WWE NXT UK Review - March 17, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Oliver Carter def. NXT UK Tag Team Champion Tyler Bate

It was previously established that if Carter and Ashton Smith can beat Moustache Mountain in separate singles matches, then they'll earn themselves another opportunity at the NXT UK Tag Team Championship. Moustache Mountain have come off slightly heelish recently and that was once again the case here when Trent Seven shoved Smith into the steel steps at ringside. The match was nicely paced and it was the strongest singles showing I've seen Carter have throughout his entire NXT UK run. He had to win here to extend the feud and it definitely has to be considered an upset considering Bate is NXT UK's Triple Crown champion.

Emilia McKenzie def. Nina Samuels

I tend to not care about almost anything Samuels is involved in (regardless of what it is) because I find her to be so bland and McKenzie has come off as fairly generic herself so far in NXT UK, but this bout exceeded expectations. They gave it a great effort and were given more time than I thought they would be. That made this a fun matchup. Hopefully McKenzie winning is a sign she won't be as much of an afterthought going forward and we'll eventually get to see her wrestle her mentor Meiko Satomura.

Aleah James def. Stevie Turner

James has been on a bit of a roll as of late and the question was whether she could keep it going against Turner. I'm a fan of Turner and would like to see her do more, but I'm fine with her helping elevate James here. We just need to hear from James more so she can develop her character. This was a perfectly average match with James picking up another upset win, though Turner's reaction to the loss makes me think we haven't seen the last of these two against each other.

Roderick Strong def. Wolfgang

Roderick Strong in NXT UK just makes so much sense. I hope he's here for a handful of matches and beyond because he fits the vibe of the brand so damn well, and it looks like he will be considering he called out Ilja Dragunov afterward. Wolfgang was a nice first opponent for him because Wolfgang is a veteran of the brand and a big enough name that it meant something for Strong to beat him. They had the hard-hitting affair I was hoping for with Strong winning decisively.

Overall Show

It's about time we got fans back in the crowd. I don't know why the shows had to be held in an empty arena for a month or two, but at least it's over. That aspect alone automatically enhanced my enjoyment of the show. Having Strong around for the time being is a big plus and I'm excited for his eventual match with Dragunov. The rest of this show was solid and, again, this probably would have been an ordinary episode any other week, but it felt much more lively this week due to the circumstances.

SEE MORE: NXT UK Reviews