One gripe that I have with the coverage of women’s wrestling is that NXT UK is usually overlooked. This is a travesty because of the insanely awesome feuds, personalities, and talent that is all throughout the women’s division.
The NXT UK women’s title was established on June 18th, 2018, and has already made champions whose careers will be talked about for decades to come. Rhea Ripley, Toni Storm, Kay Lee Ray, and currently Meiko Satomura. Meiko is a living legend. I don’t use that term lightly. Meiko made her debut in 1995 and was trained by Chigusa Nagayo.
She wrestled for GAEA Japan, winning the AAAW Tag Team and Singles Championships during that time. She also appeared on WCW programming to compete for the Women’s heavyweight and cruiserweight titles. After GAEA folded on April 3, 2005, Satomura launched Sendai Girls’ Pro Wrestling in 2006. She served as a trainer and booker. The promotion is still alive and kicking to this day. With all of her expertise, Meiko should be the division’s leader and possess the desired title.
Just the crowning of Meiko was perfect. Kay Lee Ray was setting herself up as the unbeatable champion. She was as tough as nails. Cold and calculated. With a 649 title reign, the likelihood of her loss was slim….. until Meiko debuted. There was a big build-up to Meiko’s debut. Women like Bayley, Sasha Banks, Mercedes Martinez, and Rhea Ripley talked about Meiko’s legacy and dominance in the ring.
Since Kay Lee Ray had terrorized the women’s division for so long, maybe Meiko could come to affirm her standing as the new leader. Meiko came in and took up the honor of being the head of the division. On the June 10, 2021, episode of NXT UK, Meiko successfully dethroned Kay Lee Ray and established a new chapter in the Women’s division.
Shortly after winning her title, Meiko went into a feud that in my opinion, should be seen as a candidate for feud of the year. This was against Blair Davenport.
Blair Davenport received a ton of success in Japan and maybe thought that that qualifies her to be leaps and bounds ahead of Meiko. Meiko saw this as an opportunity to put this newcomer in her place. A series of matches proved that these women were must-see TV.
Coming off a winning streak in NXT UK during her first few months, Blair started to feel comfortable in her ability to gain victories. So she decided that it was appropriate to challenge the Final Boss. After being unsuccessful against Meiko on the January 6th episode, the ladies decided to raise the stakes.
Their feud has reached a climax and needed to be concluded with a Japanese street fight, which took place on February 3, 2022. I believe that this feud could’ve lasted much longer if Blair would’ve have suffered an injury during the match. In an effort to continue to keep building off of Meiko’s impressive title defenses, the evolving Isla Dawn has been brought in as Satomura’s latest foe.
Isla Dawn has had a drastic change in her character since arriving in NXT UK. There’s a darkness in her and the unhinged behavior and new look has raised some eyebrows. Maybe it is revenge that Isla wants. Since losing to Meiko in Satomura’s debut match, I’m sure that bitterness began to fester. Especially after feeling that everyone thought that Isla didn’t stand a chance against the champ she knows wants to prove herself.
After their most recent match, Isla decided that instead of facing the loss, she would instead steal Meiko’s title and brag about it being hers. This feud has now reached a high point and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Whatever happens next, one thing is for sure. Meiko is the perfect champ for this chapter in NXT Uk and everyone that challenges for that title look ten times better after stepping into the ring with the Final Boss.
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