NXT UK results: Jordan Devlin vs. Dave Mastiff

Image: WWE

Taped at BT Sport Studios in London, England

Big Takeaways —

Jordan Devlin defeated 322-pound Dave Mastiff in an “open challenge,” as seemingly nobody under 205 pounds wants to face Devlin and/or Sid Scala is totally inept at his job. The rest of the matches were used to either shine a spotlight on talent (Jinny & Joseph Conners), build up future matches (Ilja Dragunov vs. Sam Gradwell and Joe Coffey vs. Rampage Brown), or enhance existing feuds (Xia Brookside vs. Nina Samuels).

Full Rundown —

Nina Samuels pinned Xia Brookside after a shot with her purse (4:54)

Samuels came out with a crew member who carried her bags again. That same thing distracted Brookside a few weeks ago and Samuels told her that Brooksides were only good enough to carry her bags.

Brookside was in control early until Samuels managed to lock in a number of subsequent submission attempts. Brookside came back with a tilt-a-whirl headscissors and double knees to the back in the corner. They brawled on the outside, with Samuels grabbing one of her suitcases and throwing it into the ring. As the referee got the item out of the ring, Samuels hit Brookside with a (presumably loaded) purse and folded her up for the pin.

– As Sid Scala was being interviewed about when we might see Gallus defend their NXT UK Tag Team titles against Pretty Deadly, Jordan Devlin walked in. Devlin asked Scala who he would be facing tonight and Scala didn’t have an answer yet. Devlin ridiculed Scala and told him to find somebody.

– Jack Starz was being interviewed when Scala came into the room and asked to speak with him. They were shown talking through a door, but it wasn’t clear what the conversation was about. Scala looked concerned in the end.

Joseph Conners (w/ Jinny) pinned Josh Morrell after hitting a neckbreaker (5:40)

Conners had new, straight hair and a nice new outfit, so the story here was that Jinny was a big influence on him now.

Conners dominated early until Morrell threw him out of the ring. Jinny told Conners at ringside that he “was worthy and that little boy is nothing.” Back in the ring, Conners violently smashed Morrell’s head into the turnbuckles, then viciously beat him down.

Morrell came back and showed off his athletic prowess, including a number of aerial maneuvers. Conners eventually stopped him with a snap DDT and hit a Rude-Awakening-style neckbreaker for the pinfall victory.

– A video on Sha Samuels aired where he talked about being a legitimate butcher from the East End, like his father and grandfather before him. Samuels was shown wrestling in PROGRESS, wXw, and ICW and talked about being in the business for 19 years. Samuels discussed his NXT UK debut match against Joe Coffey. He said he didn’t want things to be easy.

Ilja Dragunov defeated Tyson T-Bone by referee stoppage (6:46)

T-Bone cut a promo on a split screen as he walked to the ring like this was WWF Superstars in 1991. He said he was not afraid of Dragunov.

T-Bone started out strong, beating down Dragunov with kicks and punches until Dragunov managed to block his offense and grind him down. As he had T-Bone in a submission, Sam Gradwell walked out and started talking trash to Dragunov.

T-Bone staged a comeback as Gradwell continued to provide running commentary on the outside and brought up Dragunov’s match against Jack Starz, where the Russian briefly snapped. Gradwell kept distracting Dragunov and told him to keep his composure. Dragunov finally came back with a flying head kick, but T-Bone hit a half-and-half suplex and sent him to the outside. Gradwell walked up to Dragunov and kept trash-talking him as T-Bone attacked.

Dragunov finally snapped and attacked T-Bone, then locked him up on the ground and rained down elbows to the head until the referee stopped the match, just as he had done to Starz.

Gradwell was all giddy but then berated Dragunov, telling him that he threw a tantrum like a three year old. Gradwell told Dragunov he was letting his family and his son down and that he needed to be in control of his emotions. Dragunov finally kicked Gradwell in the head through the ropes and went after Gradwell but couldn’t get to him. The announcers questioned Dragunov’s issues.

– Joe Coffey was shown backstage walking to the ring.

– Scala spoke to Amir Jordan backstage, seemingly still looking for an opponent for Devlin.

– A highlight video of Meiko Satomura aired, with Gallus, Dave Mastiff, Ashton Smith, and Jinny talking about her accolades. Satomura arrives in NXT UK next week.

– Brookside was livid and demanded that Scala give her a rematch against Samuels.

