WWE NXT UK Review - April 10, 2019

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Travis Banks def. Kassius Ohno

Ohno has been an enemy of Banks' ever since Ohno arrived in NXT UK several weeks back and battered his good friend Ashton Smith. Ohno is definitely in his element as a heel and seems to have his best matches with opponents smaller than him, such as Banks. This was a really great match with excellent performances from both men. Although Banks picked up the victory, I would love to see this feud continue.

Piper Niven def. Killer Kelly

Niven impressed me immensely with her string of matches in the Mae Young Classic two years ago, so I'm glad she's finally joined NXT UK. She'll be an awesome addition to a loaded NXT UK women's division based off what we saw from her in this match, which was basically a glorified squash for her. Niven should have been a bit more dominant than she was, but then again, I didn't mind Kelly scoring some offense before eating defeat. She has been a complete afterthought in NXT UK so far and deserves more attention from Creative.

Joseph Conners def. Jack Starz

I guess it made sense for this to be totally one-sided to allow Conners to build momentum to go along with his recent push, but as I've said many times in the past, Conners does nothing for me. I can see why some fans would refer to his in-ring style as "methodical," but I just find it boring. The fact this was five minutes long was a travesty as it honestly should have been even shorter than it was.

NXT Women's Champion Toni Storm def. Jinny

As nicely as Jinny (who I had the chance to meet at WrestleMaina Axxess last weekend, super friendly gal!) has been built up lately, I don't think many people bought into the possibility of Storm losing the NXT UK Women's Championship so soon. Despite that, this was a quality contest where the women made the most of the time they were allotted (perhaps they would have benefited from a few more minutes). Jinny looked good in defeat, but Storm's title reign rolls on.

Overall Show

This show was highlighted by the NXT UK Women's Championship main event, and while that was an entertaining encounter, I thought Ohno and Banks had the best bout of the night. I enjoyed this episode on the whole between those two matches and Niven's in-ring debut. I could have done without the Conners showcase, but that can easily be skipped over. Plus, a Jordan Devlin vs. WALTER match for the WWE United Kingdom Championship was teased and I need for that to happen as soon as possible.