WWE NXT UK Review - November 28, 2019

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Piper Niven def. Jinny

Jinny and Jazzy Gabert have been on the downswing for the past month, so I can't say I was surprised that Jinny was beaten again here. The actual match, unfortunately, was no good. They lacked chemistry and nothing about this seemed to click at all. Thankfully, the post-match stuff made up for it with Niven and the returning Toni Storm going after Kay Lee Ray, planting the seeds for a future Triple Threat between the three. Storm's return would have been more impactful had she not randomly resurfaced on SmackDown last week.

Eddie Dennis def. Dereiss Gordon

Dennis has been out injured for many months and it's good to see him back. This was a smart way of bringing him back into the fold and re-establishing him as a dominant force. He had some momentum before he got hurt earlier this year, so hopefully he'll be able to recapture that in time. The commentators emphasized how Gordon was a trainee of Trent Seven's, so Dennis is clearly being groomed for a feud with him.

Noam Dar def. AShton Smith

Smith has been a glorified stepping stone for the rest of the NXT UK roster since the brand's launch over a year ago, so while the outcome to this contest was never in doubt, at least the guy can go in the ring. He and Dar had a nice little match and received more time than I thought they would. Of course, Dar winning was the right call as he looks to bounce back from his loss to Seven last month.

Imperium vs. Gallus and Ilja Dragunov Ended in a No contest

This wasn't a match that would have interested me a few months ago, but to their credit, they've done a decent job of building it up. Thus, this had a big fight feel, even if it started out slow. I appreciated the attention to detail with Alexander Wolfe and Dragunov as well as WALTER and Joe Coffey. The non-finish was logical in keeping the rivalry between the two factions alive and setting the stage for a few different matches (presumably at TakeOver: Blackpool II).

Overall Show

I suppose it was only fitting that an episode of NXT UK aired on a holiday that isn't celebrated in the United Kingdom. In all seriousness, TakeOver: Blackpool II will be here in no time, so I like that they've already begun to build to the event. This wasn't a must-see show by any means, but the main event was enjoyable and the other three matches managed to get certain stars over. Storm's return was pretty noteworthy, too. On tap for next week: Jordan Devlin vs. A-Kid and Travis Banks vs. Ligero vs. Joseph Conners.