WWE NXT UK Review - July 8, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Kenny Williams def. Nathan Frazer

I've been hoping for a while now that these two would find some direction, so I like the idea of them feuding. Williams has developed into a good midcard heel while Frazer is a fun underdog babyface. They worked well together here and had an enjoyable opener. Frazer winning was the right call as it sets up the need for a rematch and gives Williams even more credibility. He should be built up for a shot at the NXT UK Heritage Cup Championship eventually.

Mark Andrews def. NXT UK Tag Team Champion Lewis Howley

It was said that if Andrews could beat Howley here, he and Flash Morgan Webster would earn themselves an opportunity at Pretty Deadly's NXT UK Tag Team Championship. We've seen that before in WWE and it doesn't make much sense since they didn't defeat the champs straight up or win a number one contender's match, but oh well. Andrews is a blast to watch, so his offense was the highlight of this harmless-albeit-forgettable outing.

Blair Davenport def. Laura Di Matteo

There was no announcement last week that Davenport would be in action this show, which was strange. Why not advertise it in advance? Nonetheless, she had a solid showing in her in-ring debut for NXT UK. As I've said before, I wasn't her biggest fan in AEW and I haven't seen many of her matches elsewhere, but she's definitely a great get for the NXT UK women's division. Her post-match promo was a nice touch and she definitely comes across like a star. Now let's see if she can continue to live up to the hype.

Trent Seven def. Eddie Dennis

Although Dennis has had a handful of important singles matches over the years (including two with Seven just last year), I've started to see him more as a manger than as an in-ring competitor. I think that's really the right role for him at the end of the day. They had a perfectly solid main event, though it wasn't overly exciting. Despite the inevitable interference from the rest of Symbiosis, Seven was able to pick up the win. Him and Tyler Bate stood tall to end the show, so a tag team match is likely coming one of these weeks.

Overall Show

I didn't have high hopes for this episode on paper considering it was headlined by a Seven vs. Dennis match that was set up on one week's notice, but it ended up being a quality hour of wrestling on the whole. The main event built toward a tag team match, Davenport debuted, Williams and Frazer did their thing, and we now know who's getting the next NXT UK Tag Team Championship shot. It wasn't the most newsworthy show, but everything served a purpose. We also found out that WALER will be defending the NXT UK Championship against Ilja Dragunov in two weeks. Why they aren't saving that for when fans return is beyond me.

SEE MORE: NXT UK Reviews