WWE NXT UK Review - January 13, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

"Bomber" Dave Mastiff and Jack Starz def. Die Familie (Teoman and Rohan Raja) in an NXT UK Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's Tournament Semifinal Match

Die Familie has been very protected as of late, so their loss here was a surprise. Granted, Gallus cost them the win and I wasn't a fan of that finish, but it was better than them losing clean. The match itself was well wrestled and Mastiff and Starz advancing was a pleasant surprise. What's interesting is that the finals will be babyface vs. babyface with Ashton Smith and Oliver Carter also advancing. It very well could go either way with Moustache Mountain also being babyface champions.

Amale def. Stevie Turner

Amale had that fantastic video package several weeks ago that put her in a new babyface light and I'm glad they're capitalizing on that. Turner has become one of my favorites in NXT UK's women's division, but Amale winning was definitely the right call. It wasn't a thrilling outing by any means, but it was serviceable enough and gave Amale the victory she needed. Amale vs. Jinny was teased at one point as well, so expect that to happen one of these weeks.

WALTER def. Nathan Frazer

This was billed as WALTER's "last stand" in NXT UK with highlights of his three-year run on the brand airing throughout the night, which was a nice touch. No explanation was given as to why Frazer was WALTER's final opponent and not a familiar foe of his, but I'm not complaining because it was fresh and Frazer is terrific. It started out slightly slow, but once they picked up the pace, it turned into an outstanding main event with the two meshing exceptionally well. Frazer came close a time or two and it legitimately looked like he might win, but WALTER prevailed in the end. NXT 2.0 appears to be his next destination and I fear for his future given the current landscape of the show.

Overall Show

I'd say this was a one-match show with the main event being WALTER's swan song from NXT UK, but the episode on the whole breezed by and was solid stuff. If you only have time for one match, it's obviously WALTER vs. Frazer because it was so damn good, but the other two matches served a purpose and we now know what the finals of the mini number one contender's tournament are going to be. WALTER has been gone for a while, but his absence will still be felt and hopefully they can fill that void eventually. Ilja Dragunov is the perfect person to be champion right now, but the brand could benefit from someone else being at that level.

SEE MORE: NXT UK Reviews