WWE NXT UK Review - May 26, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Mark Coffey def. Saxon Huxley

The Coffey brothers, as skilled as they are, largely bore me on their own and I don't find anything interesting about Huxley whatsoever, so this match wasn't for me, personally. This was a perfectly fine, well-worked affair, but it just sort of existed. The finish came out of nowhere, too. I guess the story is that Mark is holding down the fort for Gallus until Joe comes back, but a split still seems likely.

Lash Legend def. Emilia McKenzie

As I've said in several other interviews, Legend's matches are mostly hit or miss. She's improving but far from ready for television. As talented as McKenzie is, she's no miracle worker, and this wasn't exactly a smooth encounter. The David vs. Goliath dynamic helped, but this was pretty mediocre on the whole. The worst part is that Legend won after losing a lot on NXT and after all the winning McKenzie has done lately. This did nobody any favors.

Sha Samuels def. Damon Kemp

Kemp is one of the few NXT 2.0 people I have no problem coming over to NXT UK for a few matches because he definitely has potential and his style fits in with the brand. He's since joined Diamond Mine over in NXT, so it's clear management is high on him as well. Of course, he still needs more experience, and hopefully he can get it working with guys like Samuels. This was a solid match, though I don't know if Samuels needed to win since he's not too high on the totem pole in NXT UK.

Charlie Dempsey def. A-Kid in a Heritage Cup Rules Match

Dempsey won the last match they had with each other, and with this being contested Heritage Cup Rules, I figured he would get his win back here. I was actually pleasantly surprised that wasn't the case. They once again had excellent chemistry and Dempsey proved he was on A-Kid's level with the strong showing he had. I'm typically not a fan of the Heritage Cup-style of matches, but they kept me engaged throughout with urgent pace and entertaining action. Dempsey will have a bright future ahead of him if management can stay the course with him and keep giving him opportunities to shine.

Overall Show

The first three matches on this show were absolutely nothing you need to seek out. As noted, I have no issue with Kemp getting some reps in NXT UK, but Legend and Von Wagner need to kept as far away as possible. They don't fit the vibe of the brand whatsoever and it's only dragging down the quality of these shows. Although this wasn't an awful episode, the main event was really what salvaged. That was exactly what I hoped it would be and closed the night on a high note.

SEE MORE: NXT UK Reviews