It’s once again been an incredible week for professional wrestling, with NXT UK providing another wonderful evening of intense action. The first two sets of NXT UK Tag Team Champions collided in the main event, the man who lives by the motto of Unbesiegbar gave an answer to the ultimatum he’s been offered over the last few weeks, and a former Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) World Heavyweight and Zero-G Champion made his NXT UK in-ring return for the first time since August 31st.
Two Factions, One Ilja
.@UNBESIEGBAR_ZAR chose his side on #NXTUK!!! pic.twitter.com/1iimwsz037
— WWE (@WWE) November 8, 2019
For the past few weeks, Alexander Wolfe has been trying to recruit Ilja Dragunov to the ranks of Imperium, with the former westside Xtreme wrestling (wXw) Unified World Wrestling Champion refusing to provide an answer to Wolfe. Dragunov would provide an answer this week though, joining forces with Gallus as they stood across the ring from the WALTER-led squadron. A mass brawl ended the night on a high, with the odds now evened for Gallus against Imperium. As a handful of Twitter users have suggested since these tapings took place, perhaps we can call his flying headbut finisher the Torpedo Glasgow (as opposed to the Torpedo Moscow) for the duration of Ilja’s time with the Scottish lads.
TakeOver Worthy
EVERYONE IS DOWN. #NXTUK pic.twitter.com/G4gBbxIgyA
— NXT UK (@NXTUK) November 7, 2019
The main event of the evening saw a match that was worthy of being on any TakeOver card, as The Grizzled Young Veterans took the fight to Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster in a battle between two former sets of NXT UK Tag Team Champions. It may have been a slow pace to start things off, however, when the action did begin to heat up, it became evident how badly both units wanted to put their names back in the hat for a challenge at the Tag Team Championships. Both Zack Gibson and James Drake attempted to overpower the Welsh duo, while Webster and Andrews used their speed to outsmart Liverpool’s No.1 and Mr Mayhem. Unfortunately, Imperium would interfere in this match to cause a no contest, bringing an impromptu end to what could’ve been a match of the year contender.
A Pure Gallus Return
HEYYYY YEAHH! @Joe_Coffey picks up a win for #Gallus! #NXTUK pic.twitter.com/myt8agcEPl
— NXT UK (@NXTUK) November 7, 2019
For the first time since NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff, Joe Coffey made his in-ring return on NXT UK programming as he battled Tyson T-Bone in quite the battle between two of NXT UK‘s biggest hosses. It was clear Coffey hadn’t missed a beat since that excellent Last Man Standing Match with Dave Mastiff at the end of August, as he pummeled T-Bone whenever he got the opportunity. Tyson did manage to get in some offence but for the most part, it was a brutal assault at the hands of The Iron God, who finished the match off with his All The Best For The Bells discus lariat to put T-Bone away for the three count. With Gallus now back as a single unit, that can only spell trouble for the rest of the NXT UK roster, especially now that they’ve evened the odds against Imperium with the addition of Ilja Dragunov.
Women’s Division Momentum
.@Kelly_WP seems to be enjoying this… #NXTUK pic.twitter.com/dqRHHgnUox
— NXT UK (@NXTUK) November 7, 2019
In NXT UK‘s women’s division, it’s safe to say both Isla Dawn and Killer Kelly aren’t that high up on the pecking order, but that was bound to change for one of them this week as they squared off in Kelly’s in-ring return after a lengthy spell on the shelf. The pair were both adamant to pick up the victory in the hopes of earning themselves an opportunity at Kay Lee Ray‘s NXT UK Women’s Championship, with lariats, vicious knee strikes, and backdrop suplexes all being dished out to put the other away. In the end, it would be The White Witch who scored her first televised win since the January 9th episode of NXT UK, putting Killer Kelly down with a German suplex. Although it’s currently Xia Brookside in the position as the main contender for the Women’s Championship, is it possible we’ll see the woman formerly known as Courtney challenging The Queen of Insanity further down the line?
What Else?
In addition to all this, Xia Brookside claimed that she wasn’t phased by the comments made last week courtesy of Kay Lee Ray, Kassius Ohno stated that British Strong Style was dead, leaving Tyler Bate all on his own, and we were presented with two video packages, one focusing on Ridge Holland (the rugby player turned wrestler formerly known as Luke Menzies), and the other being an inside look at Piper Niven.
