NXT UK Results courtesy of WWE.com.
NXT UK results, Oct. 17, 2018: Dunne reigned supreme over Dar in explosive NXT UK premiere
The inaugural episode of WWE NXT UK originated in the Corn Exchange in Cambridge and featured a knockdown-dragout matchup between Pete Dunne and Noam Dar for the WWE UK Championship. Plus, Mark Andrews locked horns with big Joe Coffey, Toni Storm took on Nina Samuels, and Dave Mastiff descended on Sid Scala.
Joe Coffey def. Mark Andrews
In the first match of the night, the exciting, high-flying, stage-driving Mark Andrews went looking for retribution against the massive Joe Coffey after Joe and Mark Coffey laid waste to him and three other competitors during a high-stakes Fatal 4-Way Match at the second annual United Kingdom Championship Tournament in June.
Andrews put his incredible skill and agility on display from the opening bell, taking his opponent down with an impressive pair of hurricanranas, but the powerful Coffey took advantage after multiple distractions from his brother and thrashed Andrews inside and outside the ring. That didn’t stop the resilient Andrews, who fought back with a beautiful Corkscrew Moonsault and even kicked out of Coffey’s devastating powerslam.
Andrews dropped Coffey with a wicked Stun Dog Millionaire, and when Mark pulled Joe out of the ring for the save, the brothers were introduced to Andrew’s Moonsault from the top rope, which sent them both crashing to the ringside floor. When the action returned to the ring, however, another distraction from Mark allowed Joe to meet Andrews on the ropes and execute an Overhead Belly-to-Belly Suplex before sealing his opponents’ fate with All The Best For The Bells (a debilitating discus clothesline).
Then, when The Coffey Brothers unleashed a post-match attack on Andrews, Flash Morgan Webster emerged to even the odds with the help of his motorcycle helmet equalizer.
Moustache Mountain threw down gauntlet on NXT UK Tag Team competition
After calling this “the greatest day in the history of United Kingdom professional wrestling,” former NXT Tag Team Champions Trent Seven & Tyler Bate turned their attention to the NXT UK Tag Team Titles, challenging the NXT UK Superstars to form the best opposition they could so that the scuffed tandem could best the best and become the first-ever UK Tag Team Champions.
Dave Mastiff def. Sid Scala
Sid Scala undoubtedly aspires to excel on the sports-entertainment stage, but his dreams quickly turned into a nightmare when he stepped in the ring with Dave Mastiff. The Bomber laid waste to his unfortunate prey before finishing him off with his Cannonball in the corner for the dominant win.
Toni Storm def. Nina Samuels
With every female NXT UK Superstar gunning to become the first NXT UK Women’s Champion, Toni Storm and Nina Samuels took center stage for the show’s inaugural women’s match.
From the start, Samuels set out to make a name for herself at Storm’s expense, executing a relentless offense which included a Tilt-A-Whirl Backbreaker that earned her a near-fall.
Her hard-rocking opponent fired back with all the explosiveness of a Motley Crew guitar solo and finished off Samuels with Storm Zero for her first NXT UK victory.
Pete Dunne def. Noam Dar to retain the WWE UK Championship
After making a surprise return at the NXT UK Championship special in June to win a WWE UK Title opportunity, Noam Dar set out to take that title from long-reigning champion Pete Dunne in the first-ever NXT UK main event, and NXT UK General Manager Johnny Saint ushered in the title fight by shaking hands with each competitor.
The intense grapplers fought tooth-and-nail inside and outside the ring, with The BruiserWeight targeting his opponent’s arm and fingers and The Scottish Supernova focusing on the titleholder’s knee. When the battle moved onto the apron and Dunne went after his opponent’s digits, he paid dearly for it when Dar hit an earth-shattering Release Fisherman Suplex onto the apron.
Both Dunne and Dar barely beat the count before getting back in the ring, lighting the fuse on a fierce back-and-forth consisting of strikes and submission maneuvers.
In the final moments, Dunne hit a devastating forearm to set up the Bitter End, but Dar countered with a Knee Bar submission maneuver at the last moment. Dunne fought his way to the ropes, however, and when Dar left his figures exposed, The BruiserWeight seized the moment, bending them back before stomping on them and executing the Bitter End for the hard-fought win.
As the smoke cleared on the hard-fought showdown, both pulled back their handshake on each other, signaling a different form of respect between the two competitors after the historic main event.