Hamilton’s NXT UK Review 11.18.21

Quick Results
A-Kid submitted Sam Gradwell in 10:46 (***½)
Aleah James pinned Nina Samuels in 4:50 (**)
Kenny Williams pinned Saxon Huxley in 5:53 (**)
Rohan Raja & Teoman pinned Wolfgang & Mark Coffey in 9:31 (**¾)

— 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.

After a week where NXT UK decided to give their referees new names (not that I ever think they identified them in the first place), we’re back in the BT Sport Studios in London, with the distanced, masked fans… Andy Shepherd and Nigel McGuinness, as ever, are on the call.

By the way, if you’re wondering about those name changes: Rich Swift is now Will Charlton, Artemis has now been given a surname as well as she’s going by Olympe Margaux, while Chris Sharpe’s new name is Chip Danning. No word on whether the original first name was Fry…

A-Kid vs. Sam Gradwell
This was set up by Gradwell being salty over A-Kid’s Spanish media appearances recently…

The newly-named Charlton is our ref here as commentary spun a story about Gradwell going on holiday to Benidorm… the opening lock-ups lead to wristlocks as Gradwell’s serenaded with chants of “you look stupid.” A missed enziguiri from A-Kid opens him up for a side headlock on the mat, before A-Kid returned with a cravat.

Gradwell goes for the nose as he slammed his way free, before he raked his knee brace over A-Kid’s face. A clothesline gets Gradwell another two-count, before a forearm decked A-Kid once again. Gradwell gets too cocky, as A-Kid spins him to the mat… but Gradwell recovered and keeps putting the boots to the former Heritage Cup holder.

A-Kid eats a butterfly suplex for a two-count, before he tried to recover with a pinning attempt… Gradwell countered into a Boston crab that’s powered out of, as A-Kid took him outside for a tope, before a crossbody back inside gets a near-fall. A satellite DDT’s pushed away as Gradwell hits a clothesline, looking to force his way back in… but he telegraphed a discus clothesline and got pulled to the mat for an omoplata… only to lift A-Kid up and suplex his way free!

The rolling elbow from Gradwell knocks A-Kid outside, as Gradwell followed with a suplex as we get a count-out tease… but A-Kid beats it, only to eat a second rolling elbow for a near-fall. A STO’s next, but still Gradwell can’t get the win, and you have to think that’s the breaking point as A-Kid tries to grab Gradwell again, holding on as a cross armbar was powerbombed away… as Gradwell then had to tap. An excellent TV match with some unusual stuff here – they perhaps went a little too long with Gradwell repeating big shots that didn’t get the win, but A-Kid’s sudden submission keeps him dangerous. Worth your time. ***½

They show clips of Flash Morgan Webster vs. Rampage Brown from two weeks ago. Mostly Flash being bounced around, and apparently Flash is out with a shoulder injury because of that. Wasn’t he just on TV last week?

Ilja Dragunov’s told that his match with Rampage Brown is official… Ilja’s not fearful, he’s looking to run towards Rampage in their match, rather than run away. That’s in two weeks…

Aleah James vs. Nina Samuels
This was Nina’s first match since a loss to Amale back in August…

Samuels tried to patronise James early on, patting her on the head before Aleah scored with a headlock takedown. A wristlock from Samuels offered a response, but James cartwheels free and went back to the arm, only for Nina to return the favour… except she couldn’t counter the hold.

A handful of hair helps as James rebounds off the ropes, then kicked Samuels down. A backbreaker from Samuels gets her back in it, only for Aleah to dropkick her into the corner… as Samuels then ragdolled her with more backbreakers. Working a wacky ankle lock, Samuels again belittled James, before a roll-up caught Nina unawares for a two-count to spark a comeback.

James’ dropkicks have Nina down, but a drop toe hold takes Aleah into the corner as a reverse suplex lands for a near-fall… with Aleah kicking out to crucifix Samuels for a two-count… before more backbreakers were countered with a roll-up as James kept Nina’s losing run going. **

Backstage, Sam Gradwell’s interrupted by Sha Samuels and Noam Dar in the locker room… they exit stage left, and I guess we’ll have Gradwell against at least one of those two soon.

