Everyone wants at the NXT UK Women’s Champion!

But only one woman can have her! The entirety of the NXT UK Women’s locker room competes in a Battle Royal to determine Toni Storm’s next opponent!

OFFICIAL RESULTS

• Kenny Williams VS Kassius Ohno; Ohno wins.
• The Hunt VS Gallus; Gallus wins.
• NXT UK Women’s Championship #1 Contender’s Battle Royal: Kay Lee Ray wins and will face Toni Storm for the title, at a time of her choosing.

PLAY BY PLAY

NXT UK may have a new ruling power.

Imperium and British Strong Style fought it out in an incredible Six Man Tag main event last week, but a new face would sway the balance. Alexander Wolfe, formerly of SAnitY, pledges allegiance to Imperium as he helps them down British Strong Style! Will this fearsome foursome take over all of NXT UK?

NXT UK is at the Download Festival!

The formation of the brand owes a lot Derby, England and this three-day-weekend musical event! However, Nigel McGuinness opts out, so the Drama King, Aiden English, joins Vic Joseph on commentary!

Kenny Williams VS Kassius Ohno!

The Lucky Yan goes solo while Amir Jordan is still out of action! But can he #StayLucky against the Knockout Artist and Wrestling Genius?

The bell rings and Ohno stays back in the corner a moment. He eventually comes out and ties up with Kenny. Ohno wrenches and drags Kenny to the mat, steps through and has the wristlock. Fans cheer for the technical prowess, but Kenny rolls and hooks a leg. But Ohno gets both of Kenny’s arms to pull back in the motorcycle stretch. Ohno steps through to hook the arm, but Kenny works his way to a facelock. Fans rally but Ohno wrenches the arm again. Kenny brings Ohno back in for a facelock, but Ohno powers out to again wrench the arm. Ohno spins through to throw Kenny down to the mat. He keeps on the arm at the elbow joint, but Kenny endures. Kenny gets up and hops up to headscissor! Ohno stays up, and gets to the ropes. The ref calls for the ropebreak and Kenny honors it.

Fans cheer as Ohno is allowed to come out of the corner. Ohno ties up with Kenny and gets that arm again! Kenny endures but drops to a knee. Ohno wrenches more but Kenny jumps up and out! Kenny hurdles Ohno and rolls him up but Ohno rolls through. Kenny gets to a corner, shaking out the bad arm. Ohno runs in but Kenny goes up and over to then roll and bait Ohno in. Ohno falls for it, and Kenny rolls to get the leg. Kenny has Ohno on one foot as he hops up to get the headlock. Ohno powers Kenny to ropes but Kenny uses them to go up and over! Kenny hurdles to a sunset flip, but Ohno stays up. Ohno yanks Kenny up and shoves him, to catch him upside-down in the ropes!

Ohno laces the legs for a pseudo Tree of Woe, and he stomps Kenny into the apron! The ref counts and Ohno lets up to untie Kenny. Ohno yanks Kenny into the ropes by his feet! Kenny flounders to a corner but Ohno is on him again. Ohno throws a SLAP of a haymaker! Kenny is rocked but Ohno clubs away. Ohno puts Kenny in a corner for a CHOP! Kenny is sent reeling and Ohno kicks Kenny down. Fans want “One More Time!” and Ohno grins as he snapmares to a cover. TWO, but Ohno is on Kenny with a chinlock. Ohno shifts to an arm surfboard, but fans taunt, “Please don’t eat him!” Ohno gets annoyed, and he hauls Kenny up to a fireman’s carry for a rolling senton! Fans cheer while Kenny writhes and flounders.

