The NXT UK Champion addresses the WWE Universe.

After another hard fought instant classic, Ilja Dragunov is STILL NXT UK Champion! However, he now wishes to address the world in that match’s aftermath.

OFFICIAL RESULTS

• Oliver Carter VS Rohan Raja w/ Die Familie; Carter wins.
• Bodhi Hayward w/ Chase U VS Sha Samuels; Sha wins.
• NXT UK Women’s Championship: Meiko Satomura VS Sarray; cancelled.
• NXT UK Women’s Championship #1 Contender’s match: Blair Davenport VS Isla Dawn; No Contest.

PLAY BY PLAY

Ilja Dragunov heads to the ring!

The NXT UK Champion is still UNBESIEGBAR! But he comes out here now to address the fans, with a boot on one leg and crutches helping him get in the ring. Dragunov hobbles as he gets the mic while fans cheer him on. “Last week, against Wolfgang, I suffered an injury. I suffered a severe ankle injury, really early in the match.” Highlights show one leg clipped the other as he fell into the corner. Dragunov says he fought until the very end. He fought until the very end because this, the NXT UK Championship, is not a privilege. Being NXT UK Champion means to fight to be the very best in this brand, and this brand has only had fighting champions! Fans cheer that!

And as much as Dragunov would love to continue to be a fighting champion… He can’t. Fans chant “NO! NO!” but unfortunately, this injury means that the medical team will not clear him. And no one knows how long Dragunov needs to recover, the team feels it is in his best interest to relinquish the championship today. Fans chant “NO! NO!” again but he isn’t sure what to say then. Should he talk about how hard he worked for this? Because he won’t. Every single superstar backstage is working extremely hard.

Should he bring up his hard past? Like how he came from Russia to German and being poor and underestimated? NO. We all have to fight our own battles, and he is nothing special in that case. Fans still chant for him as he says maybe he should talk about how that if he would’ve been more careful while fighting, the injury would not have happened? NO, because he doesn’t regret anything! That is who Dragunov is! He sacrifices his entire existence! He sees bits of his soul in this ring! All he ever wanted was to show his true soul, his honest face, and encourage people that with will, they can endure every pain, so long as there is a reason, and then win!

Dragunov has fought with his soul as our NXT UK Champion. But as sad as he is to relinquish this title, as sad as he is knowing someone will take his place, he knows one thing: “No one beats me except myself!” Dragunov vows to return and as a better man than we see here today. “And if you think I was strong holding this championship. you will be surprised how strong I will become to get it back!” Fans cheer again, and Dragunov says, “LONG LIVE THE CZAR!” Fans are thunderous for “UNBESIEGBAR!” as Dragunov reluctantly takes off the belt and sets it down on the mat. Fans now chant “UNDEFEATED” for the champion that never lost his title.

Dragunov then rolls out of the ring, uses his crutches to walk back out, and fans cheer him with a standing ovation. When will we see the return of The Czar in NXT UK? And who will be the next NXT UK Champion to lead the way forward?

Chase U arrives!

Andre Chase, Bodhi Hayward and Thea Hail saw the sights, enjoyed the culture, and Bodhi wonders if they can rent a room in the palace. Not likely, Bodhi. They waved to the statues of Queen Elizabeth and King George, but wow, what happened to George? What’d that bird eat? They also visit Oxford, one of the greatest universities in the world. Still behind Chase U, of course. But there’s still one more lesson left. Time to show the UK what Chase U is all about! They arrive at the WWE’s UK Performance Center, and find Sha Samuels shoeless and sleeping out front…

Now this is a Teachable Moment! Sha is down on his luck, and Chase U doesn’t keep people down. They raise people up. Bodhi gives it a shot. Bodhi tells Sha that when adversity hits, you persevere And if he perseveres, Sha could get into Chase U, just like Bodhi! Ugh, more Yanks. Chase U, eh? Sha graduated from streets! He may not have shoes, or his hat, or even his wife, but he has his trunks and boots and his job! Sha will talk to Johnny Saint about this! YA MUG! Well, will the East End Butcher get back up by butchering Bodhi?

NXT UK Media catches up with Johnny Saint & Sid Scala.

They ask them about Dragunov giving up the UK Championship. Well, it is bad news, but they have the situation sorted. Dragunov has been one of the greatest champions this brand has ever seen, but this unfortunate situation creates great opportunity. Eight superstars will participate in a tournament, and the winner will be the NEW NXT UK Champion. The competitors and rounds will be announced later on tonight, but for now, they have to put on the finishing touches. Who will be given a spot in this incredible opportunity?

Oliver Carter VS Rohan Raja w/ Die Familie!

