Io Shirai and Dakota Kai def. Marina Shafir and Jessamyn DukeConsidering Shafir and Duke are still relatively new to the wrestling scene, I thought they did perfectly fine here. They still have a ways to go, of course, but they did well in their debut match on NXT TV. It also helped that they had two incredibly skilled competitors to work with in Kai and Shirai. I'm surprised Shafir and Duke lost so decisively, but I guess it was more important for the babyfaces to build momentum. Dominik Dijakovic def. Aaron MackeyDijakovic is the former Donovan Dijak from Ring of Honor and the northeast independent scene. He is super impressive for a guy of his size and I'm happy he now has a bigger platform to showcase his skills on. This was exactly what it needed to be: short and sweet with Dijakovic dominating throughout. I'm looking forward to him showing more of what he can do once he begins facing more credible competition.
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Hideo Itami def. Noam DarBefore the bout, Ariya Daivari praised Itami and mentioned how he deserves elite competition. That led to Drake Maverick introducing Dar as Itami's opponent. I don't believe these two have ever clashed one-on-one before, so I enjoyed their encounter and thought it had a nice pace to it. Itami's victory adds to his momentum and further establishes him as a force to reckoned with on 205 Live. Lio Rush def. Local AthleteWWE may not have given him a name here, but the local athlete was actually Aaron Solow (Bayley's husband), who has made a handful of appearances on the show before. As for Rush, he hasn't been seen on 205 Live since losing to Cedric Alexander last month and has instead been busy managing Bobby Lashley on Raw. He returned to form by beating Solow in the matter of minute and talking trash beforehand.
Toni Storm def. Charlie MorganStorm has been off the show since seemingly suffering an injury during her NXT UK Women's Championship match against Rhea Ripley last month, so it was good to have her back here. She didn't miss a beat whatsoever. This was essentially a showcase for her, so while it wasn't terribly thrilling, it served a purpose and succeeded in getting Storm back on track. Zack Gibson and James Drake def. Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan WebsterIt looks like Andrews and Webster, along with Gibson and Drake, are going to be entering the tag team ranks with the NXT UK Tag Team Championship set to be instituted soon. I'm all for that because of how well they work together and with their opponents. This was a prime example of that, as this was a terrific tag team match with strong showings from all involved. Fabian Aichner interfering to cost Andrews and Webster the victory (after they had done something similar to him a few weeks ago) was a nice touch, too.
Jordan Devlin def. "Wild Boar" Mike HitchmanDevlin has quickly become one of my favorite performers on the NXT UK brand. He's coming into his own as a heel and is extremely fluid in the ring. This was clearly designed to serve as a showcase for Devlin, so not only did it put him over effectively, it was also a fun little opener. Since Devlin has already contended for the WWE United Kingdom Championship (and lost), I'm interested to see what's next for him. Fabian Aichner def. Eddie RyanAichner is still doing that gimmick where he shakes his opponent hand to start out before getting dirty down the stretch. He's such a blast to watch in the ring and this was another enjoyable outing from him. This was mostly a straightforward squash to get Aichner back on track following his recent loss to Flash Morgan Webster. I look forward to him becoming a bigger star on the brand in due time.
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