Ohno stomps Kenny to a corner but Kenny pushes and chops back. Ohno shoves Kenny then snapmares him, for a big back senton, onto knees! Kenny gets Ohno there, but it really only angers Ohno. Ohno gets up but walks into Kenny’s uppercut! And CHOP! Kenny keeps chopping from both sides! Ohno whips to CHOP Kenny back, then brushes himself off. Ohno keeps Kenny against the ropes, takes off the arm band, then runs. Kenny catches Ohno in a wheelbarrow, but Ohno blocks and pops him up for a back suplex. Kenny lands on his feet! He waistlocks and rolls Ohno back, TWO! Pendulum Penalty Kick! Ohno rolls out of the ring but fans rally up. Kenny builds speed to wreck him with a dropkick! Kenny skins the cat to DIVE! And down goes Ohno!

Fans cheer on “NXT!” as Kenny gets Ohno in. Kenny climbs up as Ohno stands. Kenny leaps for a flying back elbow! Cover, TWO! Kenny can’t believe it, but he fires himself up as he goes to Ohno. He fires off headbutts and clubbing forearms, but his springboard is tripped up! Dream Crusher elbow! Ohno drags the floppy Kenny to a cover, Ohno wins!

Winner: Kassius Ohno, by pinfall

The Wrestling Genius takes care of Kenny’s miscalculations and gets another victory! Will Ohno prove he is the best at UK wrestling despite being American?

Imperium is here!

Ohno makes sure not to be in the way of Walter, Wolfe, Aichner and Barthel as the four walk out on stage. The four of them head to the ring, but for what? We find out after the break.

NXT UK returns with all four men in the ring, and fans chanting “Walter~! Walter~!” But the one to speak first is Marcel Barthel, which gets a lot of boos and “What?!” chants. Barthel waits until they’re over. “Apparently, you people think we are here to entertain you.” But Barthel assures them, they’re not. Imperium stands on the mat that is sacred, to restore honor to this sport. Aichner takes the mic to speak next, but fans chant “We Want Wrestling!” Aichner says that as we saw last week, “our numbers have increased. Our unit is now complete.” Fans troll Aichner with “Who Are Ya?” Aichner says fans will respect Imperium’s values. NXT UK will obey. Fans now chant, “We Want Peter!” and “Bruiserweight!” in reference to Pete Dunne.

But Wolfe speaks third, saying, “When I saw the opportunity to join Imperium, I had no doubt at all. It felt right to join Imperium. It felt right because this unit treats professional wrestling with respect.” Wolfe says that this brand, NXT UK, is not a playground. And Imperium WILL protect the legacy of this sport. Walter takes the mic now and speaks. “Talking about kids on the playground, Travis Banks. You may ahve a WWE United Kingdom Championship opportunty, but things will be done the way we want them to be done!” Therefore, Johnny Saint made the match for next week! But look at the group of men in the ring with Walter! They put Pete Dunne away, so Travis may be a brave young man, but he is a fool if he thinks he stands a chance! “We are Imperium! And this mat is SACRED!”

But here comes the Kiwi Buzzsaw to respond! Travis Banks is on stage with a mic of his own, to tell Imperium that if they want to do this next week, he has no problem. He has worked years for such an opportunity! Walter faces the Buzzsaw, and Banks promises Walter will need to bring everything he’s got! Will Banks tear down Imperium already? Or is not even years of hard work enough to overcome an Austrian Anomaly?

NXT UK Media catches up with Noam Dar.

The Scottish Supernova finishes up a call with his mum as reporters asked about his recent behavior, such as tricking Mark Andrews into thinking their rematch was a friendly one. What does he say to those claiming he’s “taking a dive?” Dar is offended! He just came back from a career-threatening injury! He should be getting a medal for this! Dar then says hey to his pal, Kenny Williams. Well things aren’t going his way, so Dar will give him some advice. It’s about time Kenny… How to put it? Dar illustrates it by holding up his arm. This is a wing, and there’s plenty of room for Kenny to be under it. Kenny tells Dar that this wing is gonna the way his knee did acting like this.

Dar tells Kenny to calm down. He’s just trying to help a friend. Maybe Kenny can become the perfect support act, and then his luck will turn around. Just think about it. Talk soon, bye bye. Kenny lets his “friend” head off in the wind, but will this attitude problem blow over between them?

The Hunt VS Gallus!

