WWE NXT UK Review - October 21, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Aleah James def. Xia Brookside

Brookside has been down on her luck lately and has been randomly challenging women she thinks she can beat. You had to know this would result in another loss for her, but it still felt like an upset because Brookside has been a regular on the show for three years now. The match never had a chance to be more than fine, but the key was progressing Brookside's story and in that respect I thought it was a success.

"Bomber" Dave Mastiff and Jack Starz def. Symbiosis (Primate and Tyson T-Bone) by Disqualification

Mastiff and Starz are the latest example of two people the powers that be had no idea what to do with, so they were paired off into a tag team. I feel like I've seen that far more than usual from this company this year, but on the bright side, they have nice chemistry together. It's better than Mastiff being reduced to enhancement status like he was previously. This was a fine match and the non-finish means we're in for more matches between the two teams. Oliver Carter and Ashton Smith making the save for the babyfaces also gets them in the mix.

Noam Dar and Sha Samuels Hosted Supernova Sessions with Moustache Mountain

The set for the show has been moved to the ring now that fans are back. Dar does well in the host role more often than not, so this was solid. The primary purpose was building toward Dar vs. Tyler Bate for the NXT UK Heritage Cup Championship next week and I thought it did a decent job of doing just that. Bate brought up how he's beaten Dar every time they've faced off, which makes me think there's a chance Dar could take the title next week to free up Moustache Mountain for another shot at the NXT UK Tag Team Championship.

Jordan Devlin def. Joe Coffey

Gallus got involved in their last match and played a part in Coffey's win, so they were banned from ringside here. Coffey's matches tend to bore me most of the time, but working with someone as talented as Devlin definitely helps. Thus, this was a well-worked main event that I think I enjoyed more than their original encounter. Devlin gets his win back and there's no reason to follow the typical formula of doing a rubber matchup. I'd like to see Devlin move on to something more meaningful or chase Ilja Dragunov for the NXT United Kingdom Championship.

Overall Show

Having (some) fans back in attendance is a definite upgrade, but I can't honestly tell you that this was an enthralling episode by any stretch. The main event was the best part of the show and even that wasn't a barn burner by any means. The stuff in the undercard was decent and moved things along, but it's nothing worth going out of your way to see. At least we have Bate vs. Dar to look forward to next week. I have no doubt that will be fun.

SEE MORE: NXT UK Reviews