January 7, 2021 – Newham, London
Jinny def. Piper Niven {Number One Contender Match}
Normally I’d be irrationally irritated that the advertised main event was opening the show, but the thumbnail on the WWE Network for this episode suggests that the impromptu main event is going to be quite good. After a few hard-hitting minutes, Joseph Conners comes out to observe the match. He saves Jinny from one of Niven’s dives and trips Niven, leading to Jinny getting an unconvincing roll up for the win at 6:51. That finish was the doodiest of doodies, which is a shame because this was shaping up to be a rare not-boring performance from Jinny. **¼
Pretty Deadly knows that Gallus doesn’t like them. They claim to be baiting Gallus into offering them a tag title match. Then, Aiofe Valkyrie shows once again that her character works better in vignettes than in matches. Then, Tyler Bate reflects on his loss to A-Kid. He’s learned that as long as he can authentically wrestle, he’s liberated from the pain of loss. He quotes Bruce Lee and says he wants to follow in the footsteps of the Dragon. I’ve never heard such pretentious crap sound as normal as this. But Sam Gradwell thinks it sounds like crap. Ha!
It’s time for the Supernova Sessions. Noam Dar doesn’t make resolutions related to changing himself, but he does want to win every title and superlative award. Ben “Carpenter” Carter is his guest. The questions lean more toward woodworking than wrestling. I have never heard an accent quite like Carter’s. I did some research and I guess folks from the island of Jersey sound like this. Good to know. They seem to be building toward a match between the two, but then Jordan Devlin comes out to complain that Carter got a spot on the show before him. Dar calls Devlin an interim Cruiserweight Champion, which is hilarious given the title lineage. Carter jumps in, calls Devlin the real champ, and asks for a title shot. Sid Scala makes it official.
Next week, A-Kid gets his shot at WALTER. Later on, they hype the match with a video package. But first, Kay Lee Ray tells Jinny that she can’t buy her way to the NXT UK Women’s Championship. I have no interest in this heel vs. heel match.
Dave Mastiff def. Saxon Huxley
This was another perfectly good showing from a clearly remotivated Huxley. I guess being a featured jobber is better than being a jobber in obscurity. He gave Mastiff a spot of trouble, but Mastiff put him away with a lariat and Into the Void at 4:44. Nothing left for Mastiff but the Rampage Brown match now. **¼
Jordan Devlin def. Ben Carter {NXT Cruiserweight Championship Match}
This was a great debut for Carter, allowing him to show what makes him unique without doing so at the complete expense of Devlin or the title. Carter is clearly top notch, from flying to selling, he did everything well. Devlin abused him with the Cloverleaf, completely grounding the challenger, and then put him away with the Devlin Side at 12:45. That’s some dope fresh blood. Also, can we get Devlin vaccinated and shipped to the US to put the Cruiserweight business to bed? There are too many titles on this show given that it’s an hour long and they’re not building to Takeovers right now. ***½