NXT UK 102

This ought to be interesting. How will WWE present NXT UK now that half the roster has been accused of one kind of sexual impropriety or another?

June 28, 2017 – Winter Park, Florida 

Asuka def. Nikki Cross {NXT Women’s Championship Last Woman Standing Match}
Jinny picked this one, and it seems they’re getting around showing the alleged offenders by steering away from NXT UK matches entirely. Okay, so they clearly put a lot of effort into this, and took some crazy bumps as well. The powerbomb on to the chair pile was particularly hard to watch because Asuka took such a nasty bump on the back of her head. That said, this was unfortunately the victim of LMS (I guess LWS in this case) setbacks. The crowd wasn’t engaged in the counting, and they were practically silent for the brawling around the arena. This stipulation can be done fantastically, but it’s not easy, and this didn’t really crack the code. But like I said, lots of points for the gnarly bumps they took here, and for Asuka’s fighting stance every time she barely made it back to her feet. Asuka suplexed Cross off of a ladder through the announce table for the win at 20:30 (though the match has around five minutes cut out here). ***½

Oliver Carter and Ashton Smith video chat with each other. Carter has had matching gear made for them. Smith wanted black gear, but Carter got it done in orange. Smith says that regardless, they’re going for the NXT UK Tag Team Championships. Okay, we’ll see if those exist in two weeks. 

April 7, 1986 – Rosemont, Illinois

Davey Boy Smith & Dynamite Kid def. Greg Valentine & Brutus Beefcake {WWF Tag Team Championship Match}
Nina Samuels picked this one, from WrestleMania 2. The Bulldogs and Valentine were doing their best to have the main event-style match that the Chicago fans deserved, but Beefcake was basically on another planet. The finish was kind of weird too, as Kid smashed Valentine’s head into Smith’s and that was good enough for the win and the titles at 13:03. Overall, a fun match on an otherwise subpar card. ***¼ 

Ridge Holland gets a hype video. 

July 4, 2015 – Tokyo, Japan

Finn Balor def. Kevin Owens {NXT Championship Match}
This is Aoife Valkyrie’s pick. So yeah it seems the trend is to pick non-NXT UK matches and have the women on screen. Valkyrie weirdly says that this is her favorite era for NXT. Shouldn’t all people currently employed say the current era is their favorite era? This was dramatic as all get-out. When I watched it the first time (for context) as I was going through the Takeover shows, I felt it was the best match under the NXT banner to date. I still feel that way, though this match wouldn’t have that claim for long. Balor won the match and the title in 19:25 with the Coup de Gras. Tatsumi Fujinami celebrated with Balor after the match, but Owens wouldn’t shake Balor’s hand. ****¼