The Hottest Superstar Under the Sun got one up on Die Familie by invading their space and eating their foot like Goldilocks and the Three Bears! But will the British Born, Australian Raised and Canadian Trained Prince of Die Familie make Carter pay for his pranks? Or will everything be just right for the Predator Killer?

The bell rings and Carter ROCKS Raja and CHOPS right away! Fans fire up as Carter CLUBS away on Raja, CHOPS him again, but Raja ROCKS Carter again. Carter ROCKS and CHOPS and CLUBS Raja and fans are fired up for “Always Forward!” Carter uppercuts Raja, then dodges Raja to DECK him! Raja gets up but Carter CHOPS again! Carter whips, Raja reverses but Carter slides to a stop to dropkick back! Raja staggers back up but Carter clotheslines him right out! Fans fire up but Dempsey distracts Carter from the apron. The ref reprimands Dempsey but Carter’s wary, he swipes at Teoman as Teoman gets on the other apron! But Raja drags Carter out!

Teoman puts Carter in the apron skirt for Raja to fire off on! The ref is late to seeing that and reprimands, Raja lets off to drag Carter out from the skirt and into the ring. Raja stomps Carter around, but Carter throws body shots! Raja stomps Carter again, drags him up, and RAMS him into a corner. Raja whips out to throw back into the corner! Raja wrenches an arm, whips and WRINGS Carter out and Carter hits buckles! Cover, TWO! Raja is annoyed but he looms over Carter. Raja drags Carter up and wraps on a cobra twist! Carter endures, even as Raja digs into the ribs. Raja CLUBS the ribs, but Carter fights through the hold!

Carter gets one arm free and switches the cobra twist onto Raja! Now Raja endures the stretch! Fans rally but Raja throws palm strikes! Raja gets around to BACKSTABBER! Cover, TWO! Raja is frustrated but he drags Carter up to dribble him off the mat! Raja storms around and then stomps Carter. Raja hauls Carter up, Carter throws body shots, but Raja kicks low. Raja whips, Carter goes up and over but gets caught! Carter fights, and turns body slam into CROSSBODY! Fans fire up as Carter rallies on Raja with big forearm smashes! Raja kicks but Carter blocks, to then LARIAT Raja down! Carter grits his teeth and fans fire up more!

Fans “WOOP!” on behalf of Ashton Smith, Carter whips but Raja reverses, only for Carter to QUEBRADA! Carter aims at Raja, runs in, but Raja elbows him away! Carter comes back, Raja TOSSES Carter out, but Carter uses that to CROSSBODY Dempsey and Teoman! Fans fire up while Raja realizes what happened. Raja runs and slides, but Carter uses the apron skirt! SUPERKICK! Carter puts Raja in, aims from a corner and runs corner to corner, WHEEL KICK! Cover, Carter wins!!

Winner: Oliver Carter, by pinfall

But now Teoman rushes in! Carter DECKS him, but Dempsey CHOP BLOCKS Carter! Die Familie stomp away on Carter, and then Dempsey puts on the BOSTON CRAB! Referees rush out to tell Dempsey to stop, and the fans chant “YOU SUCK!” but Dempsey makes Carter suffer! Dempsey finally lets go, clearly wanting his turn next. Will Carter sweep Die Familia 3-0? Or will Dempsey prove he’s the true muscle of the family?

Thea Hail speaks.

She could’ve gone to Cambridge or Yale or Harvard or Oxford, but Chase U was the perfect fit for her! But then Eliza Alexander barges in, asking what Thea’s going on about. Like, actually? Eliza when to the school of hard knocks, and she is sick and tired of the Americans coming over here and taking opportunities from superstars like her. Let’s be realistic, Eliza should be facing Meiko for the NXT UK Women’s Championship. And it seems beating people up is how you get noticed around here. So Eliza will make a statement out of Thea, and prove that Chase U-

OH NO! You do not go there, okay? Chase U is the most amazing university in the world! Thea can’t even. She storms off, but will she teach Eliza a thing or two about respect?

Die Familie celebrates backstage.

They’re proud of giving Carter what he deserved, but NXT UK Media is there to ask them why they are happy after the loss. Teoman has Raja and Dempsey move on, he’ll handle this. They didn’t lose. Did you not see what they did? That was a win! The Eye always has a plan. But then Sam Gradwell walks over to say his eye sees a little man only getting his way around here when he has his little mates around to do the dirty work. But if Teoman were to come for Gradwell, he doesn’t have a plan for him. Sure, sure. We’ll talk later. Teoman leaves, but will the Thunderstorm come for Die Familie soon enough?

Bodhi Hayward w/ Chase U VS Sha Samuels!

