WWE NXT UK Review - June 19, 2019

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Kassius Ohno def. KEnny Williams

Ohno hasn't won too many important matches in NXT UK, but you can always expect him to beat one of the guys lower on the card like Williams. This worked because it was a fun clash of styles and Williams didn't lose much in defeat because he's a tag team guy, anyway. It was a nice match that could have gone longer but was good for what it was. For what it's worth, Williams teased feuding with Noam Dar post-match.

Travis Banks Interrupted Imperium

Every member of Imperium took turns cutting a promo about what they stand for and why they came together. The crowd booed the hell out of them for it, so this generated great heat. As I mentioned last week, I'm a big fan of Alexander Wolfe joining the stable, as it's a vast improvement over what he was doing before on SmackDown Live (which was basically nothing). Banks also handled his promo well, but I thought it was weird that the announcement that WALTER and Banks will be facing off for the WWE United Kingdom Championship next week was randomly thrown out there. I would have spent more time building it up, and in fact, I figured they would hold off on it until TakeOver: Cardiff. Apparently not, but hopefully they prolong the program by having that match next week end in a non-finish.

Gallus def. The Hunt

Prior to this, The Hunt never technically turned babyface, so I don't blame the crowd for not siding with them here. The match was perfectly solid but hardly anything special. Gallus winning was the right call, and afterward, "Bomber" Dave Mastiff aligned with The Hunt to take out all three members of Gallus. It looks like a six-man tag team matchup is only inevitable, and I liked this because of how Mastiff had unfinished business with Gallus from a while ago.

Kay Lee Ray Won an NXT UK Women's Championship No. 1 Contender's Battle Royal

This was the first Battle Royal of its kind for the women of NXT UK and I loved how it felt like a big deal as a result. It was far from the greatest Battle Royal I've ever seen, but it was fairly well laid out with several rivalries progressing and the order of eliminations largely making sense. Rhea Ripley and Piper Niven trading blows toward the end was a cool preview of what to expect when they eventually go one-on-one, and Xia Brookside nearly winning before being tossed out by Ray was a smart finish. Ray vs. Toni Storm for the title should be a blast.

Overall Show

The next few editions of NXT TV will likely be emanating from Download Festival, unless this was a one-and-done type deal. I'm all for a change in scenery once in a while. The Battle Royal was the big draw for this show and it succeeded in what it set out to do. Furthermore, Mastiff was able to further his feud with Gallus, Ohno and Williams had a well-wrestled match, and WALTER vs. Banks for the United Kingdom title was set for next week. It was also announced that The Grizzled Young Veterans will be defending their NXT UK Tag Team Championship against Moustache Mountain in two weeks' time.