WWE NXT UK Review - May 12, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Ashton Smith and Oliver Carter def. Gallus (Joe and Mark Coffey) to Qualify for the NXT UK Tag Team Championship Triple Threat Tag Team Match

Tension has been teased within the ranks of Gallus as of late and this latest loss will only further drive a wedge between them. Smith and Carter are a much more prevalent pairing now than they've ever coming off their series of matches with Moustache Mountain and I'm looking forward to those teams interacting again in the Triple Threat tag team title match. This was a quality opener with some enjoyable action.

Ivy Nile def. Nina Samuels

Samuels is the ultimate stepping stone in NXT UK, so the outcome of this contest was never in doubt. She's received a ton of television time over the last several months with her Nina Samuels Show stuff, but I still don't about her any more than I did before. Nile, on the other hand, is someone officials clearly have high hopes for and will benefit from getting more experience. It was a fairly basic bout, but Nile continues to impress.

NXT United Kingdom Champion Ilja Dragunov def. Jordan Devlin in a Loser Leaves NXT UK Match

The stipulation was fitting seeing as how this was the 200th episode of NXT UK and Devlin has been a part of the brand since Day 1. Dragunov joined in the summer of 2019 if I'm not mistaken, so both guys have been around for a while. Considering Dragunov already beat Devlin a few months ago, there was a real chance Devlin would win here. Maybe that's why they did the false finish, though I wasn't a fan of how it halted the momentum of the match. Thankfully, they didn't have an issue picking right back up and delivering a fantastic final stretch. This was a strong main event and a hell of a sendoff for Devlin if this is indeed it for him on the brand. I'm just shocked he didn't make the move over to NXT sooner.

Overall Show

There wasn't anything overly special about this 200th episode of NXT UK other than the championship main event (which is better than nothing, of course) and the quick video package recapping the last four years of the brand. I got a good laugh out of Toni Storm being excluded now that she's a part of AEW despite being a big part of the women's division early on. Nonetheless, this was a vast improvement over last week's installment. The opening match was well wrestled, Nile was spotlighted, and the main event delivered and is worth seeking out. With NXT UK seemingly losing Devlin, will anyone be brought in to take his spot? I'm going to guess not.

SEE MORE: NXT UK Reviews