WWE NXT UK Review - January 30, 2020

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch def. The Hunt

Lorcan has been off TV since it was reported he requested his release back in November (it was later reported he re-signed with WWE), so it was great to see him resurface here. Meanwhile, The Hunt are a fun tag team but have yet to receive a meaningful push toward the NXT UK Tag Team Championship. This match had the potential to be better, but it was decent while it lasted. Lorcan and Burch are on the right track as they set their sights on the NXT UK Tag Team Championship.

Trent Seven Challenged Eddie Dennis to a Steel Corners Street Fight

I believe this marked the first time Dennis has spoke since returning to NXT UK. He discussed his win over Seven at TakeOver: Blackpool II before being interrupted by Seven, who then challenged him to a Steel Corners Street Fight next week on NXT UK because of Dennis used the exposed turnbuckle corner in their first match to beat him. It's a unique stipulation and I'm interested to see how they pull it off.

Isla Dawn def. Nina Samuels

Dawn and Samuels are perfectly competent performers, but I still can't bring myself to care about them as characters. We know very little about them and both have already unsuccessfully challenged for the NXT UK Women's Championship, so I'm not really sure what you do them. From an in-ring standpoint, this was a solid match, but it just sort of felt like it existed. The crowd was behind Dawn, so there was that.

Ridge Holland def. Tyson T-Bone

Both of these guys wrestle very similar styles, even though Holland is far more impressive. He's been presented extremely well so far and has a "star" aura about him. This was another short and sweet squash from him, but I'm ready for him to have his first feud on the brand. I don't know who it'd be with, but at least he's starting to pick up wins over actual members of the roster.

Imperium def. "Bomber" Dave Mastiff, Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster

Imperium consisted of Alexander Wolfe, Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel here. Despite never teaming before, Mastiff had excellent chemistry with Andrews and Webster and this was a very fun main event on the whole. The action was exciting and Imperium continue to prove that they can work well with just about anyone. WALTER costing Mastiff the victory might lead to them feuding over the NXT UK Championship, and if so, I am all for that.

Overall Show

I hope more people will give NXT UK a chance coming off that terrific TakeOver earlier this month and then Worlds Collide this past weekend. The brand is criminally underrated and often features some strong stories and above-average matches. The main event on this edition was entertaining, Lorcan's return was newsworthy, Holland scored another dominant win, and new matches were set up for next week. The only thing I didn't care for was Dawn vs. Samuels, but even that wasn't enough to hinder my enjoyment of this episode.