NXT UK recap, August 14: One Step Closer

Your recap of everything worth recapping from the August 14, 2019 edition of NXT UK.

The car is gassed up, the A/C is blowing at a comfortable 71 degrees (Fahrenheit) and there’s loads of snacks in the trunk. If you look just over the top of this last big hill, you can see Cardiff and the next NXT UK TakeOver on the horizon.

What are the chances Flash Morgan Webster will be waiting for us when we arrive? Will Ilja Dragunov’s undefeated streak be ballooned to an unfathomable four straight wins? Who will be taking on Noam Dar in his contractually guaranteed match? Does the second season of the Nina Samuels Show start before then? And how’s my driving? Anyway, let’s try and figure out all that stuff by diving into the August 14, 2019 edition of NXT UK: One Step Closer.

In Mod We Trust

To begin he and Mark Andrews’ journey towards even being booked at all for TakeOver: Cardiff, Flash Morgan Webster has to defeat Mark Coffey. Simple, save for the fact that Mark Coffey is a stout bruiser of a man and Flash Morgan Webster hasn’t won a match on NXT UK TV since maybe ever. But, with the opportunity to have a second opportunity to earn a chance to win a championship in front of his hometown fans on the line, Webster digs deep to keep the dream alive.

All it took was having no regard for the safety of his opponent to unleash the deadliest move any wrestler can have in their arsenal: the small package.

Surprisingly, the match swings on three outside-the-ring distraction sequences that all mirror each other. Early on, Coffey is sent to the outside, visibly tweaking his knee. Webster vaults over the ropes to capitalize, but is left only to confront Wolfgang as Coffey slid back into the ring. Mark Andrews comes over as Webster and Wolfgang jaw at each other. Meanwhile, Mark Coffey has used this distraction as an opportunity to sneak back out of the ring and clobber Flash Morgan Webster from behind. Coffey spends the next few minutes beating Webster down.

A little later, after failing to effectively target Coffey’s knee or make use of his speed advantage, Webster is sent to the outside. Mark Coffey rolls him back in, but starts getting into it verbally with his Mark counterpart. While Mark is talking to Mark, Webster takes advantage this time, diving onto Mark (Coffey) and trying to swing this match in his favor.

Eventually, Webster is on the top rope looking to end things with a senton bomb. Wolfgang, however, gets on the apron and points menacingly at Webster, distracting him. Still determined to defeat his opponent via superior wrestling, Webster goes ahead with the senton anyway. His back crashes hard onto the mat as Coffey rolls out of the way. Outside, Andrews somersaults onto Wolfgang for his mean pointing, but gets flattened by Coffey.

As everything is happening outside, a switch seemingly flipped in Webster. He shouldn’t try to out-wrestle Coffey. The underdog spirit everyone expected has given him nothing but an aching back. What he should do though, is try to outsmart Coffey.

So when Coffey saunters back in the ring, thinking he’s about to put away an opponent who’s already crushed and defeated, Webster traps him in the lethal small package and steals the win. Call him Smart Morgan Webster.

Now, it’s only one more match to win before Flash Morgan Webster and Mark Andrews achieve the dream of getting to perform in front of their hometown crowd to achieve the dream of becoming champions, which would also achieve the dream of becoming WWE’s first Welsh champions. Achieve the dream!