Our match this week on NXT UK saw Emilia McKenzie take on Stevie Turner after Turner’s comments last week. Stevie believes that Meiko keeps Emilia around because she does not perceive the protégé to be a legitimate threat. With this in the back of her mind, Emilia came out ready to prove herself against the 4-Dimensional Turner.
The match starts with the two exchanging lockups and the stronger Emilia gets the upper hand, culminating in a swift swinging neck breaker. The beginnings of the match belong to Emilia until a bicycle kick shifts the momentum in Stevie’s favour. McKenzie proves most resilient though and after being on the receiving end of Stevie’s Mass Effect, Emilia turns the match around and lays out Turner with a spear for the win.
In a short Digital Exclusive, Emilia expresses her taste for winning and hopes to continue her winning streak going forward.
We now know that Isla Dawn will receive a rematch for the NXT UK Women’s Championship in two weeks time, what we don’t know is what the match will fully entail. Billed as the first-ever ‘World of Darkness’ match, the stipulation seems to favour the challenger as it is a device of her own creation but will this be the edge that Isla Dawn needs to topple the Final Boss?
In the above promo, Isla extends the invitation to Meiko Satomura, vowing to walk away with the NXT UK Women’s Championship. Isla commends Meiko for running the division as long as she has but it is time for a change. Just as she extinguishes the candles around her, she intends to put out Meiko’s flame.
Also on the show, Eliza Alexander and Xia Brookside comment on Eliza’s win last week and we learn that Xia Brookside will be in action next week and vows that someone else will be getting ‘battered’.
Authors Take –
The work that gets put into Isla Dawn’s promos is some of my favourite to watch. It adds legitimacy to her character and the level of threat against Meiko that I think she needs. Before stepping into the title picture, Isla Dawn’s booking felt inconsistent with her trading wins and losses but her penchant for taking ‘trophies’ from her opponents always made it feel like something more was in the works but for a while didn’t happen. Seeing her with the title in her arms just feels right and as one of the longest-tenured women on the NXT UK brand, it would not be the worst thing to see her with the belt officially.
Emilia vs Stevie was a solid match, both competitors are strong in the ring, I’m just still waiting for a little more character from Emilia. She is impressive in the ring and her role as Meiko’s protégé is still hinted at but has almost been dropped. It’s been regular in her booking to appear backstage, be insulted by the Stevie’s or the Nina’s of the division or anyone looking to challenge Meiko, and then face them but whether she wins or loses, she remains where she is.
Finally, I am very happy to see the arrival of Lash Legend and Ivy Nile within NXT UK. Now that travel restrictions have been lifted, we are seeing more NXT 2.0 talent coming to the UK brand and it’s a solid tool to bring more eyes to the brand. I look forward to seeing how the two interact with the division.
What did you think of Emilia vs Stevie? Which NXT 2.0 stars would you bring to NXT UK or vice versa?
