This week on NXT UK, we get new tag team champs, William Regal's kid debuts, and a heel has to be a personal assistant for a month. It's not a bad way to wrap up the month.
Pretty Deadly? More like Pretty Okay
If there's anything I don't like about NXT UK's tag team division, it's that after Imperium and GYV were shipped stateside, Gallus and Mandrews/Webster are pretty much it when it comes to interesting tag teams. I appreciate that they're giving an opportunity to such a young team as Pretty Deadly, but I would've much rather seen the Hunt—who challenged last month—get a turn with the titles, as they were much more interesting especially after being managed by Eddie Dennis.
Don't get me wrong—this matchup was great, as always. You won't ever find a dud on NXT UK if we're talking about main events, and I don't think the management is inclined to give someone a shot if they didn't deem them ready. No, I think the failure here is in the writing; there's not much to go on with Pretty Deadly other than the fact that they're, uh, pretty. That's it. They are the British Rockers in 2021. Of all the teams Gallus could lose to, I certainly wasn't expecting this.
That said, it was time for a heel team to be champs, as there are a lot more face teams waiting in the wings, as we saw in the big tag team elimination match a few weeks ago. That's at least one thing, right. But I really wish it was the Hunt, because they already had that momentum after being taken on by Dennis. Ah, well. Can't always get what we want.
NXT UK 2/25/21 Grade: B+
Bits and pieces
- Xia Brookside actually beating Nina Samuels so the latter would become the former's personal assistant is a strange move (in the way that it breaks from the tradition of faces usually losing these things), but I'm interested to see where it goes.
- Bailey Matthews looks more like Kenny Omega's kid than William Regal's. I'm extra intrigued that they don't mention him being Regal's son at all as Xia Brookside is firmly established as Robbie Brookside's daughter. But he's good, as one trained in Japan usually is.
- Piper's right; how come everyone else gets to do what they want?
- This episode is full of character development for a lot of people, and I'm surprised that they're actually pushing through with Trent Seven's weight-loss journey to make weight for the Cruiserweight Championship. I hope he is actually trying to lose weight in real life, otherwise this angle would be strange (and a little patronizing).
- Lucky Kid is coming to NXT UK! I'm actually not sure if they're keeping the Lucky Kid name, but I doubt it since we already have an A-Kid.
*****
Romeo Moran (@roiswar) is the Editor-in-Chief of Smark Henry and one of the three hosts of the Wrestling-Wrestling Podcast. He gets by in this hard knock life through working in advertising. Smark Henry was his and Stan Sy's original vision of a watering hole for local wrestling fans. He roots for the undersized guys who hit hard, and he likes taking your wrestling questions over on his Curiouscat account.
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