NXT UK continues to emanate from Glasgow as we get another strong dose of storyline. This week’s episode sees Ilja Dragunov return to action against Joseph Conners, the first match featuring Jinny and Jazzy Gabert in action and the anticipated showdown between Imperium and British Strong Style. The result of that match would see an extreme change to the landscape of NXT UK. Let’s stop stalling and get into this important episode of NXT UK.
Jazzy Gabert & Jinny defeated Xia Brookside & Isla Dawn via Dominator
The first match of the night saw Xia Brookside and Isla Dawn try to get revenge on their common foe Jinny and her new mercenary Jazzy Gabert. The faces started strong by outworking Jinny who had smugly tried to start the match herself. When she realised the match wasn’t going her way, she tagged in Gabert who demolished Xia Brookside. Gabert reversed her reversal attempts and threw her full force across the ring. From there the match was pretty much heel domination with Gabert catching Dawn and planting her with the Dominator. Jinny, however, demanded to be tagged in and stole the win for herself, taking the victory from Gabert’s hard work. It was an easy enough match to watch and basically proved that Gabert is a dominant force who is going to be very tough to fight against. Not much else to say really. It’ll be interesting to see if Jazzy gets sick of Jinny taking her credit and the monster turns on her erm… employer?
Ilja Dragunov defeated Joseph Conners via Torpedo Moscow
The ultimate battle of intensity was next as Joseph Conners looked to challenge NXT UK newcomer and indie legend Ilja Dragunov to a match. The pair locked up but once Conners realised Dragunov was too strong he used craftiness to gain the advantage. He tried to work over Dragunov with a series of strikes and holds but Dragunov was always able to power out. Conners landed a Sunset Bomb into the corner but was unable to follow up and a Springboard was caught into a Death Valley Bomb into the corner. Dragunov followed up with a Pumphandle Suplex and finished off Conners with the Torpedo Moscow. This match still had Dragunov look like an unstoppable madman but at least this time he was shown to be mortal. Conners got some offence in on him and could have won had he spent less time gloating or setting up. Dragunov is a wild card for NXT UK. Not in the RAW/SmackDown Live sense but as an uncertain variable. He is capable of anything and feuding with anyone. He is a brand of fighter unto himself. NXT UK would be wise to give him something big to chew on very soon.
Imperium defeated British Strong Style via Wolfe Sit Out Powerbomb to Tyler Bate
As per usual with my reviews, there’s one match that gets described as chaos. This was that match. It started calm enough as Dunne and Bate managed to overcome Aichner and maintain control as Barthel tried to attack. Eventually, Trent Seven got into the match and tried to fight everyone. The entirety of Imperium took turns battering him with Seven and WALTER taking turns to trade chops. We got a section between WALTER and Dunne and Tyler Bate ended up being the last man standing to fight everyone. In the end, Bate and Dunne looked set to win with a Spinal Tap/Bitter End combo but WALTER was able to break up the pin. A mysterious figure appeared at the ramp and the ref gets accidentally knocked out by Seven. The mysterious figure unmasked and is revealed to be Alexander Wolfe. He powerbombed Bate and Marcel covered him for the win.
After the match, Wolfe posed with the rest of the Imperium unit, meaning he is an official member of the group and another new member of the NXT UK roster. His entrance means Gallus isn’t the biggest stable anymore and means that Imperium has the numbers advantage over everyone. Considering three of these men have worked together in the past for wXw, this should be a fun reunion. The six-man tag match was a wild ride and the end result establishes a new order for NXT UK. It would appear that Travis Banks is in for one hell of a fight since its one on four. Unless he gets some help from British Strong Style…
So, there you have it, another NXT UK episode wrapped up. It was a fairly small episode that had three decent matches, one of which gets bonus points for Dragunov and some major story beats. Its lack of matches was made up for by a chaotic main event and the arrival of Alexander Wolfe. We shall soon have a handle on the next NXT UK Women’s title contender too as a Battle Royale is on the way. It should be the dawn of a new era in NXT UK as Imperium only continues to grow stronger. Here’s to hoping the journey is fun to watch.
(All images courtesy of wwe.com)