WWE NXT UK: Prelude Review - April 8, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Tyler Bate def. Noam Dar in an NXT UK Heritage Cup Championship No. 1 Contender’s Match

These two have faced off before and always have quality chemistry together. This followed the same formula as most Heritage Cup matches, but I enjoyed it, nonetheless. Both of these guys have history with A-Kid, so while either one of them would make for a fine challenger to the champion, Bate was the better choice. He seemingly hasn't been the same since losing to A-Kid several months ago and this is his chance at redemption. On a side note, I was glad Trent Seven and Sha Samuels didn't take away from this at ringside.

Meiko Satomura and Emilia McKenzie def. NXT UK Women's Champion Kay Lee Ray and Isla Dawn

This marked McKenzie's first match back in NXT UK since 2018. She was good before, but she's definitely improved since then. Having a partner as excellent as Satomura will only help her, so this was a quality tag team match. I assume this was designed to get McKenzie one step closer to title contention while Satomura moves into a matchup with Aoife Valkyrie.

NXT United Kingdom Champion WALTER def. Rampage Brown

I've been looking forward to this match for a while and it was hyped up very well. Unsurprisingly, it didn't disappoint as every WALTER match feels special because they're so few and far between. Brown has been killing it since coming to NXT UK and WALTER brings the best out of everyone he works with. It was a highly physical, hard-hitting affair and I honestly thought Brown had a realistic chance of winning. Alas, it wasn't meant to be as WALTER's record-setting reign continues. WALTER has beaten most of the roster and I have no clue who will ultimately be the one to dethrone him.

Overall Show

NXT UK couldn't hold a TakeOver event during WrestleMania weekend this year, but this was probably the next best thing. This special Prelude episode is worth checking out for that outstanding main event alone. The other two matches being entertaining was simply the icing on the cake. I loved that there was no filler on this show and that everything mattered, at least more than usual. I'm excited for when we can get a formal TakeOver again from NXT UK because those always kicked ass.