It's about time!
Following Wednesday night's fantastic U.K. Championship bout that saw the champ, Pete Dunne, retain against Wolfgang, preliminary seeds were planted pitting U.K. stars against NXT stars.
There's no denying the immense talent featured in the U.K. division. The tournament that took place earlier in the year was spectacular, and the one-off matches that have occurred throughout the year have been impressive, none more than the championship match at TakeOver: Chicago, when Dunne defeated Tyler Bate for the U.K. Championship.
However, there's one major problem: The U.K. division hasn't been featured prominently on WWE TV at all. The sporadic performances have been good, but the talented crew deserves something more substantial, and it looks like we're going to get just that.
After Dunne hit the Bitter End and scored a pinfall victory over Wolfgang, the trio of Adam Cole, Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly made their way into the ring and surrounded Dunne.
Dunne, poised for a fight, caught Fish with a forearm before the trio attacked him. It was at that point that Wolfgang attempted to make the save, but he fell victim to the numbers game that Cole, Fish and O'Reilly possessed. As the fracas continued, Dunne, embracing the villainous nature of his character, retreated, leaving Wolfgang to be pummeled.
As Cole, Fish and O'Reilly exited through the crowd, Bate and Trent Seven stormed the ring to check on their fallen comrade and stared down the culprits.
With that, perhaps we have the starting point for Cole, Fish and O'Reilly's first in-ring rivalry. Where the next chapter takes place remains to be seen, but the intrigue level is high.
Even more intriguing is where Dunne fits into the equation, if at all. Will he side with his British allies or elevate his heel status to greater heights by siding with the enemy -- or will he completely abandon the whole situation?
Who will be the next NXT Women's Champion?
Following Kairi Sane's successful quest to become the first-ever Mae Young Classic winner, it was announced that she'd receive a shot at Asuka's recently relinquished NXT Women's Championship match at TakeOver: Houston in November.
Whom will she battle for the gold?
Four of the top wrestlers in the NXT women's division got the opportunity to make their case when Ruby Riot and a mystery partner of her choice took on Peyton Royce and Billie Kay.
Just as it appeared that Riot was going to take on the Iconic Duo by herself, SAnitY's Nikki Cross slithered to Riot's corner, becoming her unexpected tag team partner. As soon as Cross jumped onto the apron, she tagged herself in, did extensive damage and left Riot to pick up the scraps on her way to a victory.
Cross shined brightest on this night and made a major statement as she builds her case to contend for the women's championship, but don't look past Riot, who is consistently improving, or the Iconic Duo, as Royce had won her last two TV matches before this one.
The one notable name not featured on Wednesday night was Asuka's heated rival Ember Moon. Look for her to advocate for her inclusion in the championship match in the coming weeks.
Other notes:
Johnny Gargano gets back into the win column: Coming off a tough loss to Andrade "Cien" Almas at TakeOver, Johnny Gargano was looking to right the ship. That's exactly what he did with a win over Riddick Moss despite the unsuccessful interference attempts by Moss' partner, Tino Sabbatelli. This looked to be nothing more than a way to build Gargano back up after his TakeOver loss. Sabbatelli figures to be next.
The Street Profits snag another win: The high-energy and charismatic Street Profits went head-to-head with a much larger duo in the Ealy Brothers. Not surprisingly, the Street Profits, who consistently have Full Sail in the palm of their hands, came out on top. It was a nice showing from two teams in the early stages of their NXT careers.
Next week will feature No Way Jose against Lars Sullivan and a setup for the next encounter for Aleister Black.