NXT UK Recap for July 10, 2019: Still Downloading

Your recap of all the recappable action from the July 10, 2019 edition of NXT UK, featuring Gallus in six-man tag team action against Dave Mastiff and The Hunt.

Following a violent end to last week’s episode, NXT UK once again journeys through the muds of Download Fest. A three v. three feud between Gallus and Dave Mastiff and The Hunt has escalated to its tipping point, meaning the only thing left to do is settle things via six-man tag team action.

That action and much more from the July 10, 2019 edition of NXT UK: Still Downloading.

War of the Six Beards

By virtue of being good at wrestling, Dave Mastiff has been a thorn in the side of Gallus ever since he re-debuted in April. Look at him, so big and hairy and capable in the ring. That was supposed to be Gallus’ thing! And then The Hunt show up, muddying the big, hairy and capable waters even further? Come on!

Such is the story behind the War of the Six Beards.

As has been characteristic of the last couple of Hunt matches where they suddenly became compassionate babyfaces, this team of terrifying feral mongrels spend the majority of their time getting beat up. Usually this is to build to a hot tag of Wild Boar to Primate. But with the addition of a third man, both members of The Hunt get worked over and are made to look over-matched, before a hot tag instead to Mastiff.

Gallus look thoroughly dominant against The Hunt, able to cut them off and drag out the beatings as long as possible. Is it animal abuse when wrestlers who are human embodiments of the creatures they’re named for get sufficiently tossed about by their opponents?  Primate and Wild Boar may be ”fearsome,” but when it comes to them, Gallus have no “fear.”

Who Gallus should fear though, is Mastiff. After Wild Boar is able to summon the last of his energy to suplex Mark Coffey, Mastiff is tagged in and pounces on Gallus like an actual Mastiff on a peanut butter-filled Kong. If this were the NBA, Dave Mastiff’s plus-minus would be around +40, because the match completely transforms once he’s in it.

He runs right through Gallus’ entire gameplan, slamming and making all of them look like chumps, with ease. The big moments come when he Finlay Rolls Coffey onto Wolfgang, and continues his Mark oppression by hitting him with Into the Void. This — thank god — creates another picture of a Coffey looking terrified while Mastiff’s large frame hurtles towards them at terminal velocity.

Aww yeah, that’s the stuff. Unfortunately, Mastiff decides his thunderous rally and resulting momentum shift is the perfect time to tag The Hunt back in. He tags in Wild Boar, who sets up to do a tandem diving headbutt with Primate. Mastiff gets thrown into Wild Boar, knocking him from the top turnbuckle, but Primate is still able to connect with his move. For some reason, he goes for the cover despite knowing he wasn’t the one tagged in. Meanwhile, the real legal man gets rolled back into the ring to be promptly hit with a big uppercut and a bigger lariat from Joe Coffey to seal the victory for Gallus.

Seeing as how Mastiff didn’t figure into the final outcome, this match really seemed like a way to both get him and Gallus in a ring together — the tormenting has been going far too long for there to be zero comeuppance — and to also prolong things between them.

Hopefully this is a path towards a build for a Mastiff and Joe Coffey one-on-one match at TakeOver: Cardiff. Gallus may claim to have a “Kingdom” in NXT UK, but damned if Mastiff isn’t sneaking into that thing every night to tear up the lawn and bury stuff. They need to settle things on the biggest stage NXT UK can afford them.