WWE NXT UK recap for May 15, 2019: Laying down some groundwork

A look at all the action worth looking at from the May 15 edition of NXT UK.

Back at it from Braehead Arena in Glasgow, NXT UK continued to regain its post-Axxess footing as it hurtles towards the United Kingdom Championship rematch between Pete Dunne and WALTER. At this point, that match pretty much speaks for itself, and as such, this week’s NXT UK largely eschewed the usual WWE pre-title match pageantry.

Sandwiched in between two shows featuring huge title matches — lest we forget last week’s main event for the tag team titles — this episode of NXT UK was more about laying the groundwork for future developments. That’s not to say nothing that happened, however, as there were a couple of intriguing debuts and we learned two more entrants into the fatal four-way that will determine the No. 1 Contender to the UK Championship. Let’s get into it.

Nothing beats an Ace

Your first qualifier and by far the most competitive match of the night pitted Jordan Devlin against Ligero. The match featured a good deal of back-and-forth action, with neither man controlling things for too long. In the end though, Devlin proved nothing trumps an Ace — except in instances where Aces are considered a low card — picking up the pinfall victory.

https://twitter.com/NXTUK/status/1128741117774651392

Ligero’s ribs and back were early targets of Devlin’s wrath. The luchador was rammed into the barricade, rammed into ringside, and then dropped hard on Devlin’s shoulder for a devastating backbreaker. Even worse news for Ligero is when he — with already busted up ribs — goes for a top-rope splash, only for Devlin to get his knees up. Sure, he’s able to get his feet up on a subsequent moonsault from Devlin, but the fatal blow has already been dealt. Damage to his ribs has sapped Ligero’s speed, his agility and his ability to capitalize on anything.

As a perfect example, he is able to squirm out of a precarious position to hit a powerbomb on Devlin for two and then hit a balanced-on-the-top-rope splash. It comes at great expense to his ribs however, and still only nets a two count. He tries to go back to the well one more time, attempting to spring off the ropes to hit a tornado DDT, but he’s not quick enough. Devlin hits Ligero with an enziguri while his back is turned, and then rips him off the ropes to nail the Devlin Side (side suplex) for the victory.

Despite falling short to WALTER in a non-title match a couple of weeks ago, Devlin has still been a talent on the rise. Or, at least so he thinks, as he takes the mic away from Radzi post-match to let everyone know there’s no need for qualifiers nor even a No. 1 contenders match. And that’s because he already is the true No. 1 contender, even though, again, he just challenged WALTER and lost, and also maybe doesn’t know that some card games treat an Ace as lower than a two. Regardless, The Irish Ace joins Joe Coffey in the four-way.