NXT UK started things off big by announcing that over the next few weeks, they will be setting up a Fatal Four Way to determine a new number one contender for the UK Title. There will be a series of singles matches between eight handpicked competitors leading up to the big Fatal Four Way. Joe Coffey would take part in the first of those matches tonight as a hometown hero. Elsewhere on the show, we got the next match from The Hunt, The next episode of The Nina Samuels Show and one hell of a main event for those NXT UK Tag Titles. Let’s get into it.

Moustache Mountain defeated The Hunt via Clothesline/Dragon Suplex Combo

This was a nice start to the episode. It was a fresh match between two teams that hadn’t fought each other before. It may have been a tad predictable who would win but it also gave audiences an excellent clash of styles as Moustache Mountain had to take on the chaotic style of The Hunt. The tandem of Wild Boar and Primate brought it to the Big Strong Boys and managed to keep control of the match for a large part of its duration. Most of that time was them working over Trent Seven and nearly winning the match with their Pop Up Suplex finisher.

It was only interrupted because they failed to keep Seven from breaking up the pin. In the end, technique would prevail as Bate was able to disrupt the Hunt’s momentum and even threw Boar at Primate after an Airplane Spin. He would also work with Bate to hit Bop and Bang and eventually hit one of their finishing combos. It was a fun bout but the unfortunate predictability of the result was a bit overshadowing. It would have been completely fine for Moustache Mountain to eat the loss and give the newer fresher team the victory but I suppose WWE was playing it safe with the opener. The Hunt are new enough to take the loss and grow from it.

Joe Coffey defeated Flash Morgan Webster via All the Best for the Bells

Coffey definitely had the hometown advantage in this match as the crowd lapped up everything Joe Coffey did. His match against Flash Morgan Webster saw the crowd cheer for an extended Full Nelson segment whilst booing Webster’s efforts to make the match more exciting with a Suicide Crossbody and a Tope Con Hilo. In the end, though Webster’s speed could not make up for the strength advantage Coffey had as he was dominated in the early goings of the match and won in relatively dominantly at the end.

The crowd loved everything Coffey did from the Butterfly Suplex and Swing to the Corner Pounce and Finisher that ended the match. Afterwards Gallus communed in the ring to address their kingdom and the Fatal Four Way on the horizon. Wolfgang was presented and went into a tirade on Dave Mastiff and their upcoming match, only to be calmed by Coffey. It’s very clear that these tapings are going to be very pro-Gallus.

Nina Samuels defeated Kasey Owens via Hell to the Knee-na/Nina-Goroshi

This was your average squash match that just so happened to feature an ICW talent in Kasey Owens. Nina Samuels started in control and never really lost control of the match except for one flurry from Owens. She hit hard, worked the lower back and even showed some impressive agility by using the ropes to evade her opponent on the top turnbuckle. In the end, she won with the Nina-Goroshi and looked as strong as ever. It was a fairly cut and dry match that aimed to remind people that the Nina Samuels show has more than one episode. After the match, there was an in-ring interview where Samuels insinuated that Toni Storm had sacrificed everything to become the star that she is. That, unfortunately, involved abandoning her mother and sister in the process. Samuels followed up the jab by claiming they’ll be all Storm had left once she’d taken the belt from her.

After Samuels match, Kay Lee Ray interrupted an interview section to remind audiences of her intentions to take the title too. She said she didn’t come to NXT UK to wait; she is going to pick her moment.

Grizzled Young Veterans defeated Kenny Williams & Noam Dar via Helter Skelter/450 Combo

Bloody hell this was amazing. Amir Jordan had been injured before the match so Zack Gibson took to the mic to tell the fans there’d be no tag title match that night. Instead, Kenny Williams came out with a different partner, Noam Dar. The crowd went wild and the Scottish Super Team took the fight to the Grizzled Young Veterans instantly. The teams brawled around the ring before Dar and Gibson came to blows in the ring. Dar had control until James Drake made a blind tag and started to work the previously injured knee of Dar. They continued to cut Dar off from his tag team partner with a mix of tag manoeuvres and holds until Dar finally broke free and hit the hot tag to Kenny Williams. He came in hot and hit a series of high flying and hard-hitting strikes to the Veterans. He kept control of the match whilst Dar recovered on the outside. The drama continued and we ended up with both members of the Grizzled Young Veterans both being trapped in Knee Bars or Ankle Locks.

They only escaped this because Zack Gibson kicked Kenny Williams into Noam Dar. From then on it was back and forth until Gibson kicked out of Kenny Williams Facebuster finisher. Dar and Williams looked to set up for a finisher but Drake dragged Dar out of the ring and smashed his knee first into the ring post. This took Dar out of the match and allowed Gibson to hit Helter Skelter, Grit your Teeth and Drake finished the match with a 450 Splash. The champs retained but the Scottish Super Team looked like a million dollars. They had some super dramatic moments including the double submissions, Dar saving Kenny Williams from the second rope Ticket to Ride and finally Williams stopping Dar tapping to Drake by grabbing his arm. It felt like a proper main event and really made a big impact as the starting main event of the Glasgow tapings. Not to mention the Veterans have gained even more heat for putting down a hometown team. An absolute must watch.

So there you have it, another week of NXT UK has come and gone. The difference is this time it has left a lasting impression by offering a killer main event and the first piece of a number one contender’s Fatal Four Way. There is another big match planned next week as Wolfgang takes on Dave Mastiff and we’ll continue the countdown to Dunne/Walter 2. It’s an exciting time to tune into the brand as the matches are meaningful and the Scottish crowd is incredibly passionate. Oh and Ilja Dragunov debuts next week so there’s also that.

(All images courtesy of wwe.com)