5 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE NXT UK (Oct 31)
Downs...
4. Seven Out Of Ten...
...would be generous.
The shows limped out of the blocks this week with a tedious extended squash for Trent Seven over UK Championship Tournament also-ran Saxon Huxley.
Beyond highlighting how rudderless the Moustache Mountain man is on a (relatively) grand stage is without his meal ticket Tyler Bate, the battle was the first of many cases of the chasm in NXT UK between the haves and have-nots.
Jobber matches are a necessity in building a brand, but the company have shown a frustrating lack of creativity in building up the losers before they get gubbed by the (very obvious) winners. Huxley was, at least, aesthetically different from some of the bald baddies pretending to be gritty thugs, but he was still only positioned as a big lad that likes a scrap.
Longterm, this simply won't do. Seven (and others on the show) aren't the super-workers good enough to make stars in short bursts, but WWE's current management of the shows doesn't appear keen to share the load.