WWE NXT UK: March 17, 2022: Strong takes down Wolfgang, immediately challenges Dragunov

Oliver Carter def. Tyler Bate

After coming up just short in their first title bout against Moustache Mountain and losing in controversial fashion, Oliver Carter and Ashton Smith began their seemingly long journey to potentially earn an NXT UK Tag Team Championship rematch.

Step one for Carter: defeat the incomparable Tyler Bate, the only Triple Crown Champion in NXT UK history.

With Bate perched on the top rope late in the bout, he was distracted when Trent Seven instigated a shoving match with Ashton Smith at ringside, and the momentary lapse in concentration proved costly.

After hesitating for an extra second or two, The Big Strong Boi went airborne in an attempt to wipe out his foe, but Carter caught him in a crafty backslide to score a clutch three-count and quite possibly the biggest win of his career. 

Emilia McKenzie def. Nina Samuels

Nina Samuels has yet to meet an NXT UK Superstar that she didn’t want to antagonize, and her favorite target over the past couple weeks seems to be Emilia McKenzie, whom she has mocked several times in the backstage area.

Samuels, who claims McKenzie is “dead weight” for NXT UK Women’s Champion Meiko Satomura, took the upper hand by sending her opponent throat-first into the middle rope and nailing her with a dropkick.

McKenzie was left reeling after Samuels took her down by yanking her by the hair, but McKenzie nevertheless dodged a moonsault attempt and hit a bone-rattling spear for the hard-earned victory.

Aleah James def. Stevie Turner

Following a couple of heated exchanges in the backstage area over the last few weeks, Aleah James and Stevie Turner finally stepped between the ropes to settle the score.

Turner was seemingly taken off guard when Grace showed an impressive mix of speed and athleticism in the early goings, but she turned the tables with a Lou Thesz press and several ruthless kicks to the face.

James dug deep to fight through the pain, however, and after kicking out at the nick of time following a vicious slam from Turner, James caught fire with a lateral press and scored the win by folding Turner into a unique rollup for her third win in her last four matches.

Roderick Strong def. Wolfgang

As he showed when he was NXT Cruiserweight Champion, Roderick Strong is willing to take on any opponent of any size at any time. And apparently on any brand.

The Messiah of the Backbreaker wasn’t seeking a layup in his first foray to NXT UK, opting instead to take on the menacing former NXT UK Tag Team Champion Wolfgang, who attempted to ambush Strong before the bell and was in no mood to roll out the red carpet for the debuting Superstar.

Strong antagonized his foe as well as the NXT UK Universe by rolling out of the ring several times before finally engaging Wolfgang, who used his size advantage to throttle Strong with several ring-shaking Irish whips into the turnbuckles and a double axhandle from the top rope.

With Wolfgang’s back ailing thanks to several targeted attacks from Strong, the Diamond Mine member dodged a spear and tattooed his opponent with a knee to the face for the three-count.

After the match, Strong laid down a challenge to NXT UK Champion Ilja Dragunov, telling him “the ball is in your court.”