WWE NXT UK Review - May 19, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Xia Brookside and Eliza Alexander def. Amale and Angel Hayze

Brookside and Alexander are the heel duo they're trying to push right now, whereas I'm not sure Hayze is even signed. In other words, the outcome wasn't really in doubt, but this was decent, nonetheless. The heels mostly bullied Hayze throughout, and despite Amale's best efforts, it was the heels who won by pinning Hayze to keep the feud going. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary about this and probably shouldn't have been slotted as the opener, but it served its purpose.

Die Familie (Teoman and Rohan Raja) def. "Bomber" Dave Mastiff and Jack Starz to Qualify for the NXT UK Tag Team Championship Triple Threat Tag Team Match

Mastiff and Starz have turned into quite the team over the last number of months. The tag team division isn't exactly deep, so I'm glad the inevitable split hasn't been rushed. Die Familie have more momentum at the moment and therefore it made sense for them to win. This was a quality contest with good wrestling throughout. I could certainly see Die Familie taking the tag titles come that Triple Threat match.

Kenny Williams def. Josh Morrell

I believe Tiger Turan was shown sitting ringside, but I'm honestly not positive because I already forgot what the guy looked like since he debuted two weeks ago. There were a few other masked assailants and the story is that Williams doesn't know which one cost him the win against Sam Gradwell. I still say it's the returning Amir Jordan because I have no clue who else would have it out for Williams. This was a standard squash for Williams to give him a rebound win.

Wild Boar def. Eddie Dennis in a Dog Collar Match

When was the last time we got a true Dog Collar match in WWE? I know we've had several Strap matches over the years, but only AEW has been doing Dog Collar matches in recent years unless I'm forgetting one WWE did. For it to happen on NXT UK of all brands was interesting, but I thought it fit the nature of this feud nicely and it was a pretty brutal bout. I wasn't a fan of the interference from the rest of Symbiosis down the stretch, but it made sense given there were no disqualifications and Wild Boar won, regardless. Could the minor miscommunication between Primate and Dennis lead to the reunion of The Hunt?

Overall Show

It was nice to not get any of the NXT 2.0 talent in the ring this week, though they're clearly building to Sam Gradwell vs. Von Wagner and Emilia McKenzie vs. Lash Legend has already been announced for next week. We'll see how that goes. The main event for this episode was entertaining and the rest of the show held up just fine, making this one of the better editions in recent weeks (though the bar is admittedly low).

SEE MORE: NXT UK Reviews