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NXT UK TV REPORT (EP. 141)
APRIL 1, 2021
STREAMED ON WWE NETWORK
REPORT BY CHAD KOENIG, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Andy Shepherd and Nigel McGuinness
(1) AOIFE VALKYRIE vs. STEVIE TURNER
After locking up, Valkyrie held in two long headlocks. Turner was then tossed into the ropes but while coming back, took down Valkyrie’s legs and grounded the action, applying a headlock of her own. She attempted to get back to her feet but was taken down twice. She eventually made it back to her feet and dropkicked Turner and held her in the ropes. After a ref break, Turner attacked her legs again and literally kicked Valkyrie’s ass. She got a pinfall attempt in here before tossing Valkyrie into the ropes again. Valkyrie ricocheted a dropkick off the ropes for a pair of two counts of her own.
Turner then laid in three of the worst kicks I’ve ever seen in my life before Valkyrie climbed the ropes, did her Peripeteia kick to finish the match.
WINNER: Valkyrie at 4:45
(Koenig’s Analysis: Nothing special at all. Both of these women need to spend time with Satomura. There was no story between the two, which is fine, but they are both so green that it just wasn’t going to yield a great match. I’m rooting for them though.)
-Recap of A-Kid’s winning of the Heritage Cup and showed the press covering him around the world.
-Niven and Starz from earlier in the week. Starz was setting up the gym for them to work out. Niven started training Starz in beating up a bag in the ring to take out his anger.
(2) JOSH MORRELL vs. TEOMAN
Teoman went to work on Morrell’s arm at the bell. After stomping on it, Morrell escaped and took Teoman him down with a dropkick. Both men ran the ropes before Teoman took him down to the mat and, this time working the legs.
After grabbing Morrell’s hair and taunting him, the two exchanged blows. He then popped him in the jaw before cranking his neck. More sharp blows to the face before Teoman connected with a back elbow off of the ropes for two.
Morrell laid down in pain as Teoman staked him. He lifted him up and the two exchanged forearms. Morrell took Teoman down with a hip toss for a near pinfall. Teoman attempted a slam but Morrell turned that into a pinning combination of his own but Teoman kicked out. Morrell was a little too flashy here and went for a standing moonsault. Teoman lifted his knees to make Morrell come down hard. Teoman took out his legs, went to the top and connected with a missile dropkick and a pair of stomps before Morrell tapped out
WINNER: Teoman at 5:22
(Koenig’s Analysis: A fine semi-squash. Teoman looked great and continued to emphasize his aggression. He will be a fun one to watch going forward. Like the match before, there wasn’t a story heading into it, so we got “just a match,” which is fine. I recommend checking this out if you’re interested in seeing what Teoman can bring to the table.)
-Sid Scala sitting at a small table that’s holding the Championship as he sits with Walter and Rampage Brown prior to their headlining match coming up. Walter emphasizes that he is the greatest champion in the brand’s history. Brown says that he is ready for Walter, but is he ready for him? Walter said that it is a job to Brown, but for him, it’s his life. Brown brings up that he beat Walter years ago because in England, and he was “the guy to beat”. The two continued a great face to face. Walter said that he was waiting for Brown to come after him, but that he will never understand what it’s like to be a champion. Brown remained cool and said “we’ll see”. Bravo to this segment.
-Gallus in a pre-taped segment where they beat someone up in a parking lot after working out.
-Kay Lee Ray comes to the ring and bragged about beating Meiko Satomura. People thought that she would lose the title but wanted to tell everyone that they were wrong. Amelia McKenzie came from the back after being away for two years. She said that she has been training and traveling and is ready to return. She continued to say that their paths were going to cross soon as Ray called her out. Isla Dawn then jumped McKenzie from behind and brought her to the ring to double team. Satomura then ran out in sweats to help McKenzie and tossed the two out of the ring.
-Noam Dar and Tyler Bate hype up their match next week for the number on contenders spot.
-After their action moments ago, Sid Scala tells Isla Dawn and Kay Lee Ray will be in a tag match next week with Satomura and McKenzie.
(3) PRETTY DEADLY (c) (Lewis Howley & Sam Stoker) vs. AMIR JORDAN & KENNY WILLIAMS
Jordan and Howley start the match, but a quick tag brought Stoker in. Stoker tossed Jordan around the ring before a pair of dropkicks took Stoker down. He escaped the ring to run to his partner as both men made tags.
William and Howley shoved each other around and Williams was taken down to mat, all the while having his hands manipulated by Howley. Williams escaped and applied a heel lock that Howley transitioned into a side headlock. Howley made the tag after taking Williams to the canvas with a hip toss. Of course, double teaming ensued to get Stoker a near pinfall. Williams was able to get enough offense in to make the tag.
Jordan came in and focused on the left arm. The two exchanged tags to double team until Stoker broke free to make the tag. They double teamed Jordan, but he took them both out with a double dropkick.
After a commercial break, Jordan was alone in the ring and Pretty Deadly were resetting their strategy outside. Howley came back in and exchanged blows. Tag made to Jordan and took him down immediately, getting a near pinfall. Williams watch in disgust as the champions continued the tags to beat Jordan down in their corner. A double legdrop/standing frog splash gave Stoker a two count. Yet another tag made to Howley who kept him in the corner and continued to beat him down. More back and forth tags until Jordan escaped outside. He went through the legs of Pretty Deadly to make the tag to Williams who went after both members, with Stoker being the legal man, but that didn’t take him from going after both. Howley interrupted the pin after Williams executed a fantastic hurricanrana.
Tag was made to Jordan and they tossed Stoker to the ropes. He stopped and dropped, and clocked the contenders with a double kick before tagging Howley back in. Pretty Deadly Crossing Swords (their new double kick) to get Howley a two count on Jordan. Williams got the tag and brought Howley to the mat. Jordan went up for a huge swanton. Williams then with a DDT to score another near fall.
After another commercial break, Howley and Williams continued the battle. Chaos ensued as all four men came into the ring, taking out the ref in their paths. Williams rolled out of the ring and grabbed the tag titles. He threw the belt to Jordan and told him to hit him with it. Jordan said that he wanted to win the right way and Williams grabbed the belt back. Jordan said that they didn’t need to cheat and threw the belt out. However, he then grabbed the other and smashed Jordan in the back with it, igniting their inevitable split. Williams left and Pretty Deadly picked the bones after a tag and Spilt Milk.
WINNER: Pretty Deadly at 15:24
(Koenig’s Analysis: A fast-paced match with a great story going into it. Pretty Deadly have become a well-rounded team reminiscent of the Rockers. As expected, Williams turned on his partner to split them up, as it’s been teased for weeks.)
-NEXT WEEK: Night 1 of NXT UK Prelude featuring Isla Dawn & Kay Lee Ray vs. Meiko Satomura and Amelia McKenzie, Noam Dar vs. Tyler Bate in a #1 Contender’s Match for the Heritage Cup. Comments from Jordan Devlin and Ilja Dragunov. Walter vs. Rampage Brown for the NXT UK championship.
NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S NXT UK TV REPORT: 3/25 NXT UK TV REPORT: Sam Gradwell vs. Ilja Dragunov, Starz vs. Connors, more
Really intrigued by go-to jobber Josh Morell, who has impressed with his moveset and refusal to be a simply squash victim. I hope we get to hear from Isla Dawn regarding her change of attitude. I think it’s interesting that no one has made any mention of WALTER defending twice in quick succession this week…..when does NXT UK tape their episodes anyway?