Well, we know why this match was made, but now we’ll see how it goes! Will Chase U’s star pupil put up an A+ fight? Or will the East End Butcher turn him into waste of that full ride scholarship?

Wow, Sha is really in bad shape. His tank top is a mess, he has mismatched kneepads, and he has the rest of his belongings in a bundle on the end of a stick! Sha even has to dig around through some old food to get to the one hat he has left… Sha uses said hat to beg for spare change, but the fans aren’t willing to spare any. Sha huffs and puffs and gets in the ring. The bell rings and Sha circles with Bodhi. They tie up, Bodhi SLAMS Sha down, but then he backs up from the smell left on him. Has Sha… not been able to bathe since Noam Dar lost the Heritage Cup? Sha frowns as fans sing, “Sha smells like gar~bage~, Sha smells like gar~bage!”

Sha and Bodhi tie up again, Bodhi puts Sha in a corner, but those pits back him up! Sha shoves Bodhi, so Bodhi shoves Sha! Then arm-drags him! “CHASE U! CHASE U!” Sha huffs and puffs while fans rally for Bodhi. Sha circles with Bodhi, calls for a test of strength, and Bodhi says he knows this one! But then Sha kicks him low! Sha bumps Bodhi off the buckles, then throws back elbows. The ref counts, Sha backs up and even the ref has to hold his nose. Sha brings Bodhi around, fans chant “Take a Shower!” Sha takes advantage, instead, and rubs his pits on Bodhi’s head! Bodhi sputters, Sha whips Bodhi to a corner, but Bodhi goes up and over!

Bodhi hurdles over Sha, then arm-drags him down! Fans fire up with Bodhi as he rallies with clotheslines! Sha bails out, and Thea is there to shout, “YOU STINK!” Sha grumbles as the ring count climbs. Bodhi drags Sha up the apron but Sha HOTSHOTS him! And then LARIATS! Bodhi scrambles to a corner, Sha runs in to SPLASH! Sha whips and CLOBBERS Bodhi, then taunts Chase. Sha drags Bodhi around, CLUBS him down, then stands on him. “ON THE MONEY!” But Bodhi avoids the Penalty Kick! Sha is furious, he drags Bodhi up but Bodhi throws haymakers! Sha knees low, scoops Bodhi and SLAMS him!

Sha paces, then he PENALTY KICKS Bodhi down! Fans rally, Sha drops an elbow, and then Sha drops another! Sha then goes to a corner and makes sure Chase is watching. Sha goes up but Bodhi anchors a foot! Sha CLUBS Bodhi, leaps, but into a POWERSLAM! Fans fire up as Bodhi turns things around! Sha staggers around, Bodhi runs in to CHOP BLOCK! And then another CHOP BLOCK! Bodhi runs Sha over with a shoulder tackle! And a STANDING SPLASH! Cover, TWO! Sha survives but fans stay fired up for Bodhi. Bodhi says he’s got the answer, and he whips Sha for a back drop! Sha staggers to a corner, Bodhi RAMS into him!

Fans fire up as Bodhi says he can go again! But then Sha dodges and Bodhi hits buckles! SPINEBUSTER! Cover, Sha wins!!

Winner: Sha Samuels, by pinfall

Bodhi got too confident there, and he fails on the last question! But will Sha use this momentum to turn his luck around? And also take a shower?

NXT UK Media catches up with Oliver Carter.

Carter just visited with the trainers and they ask if he’s okay. His neck is in rough shape but he’ll be good. Sid Scala finds him and says there is good news now: Carter’s win puts him in the NXT UK Championship Tournament! Yes! Thank you, that is great news! Yes, and the first round matches are next week. What? Next week? Uh… Well, okay. It is for the title, and Carter has been a champion before, he will do it. No injury is gonna stop him this time! He’ll be good to go. But will he really be okay? And who will he be facing for this big opportunity?

NXT UK has the rest of that title tournament bracket!

As Saint and Scala announced, this tournament will star eight of the best in NXT UK today! For the first of the first round match-ups, Trent Seven will face Wolfgang, and Oliver Carter will be facing Charlie Dempsey to also round out Die Familie! And then in two weeks, the second half of the first round features Mark Andrews VS Joe Coffey, and Kenny Williams VS Tyler Bate! Who will make it through into the semifinals?

NXT UK Women’s Championship: Meiko Satomura VS Sarray!

The Final Boss dethroned the Forever Champion, Alba Fyre (Kay Lee Ray), and has been a dominant champion in her own right ever since! But now, she faces a fellow Joshi Strong Style superstar in the Warrior of the Sun. Meiko has overcome KLR, the Fierce Fashionista, the French Hope, the Gothic Heiress, and even the Wicked Witch in her World of Darkness! But will she finally fall as Sarray rises?

