SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
NXT UK TV REPORT (EP. 130)
JANUARY 14, 2021
STREAMED ON WWE NETWORK
REPORT BY CHAD KOENIG, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Andy Shepherd and Nigel McGuinness
(1) ED HARVEY/ SHA SAMUELS vs. JOE COFFEY
Coffey applied a headlock early on and before the two exchanged in a battle of hitting the ropes and colliding into each other. Coffey then sent Harvey out of the ring with a clothesline. Harvey paced around a bit and grabbed a microphone to declare that he is not Ed Harvey, but Sha Samuels, which was his previous name on the brand. “Samuels” ran back into the ring and took over the match by holding Coffey in an armbar and working it around the ring. Coffey did get the first pinfall attempt, after leaping over Samuels and rolling him up. Samuels grounded Coffey with a long headlock. When he escaped, he started to club Samuels in the gut.
From there, Coffey hulked up and let Samuels know that this was “his kingdom.” He garnered his second pinfall attempt after a belly to belly. Coffey was then caught mid-air when he attempted to dive from the top rope. Samuels got his first pin there, with a kick out at two. He then put Coffey in a sleeper, but he tossed him over his shoulder and onto the mat. Samuels charged at him, but Coffey went up for a cross body that yielded him a two count. Coffey then hit a Glasgow Sendoff before connecting with Best for the Bells to get the win.
WINNER: Coffey at 6:39
Koenig’s Analysis: This was definitely the first time I’ve not only written about, but seen a wrestler change his name mid-match. It was actually awkward and I don’t understand why it happened. Maybe we will learn more throughout the show. We will see. As for the match, it was a bit of a walking brawl. When Ed Harvey turned into Samuels, he seemed to gain a lot more edge. Again, we will see what his story is. That whole thing was just confusing.
-Sid Scala made an announcement from his desk to announce big news about the tag team division. As he took the call on camera a knock on the door was heard and Pretty Deadly came in. They surrounded him and he then made the announcement that there would be a four-way tag team elimination match in two weeks to crown a number one contender that they will be involved in along with Carter & Smith, Webster & Andrews and The Hunt.
-Rampage Brown and Dave Mastiff were shown in the gym working out. Although they are friends, Mastiff challenged Brown in a match after he told him that he needed some real challenges. Mastiff did his set and walked away as Brown smiled.
(2) TYLER BATE vs. SAM GRADWELL
Gradwell grabbed Bate’s arm to work for the first thirty seconds or so. He escaped and played cat and mouse with Gradwell before landing a cross body for two. Bate then worked an armbar of his own. Gradwell escaped and slammed Bate to the mat. He then started kicking Bate, and slamming him down to get a pair of near falls. Sam kept up the offense by viciously mauling Bate around the ring. Bate made it back to his feet and started kicking Gradwell’s knees. Bate came up from the canvas slugging, and as Gradwell ran at him, Bate caught him and slammed him yet again. Bate then with a standing moonsault for two.
As Gradwell started to show pain and frustration, he executed a tight clothesline that scored him a two count. Gradwell beat him up on the mat but as he got up, Bate connected with a series of moves before executing a Tyler Driver 97 to get the victory.
WINNER: Bate at 7:13
Koenig’s Analysis: A good match to get Gradwell some reps with a great ring general. It highlighted Gradwell’s strengths, but got the right man over as Bate has been saying that he needed to find himself again. This match was classic Tyler Bate and both men looked good.
-Carter and Smith appeared in a backstage segment where Scala came over to break the news to them about the four-way in two weeks.
-A commercial aired for the Broken Skull Sessions with Bayley on the WWE Network.
-Ilja Dragunov was shown backstage shaking Jack Starz’ hand. He told Starz that he needs to start from the beginning after his loss to Walter. Ilja wanted to wrestle his friend Starz since he is the gatekeeper of the brand and the first opponent that Dragunov had on NXT UK television. Starz happily accepted.
-Jinny came down to the ring with Joseph Connors. She talked about how she won the match last week against Piper Niven and gave some credit to Connors for the win. She went on to say that people were wondering why Connors came down to assist and she said that she is a woman of wealth and has “connections.” She guaranteed a victory next week right before Kay Lee Ray came down. Ray said that she has beaten everyone already and thats why she is the champion. Jinny said that she never beat her and that Ray owes her this match because she helped her retain her title last year. Jinny ended the conversation by saying that she has one week left of being champion as Ray held the title high.
-Eddie Dennis spoke for The Hunt in a vignette about their inclusion in the four-way match.
-A WWE Smackdown on Fox commercial aired.
-A Walter vs. A-Kid by the numbers video played.
(3) WALTER (c) vs A-KID
Walter stalked A-Kid around the ring at the bell. A-Kid tried to keep his distance from the much larger Walter, but he was caught and briefly grounded. Walter continued to try and get a hold of A-Kid, who went for a bear hug that quickly went back to the canvas. That couldn’t keep the big man down so they went for a grip test when back on his feet that easily got Walter a trio of near falls.
They paced around the ring a bit before A-Kid caught him and tied him into the ropes. Walter started to show frustrations and was surprisingly taken down when A-Kid caught him with a bunch of stiff kicks to the knees. A-Kid attempted to apply a submission, but Walter was quick to get to his feet and flattened A-Kid with a pair of chops to the chest. Walter then with a big boot that slammed A-Kid down hard.
As A-Kid got up, he tried to chop down the beast, but was quickly taken down for a two count. Walter then kept him to the mat with a long headlock. As both men made it back to their feet, Walter sent him to the apron after an overhead chop to the throat. Walter went for a sleeper on the apron, but A-Kid countered with an attack to his knee, which sent Walter writhing on the mat. A-Kid went for a fujiwara armbar but couldn’t apply it in time as he made it to the ropes.
A-Kid tried to keep the champion down with a series of kicks, but a single strike took him down as Walter got a near fall after a beautiful powerbomb. That was then followed by a mammoth slap to the chest. Walter continued to taunt the challenger, who then got a hold of the big man’s arm. A-Kid then transitioned into a triangle choke that saw Walter drag him to the outside of the ring, and driving A-Kid’s spine into the apron.
As Walter came back in, A-Kid did his best to try to stop Walter, but a couple of huge forearms and a short arm lariat sent A-Kid to his back, with Walter retaining in a true styles clash of a match.
WINNER: Walter at 13:52
Koenig’s Analysis: A really good match. There was a lot of cat and mouse for Walter in this match compared to his match with Dragunov. This match wasn’t nearly as physical either. This solidified A-Kid as a worthy top tier performer and it happened in a relatively short amount of time. Walter sold his speed and agility well, but he is too much of a monster to be taken down at this point. Great job by both.
-NEXT WEEK: KAY LEE RAY vs. JINNY for the NXT UK Women’s Championship.
CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S NXT UK TV REPORT: 1/7 NXT UK TV REPORT: Ben Carter debuts against Jordan Devlin, Jinny vs. Niven, Mastiff vs. Huxley, and more
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.