the opening lock-up, before Emilia grabbed a side headlock.

Lash blocks a takedown, then charged Emilia down, before a Biel threw Emilia across the ring. We’ve got “you suck” chants from the friendly crowd, right as McKenzie tried to fight back… landing a low dropkick before Lash pancaked her in return. Some hair pulling around the ropes follows, before a wacky elbow drop drew further boos.

McKenzie kicks out before one there, then booted Lash out of the corner… but her crossbody’s caught and turned into some wacky bollocks with Lash bouncing McKenzie’s head between the ropes. A standing fallaway slam’s more impressive, before McKenzie got bounced into the corners.

Lash hits a spinning back suplex for a two-count, before an Argentine backbreaker was wriggled out of by McKenzie. Right hands offered some hope, but Legend slams her down… then missed an elbow drop. Clotheslines follow from McKenzie, as did another low dropkick and a diving uppercut. Legend’s taken outside and staggered into the path of a tope crossbody on the floor.

Returning to the ring, McKenzie goes up top and scored with a crossbody for a near-fall, before Lash escaped a German suplex. She misses a kick, as McKenzie nearly wins “the upset” with a spear, before she went up top again and flipped… into a pump kick as Lash gets the win. Remember when I worried about this show and where the “core” roster was headed? Yeah… *¾

“Earlier this week,” Mark Andrews spies on Kenny Williams with some referees as he’s looking for his stalker. They’re all really well mic’d considering the camraman was outside the room. I’m distracted by a blurred face on a 2016 NXT poster in the meeting room…

Sha Samuels vs. Damon Kemp
Sha’s of course given himself short odds…

We open with a wristlock, but Kemp counters out into a waistlock and took down Sha. Some helicopter action followed as Sha ends up getting pulled up for a gutwrench suplex, before a bodyslam caught Sha off the ropes. Again, the crowd’s booing the newcomer, as Kemp went for a Samoan drop… but Sha escapes and ended up catching him in the ropes with a back elbow.

A clothesline followed from Sha, who followed with a shot to the legs and elbows to the neck… setting up for a kick to the back. Sha helicopters as he got a two-count on Kemp, then had his hip flask thrown his way. Sha chucks it away as Kemp tried to fight back, but a slam kept Damon down, as did some elbows.

Sha heads up to the middle rope for another elbow drop, but Kemp kicks out at one, then got taken down with an arm whip. Kemp tries to avoid an armbar, then escapes an elbow drop after he managed to create some distance. Rolling Sha down with a Fireman’s carry, Kemp then muscled Sha up for a wacky gutwrench suplex, then overhead belly-to-belly suplexes, before a shoulder tackle spun Sha down again.

Kemp’s Finlay roll keeps him ahead, as Noam Dar tried to trip him up with a scarf… it doesn’t work, but the distraction allowed Sha back in with a spinebuster for the win. Kemp was fine between the bells, but that Big Daddy singlet look just isn’t doing it for me. **½

Next week – Moustache Mountain defend the NXT UK tag titles against the pairings of Oliver Carter & Ashton Smith and Teoman & Rohan Raja. We get a video package for this, with Trent Seven fed up of talking about that first team, while Trent then said he’d focus on the “Dee Family.” What, Jack?

Backstage, Wolfgang’s consoling Damon Kemp and tells him he needs to learn how to do things “the Glasgow way.” A new tandem awaits?

Heritage Cup Rules: A-Kid vs. Charlie Dempsey
Dempsey’s beaten A-Kid in singles and tag team matches…

Round 1: Opening with a lock-up, Dempsey takes A-Kid down… then again after the Spaniard had escaped some headscissors. A-Kid manages to get free, then caught Dempsey in a surfboard stretch… which yielded little result. A chicken wing from Dempsey’s turned into a hammerlock takedown, but A-Kid blocks any further arm work… so Dempsey wrenched back on a hammerlock instead before leaning into a Muta lock. A front chancery suplex gets Dempsey a two-count, before a big dropkick from A-Kid caught Dempsey for an two-count of his own. Dempsey blocks a sleeperhold as the pair continued to jockey for position, as a prawn hold nearly won A-Kid the first fall as time ran out.

