WWE NXT UK Review - October 31, 2019

​By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Piper Niven and Rhea Ripley def. Jazzy Gabert and Jinny

I had high hopes for this considering the talent involved, but it just ended up being an average tag team affair. I liked the dynamite Niven and Ripley had as former foes, but they worked as a cohesive unit long enough to beat the duo of Jinny and Gabert decisively. I was really surprised to see Gabert take the pinfall loss again, as I thought they would want to protect her. Rather, she was beaten with relative ease and now she and Jinny don't have much steam coming off their latest loss.

A-Kid def. Kassius Ohno by Count-Out

For some reason, I thought A-Kid would be facing Tyler Bate in his first match on NXT UK, but I must have misunderstood Bate when he said last week that he was looking forward to A-Kid's debut. Ohno wasn't a bad choice either as he's usually the go-to guy for when people need to be made to look strong in their debut and they had an enjoyable encounter. The count-out finish was a clever way of giving A-Kid the win but also protecting Ohno in defeat. Plus, it looks like we'll be getting an Ohno vs. Bate feud based off what happened afterward.

Joseph Conners def. Roy Johnson

Was Roy Johnson's middle name William by any chance? All right, stupid jokes aside (and this dude's name was Roy and not Ray anyway, this was a standard squash match for Conners, but I'm not exactly sure why. He was being built up for a bit not too long ago so he could lose to someone else (I forget who), so I have no idea why he's back to winning matches. He bores me to tears and I know I'm not the only one who feels that way.

NXT UK Women's Champion Kay Lee Ray Addressed Toni Storm and Xia Brookside

It's strange that Kay hasn't had much buzz since becoming the NXT UK Women's Champion at TakeOver: Cardiff. She won the title from Toni Storm and then... nothing. Granted, she did defeat Tegan Nox about a week ago, but that's about it. She talked about Storm here (leading me to believe a rematch is inevitable) as well as Brookside, who has been gradually building momentum lately. That's a program I can get behind.

Jordan Devlin def. "Bomber" Dave Mastiff

I've been singing the praises of Devlin for a while now and have been vocal about how he's been overlooked, so I was stoked to see him get the spotlight he deserves in the main event along with Mastiff. They had great chemistry and produced a very entertaining main event. The size difference worked in their favor, and most importantly, Devlin picked up the huge win. I believe that's the first time Mastiff has been pinned in NXT UK, so if this doesn't take Devlin to the next level, I don't know what will. I fear Mastiff will avenge the loss in an eventual rematch, but 50/50 booking wouldn't do either of them any favors.

Overall Show

This edition of NXT UK was overshadowed by WWE Crown Jewel happening later on in the day, but it was a solid show, nonetheless. The main event was the only must-see on the match on the show, but the stuff that was teased with Ilja Dragunov and Killer Kelly was interesting. Additionally, A-Kid had a fun debut while the other matches/segments were either decent or disappointing.