NXT UK recap, August 14: One Step Closer

Cardiff coming into focus

As we proceed at a responsible speed towards Cardiff, the card(iff) for TakeOver continues to come into focus. Just like everyone thought, a rematch between Dave Mastiff and Joe Coffey is made official for the show. But, to ensure that there can be an actual winner the match is announced to be … Last Man Standing? Aw man.

Not that it won’t be a great match, but doesn’t Last Man/Woman Standing feel worn out as of late? Within the last calendar year, we’ve had Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano at TakeOver: Brooklyn IV, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair at Evolution, Drew McIntyre and Dean Ambrose on some random episode of Raw, Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley at Extreme Rules, and maybe one or two we’re forgetting because WWE loves taking special match types and doing them to death. And lest we forget the TV show Last Man Standing getting revived by FOX!

Sid Scala, Johnny Saint, there’s still time. Obviously you two both have actual match-making power and aren’t characters on a television show. Please, change the Mastiff/Coffey showdown at TakeOver: Cardiff to a Buried Alive Match. Or, if it needs to stay Last Man Standing, at least spice it up by adding a beard vs. beard stipulation. Last Man/Woman Standing, it’s been done!

A match that hasn’t been announced yet but seems pretty likely, is Rhea Ripley versus Piper Niven. After last week’s brawl to the back, the two of them brawl in the back this week, interrupting what may have been a perfectly adequate Jordan Devlin interview before it could start. Surely, NXT UK management — again, a real authority with matchmaking privileges — won’t stand for this disruption of decorum. Wouldn’t be a shock to see this match made official next week.

Toni Storm gets interviewed by Radzi, who she refers to as “The Rad Father.” He asks her to reflect on Kay Lee Ray claiming to know all of her secrets. Mostly, Storm seems in a weird mood. She kind of deflects the question to talk about how TakeOver in Cardiff, Wales is going to be a hell of a party that some Welsh people will be there to see. Still, she says that come that party with Welsh people, she’ll be ready for Kay Lee Ray.

Lastly, we get an exclusive look into WALTER’s training class in Essen, Germany. It seems like not much fun! The majority of the video is just WALTER chopping and humiliating skinny white guys. He forces one to call themselves “Tyler Bate” while he puts his boot on their neck.

Real tough guy WALTER then dares the actual Tyler Bate to come face-to-face with him next week, presumably so they can have a civil discussion about which season of The Nina Samuels Show they prefer. Yeah, season two has only been one episode, but that’s the way the culture is these days. Oh, they’ll probably get into a huge fight too. Should be good TV.

That will do it for this NXT UK recap. Do you like Flash Morgan Webster and Mark Andrews’ odds of getting added to the TakeOver: Cardiff card? Why exactly is Ilja Dragunov coming across as goofy? What hijinks is Nina Samuels going to get up to in season two?

We want to hear your thoughts on those questions and anything else NXT UK-related down below in the comments. And, if you enjoyed what you’ve read here, please give us a share on the social media platform of your choice.