William Regal's Son Makes WWE NXT UK Debut
William Regal's son Bailey Matthews made his WWE NXT UK debut during today's new episode on the WWE Network.
Today's episode saw Matthews lose his debut match against Tyler Bate. The back & forth bout saw Bate hit the Tyler Driver '97 to get the pin on Matthews for the win. After the match, the two competitors shook hands in a show of respect.
As seen in the video below, Matthews was interviewed after the match and asked how he was feeling.
"I feel good that I was able to hang in there with him," Matthews said. "I wanted to win but at the end of the day it's Tyler Bate I'm up against, the first UK Champion. As much as I tried my hardest it just wasn't enough. I'm gonna have to keep putting in all the work and all the effort to get there. The only way to beat him, I think, is keep moving up, make my way back here, finally win against him."
WWE announced back on January 29 that Matthews had signed, along with Meiko Satomura, Metehan Kocabasoglu, and Tony Gill. Representing his hometown of Blackpool, England, WWE noted at the time of his signing that Matthews brings a unique style to NXT, inspired by his NXT General Manager father, NXT UK General Manager Johnny Saint, and Billy Robinson. It's important to note that WWE's signing announcement did not acknowledge the father-son relationship.
Bailey previously worked a few UK indie shows before training as a Young Lion with New Japan Pro Wrestling in 2020.
Stay tuned for more on Matthews and the NXT UK brand. Below are a few shots from today's match, along with the post-match interview:
Bailey Matthews is ready for action on #NXTUK! pic.twitter.com/GWYCYRv1Ya
— NXT UK (@NXTUK) February 25, 2021
He's a big strong boy.
BIG STRONG BOY!#NXTUK pic.twitter.com/IqB9Iwi9dG— NXT UK (@NXTUK) February 25, 2021
Tyler Bate faces a tough test against Bailey Matthews in this singles matchup. #NXTUK pic.twitter.com/F1AL8O6xdW
— WWE (@WWE) February 25, 2021
The former #NXTUK Champion knows how to get it done inside the ring! pic.twitter.com/wZFLc7TCs6
— NXT UK (@NXTUK) February 25, 2021