BRM Reviews the 5/20/2021 NXT UK

[Big Red Machine]

WOLFGANG vs. RAMPAGE BROWN- 6.75/10
Brown’s midsection got worked over, but he fought through the pain. I loved the spot where he was ready for the spear the second time Wolfgang went for it and how that was used to turn the tide and set up the finish.

EARLIER THIS WEEK AT THE UK PC, TEOMAN INTERRUPTS ASHTON SMITH’S INTERVIEW- good
Smith became a father last year and was being asked how he juggled being a father and a wrestler. Teoman came up to him and congratulated him n being a father and talked about ho important family was… but then pointed out that Smith’s mentee Oliver Carter is nowhere to be found and suggests that Smith has been neglecting that particular “family” responsibility.

AOIFE VALKYRIE VIDEO PACKAGE/PROMO- great
She talks about learning from her defeat and not letting it get her down. They intercut this with footage of her running through a forest and climbing a tree, and it ended with her in the tree talking about how she was ready to fly.

GALLUS INTERRUPT RAMPAGE BROWN’S INTERVIEW- fine
Joe Coffey is ready for a match against Brown whenever Brown is ready.

XIA BROOKSIDE vs. AMALE- 6/10
This was a GREAT angry technical match for the time it got, culminating in Amale picking up what I believe is her first win (or at least her first win of consequence) in NXT UK.

NATHAN FRAZIER BOTHERS SHA SAMUELS IN THE KITCHEN AREA- fine
They Frazier wants a match next week to get revenge on Samuels for interfering in his match against Noam Dar last week.

MEIKO SATOMURA VS. KAY LEE RAY VIDEO PACKAGE- This was more a recap from last week, but the important part is that they’re keeping this at the front of our minds.

SUPERNOVA SESSIONS WITH SPECIAL GUEST ILJA DRAGUNOV- AWESOME!
Hey, look! One of these didn’t suck! It turns out the trick is for the other person to have an actual button for Dar to try to push rather than for Dar just to be antagonistic for the sake of it. Ilja played his part well by not reacting violently.

SAM GRADWELL BARGES INTO SID SCALA’S OFFICE- great!
He wants a match against Trent Seven after their encounter last week. Gradwell is one of the most entertaining heels in wrestler, simply by being so loud.

SID SCALA ANNOUNCES SOME MATCHES- In two weeks, we will get Rampage vs. Joe Coffey and Dar vs. Dragunov.

NXT UK HERITAGE CUP TITLE MATCH: A-Kid(c) vs. Tyler Bate (w/Trent Seven)- 8/10
They were even through the first four rounds. A-Kid got a major advantage in the fifth but Bate wouldn’t tap. Bate then won 1-0 with a roll-up in the sixth round. The match was awesome, but I really hate the booking here. I know that Bate isn’t even 25 yet, but this felt like already-established guy cutting the up-and-comer’s title reign short. I know it has been six months already, but it felt like A-Kid hadn’t yet established himself or the title. The best comparison I can think of is actually Tyler Bate losing the WWE UK Title to Pete Dunne. He had had the belt for long enough to be significant, but hadn’t done enough for the reign to be memorable for any reason other than the historical note that it was the first. I really hope they have a big next step planned for A-Kid here, or else I worry that he will get lost in the shuffle.



A GREAT episode of NXT UK!