WWE NXT UK Review - November 21, 2018 Review (Part 1)

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Rhea Ripley def. Xia Brookside in an NXT UK Women's Championship Tournament Quarterfinal Match

Despite being incredibly young, Brookside showed a lot of promise during this year's Mae Young Classic, especially since she has such a unique look and charisma about her. Of course, it's way too early to shoehorn her into the NXT UK Women's Championship picture, so although her losing to Ripley here was only academic, I was glad she had a solid showing and scored some offense before eating defeat. Ripley impresses me immensely every time I see her in action and she should be involved in the finals as well (assuming she doesn't win the whole thing).

Eddie Dennis def. Jack Starz

Dennis gives off a Leo Kruger-esque vibe to me with his brooding personality, but I mean that in the best way possible. That said, I think he has much more potential than Kruger ever did and I loved the video packages he received leading up to his in-ring debut a few weeks ago. This was a good showcase for Dennis as he hit his signature spots and went over in decisive fashion.

Mark Andrews def. "Wild Boar" Mike Hitchman

As I've said time and time again, Andrews is one of the most likable babyfaces on the brand because of his innate ability to get crowds behind him regardless of who he's up against.​ His exciting aerial abilities always make his matches a treat and this was no exception, especially considering his opponent was much larger than him. It was a cool clash of styles and Andrews' victory allowed him to bounce back following his recent loss to Wolfgang and The Coffey Brothers in six-man tag team action.

Toni Storm def. Isla Dawn in an NXT UK Women's Championship Tournament Quarterfinal Match

I loved how the commentators mentioned how a handful of ladies from NXT UK's women's division are "so sick" of Storm because of all the opportunities she's received on NXT and in the Mae Young Classic lately. That added an extra level of animosity to this outing and Dawn's aggression was excellent. She took a majority of the match, but in the end, Storm managed to prevail and advance in the tournament.

Jordan Devlin def. Ligero

I've noted before how Devlin has gradually been growing on me since the launch of NXT UK and this was easily the best bout I've seen him in to date. Meanwhile, Ligero is so different than anyone else on this show and is an outstanding athlete, so I liked this match quite a bit and was actually slightly surprised by how much chemistry they had together. This was a ton of fun while it lasted and the pace they worked was perfect. Devlin screamed Pete Dunne's name afterward, so it looks like he's next in line for a shot at the WWE United Kingdom Championship.

Overall Show

The continuation of the NXT UK Women's Championship Tournament took center stage on this show and both bouts delivered. The rest of the episode was enjoyable as well with Dennis and Andrews building momentum and Ligero and Devlin having an entertaining encounter in the main event. I appreciated that in addition to everything I wrote about above, there was also plenty of build for next week's show with several matches being set up for that edition of NXT UK. Similar to NXT, those little things make the shows that much more fluid.