This week on NXT UK, we get two good matches, even though it's technically not a marquee week.
That'll teach you not to hang out in his locker room
I missed last week's huge triple threat main event, but NXT UK decided to keep giving this week even though it wasn't a huge episode. We got a perfectly serviceable UK Heritage Cup Championship tournament between Tyler Bate and Jack Starz, and a super solid main event between A-Kid and Jordan Devlin.
The Heritage Cup Championship defense was quicker than your usual British Rounds title matches because Jack Starz is still an up-and-comer, but it did enough to prove that he belonged in the deep roster despite his origins as an enhancement talent on the brand. It's saying a lot that he doesn't get to score a pinfall with his finisher, but with a seemingly random pin attempt, underscoring his any-given-Sunday luck.
Meanwhile, Jordan Devlin scores a brutal submission win over the former Heritage Cup Champion A-Kid in what seems to be a win to build the former NXT Cruiserweight Champion up for a future showdown with Tyler Bate, at least. Seeing as the United Kingdom Championship scene continues to burn as slow as a Texas barbecue (and we're going back to Ilja Dragunov vs. WALTER after half a year), this is the only likely possibility.
NXT UK may not be perfect because of its constraints, but their vision-mission is pretty clear: give us the unequivocal best hour of wrestling on the WWE Network. Consider this another call for you to watch the show if you can, especially if you're looking for glimmers of hope in the bleak WWE landscape.
NXT UK 7/1/21 Grade: A-
Bits and pieces
- What is up with making Isla Dawn look absolutely stupid with that finish?
- Wouldn't it have been more fun (and fresh) if WALTER just defended the title in a four-way? Although I do get the appeal of Dragunov finally beating him one-on-one.
- Amale wouldn't have been my first choice for Meiko Satomura's first defense, but given the quality of competition on the brand, I don't really mind.
- I don't really have any thoughts on the former Bea Priestley joining NXT UK. I'm not really familiar with her work and she doesn't have that much buzz outside of being Will Ospreay's wife—and I don't mean that in a misogynistic way, I just haven't heard fans going crazy over her. I will say that she must be good if she's able to score a WWE contract.
*****
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.
: The Devil Inside){kind=link}