WWE NXT Recap, Aug. 23: United Kingdom Division rocks Brooklyn

Check out all the leftover action from Takeover weekend, capped off with a huge Tag Team match from the United Kingdom Division.

The first episode of NXT after a Takeover always features matches that were taped prior to the show going live on the WWE Network. The last Takeover (Chicago) preshow featured matches with Aleister Black and Drew McIntyre, two guys who both grabbed huge wins during this past Saturday night’s main card. (Okay, maybe one win was a little more important than the other, but a W is a W.)

The original plans to kickoff this weekend’s events was to see No Way Jose have an old-fashioned fight against Lars Sullivan, but Sullivan has a knack for not doing anything that’s asked of him, especially if it involves not beating people up. He attacked Jose from behind as he was walking to the ring, and when someone like Sullivan knocks you around, that feeling (pain, is my guess) is probably going to linger for a while.

Needless to say, this match didn’t happen, but it is something we can look forward to seeing once Jose gets out of the hospital and Sullivan posts bail.

Royce-A-Roni

Billie Kay couldn’t pick up a win against Ruby Riot in her last match, so it was up to Peyton Royce to get the Iconic Duo back on track. Royce faced a participant from the Mae Young Classic, Sarah Logan, who gave us a preview of what to expect when the tournament airs on the Network and put in some solid offensive work against Royce. Logan even nearly picked up the win after a German Suplex followed by a rollup, but it was ultimately Royce who won via pinfall.

Someone is going to need to step up in this Women’s Division if Asuka’s godly reign is ever going to end. There aren’t many choices: Ember Moon lost twice to Asuka, Nikki Cross couldn’t become the last woman standing, Ruby Riot couldn’t get the job done and Billie Kay lost to Riot. That leaves Sonya DeVille (a true fighter, and now that I’m thinking about it, I’d love nothing more than to see her face Asuka) and Peyton Royce. Royce is going to need to beat more than Sarah Logan if she’s going to put herself in a position to fight for the NXT Women’s Championship, but a win in front of the raucous Brooklyn crowd is a better than decent launching pad.

United Tag Teams

The United Kingdom division is the best thing to happen to WWE television in a while, and it deserves a more prominent role on WWE’s countless hours of weekly content. Pete Dunne, the UK Champion, is a treasure to watch brawl, as is his partner for this Tag Team match, Wolfgang. Opposite these two are Tyler Bate (winner of the UK Championship Tournament, being the first to win the title by beating Pete Dunne in the final round) and Trent Seven (who lost to Wolfgang in the UKCT), so there was plenty of history between these four guys.

One reason I’m such a fan of these four, and the entire UK Division, is because they seem incapable of putting on a boring match. All these characters are so unique and so believable, I kinda wish they’d swap places with half of the RAW roster. Dunne and Wolfgang teamed well despite Wolfgang’s obvious intentions to pursue Dunne’s title down the road. Wolfgang pinned Bate after hitting a Senton Bomb on the distracted Bate, who was attempting a pinfall on the illegal Dunne. The next logical step is for the UK Division to invade 205 Live and shake up the Cruiserweight Division, Bruiserweight style.

Takeover Takes

• The Full Sail crowd would have kept their beach balls at home.
• Asuka is officially the greatest female wrestler in WWE history. (Yes, I am including Ric Flair’s daughter.) No other woman on the roster is capable of putting on five star matches on such a consistent basis while never letting us feel like we are watching the same thing twice like she does.
• It’s a shame the Authors of Pain didn’t wear those Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles masks on a night where they won. Since they are still undefeated when not wearing those masks to the ring, could we get a redo on this match? Maybe SAnitY is okay with a huge asterisk next to their names in the record books. Only reason they’d refuse.
• Drew McIntrye hasn’t shown enough on NXT for me to be confident that he can carry the company as it’s face and champion. I’m hoping this Adam Cole guy can bring out what I must be missing.