NXT UK 05/19/2022

Mean Girls on Top

Xia Brookside and Eliza Alexander prove they are a formidable duo when they take on “The French Hope” Amale & Angel Hayze. During this match the character work of both Xia and Eliza reminds me of Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez. We can only hope that Xia is used more effectively than Dakota was. Amale builds intrigue for a future singles match, stating she wants to fight Eliza, but Xia refuses to tag Eliza in. Throughout the contest Angel Hayze played the underdog well, fighting from underneath and using high risk offense to get an edge against her opponents. The finish would see Xia distracting the referee so Eliza could get a powerful cheap shot on Angel. Xia would then gain the pinfall while Eliza held Amale back. This match proved effective as it puts over that Xia is a conniving heel who has no qualms about succeeding off of someone else’s hard work, as well as putting over Eliza as a strong woman who only lacks experience. And with Angel taking the fall, it protects Amale and continues to build intrigue to her eventual singles match against Eliza Alexander.

Another Team Joins the Triple Threat

Dave Mastiff & Jack Starz fought Die Familie for a spot in the triple threat tag team title match. Representing the powerful family was Rohan Raja & the man with the evil eye, Teoman. Charlie Dempsey was at ringside and would prove to be a deciding factor. Building to that though were a few interesting character moments. Most influential leaders like Teoman are either cowardly or abusive to their own teammates. But on two occasions Teoman would put his own body on the line to protect Rohan Raja & Charlie Dempsey from harm. Meanwhile Dave Mastiff, despite his intimidating size and strength, played the heater, taking the beating from Die Familie, to give the hot tag to Jack Starz. Jack would come in like a house on fire only to be defeated by sentimentality. Charlie Dempsey would take the leather jacket that Mastiff had gifted to Starz, and begin beating and whipping it into the ground. Starz would be attacked by Teoman during the ensuing chaos and find himself staring at the lights. As a result of this matchup, Die Familie will join Ashton Carter & Oliver Smith in challenging Moustache Mountain for the NXT UK Tag Team Titles. Moustache Mountain would be interviewed about the match, giving a basic promo reminding the audience that they don’t have to be pinned to lose their titles. As for Charlie though, due to his interference in the match, assistant to the general manager, Sid Scala has declared that Die Familie is banned from Charlie’s match against A-Kid next week.

Paranoia or Conspiracy Theory Televised?

Kenny Williams had a contest with enhancement talent, Josh Morrell. As soon as Kenny walked through the curtain though he immediately sold how paranoid he was that someone was watching him. During a contest where Morrell got to show off his highly acrobatic offense, Kenny would be perturbed by the two audience members who wore masks. It’s notable however that neither of them wore the mask of Tiger Turan. Kenny would manage to pull off the victory despite the ominous distractions but he wouldn’t leave in peace. Standing at the top of the entrance ramp was another masked man, this one dressed all in black. When Kenny made his way to the back later in the night, he would confront Mark Andrews during the latter’s interview. And Andrews was only too happy to remind Kenny that he’s made more than one enemy in NXT UK. With all this weighing on The Luckian’s mind it’s beginning to look like he hasn’t gone completely mad. But he sure seems to have driven others to seek vengeance. Be prepared to see Kenny Williams face Mark Andrews in a couple weeks.

Building Future Cards

There were quite a few segments to help build towards the future. The first backstage segment that certainly floored me was Ivy Nile meeting Meiko Satomura. While I certainly predicted these two competitors would meet sooner or later, Ivy’s respect towards The Final Boss was out of character. Brushing past Meiko’s protege Emilia McKenzie, Ivy would bow to Meiko and ask for an opportunity to fight for the title. Meiko, ever the fighting champion would accept the challenge.

Emilia wouldn’t remain a background character tonight however. Lash Legend would continue to trash talk Emilia, saying she’s only good for “carrying Meiko’s bags.” Emilia wouldn’t take those words lightly as staff had to hold her and Legend back from one another. We did get confirmation that Lash Legend and Emilia McKenzie would look to settle their beef in the ring, next week.

Lash won’t be the only competitor representing the USA next week as Diamond Mine’s newest recruit Damon Kemp will fight Samuel Sha. During Sha’s East End Bookie segment he would claim that all the odds are in his favor. Not just to win, but to send Damon Kemp back home. Noam Dar would tell his friend to leave that for next week, as they had a party to attend.

Von Wagner would be informed that he was set to fight Sam Gradwell in two weeks time. As Wagner would begin to give his usual catchphrase, Sam would appear and a brawl would break out in the training room.

A Wild Boar, Chained Like A Dog

The main event would be a Dog Collar match between Wild Boar & his former manager Eddie Dennis. The intensity of this match was strong right out of the gate. Beginning with the visual of Wild Boar chasing Eddie Dennis through the curtain, collar already around Boar’s neck. I could tell this contest was only going to to go one way but the story was still being told exceptionally well and in an entertaining manner. Eddie would continue to rely on numbers, calling for his Symbiosis brethren Primate & T-Bone. Wild Boar would persevere, using his physical link with Eddie to throw him off balance and taking Symbiosis out of the equation. He would then force Eddie to tap out by putting a cross face submission on him and amplifying it by wrapping the chain around Eddie’s face three times. It was a violent but satisfying end to a well balanced card.

Recap

1. Xia Brookside & Eliza Alexander def. Amale & Angel Hayze (5:54)

2. Die Familie (Teoman & Rohan Raja) w/Charlie Dempsey def. Dave Mastiff & Jack Starz in a Tag Team Title qualifying match (8:01)

3. Kenny Williams def. Josh Morrell (5:30)

4. Wild Boar def. Eddie Dennis in a Dog Collar match (10:17)

Next Week

1. Lash Legend Vs. Emilia McKenzie

2. Damon Kemp Vs. Samuel Sha