During the break, Aleah’s backstage celebrating having won back-to-back matches… she’s then instantly attacked in the stairwell by Isla Dawn, who… steals her scrunchie. Another one for the box.

Saxon Huxley vs. Kenny Williams
This one was set up via an altercation at the UK PC… Kenny’s now got a cockroach in his entrance video, just to hammer that home.

Huxley takes the early advantage, throwing Williams aside before he had his leg kicked in the corner. Williams grabs a side headlock, but gets charged away again as Huxley meets him with the Kitchen Sink knee for a two-count.

Throttling Williams, Huxley just CHUCKS the Scotsman through the ropes to the outside, before a brief chase ended with Huxley getting stomped on. A chop block to the front of the knee drops the Hartlepool native for some one-counts, before Williams dropkicked Huxley’s knee in the ropes for a two-count.

Williams stays on Huxley, clubbing him with crossface punches and elbows, ahead of a standing surfboard and another chop block to the knee. A running boot’s caught as Huxley dumps Williams in the corner, before boots and clotheslines leave him laying ahead of a running knee.

A slam keeps Williams down, while a crossbody in the ropes takes him outside… the ref stops Huxley from following out as Williams crawls under the ring. He comes back out to post Huxley, then rolled him back in for a headlock driver for the win. **

At the UK PC, Xia Brookside’s asked about what happened with Sid Scala last week. She’s told by Olympe that she’s late for training, but Xia blows it off because her dad’s famous. “Do you know who my dad is?”

Mark Andrews earlier this week was happy with his win over Nathan Frazer – and I’ll own up, I totally fudged that result last week. My bad. Andrews is mocked by Jordan Devlin for his scant interview time, and we’ll be getting those two next week. They went about thirty seconds from Devlin ruffling Andrews’ hair to match announcement, for those keeping score.

Gallus (Wolfgang & Mark Coffey) vs. Teoman & Rohan Raja
The feuding families headline here, and we start with Wolfgang throwing Raja into the corner, for Mark Coffey to tag in and lock on a cravat.

An armbar’s next for Coffey, while tags bring us to Teoman and Wolfgang as the latter ragdolled the rather unlucky kid. Shoulder tackles keep the Scots ahead, as a baseball slide dumps Teoman into the guard rails… Coffey tries it again, but he’s pulled into the ring apron as Teoman and Raja club away on Coffey.

Back inside, Teoman looks to take control as Coffey’s kept isolated, while quick tags and double-teams wore down the Scotsman. Boots from Raja lead to a chinlock that’s fought out of, until a back elbow decks Coffey again for a two-count. Teoman’s back to tweak Coffey’s wrist, but Coffey fights back… and gets thrown down again as Teoman punted the arm away.

Coffey finally fights back, lifting Raja to the floor before Wolfgang got the hot tag in, laying into Raja ahead of a back body drop. A crossbody into the corner, then a double sledge off the top has Raja down. Teoman’s in to avoid another double sledge, throwing Wolfgang into the corner while Raja helped double-team en route to a back cracker for another near-fall.

Mark Coffey breaks up another pin as Wolfgang has to fight off one-on-two… he avoids a handspring elbow and clotheslines the lads down as a tag brings Coffey in. He hits a move and tags right back out, throwing Teoman into Wolfgang… before a clash of heads leaves both men down. Out of nowhere, Charlie Dempsey runs through the crowd and attacks the Gallus lads, before Teoman came in to hit the Nazar flip stunner, as Raja’s leaping Flatliner gets the upset win. **¾

Post-match, Dempsey, Teoman and Raja put the boots to Wolfgang as Joe Coffey made the save. A chop block drops Joe as I guess Dempsey’s salty about having his interviews interrupted by them. Dempsey chokes out Coffey with a head and arm choke in the ropes, and I guess we’re now set for three-on-three feuds with these guys for the next little while.

6.5

The final score: review Average

The 411

Bookended with decent matches (that first one, by the way, is really worth your time), this episode of NXT UK certainly felt like a “this is what was left from the tapings” show.