Welcome back to NXT UK. It was the tail end of the Hull tapings and we were finally starting to see the NXT TakeOver: Blackpool II card starting to take shape. Alongside these story revelations, we got to see Kay Lee Ray in action, Jordan Devlin give a PowerPoint presentation, more Ridge Holland and the promised Tag Title match between Imperium and Gallus. Who would be standing tall and who would be outraged by the end of the episode? Let’s get into it and find out.

Kay Lee Ray defeated Isla Dawn via Dirty Bomb

This week’s episode started with some women’s division action as Kay Lee Ray took on Isla Dawn in a non-title match. The crowd were hot for Dawn and the White Witch of wrestling actually seemed to have Ray’s number for the early stages of the match. A missed knee strike in the corner gave Kay Lee Ray an opening and a target to attack. She took full advantage and worked over Dawn, much to the crowd’s disappointment. Dawn mounted a bit of a comeback but used her injured knee too many times, slowing her down and setting her up for the Dirty Bomb. KLR was going to gloat post-match but was first interrupted by Piper Niven, who didn’t appreciate Ray using her name and seconds later by Toni Storm who just ran into the ring and tried to kill KLR. Ray pushed the two into each other and tried to bail. Sid Scala interjected himself, making a Triple Threat Title match at NXT TakeOver: Blackpool II. Ray was not happy. This was a pretty standard match; it was nice to see Dawn getting some appreciation following her win over Killer Kelly. That fire might have been extinguished with her sacrifice here but it’s not bad going to get a chance to knock the champion down a peg.

Trent Seven defeated Michael May via Eddie Dennis

Okay, technically this wasn’t a match as the bell never rung but Michael May was completely levelled by Eddie Dennis. It was a pre-bell KO and a message to Seven in Dennis’ ongoing personal war against everything Seven has. Seven stared down the Welsh monster and tried to tend to the man who would have been his opponent.

Ridge Holland defeated Jack Starz via Northern Grit

Talk about a cartoon scale mismatching. Ridge Holland was probably taller than three Jack Starz all on each other’s shoulders trying to wear an oversized trench coat (and that mental image opponent may have made the fight a little fairer.) Holland dominated here. He threw, shunted and pummelled Starz with ease. A ragdoll would have put up the same resistance as Starz in the early going. Starz got more airtime in this match than an airplane as Holland hit a number of different throws and Suplexes. Starz mounted some offence in the end, delivering a series of strikes and kicks to Holland but was soon airborne again following a monstrous pounce. A few seconds later and Starz ate the ground courtesy of Northern Grit. It was another dominant showing for NXT UK’s newest monster and a spectacular sight for his hometown crowd. I feel sorry for Starz though as he was hideously outmatched here.

Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) vs Imperium (Fabian Aichner & Marcel Barthel) ends in No Contest

This was exactly what I wanted, more faction warfare. It started with a brawl and when it was all said and done, ended with a bigger one. Gallus and Imperium took turns beating the hell out of each other with Wolfgang being the unchained monster of the match. He attacked with the strength and ferocity of Takashi Iizuka with less biting. It was a very traditional, yet exciting tag bout with Imperium really sticking it to Mark Coffey. It got to the point that Coffey was almost taken out of the match after a vicious series of corner strikes from Barthel. However, Coffey wasn’t the quitting type and begged for more. He brought himself back into the fight and with Wolfgang in tow pulled victory away from the jaws of Imperium. Though, anyone could have sensed where this match was going and it was near the end, we saw the appearance of the Grizzled Young Veterans. They tried to creep in and nick off with the Tag Titles but were stopped by their “best friends” The South Wales Subculture. They all ended up brawling and the match was thrown out. The GM Johnny Saint and his assistant Sid Scala came out to put an end to the fighting. He made a Four-Way Ladder match for the 4 teams at TakeOver: Blackpool II. It seems like the only way to end the chaos going on in the tag division.

So, there you have it, another episode of NXT UK reviewed for your reading pleasure. It was another decent episode with Holland’s match and the main event being the standouts of the show. It’s nice to see more stories brewing with Tyler Bate being targeted by both Noam Dar and Jordan Devlin, more matches set for TakeOver and more from Eddie Dennis in his grudge against Trent Seven. We also got a feel-good moment in the reuniting of Amir Jordan and Kenny Williams, who will be tagging together next week. That’ll be a fun return.

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

NXT TakeOver: Blackpool II Matches (so far)

• Joe Coffey vs WALTER (c) – United Kingdom Title
• Toni Storm vs Piper Niven vs Kay Lee Ray (c) – NXT UK Women’s Title
• Gallus (c) vs Imperium vs Grizzled Young Veterans vs South Wales Subculture – Four-Way ladder match for NXT UK Tag Titles

All pics and videos courtesy of WWE