Joe Coffey pinned Danny Jones after hitting All the Best for the Bells (2:51)

Coffey dominated early with strikes, but Jones hit a flurry of offense and even locked in a sleeper hold that had Coffey struggling to escape. Coffey eventually managed to shake the taller man off and hit the Glasgow Sendoff, followed by All the Best for the Bells for the quick victory.

After the match, Coffey talked about crossing paths with Rampage Brown last week and how it got his wheels turning. Coffey said that on this brand, you need to knock someone down so hard that they don’t want to get up again. Coffey called himself the last man standing in NXT UK. Brown then came out and told Coffey he just needed to ask and he’d face him at any time, anywhere.

– A video aired highlighting Gallus and Pretty Deadly, who are the number one contenders to Gallus’ NXT UK Tag Team titles. Gallus said that they have been on top a long time and that will not change any time soon. Pretty Deadly promised it would be PDOT — Pretty Deadly On Top.

– A video highlighted the rivalry between The Hunt and Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster. Their feud will culminate in a street fight next week.

– Also, Noam Dar’s Supernova Sessions talk show will return with special guest Sha Samuels next week.

Non-title match: NXT Cruiserweight Champion Jordan Devlin defeated Dave Mastiff after hitting a 450 splash (12:07)

Devlin talked about how “Skid Sala” was looking for a contender but couldn’t find anyone. Devlin said if you want to have something done right, you have to do it yourself. He called out anybody under 205 pounds to face him.

Out came Dave Mastiff, much to Devlin’s disbelief. Devlin told Mastiff he wouldn’t even be allowed on 305 Live. Mastiff called him Captain Obvious and was glad Devlin was still sharp. Mastiff said Devlin is just keeping the NXT Cruiserweight Championship warm for Trent Seven. Mastiff said the only thing he was here for was to kick Devlin’s ass. Mastiff shoved Devlin to the mat, a referee entered, and the match was on.

Devlin managed to keep Mastiff at bay until Mastiff used a cartwheel to avoid Devlin and flattened him with a senton. Mastiff hit a German suplex for a near fall. Devlin flipped out of another attempt and went for the uranage, but he couldn’t get Mastiff up. He instead took out Mastiff’s knee and continued working over the much larger man’s leg. Devlin got Mastiff up on the turnbuckles and looked to go for Devlin Side (he defeated Mastiff this way in the past), but Mastiff blocked and hit a shoulder block instead.

Mastiff attacked Devlin in the corner, then violently whipped him to the outside over the turnbuckle. Mastiff stalked Devlin and followed him back into the ring, but Devlin managed to get on Mastiff’s shoulders and hit a victory roll over the top. Mastiff caught Devlin off a dive and slammed him to the mats. Mastiff made it back into the ring by eight but then broke the count and looked to hit the cannonball senton, but Devlin moved and Mastiff crashed through the barricades.

Mastiff made it back into the ring by nine and headbutted Devlin on the way. Mastiff went to the top and actually hit a diving headbutt for a two count. Devlin escaped a Finlay Roll attempt, then hit a dropkick to the knee, a rolling slingshot cutter, and a 450 splash off the top rope for the win.

Final Thoughts —

This was a fun show with a rare five-match card. The main event was good but somewhat illogical. Devlin is supposed to be the heel but wants to be a deserving champion taking on all comers and even said that Sid Scala could choose anybody he wanted. Scala then was bad at his job and allowed Dave Mastiff, who outweighs Devlin by more than 100 pounds, to take the match. Also, Trent Seven attacked Devlin last week for merely pointing out that he is above the weight limit as well (and patted his belly — but more in a friendly way). So I hope Devlin comes out a big babyface in the end.

The Ilja Dragunov storyline where he snaps is kind of intriguing and Sam Gradwell is great as the loudmouth bully. It will be interesting if the Dragunov story leads to him getting another NXT UK Championship shot down the line.

Joe Coffey and Rampage Brown should be a slobberknocker down the line, even though it will probably not be a technical masterpiece.

I’m really looking forward to seeing Meiko Satomura on the show and hope she will be able to bring out the best in all the women she works with.

Also, I greatly enjoy how everything in NXT UK makes sense and matches mostly have a reason for happening (even if it’s just some 30-second backstage segment setting them up). The booking is both linear and logical, something dearly missing from the other WWE brands.

Next Week —

Meiko Satomura debuts, Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster face The Hunt in a street fight,and Noam Dar interviews Sha Samuels on Supernova Sessions.