WWE NXT UK Review - February 20, 2019

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Gallus def. Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster

Andrews and Webster are a lot of fun as a tandem, but it feels like they never win. I realize they're underdogs and can absorb a few losses, but they should be allowed to win every now and again. They had a very good opening match with Gallus and the in-ring action was entertaining. I could see Gallus entering the NXT UK Tag Team Championship picture now that Joe Coffey's WWE United Kingdom Championship pursuits are seemingly over.

Trent Seven def. Shane Thorne

It's been cool to see Throne resurface recently following his recent appearances in the Worlds Collide tournament and on NXT TV. As I've said before, he's a terrific talent and has more to offer than some may believe. His tag team with Nick Miller was great, but he can be a real player on his own as well. He took Seven to his limit here and I was happy he had a solid showing in defeat.

Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch Interrupted NXT UK Tag Team Champions Zack Gibson and James Drake

It was announced a few weeks ago that Lorcan and Burch would be contending for the NXT UK Tag Team Championship on an upcoming episode (it has since been made official for next week's show), so this segment was designed to hype that match up. Gibson was excellent on the mic as always and I liked Lorcan and Burch showing intensity when they came out to brawl with the tag champs. That bout should be a barn-burner.

NXT UK Women's Champion Toni Storm def. Rhea Ripley

Storm and Ripley were tied with one win apiece coming into this contest, and they've proven in the past that they work well together. This was another above-average main event from them that featured solid storytelling and a nice pace. Both ladies have had strong performances throughout their series of matches and this was no exception. I'm looking forward to seeing who will challenge Storm for the title next now that she has finally vanquished the threat of Ripley.

Overall Show

The championship main event made this edition of NXT UK slightly more newsworthy than usual, but it was an enjoyable hour of wrestling on the whole. Gallus returned to their winning ways by knocking off Andrews and Webster in tag team action, Seven and Thorne had a fun exhibition, and next week's tag title match was built up effectively. Next week's show will also feature Tyler Bate vs. Jack Gallagher and WALTER vs. Kassius Ohno.