Round 2: Dempsey starts with a side headlock, then charged A-Kid down as the Spaniard finally returned with a Cornish hope for a two-count. A headlock from A-Kid’s next, leading to a takedown and a wristlock, but Dempsey counters back with a wristlock takedown of his own, as he pinned A-Kid to the mat. A submission attempt followed, before Dempsey went for a knuckle lock… then an arm lift that A-Kid wriggled out of as the sleeperhold followed. Dempsey counters, but A-Kid countered the counter into a pinning attempt, only for Dempsey to go back to the left arm with shoulder charges. A knuckle lock bridges A-Kid down, yielding some more pinning attempts before he monkey flipped Dempsey… and got monkey flipped himself. A side headlock looks to end the round, but Dempsey spins out into a backbreaker at the bell.

Round 3: A-Kid picks his spot with kicks before he rolled Dempsey down into a heel hook. A bloodied Dempsey grabbed a leg lock too, as the pair swiped at the bother before they rolled to the ropes for a break. Knees from Dempsey put him ahead, as did chops and uppercuts, before a knee left A-Kid down for a two-count. Back to a side headlock, but A-Kid reverses it as pinning attempts go to a Boston crab… before a wheelbarrow German suplex from Dempsey nearly drew the first fall. From the kick-out, Dempsey goes for a key lock, then tied up A-Kid in that Stupid Lock for the first fall at 2:18 of the round.

Round 4: A-Kid throws more kicks as he looked to get in for the equaliser, but Dempsey hits a Dragon screw instead. A heel hold’s kicked away, but Dempsey’s back with a forearm as the pair traded strikes. A-Kid’s rocked, but recovers with a German suplex, then a Northern Lights that scored a two-count. Getting back up, Dempsey gets caught with a chop, before he ran into a sleeperhold from A-Kid, who then transitioned into a guillotine… but Dempsey suplexes his way free, then rolled in for a guillotine of his own. A-Kid slips free, avoids a Regalplex, then hit a half nelson suplex, before a dropkick in the ropes proved to be enough to tie it up at 1-1 at 2:36 of the round. BECAUSE THESE ALWAYS END 2-1.

Round 5: A missed kick from A-Kid starts the round, but he scores with a crossbody for a near-fall… then rolled in for a Fisherman suplex that nearly ends it. Kicks keep Dempsey down for a two-count, as a cross armbar followed. A-Kid morphs it into a triangle armbar, but it’s kicked away… so he tries again, except this time Dempsey powerbombs free and fell onto A-Kid for a near-fall. A-Kid goes back to a sleeperhold, but lets go so he could hit a diving kick… but couldn’t make a cover before Dempsey got to the ropes. A head kick greets Dempsey there, as we’re back to the knuckle locks, with A-Kid scoring a moonsault DDT off the ropes… but by the time he makes the cover, we’re at time.

Round 6: It’s win or bust here then, and A-Kid again charges with a dropkick into the corner at the bell. Elbows from Dempsey just delay a German suplex out of the corner, before Dempsey grabbed a towel out of his corner. He keeps hold as A-Kid hit another German suplex, but it smuggled some brass knuckles… he tosses them to A-Kid as the ref was dealing with the towel, then hit A-Kid with a punch and a Regalplex to snatch the win. Not exactly clean, but this continues the under-the-radar good run these two have had against each other, as A-Kid’s bad form stretches further. ***½

6.5

The final score: review Average

The 411

While the NXT 2.0 influence wasn’t as strong as it was in recent weeks, the unsettling signs for the core roster remain as this set of tapings peters out… without much obvious in the way of future direction. The Heritage Cup match is worth tuning in for, if you’re able to deal with the rounds rules…