But wait, Blair Davenport makes her way out here first! “I am so, so sorry. You see, there’s been a little bit of a… break with your previously scheduled program. Because earlier today, Satomura and Sarray, they experienced something quite unexpected: me!” What does she mean by that? And Sid Scala rushes out to ask her to go backstage. Hold on, just give her one minute. See, ever since she returned from her injury, Meiko keeps ignoring her! Fans chant to “GET HER OUT!” and Sid gets in the ring, but Blair shouts that if it wasn’t for her breaking her ankle, Blair would be the NXT UK Women’s Champion!

Blair tells Sid that he knows this, and everyone in the crowd knows this. And since she did not get what is rightfully hers, she will continue to cause chaos in NXT! But then out comes Amale! She has Blair hold on. This is not how things work here. Blair cannot just insist she has whatever match she wants. Everyone here wants to be the next challenger, and is willing to work for it! But then Eliza Alexander storms out, saying “Nah, nah, nah, nah! Absolutely not!” Blair may have a point! And the louder you are, the more people pay attention. But neither Blair or Amale deserves to be next while Eliza is here!

Blair tells Amale and Eliza to shut up! They can say whatever the hell they want, but NO ONE takes action like Blair! She has beaten everyone on this roster, she is next in line! Eliza says Blair’s never beaten her, and fans are rowdy as Isla Dawn appears from nowhere! “Hi there~! See, I don’t think I recall you ever beating me. AHAHA!” Blair and Dawn get in each other’s faces, Sid tells everyone to just please, hold on! We still need a main event, and Dawn and Blair are here, so… We’ll get Dawn VS Blair, and the winner here will be the #1 contender! Amale and Eliza aren’t happy, but that match starts NOW!

NXT UK Women’s Championship #1 Contender’s match: Blair Davenport VS Isla Dawn!

Whatever Blair did to take out Meiko and Sarray, it has only backfired! Will she be able to defeat the darkness of Isla Dawn? Or will even the Wicked Witch learn to #BewareTheHeir?

The bell rings and Dawn circles with Blair. Fans duel, the two tie up, and go around, until Dawn puts Blair on ropes. Dawn whips Blair but Blair gets around to waistlock. Dawn bucks the O’Conner but Blair ducks the Penalty Kick to roll Dawn up! TWO, Dawn kicks Blair’s bad leg! Dawn stomps Blair, drags her around and has a standing toehold. Blair endures, Dawn SLAMS the leg down, then stalks Blair to a corner. Blair kicks with the good leg but Dawn stomps her more. Dawn has the bad leg, stomps the thigh, then SLAMS it again! Blair crawls away to a corner but Dawn stomps her down. The ref counts and Dawn lets off at 4.

Dawn drags Blair up, has the bad leg, but Blair ENZIGURIS! Dawn staggers, Blair CLUBS her, then Blair bumps Dawn off buckles. Blair climbs up to dig her boot into Dawn’s face. The ref counts, Blair lets off at 4 to CLUB Dawn down. Blair whips, ELBOWS Dawn down, then soaks up the heat. Blair drags Dawn up, puts her in the corner and stomps a mudhole in. Blair wrenches, whips corner to corner, but Dawn reverses. Dawn runs in at the corner but Blair tosses her out! Blair rushes in but Dawn dodges the shoulder to KNEE Blair in the ropes! Dawn grins while Blair falls and Dawn hurries to cover, TWO!

Dawn grins as she hears the voices, or spirits. Blair kicks Dawn from below but Dawn drops an elbow! Dawn digs her knee into Blair’s head, then KNEES her in the back! Fans rally and duel, then stands on Blair’s head. The ref counts, Dawn stomps Blair down. Blair crawls to a corner, throws body shots back, but Dawn CLUBS Blair. Blair gets up to throw body shots but Dawn KNEES low! Dawn snapmares, uppercuts, and runs to PENALTY KICK! Cover, TWO! Fans rally up and Dawn stalks Blair. Dawn stomps Blair, drags her up and reels her in, but Blair blocks the suplex! Blair CLUBS away then throws Dawn down by her hair!

Blair hobbles, but she drags Dawn up. Dawn JAWBREAKERS! Cover, TWO, but Dawn clamps onto Blair’s hair! Dawn gets a half nelson, almost a standing armbar, and even adds a chinbar! Blair endures, throws clubbing hands, and fights up to her feet. But Dawn uses the hold to hit a GUTBUSTER, then she pulls even harder on her modified half nelson! Blair fights back up, fans duel even harder, and Blair throws body shots! Dawn knees low, drags Blair up and suplexes, but Blair makes it a cradle! TWO!! Dawn RAMS Blair, covers, TWO! Fans still rally as Dawn slaps sense into herself. Dawn stomps Blair around, then ROCKS her with a forearm.

