NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff: Fallout, takeaways, what’s next

And now?

Repeating what was said at the top of the post, NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff was a great show. Bate versus WALTER could very well become a classic, the tag team triple threat added to the pantheon of great TakeOver tag matches, and Cesaro was featured. The question now becomes — as seems to happen any time a major event passes in NXT UK — what next?

While it would have felt a little anti-climactic for WALTER’s reign of dominance to come to an end so soon, it really did feel like Bate was going to pull it off. Not only because he’s a big strong boi and the biggest babyface star on the roster, but also like, if not him then who?

No one has been built up to anywhere near that level yet. Guys like Jordan Devlin, Joe Coffey, Dave Mastiff, or even now Ilja Dragunov — if he ever beats someone above jobber status — could be great challengers. But, none of them currently feels like the one who can “rescue” NXT UK from the Imperium stranglehold.

With Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster as champions, the NXT UK tag division at last has a credible face team. Grizzled Young Veterans, Gallus and Imperium are all viable threats to chase and even undo the magic Andrews and Webster made at TakeOver. Hopefully, with this new dynamic we will actually get to see some more title defenses.

No disrespect to Grizzled Young Veterans, who are great in the ring and fun to hate, but NXT UK’s tag team division has by far been the brand’s weakest aspect, and GYV only defending their titles approximately three times in six months did nothing to help that. Zack Gibson, please don’t come to our homes and yell at us.

In the women’s division, Toni Storm has gone from the top to being seen crying backstage in less than 10 minutes. What exactly they are hoping to accomplish there remains to be seen. With a heel champion in Kay Lee Ray and a rather deep bench at their disposal though, there are plenty of directions to head in. Piper Niven seems like the most obvious choice for a feud, but if Rhea Ripley sticks around it will be hard to continue keeping her out of the title picture.

That’s another thing too: how much is NXT moving to two hours live on USA going to affect NXT UK? With Pete Dunne and Ripley having already popped up to start stuff with various title holders, is it wrong to assume others might soon follow? Realistically, it doesn’t feel like much of a stretch to imagine Bate or Storm making their way stateside to bolster that roster along with the move to live TV.

What’s next is anyone’s guess. For now though, that will do it for NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff! What are your thoughts on the show overall? Favorite matches, moments, random notes? Let us hear them down in the comments below. Also, if you happened to enjoy reliving this great night of wrestling with us, make sure to give us a share on social media. Until next time!