Just as Wild Boar and Primate returned victoriously to NXT UK, Wolfgang and Mark Coffey made it clear the Tag Team Division would be their kingdom! But now, Gallus will have to face these wild animals fair and square in the squared circle! Will Mark and Wolfgang survive The Hunt?

The teams sort out, and Primate starts against Mark Coffey. The bell rings and the brawl is on! Mark and Primate don’t back down so Wolfgang and Wild Boar rush in! Brawls all over the ring, the referee isn’t sure what to do! He tries to get them to sort out, but Gallus gets thrown out! The Hunt fires up and DOUBLE DIVE! The brawling just continues against the barriers! Primate clobbers Wolfgang then goes after Mark. Primate puts Mark in the ring but Mark comes back with forearms. Mark and Primate continue to brawl, but Primate powers Mark to the corner. Boar tags in and he stalks Mark to drop a back senton! Boar drops another, and fans cheer his wild style.

Wild Boar drags Mark up for big haymakers but Mark gets to ropes. The ref tries to get Boar back but Mark gives Boar a sucker punch! Mark boots Boar then full nelsons to a slam! Tag to Wolfgang who hits Primate before giving Boar a flying splash! Wolfgang keeps on Boar with furious hands while Primate protests. The ref keeps Primate back and Wolfgang wrenches Boar’s neck. Wild Boar endures and fans rally up. Wild Boar works his way up but Wolfgang shoves him to the Gallus corner. Tag to Mark and Wolfgang whips Boar back in. Mark throws body shots and kicks, then clubs Boar down. Cover, TWO! Mark stomps Boar and drops knees. Fans rally up for “Boar! Boar!” but Wolfgang tags in.

Gallus mugs Boar and Wolfgang wraps Boar in a half nelson. Boar endures while fans duel, “Let’s Go, Gallus!” “Gallus Sucks!” Wolfgang thrashes Boar around in a grounded full nelson! Boar still endures, and works his way back up and powers Wolfgang to the corner. But Mark tags in and boots Wolfgang down! Mark drops knees then wraps on a chinlock and half nelson. Mark almost has a cobra clutch but fans rally up. Boar fights but Mark knees him back down. Tag to Wolfgang and Gallus mugs Boar more. Wolfgang puts on another full nelson, then throws Boar hard into the corner. Tag back to Mark and the mugging continues. Tag to Wolfgang, and Mark feeds Boar to his scoop. But Boar slips out to shove Wolfgang into Mark! Hot tag to Primate!

Primate rallies on Gallus as fans cheer! He stalks Wolfgang to a corner to fire off hammering fists! Primate whips corner to corner for a BIG clothesline, to an exploder! Primate fires up with the fans, but he has to hit Mark down first. Wolfgang hits Primate then whips, but Primate reverses to back drop! Primate wants Wolfgang to stand, and fans bark, but Wolfgang tosses Primate out! Mark tackles Boar into steel steps! Gallus gets Primate in and Mark tags. Mark feeds Primate to Wolfgang’s scoop, enziguri powerslam! Cover, Gallus wins!

Winners: Gallus, Mark Coffey pinning

The Hunt is downed by the divide and conquer strategy! Gallus rolls on, but will they truly make the NXT UK Tag Team Division their kingdom?

Joe Coffey comes out to celebrate with his team, but then sees Wild Boar getting up. Gallus goes after Boar, 3v1! Fans boo as Mark and Wolfgang hold Boar up for All the Best for the Bells! Primate revives but the Coffey Brothers punch and stomp him down. But here comes Bomber Dave Mastiff! Mastiff owes Gallus for costing him a title shot! But Gallus runs away! When and where will Gallus have to answer to the big bad Bomber from Black Country?

Backstage interview with Moustache Mountain.