Blair comes back to ROCK Dawn! And again! Then she dodges Dawn to headbutt, uppercut, and fire off knees! Blair whips to LARIAT Dawn! Fans are torn as Dawn goes to a corner. Blair fires off forearms, snapmares Dawn then basement dropkicks! Cover, TWO! Dawn is still in this, but Blair drags her up. Dawn wrenches out to ROUNDHOUSE! Then SAIDO!! Cover, TWO!?! Blair survives and frustrates Dawn! Dawn has a scary look on her face as she drags Blair up. Fireman’s carry, but Blair sunset flips! TWO, Blair gets up but Dawn BOOTS her! Dawn whips Blair to a corner, Blair BOOTS back!

Blair goes up, but Dawn YANKS her down! Blair hits buckles on the way! Dawn goes up the corner, Blair stands up, METEORA! Fans fire up and Dawn drags Blair to a cover, Eliza drags Dawn out of the ring!! Dawn DECKS her, but the ref’s already ringing the bell!

No Contest

Eliza screwed everything up, there’s no winner now! But then Blair gets up and Amale BOOTS her down! The French Hope is fired up but Dawn lurks behind her! ROUNDHOUSE! But then Eliza KNEES Dawn down! Blair SPEARS Eliza! Refs rush out to stop this chaos! Fans want to “Let Them Fight!” but the four women are each put in a corner. Only for Eliza to get loose and CLOBBER Amale! They fight, Blair gets loose to BOOT Dawn! The fighting continues  and the fans are loving it! But what does this mean for the NXT UK Women’s Championship picture?!

My Thoughts:

A good episode of NXT UK, but a rather disappointing change of plans in many regards. Meiko VS Sarray not happening tonight, and apparently not ever happening, is crap. But I suppose this is the problem with superstars going back and forth between the UK and the US, and with NXT UK being secondary to NXT 2.0. I am rather disappointed and upset by this, as Meiko VS Sarray was going to be an instant classic. And why would they not follow through? Because Sarray had to go back to NXT 2.0 to job to Mandy freaking Rose? That’s crap and everyone knows it, Sarray had the potential to return to the States with the NXT UK Women’s Championship.

NXT UK did a decent job of improvising a new plan, but even that was halfhearted. Blair says she attacked Meiko and Sarray, but we don’t even get a shot backstage of Meiko down on the ground with Millie McKenzie checking on her. And while we got a good 10 minutes out of Blair VS Dawn, the finish wasn’t good. Eliza just dragging Dawn out shouldn’t have been enough to throw the match out. Eliza getting all the way in and clobbering both Dawn and Blair would have. The brawl of the four next contenders was good, but not enough to salvage things. But you can bet there will be a Fatal 4 Way now, winner faces Meiko for the title because WWE keeps screwing over Sarray.

In a similar fashion, it is unfortunate that Dragunov is injured and has to give up the title, but that tournament to crown a new champion looks amazing. All the opening round matches are great, but I can already tell what the finals will be. Trent Seven is going to get through his side, Tyler Bate is going to get through his, and they will meet to settle their grudge while crowning a new champion, and I would love it if Seven won the title. British Strong Style will have all held that belt, from Bate to Dunne to Seven, and it’d be a great way to add to Seven’s story of how he IS British wrestling. The only thing that could make this better: It’s part of Clash at the Castle in September.

Oliver Carter had a great opener with Raja, but of course Die Familie interferes and of course it backfires. Carter is two up, but I wonder if he really will win the third now that it’s part of the title tournament. I also like that Gradwell has brushed off his loss to Trent Seven to go after Die Familie. I wonder if this somehow brings Gradwell and Carter together as unlikely allies against Die Familie while Ashton Smith is still hurt. And then, if this feud continues, Smith can return and we can get 3v3 to settle things once and for all.

And then, because NXT UK is tape delayed without NXT 2.0 taking things into consideration, Chase U is here now rather than weeks ago, and we get a pretty good start to their visit with Bodhi taking on Sha. Sha does an even better Bum Ass Corbin than Corbin did, and he manages to get a win here. Maybe Sha will have his own rags to riches story that is a bit more complex and compelling than “Corbin goes to Vegas and wins big.” Of course, Sha being a bookie, he also has an easy way back by making the right bet somewhere. Maybe as the UK Championship tournament gets going?

My Score: 8/10