WWE NXT UK Review - December 12, 2019

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

NXT UK Women's Champion Kay Lee Ray def. Isla Dawn (Non-Title)

I've made it quite clear in my past reviews that Dawn does absolutely nothing for me, and I can't say anything she did here wowed me, either. I appreciated that she was a bit more intense than she normally is, but that was about it. The match was perfectly fine for what it was and thankfully didn't last long. The post-match angle with Kay, Piper Niven and Toni Storm going at it led to Sid Scala announcing that they will collide in a Triple Threat for the NXT UK Women's Championship at TakeOver: Blackpool II.

Trent Seven vs. Michael May Went to a No Contest

Seven received a loud reaction from the crowd when his music hit. He remains one of NXT UK's most popular stars and hopefully won't be going anywhere any time soon. Before his bout with May (a local athlete) could come to fruition, Eddie Dennis emerged and laid May out at ringside. If they don't face off at TakeOver, I could see their match making the pre-show TV tapings.

Ridge Holland def. Jack Starz

The crowd popped while Holland was making his entrance because he's apparently from the area, but they stayed behind him throughout the entire match and even chanted for him at various points. As I've said before, his offense is really impressive and he has the look of a star. I hope they continue to gradually build him up going forward because he has all the tools to make it big. His squash of Starz was exactly what it needed to be.

NXT UK Tag Team Champions Gallus vs. Imperium Ended in a No Contest

I was wondering how the crowd would react to this match considering both teams are heel, but Gallus played the babyface role very well here. It never quite reached that next level, but what we got from them was enjoyable. The non-finish was flat but did set up the Fatal 4-Way Ladder matchup (also involving Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster and The Grizzled Young Veterans) for the tag titles at TakeOver, which should be stellar.

Overall Show

The card for TakeOver: Blackpool II has been coming together real nicely in recent weeks and two more matches were announced on this episode. The in-ring action was average on the whole, and while nothing was exactly must-see, everything served a purpose. Plus, there was angle advancement in the Tyler Bate vs. Jordan Devlin feud, and on next week's show, Bate will go one-on-one with Noam Dar.