It is official! After hearing out the fans, GM Johnny Saint grants Trent Seven and Tyler Bate a rematch with Grizzled Young Veterans for the NXT UK Tag Team Championships! Seven and Bate are happy that this is finally happened. It was back in January that they had that first match. But to be fair, Moustache Mountain has been busy. Where is their focus going into this match? “If you want to be the absolute pinnacle and the absolute peak of your industry, then there’s gonna be certain distractions.” Their plate was full, with Gallus and now Imperium. But the tag titles are now their focus. They will prove to the NXT UK Universe and the world that Moustache Mountain is the best. Will it be Seven & Bate who are soon to be recognized as the best team on NXT UK?

NXT UK Women’s Championship #1 Contender’s Battle Royal!

The Lightning from Down Under is still THE NXT UK Women’s Champion, but after dealing with Nina Samuels, there’s plenty of #ToniTime to go around. Nina still has a shot in this battle royal, but so does Xia Brookside, Candy Floss, Killer Kelly, Isla Dawn, Rhea Ripley, Piper Niven, Kay Lee Ray, Jinny and The Alpha Female, Jazzy Gabert. With such fierce competition in the ring, who is the last woman left to go after Toni Storm’s “Shiny Shiny?”

NXT UK returns as KLR makes her entrance, followed by Piper Niven. Piper eyes Jazzy as she’s already in the center of the ring. But then Piper’s attention turns to the instigator, the Mosh Pit Kid, Rhea Ripley, as she makes her entrance. Rhea and Piper have wanted at each other in the ring, this might be their opportunity to do just that. With all the participants in the ring, the bell rings and the fight is on!

Jinny goes at Isla while Jazzy seems completely untouched. Perhaps no one wants to challenge the Alpha Female’s power just yet. But then Candy Floss and a pair of newcomers from the NXT UK tryouts gang up on her. They’re not enough and Jazzy fights her way out! She mule kicks Rhio McDonnell and back elbows Winona Makanji then lariats Candy down. Jazzy throws and ELIMINATES Rhio! Winona tries again, but then immediately regrets it. Jazzy grabs her with one hand but Winona fights out. Jazzy tries the other hand but again Winona fights out. So Jazzy grabs Winona with both hands to knee her low and throw her out. Winona holds on but gets a CHOP! Jazzy ELIMINATES Winona!

Jazzy turns her attention to Candy Floss for furious strikes! KLR CHOPS Xia while Isla fights off both Nina Samuels and Jinny. Jazzy lifts Candy in the Canadian rack, for a Dominator Slam! And a hard one. Jinny sees this, and takes Candy for herself, to ELIMINATE Candy! The Spoiled Princess gets on the board but with help from Jazzy. Xia headscissors KLR out but through the middle rope! KLR is still in the match. Jinny goes after Xia while Jazzy knocks down Killer Kelly. Rhea goes after Isla while Nina goes after Piper. Jazzy and Jinny regroup and Jazzy clobbers Xia. Jazzy drags Xia up for another, but Xia dodges! Jinny is on Xia but gets a boot while Piper lifts Jazzy! Piper puts Jazzy on the apron, and headbutts her! Xia sweeps the legs and ELIMINATES Jazzy!! The Alpha Female is furious and the Fierce Fashionista is shocked!

Jinny has no choice but to be alone in this. And everyone else knows it. Xia, Piper and Isla give Jinny forearms and kicks, then Piper throws Jinny hard into buckles! Piper splashes Jinny, then feeds her to a double trophy lift from Xia and Isla! Together, they throw Jinny out! Jazzy saves her boss by carrying her to the other side. Referees tell Jazzy to leave, and she finally does. But Jinny runs at Xia to be put on the apron! Xia forearms and ELIMINATES Jinny! Including KLR, who is still down and out on the outside, Xia is among the final seven in this match! Xia goes after Killer Kelly to help out Piper while Nina has Isla in the corner. Rhea is down but crawling to clear space in the ring.

