The ever-rising tensions between Gallus and Imperium boiled over this week as our episode of NXT UK was main-evented by a huge 8-man tag match between the two warring tribes. The action didn’t stop there though as Piper Niven headed into battle with Jinny and Ashton Smith tried to make Noam Dar look like a dafty by challenging him to a match. Oh, and not one but 2 big returns. It was set to be an exciting episode that could potentially give one faction the claim of top guys in NXT UK. Let’s get into it, shall we?

Piper Niven defeated Jinny (w/ Jazzy Gabert) via Michinoku Driver

The ladies opened the show with another victory from Piper Niven. The big woman role model had her work cut out for her as Jinny started off using Jazzy Gabert as a distraction then craftily picking her time to strike… and strike hard. Jinny looked set to win on multiple occasions as Jazzy Gabert interfered continuously until the ref caught her and ejected her. The distraught Jinny started to hit harder after that. Niven was able to survive the ramped-up offence and came back with an Electric Chair Facebuster, corner Cannonball and the winning Michinoku Driver. It was a hard-fought victory that gave Niven the confidence to call out Kay Lee Ray and demand a title shot after the match. Ray came out but she wasn’t happy, slapping Niven for speaking her name. she got ambushed on two fronts for her actions as Niven attacked from the front and a surprise return for Toni Storm saw her attack as Ray tried to run. It looks like pieces are starting to fall into place on who the next contender will be in January. Sadly, Jinny doesn’t seem to factor into the equation at all. Maybe we need to see some of Jinny Havoc to shake things up.

Eddie Dennis defeated Dereiss Gordon via Next Stop Driver.

Welcome to mostly Squash Match City. It was nice to see Man Like Dereiss make an appearance in NXT UK but unfortunately, it would not be a winning endeavour. This was the return match for Eddie Dennis, who had been out of action for 8 months due to injury. He seemed to have a grudge against Trent Seven and decided to take that up another level by destroying one of his pupils. Dennis was in control from the start. There was no real issue in dealing with Gordon as Dennis had a size, experience and power advantage. Not to mention Eddie Dennis has no interest in playing nice. He put on a dominant performance and looks set to keep ratcheting up the intensity on his attacks against Seven. We even saw Dennis use the Seven Stars Lariat to build up to his own finishing combo. Things are going to get ugly between this pair.

Noam Dar defeated Ashton Smith via Nova Roller

Ah Ashton Smith, one day I will get to write that you won a match. But that day is not today. He once again put on one hell of a show but Noam Dar was just too crafty and resilient to be dealt with. Smith had a power advantage that aided him early on but Dar stopped using brute force and instead focused on attacking limbs and cutting down the bigger man. He even used one of Nigel McGuinness’s old moves by hitting a rebound lariat after Smith tried to throw him into the ring. It wouldn’t all be Dar as Smith nearly won with a Blue Thunder Bomb and avoided a Nova Roller from Dar. He gave it his all but it just wasn’t enough. I don’t know why I ever expect anymore but well, Smith just seems to always make you a believer, even when he fails. Plus, it helps that he was fighting Noam Dar, a man everyone wants to see get punched in the mouth. One day Ashton Smith will get that win and we’ll all celebrate.

Imperium vs Gallus ends in No Contest

As expected, this match got ugly. It went from a competitive tag match to Dragunov being dominated by every member of Imperium whilst getting under the skin of all the other Gallus members. It was a total work over as Joe Coffey continued to lose his temper. You knew it was working because every now and then you would hear some very angry Scottish comments. After a lifetime of being beaten down, Dragunov got the hot tag and we got an all-out war between all members of the two factions. Mark Coffey looked like a tank taking everyone out and the eventual confrontation between WALTER and Coffey saw the two trading like men possessed. However, it all broke down with action spilling everywhere and the referee giving up on trying to control the match. The two factions brawled until the show ended with Joe Coffey getting the final shot, flying over the barrier at WALTER. It was a powerful final shot to end a very good tag bout. Clearly there is a lot more these two teams have to do with each other.

So, there you have it, another NXT UK episode reviewed for your reading pleasure. This was one hell of an episode. All the matches delivered and the amount of chaos from Gallus and Imperium is a joy to behold. It’s great to see Eddie Dennis and Toni Storm back and I want to see where both go from here. Next week we have Jordan Devlin vs A-Kid and a newly made Triple Threat between Travis Banks, Ligero and the TakeOver Ready Joseph Conners. Plus, I expect we’ll see a lot more of this Imperium/Gallus war that is continuing to brew. Only time will tell.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoQg4Vc8Q1I]

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