6 Ups & 2 Downs From WWE NXT UK (27 May)

2. Teoman Strikes Again

Teoman made relatively easy work of Ashton Smith, as he should have. This didn’t need to be a long, drawn-out contest; it simply needed to be the German native getting a win to move forward. Ashton is the perfect guy to do that against, in the sense that he’s not a major name on the roster so a loss doesn’t necessarily matter, plus he’s a safe pair of hands in the ring.

The former Lucky Kid focused specifically on the shoulder of Smith, connecting with some rather vicious strikes to set up for his patented Crossface. The offence we did see of Ashton was great, too, as he hit a lovely stalled suplex, but he never needed to win, hence why Teoman’s calculated destruction of him in the closing stages was great. He slapped the meat off of Ashton’s chest because this would wind him; sure enough, it did. The Crossface forced Smith into submission.

Continuing his onslaught post-match, Teoman was chased off by the returning Oliver Carter. A match between them should be good. There was some genuinely solid stuff in this one, something we rarely get to see from Ashton. Let’s hope it continues.