NXT UK results: Ilja Dragunov vs. Nathan Frazer
Report —
Taped at BT Sports Studios in London, England
Mark Coffey defeated Sha Samuels (07:40)
Samuels dominated briefly, but Coffey took over quickly. Samuels eventually hit a Michinoku driver, then worked over Coffey’s arm.
Coffey came back with a flying kick for a near fall. They exchanged strikes until Coffey hit a full nelson slam, then followed up with the Crowning Glory for the pinfall victory.
**********
– A-Kid was working out with somebody at the NXT UK Performance Center. Charlie Dempsey came up and asked A-Kid to teach him the technique he just used. A-Kid declined, telling Dempsey that he’d use it to someone’s disadvantage. Dempsey told him that even though he hung out with Teoman and Rohit Raja, that’s not who he was. Teoman and Raja then attacked A-Kid from behind. Dempsey tried to stop them, but eventually joined in.
– Isla Dawn hung out in her secret hideout in the woods, fooling around with the flowers she stole from Meiko Satomura recently. She also sang a song about “standing tall,” then put one of the flowers into her box of trinkets. Still scarier than Alexa and her doll.
– Moustache Mountain and Ashton Smith & Oliver Carter argued about their recent match. Seven said he just did what was necessary to win (push Smith’s foot off the rope as Bate pinned him); Carter said that Moustache Mountain hadn’t won the belts on their first try either. They agreed to another match.
**********
Jack Starz & Dave Mastiff defeated Pretty Deadly (Lewis Howley & Sam Stoker) (10:34)
Starz came out with a Mastiff-style lather vest.
Mastiff and Howley started, with Mastiff dominating early. Howley attacked the Bomber’s leg and got him to his knees. Starz and Stoker were in next, with Starz and Mastiff quickly tagging in and out to wear down their opponent.
Howley managed to tag in, but didn’t fare any better. Pretty Deadly finally managed to sneak in a blind tag and took over. They hit a splash/leg drop combo for a near fall. They followed up with a double-team bulldog for another close two count.
Starz finally managed to tag in Mastiff, after he briefly managed to help his partner from the apron. He ran wild before being stopped by a DDT from Stoker. Stoker mockingly put on Starz’s jacket but got caught with a German suplex by Mastiff.
Starz furiously asked to be tagged in, then put on the vest and ran wild. He escaped a powerbomb attempt by Stoker, then hit a powerbomb of his own for the pin and the win.
**********
– Xia Brookside was upset about having lost another match and called her dad on the phone to complain and ask for his help.
– Some guy went through the woods and looked around. Some creature watched him from the trees. The final words of the segment were “For you, the hunt is over. For me, the hunt has just begun.” This might be the returning Wild Boar.
– Noam Dar and Joe Coffey talked about their Heritage Cup match next week.
**********
NXT UK Championship: Ilja Dragunov defeated Nathan Frazer to retain the title (14:42)
They jockeyed for position early, with Ilja taking Frazer down with a judo throw/suplex. Frazer then used his speed to take down the champion. Dragunov quickly retaliated and attacked Frazer on the ground.
Frazer went for a springboard move, but Ilja took him out with a kick to the head. Dragunov locked in a cobra clutch briefly, then foiled a number of speed-based attacks by Frazer.
He hit two German suplexes, but Frazer rolled through on a third. Dragunov still caught him in mid-air and hit a third, Gotch-style German suplex. Frazer came back with a superkick and hurricanrana for a near fall. He evaded the Konstantin Special, turning it into a quebrada/elbow drop combo.
Frazer hurt Dragunov’s arm, causing the champion trouble to use a number of his trademark moves. Frazer hit a top rope hurricanrana, followed by a Phoenix splash for a close near fall.
Ilja turned another hurricanrana attempt into a powerbomb, then followed up with a falling elbow strike for good measure, but couldn’t get the win. Frazer hit a German suplex, but Dragunov hit a lariat with his injured right arm.
Dragunov then finally hit Torpedo Moscow to score the pin and defend his title.
Ilja pulled Frazer to his feet and shook his hand, congratulating him on a battle well fought.
Final thoughts —
- The main event was a fantastic match, one of the highlights of 2022 in NXT UK.
- The tag team match was fun and a bit of an upset, with Starz, who in the past was more of a glorified jobber, gaining a pinfall victory over the previous Tag champions.
- Coffey and Samuels was a nice mean guy match.
Next week —
- NXT UK Heritage Cup: Noam Dar (c) vs. Joe Coffey
- Charlie Dempsey vs. A-Kid