Rhea and Nina work together on Isla, but Piper runs in to pull Nina off. Piper CHOPS Nina while Kelly clubs Xia. Isla elbows Rhea away and Nina hits Piper back. Nina hoists Piper up but Piper gets to the apron. Piper headbutts Nina down, then gets back in with an elbow drop! Nina gasps for air while Kelly brawls with Rhea. Rhea shoves Kelly to then flapjack her on ropes and throw her over! Rhea ELIMINATES Killer Kelly! Meanwhile, Isla and Xia fight with each other, because there are no friends in battle royals. But then the friends realize they have a greater enemy in Rhea! They go after her with forearms and stomps while Nina survives Piper’s shoves. Rhea fights her way out but Isla and Xia are right back on her. Piper and Rhea end up back to back as they fight off Nina, Xia and Isla.

Rhea scoops Xia to ram her into a Tree of Woe! She stomps away but Isla saves Xia. But Rhea hits back, then throws and ELIMINATES Isla Dawn! Piper and Rhea spot each other, but Nina keeps on Piper. Piper throws and ELIMINATES Nina! Now Rhea and Piper can finally go toe to toe! Rhea SLAPS Piper but Piper SLAPS back! Rhea hits again, but so does Piper. The brawl picks up speed but Piper headbutts Rhea down! Piper runs corner to corner, CANNONBALL! She drags Rhea around, then climbs up, but Rhea anchors Piper’s feet! Rhea clubs Piper and shoves her to the apron. Rhea boots but misses! Piper drags Rhea out to join her and they brawl some more! Xia sees this, lines it up, and dropkicks them both! She ELIMINATES Piper AND Rhea! But everyone forgot about KLR!!

KLR gets in, and Xia notices the fans’ change in reactions! Xia turns around, and gets clobbered by KLR! Fans boo but KLR gives Xia a lift and a toss! KLR wins!!

Winner: Kay Lee Ray; NEW #1 Contender to the NXT UK Women’s Championship

They all forgot her again, but now they’ll all have to acknowledge KLR as the next challenger. Will KLR immortalize herself as the woman to dethrone Toni Storm?

My Thoughts:

A really good NXT UK right here! Ohno VS Kenny was a great opening match, Kenny did a lot better than I thought he would. But Ohno wins because one, his own story needs to continue, and two, it pushes Kenny’s story with Dar. Dar VS Kenny is going to be a really good match, too, and perhaps a great rivalry since both can be in the NXT UK and Cruiserweight Divisions. Ohno was also clever in reacting that way to Imperium. Imperium had a decent set of promos, and the fans were pretty rowdy in a good way during it. Travis Banks also has a decent promo, and it’s great to hear that we’re already getting the WWE UK Championship match. This is more of a reason to say Banks is just fodder until a bigger challenger shows up for Cardiff.

The Hunt VS Gallus was solid, but it was great to see Mastiff come to the rescue. I expect a Six Man Tag of Mastiff & The Hunt VS Gallus to happen soon. This also saves Mastiff for Cardiff, he’d be a great challenger for Walter, even if he doesn’t win. We already knew from Grizzled Young Veterans that the Download Festival would have the NXT UK Tag Team Championships on the line, but now we know for sure it’s with Moustache Mountain and not jobbers. This could mean title changes, which would be interesting since there’s still a lot of time before Cardiff. Perhaps that means Cardiff will have Moustache Mountain VS GYV VS Imperium’s Aichner & Barthel in a big Triple Threat. That kind of match could go any which way by my math.

That Women’s Battle Royal, while historic for NXT UK, was booked about any other battle royal tends to get booked. If it wasn’t already obvious KLR was going to be Toni’s next challenger after all the promos, being tossed out through the second rope and completely forgotten by the other competitors was another big indicator. It was great for Xia to eliminate Jazzy, Jinny, and both Rhea and Piper after those two had their own moments, and therefore giving Xia the most eliminations of the match, it was all just to get some Heel heat on KLR when she’s actually a well-liked superstar. I can’t be sure if KLR or Toni is the one to choose the time and place, but it has to be before Cardiff, right? KLR VS Xia could fit in for a fun match that could get KLR even more heat leading into that.

My Score: 8.3/10