Jordan Devlin or WWE NXT UK Champion Ilja Dragunov will be leaving the brand soon.
WWE has announced that the Devlin vs. Dragunov title match to air on Thursday, May 12 will have a “Loser Leaves NXT UK” stipulation attached to it.
Today’s NXT UK episode featured a contract signing for Devlin vs. Dragunov. The champion suggested the stipulation as a way to rid NXT UK of Devlin. Devlin accepted the stipulation and said Dragunov won’t want to show his face around NXT UK once Devlin wins the title anyway. The contract signing ended with the challenger putting the champion through a table.
Dragunov has been NXT UK Champion since defeating Gunther back at NXT Takeover 36 on August 22, 2021 during WWE SummerSlam Weekend. He retained over Devlin in a near-22 minute Empty Arena Falls Count Anywhere match on the January 27 episode, which was taped back in November. Devlin picked that stipulation in the storylines, but he has argued that Dragunov would’ve lost the match if it weren’t for the weapons he was able to use.
Dragunov had a brief run on the main NXT brand in mid-2021, while Devlin also spent some time in the United States in 2020 and 2021. They both also worked a few non-televised live events in 2019, and 2020, including the Worlds Collide event in January 2020.
It will be interesting to see which NXT UK Superstar makes the move to NXT 2.0 next. Nathan Frazer, A-Kid and NXT Tag Team Champions Pretty Deadly have all came over to the main NXT brand in recent weeks.
Devlin vs. Dragunov is set to headline the May 12 edition of NXT UK, which will be the 200th episode.
Stay tuned for more. Below is footage from the Devlin vs. Dragunov contract signing, along with highlights from Von Wagner’s NXT UK debut vs. Saxon Huxley, Xia Brookside vs. Angel Hayze, Symbiosis vs. Wild Boar and Mark Andrews, and more:
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