WWE NXT UK 3/4/2021

WWE NXT UK 3/4/2021

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2021/02/wwe-nxt-uk-2252021.html

They do a video package for Ray/Satomura tonight with various wrestlers putting over both.

Ilja Dragunov vs Sam Gradwell

I'm excited for this one. These two should be a pretty good match against each other. Drag hits some takedowns early then Gradwell starts stomping on him. Drag comes back with a high knee in the corner then one in his face. Then he kicks him in the chest and knees him across the face from the top. Gradwell is bleeding from the mouth  and when Drag goes up top, Sam knocks him down to the floor.

Drag gets back in and takes an STO that sends him rolling backwards. On the ropes, Sam hits a hard forearm and double underhook suplexes him. Sam tells Drag he is letting his son down then Drag headbutts him hard. Drag then lariats him. Drag starts hitting chops on Sam's back then Sam comes back with chops to the face. Drag hits a great german suplex then Drag does a top rope senton.

Drag charges at Sam but goes headfirst in the buckles and takes the 2nd turnbuckle pad with him. Drag gets out of a fireman's carry with multiple elbows then the ref stops the match after Sam can't stop the elbow flurry. After the match, Drag continues it and threatens a ref. Drag then snaps out of his rage and Sam is seen laughing as this is exactly what Sam said he was like. Drag is upset over what he did and is kicked out of the ring area as Gradwell laughs.

This is a different angle and we will have to see where they go with it. The match got sacrificed a bit for the angle and had it been a little more even I think it would have been better. It was still fine, just not what it could have been.

Kay Lee Ray is warming up in the back.

We get another package with a new wrestler talking aout how he would do whatever he had to do for his family. He said it is about how hard you fight and how far you go to get people to respect you and fear you. He reveals himself as "Teoman".

Xia Brookside is in the back and asks Nina Samuels to make tea for her since she is her personal assistant for a month. Nina puts some junk in one of the drinks and Aleah James, who is with Xia turns it down. Nina gets frustrated by this.

Supernova Sessions with Noam Dar

Dar reads some fanmail to start, then the 3rd letter calls him a loser and tells him to get a haircut. Tyler Bate is the guest today.

Dar asks him about his new attitude. Bate says he is zen now. Dar makes fun of him for being vegan and has broccoli for him but drops it on the floor. He then grabs a pile of greens and drops them all over Bate. Bate thinks it is funny and eats it. Dar says Bate should be scared of fighting Dave Mastiff next week but Bate said he isn't scared.  Bate says the match with Mastiff will be held under Heritage Cup rules. He said where fear ends, life begins. He teases hitting him which sends Dar back then he says he is nobodies doorman. Bate then poses to end the segment, then Dar beats up his set. This didn't work for me at all.

Ben Carter is shown in the ring then he is interviewed. He said he has never really learned the British Style and probably should.

They do a package on Aleah James. She talks about how the divas inspired her and is so happy to have this oppurtunity.

Isla Dawn is plahying around with tarot cards and a glass globe in the back. She and Scarlett would get along well.

Kenny Williams & Amir Jordan vs. Ashton Smith & Oliver Carter

Carter walks up Williams in the corner and they evade each other early. Smith runs through Williams with a shoulder and shoulder throws him. Jordan hits a dropkick and a crossbody on Smith. Smith facedrops Jordan into Carter's boots then clotheslines him. Williams comes in and hits some euro uppercuts then a springboard euro uppercut on Smith. Williams springboards again but is caught and turns it into a sunset bomb.

Carter goes for the silly string on Smith but Williams kicks him down then Williams and Jordan tope them. Jordan swanton's Smith off the the top and Carter breaks the pin. Carter gets backflipped into a splash on Jordan then Williams hits a plancha on Smith. Carter and Jordan reverse each others pin attempts until Williams helps Jordan get the win. This was a pretty basic match with mostly simple moves and was just not that interesting. 

Williams and Jordan were interviewed. They were excited for their win and said they would beat Andrews and Webster next week.

WWE NXT UK Women's Championship - Kay Lee Ray (c) vs Meiko Satomura

Ray works the arm a little early then takes some hard kicks and a handstand knee. Ray snapmares and rolls with Meiko then kicks her in the face. Meiko comes back with a buzzsaw kick then Ray ducks, so she swings it around and hits it on the way back. Meiko then STF's her but Kay hits the ropes.

Meiko continues to kick around Ray, but Ray comes back with a front first slam and a Koji clutch. Ray tries some kicks of her own and Meiko comes off the ropes with a spinning heel kick. Meiko then bullies her with kicks in the corner. Meiko hangs her off the apron then ddt's her on the floor. Ray tries a Gori bomb on the apron but ends up taking a death valley driver on the apron. Back in and Meiko hits a stiff cartwheel knee. Meiko then backdrops her for 2.

Ray gets put in the corner and tornado ddt's her, then puts her in the Koji clutch. Ray goes up top but Meiko stops her and hits a pele kick. Meiko then hits a death valley bomb for 2. Meiko goes for a frog splash off the top and Ray gets her knees up. Ray hits a Gory bomb but its only for 2.

Ray misses a swanton from the top and blocks a Meiko shining axe kick. Ray goes for the Gori bomb but Satomura reverses it into a pin attempt. Ray hits a superkick then Meiko returns with a pele kick. Ray then hits another Gory bomb and wins it.

It was a decent to good back and forth match and certainly some of the best work to ever come out of the WWE's women's division. The match put Ray over as being more legit if nothing else. It was stiff and there was a little bit of a story of Ray getting beaten up by Meiko. It felt a little heavy on the moves and kickouts though. I'm not sure why Ray won this since Meiko winning would have been an easy story and now Meiko is left without a story. A crowd also would have helped this a lot.

Overall thoughts: Not a great episode of NXT UK as the tag match and the Supernova Sessions segment weren't that great, but Ilja/Sam was good and the main was good.