WWE NXT UK Review - December 5, 2018 (Part 2)

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Joseph Conners def. Dan Moloney

Conners appears to be on the verge of a push in singles competition now that he's broken away from Saxon Huxley. His methodical in-ring style and brooding character don't do anything for me, personally, but we'll see how he fares on his own. I expect that the quality of most of his matches will depend on who his opponent is, and since Moloney has been established as an enhancement talent thus far on the brand, this ended up being a standard squash and nothing more.

"The Bomber" Dave Mastiff def. "Wild Boar" Mike Hitchman

The destructive Mastiff has been well-protected during his time on NXT UK up to this point and this was another impressive performance from him. This was a fun hoss battle with both guys trying to one-up the other and the crowd was behind Mastiff every step of the way. It looks like Mastiff will be entering a program with fellow undefeated star Eddie Dennis based off Mastiff's post-match interview backstage.

Ligero def. Tyson T-Bone

​T-Bone has a cool brawler character and has potential to be more than a stepping stone for other up-and-comers, but at least he looks credible every time he's in action. As for Ligero, I've praised his talents in the past and he never ceases to deliver. This was a well-wrestled affair and Ligero continued his winning ways, but hopefully he's given some meaningful direction sooner rather than later.

NXT UK Women's Champion Rhea Ripley def. Candy Floss (Non-title)

I'd never heard of Floss prior to this match and her name didn't exactly get me excited to see her compete. It was clear Ripley chose a relatively easy opponent for the first outing as champion, though Floss ended up giving her quite the fight. Nevertheless, this was a dominant showing for Ripley on the whole and I'm looking forward to seeing who will be first to step up to challenge her for her newly won title.

Travis Banks def. Wolfgang

I became a fan of Banks' during the second WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament over the summer and I hope he's positioned as a top star on the NXT UK brand going forward. At any rate, I was happy that there wasn't any interference from Moustache Mountain and that the rest of Gallus until the very end, instead allowing Banks and Wolfgang to contest a relatively straightforward match. It probably would have benefited more time, but what we got from them was good. A six-man tag team matchup pitting Moustache Mountain and Banks against Gallous seems to be only inevitable.

Overall Show

British Strong Style/Moustache Mountain and Banks vs. Gallus continues to be the focal point of the program from week to week and it's led to some solid matches lately. After a few new faces were introduced and build up last week, this edition of NXT TV focused on the usual crop of stars and it was an entertaining night of wrestling. Next week, it'll be Trent Seven vs. Joe Coffey and Flash Morgan Webster vs. Fabian Aichner, and both bouts should be a blast.