NXT UK Champion Ilja Dragunov survived a brutal and thrilling rematch against Jordan Devlin to retain his title and send The Irish Ace packing. Plus, Ashton Smith & Oliver Carter triumphed over Joe & Mark Coffey to earn a spot in the NXT UK Tag Team Triple Threat Match and Ivy Nile showcased her strength in a dramatic NXT UK debut against Nina Samuels.
WWE NXT UK results: May 12, 2022
Ashton Smith & Oliver Carter def. Joe & Mark Coffey
Brothers Joe & Mark Coffey picked apart Oliver Carter at the onset of the match in the hopes of putting The Gallus Boys on top, but Carter refused to stay down for long, flipping Mark end-over-end to tag in Ashton Smith before the high-flying duo sent the brothers tumbling to the arena floor with a series of precision dropkicks.
After getting some encouragement from his younger brother, Joe sent Smith flying with a belly-to-belly suplex, imposing his will despite tweaking his leg following a backbreaker. The damaged leg proved to be a target for Smith & Carter as they wore down “The Iron King” by hammering away at the injury.
Joe powered through the pain to kick out of a big boot and an assisted 360 Splash before catching Carter with a pair of knees during another attempted splash to escape and tag in his brother.
Mark stormed in to level Smith & Carter with a flurry of offense until, after taking a moment to recover, Joe called for the tag so the tandem could knock Smith off his feet with a combined clothesline and chopblock for another near fall. After Carter jumped in to break up the pin, he flattened Mark on the outside floor with a dive over the ropes which allowed Smith to cut the legs out from under Joe before hitting an assisted moonsault in the center of the ring to earn the pinfall victory.
Ivy Nile def. Nina Samuels
Ivy Nile made a powerful impression in her NXT UK debut, gloating and showcasing her strength by doing pushups while maintaining control of Nina Samuels with a head scissor lock.
After breaking the submission, Samuels snapped Nile’s head across the ropes to take charge of the match. “The Pitbull” swung the momentum back to her side, powering out of a submission attempt to drop Samuels with an enziguri before sending the talk show host flying with a fallaway slam.
Nile pummeled Samuels in the corner and climbed to the top rope until Samuels caught her by surprise with an ear-ringing slap that only made Nile angry. The NXT 2.0 Superstar locked in her Dragon Sleeper on top of the turnbuckle before flipping off the top rope for a unique facebuster, holding on to her submission to force Samuels to tap out.
Ilja Dragonuv def. Jordan Devlin to retain the NXT UK Championship
The two storied and intense rivals held nothing back in a wild rematch for the NXT UK Title, setting the tone early with a flurry of fierce right hands before Jordan Devlin muscled Ilja Dragunov up for a brainbuster across the top rope and send the NXT UK Champion crashing to the floor.
Devlin continued to dissect the injured neck with a series of kicks and slams as Dragunov struggled to maintain any offense. After fighting his way out of a Half-Crab submission, Dragunov battered The Irish Ace with a barrage of devastating clotheslines and suplexes to take Devlin off his feet.
As Dragunov attempted to go high-risk, Devlin knocked him off the top rope and flattened Dragunov with a springboard moonsault before delivering a reverse cutter for a near fall. The two Superstars traded blows atop the turnbuckle until Dragunov gained control and sent Devlin flying with a massive Superplex.
Dragunov went to finish the match with a Torpedo Moscow, but Devlin sidestepped out of the way as The NXT UK Champion crashed into the turnbuckle, hoisting Dragunov up for a Devlinside and the pinfall. But as The Irish Ace celebrated with the NXT UK Title, General Manager Johnny Saint stormed out to ringside to inform the referee that Dragunov had his foot on the ropes and the match must be restarted.
As the bell rang once again, Dragunov nearly pulled a quick one on the furious Devlin with a surprise headbutt, but as he charged in for a Torpedo Moscow The Irish Ace countered with a sunset flip piledriver and a vertical suplex for a shocking near fall.
The two bitter adversaries traded headbutts until Dragunov countered a Devlinside with a German Suplex, catching The Irish Ace with a Torpedo Moscow to earn the victory and retain the NXT UK Championship.
It’s win or leave as Ilja Dragonuv and Jordan Devlin clash for the NXT UK Title on a historic episode of NXT UK
NXT UK is set to celebrate its 200th episode with an explosive rematch for the NXT UK Championship between Ilja Dragunov and Jordan Devlin in which the loser will be forced to leave NXT UK, while Ashton Smith & Oliver Carter vie to get back into the NXT UK Tag Team Title hunt with a Triple Threat Qualifying Match against Joe & Mark Coffey. Plus, dominant NXT 2.0 Superstar Ivy Nile makes her first appearance in the BT Sports Studio when she locks up with Nina Samuels.
There is no denying the intense and personal history between the NXT UK Champion and The Irish Ace. Dragunov and Devlin tore down the house once already in an explosive Empty Arena Match for the NXT UK Title. Still frustrated at the outcome of that first meeting, Devlin has hounded Dragunov for a rematch, claiming he could not beat The Irish Ace in a straight-up one-on-one fight.
After proclaiming NXT UK would be better off without the other, the two rivals took their animosity one step further during a wild contract signing ceremony by agreeing that the loser of their upcoming showdown would be forced to leave the brand permanently.
But before one Superstar prepares to leave NXT UK, a rising Superstar makes her first appearance across the pond as Diamond Mine’s “Pitbull” Nile looks to continue her dominant run against Samuels. Nile has run through the NXT 2.0 locker room to remain undefeated in singles competition, but Samuels plans to personally welcome the rookie to her show.
Finally, after Smith & Carter failed to capture the NXT UK Tag Team Titles in a thrilling 2-out-of-3 Falls Match, Assistant to the General Manager Sid Scala declared four tag teams would square off to determine who would challenge Moustache Mountain in a Triple Threat Tag Team Championship Match.
Looking to get one more crack at Tyler Bate & Trent Seven, Smith & Carter will collide with Coffey brothers in the first qualifying match, while Joe & Mark look to get on the same page and put Gallus Boys on top.
Don’t miss a minute of the action on a historic episode of NXT UK, streaming at 3 ET/8 BST on Peacock in the United States and on WWE Network everywhere else!
