NXT UK (WWE brand)

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NXT UK
NXT UK brand Logo 2018.png
Logo for the brand and the NXT UK television programme
Product typeProfessional wrestling
Sports entertainment
OwnerWWE
Produced byPaul "Triple H" Levesque
CountryUnited Kingdom
Introduced15 December 2016
(as United Kingdom)
18 June 2018
(as NXT UK)
Related brandsRaw
SmackDown
NXT
205 Live
ECW
Previous names:
United Kingdom
(2016 – 2018)
General Manager:
Johnny Saint
(7 June 2018 – present)
Assistant to the General Manager:
Sid Scala
(12 December 2018 – present)

NXT UK is a brand of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE that was introduced in June 2018. Brands are divisions of WWE's roster where wrestlers are assigned to perform on a weekly basis. Wrestlers assigned to NXT UK primarily appear on the brand's weekly television program, NXT UK. The brand serves as a sub-brand of WWE's developmental territory, NXT, with NXT UK wrestlers also occasionally appearing on its show, NXT. Unlike WWE's other brands, NXT UK is produced exclusively in the United Kingdom and is specifically centered on wrestlers from the country.

History[]

Main article: WWE brand extension

In a press conference at The O2 Arena on 15 December 2016, Paul "Triple H" Levesque revealed that there would be a 16-man tournament to crown the inaugural WWE United Kingdom Champion. The tournament was held over a two-day period, 14 and 15 January 2017, and aired exclusively on the WWE Network. The championship was intended as the top championship of a new WWE Network show, produced in the United Kingdom (the show and its premiere date had yet to be revealed by the WWE at the time).[1][2] Tyler Bate won the inaugural tournament to become the first WWE United Kingdom Champion.[3]

On 19 May 2017, WWE held a follow-up to the United Kingdom Championship tournament,[4] titled United Kingdom Championship Special.[5]

On 7 April 2018, a second United Kingdom Championship Tournament event was scheduled for 18 and 19 June at the Royal Albert Hall.[6][7][8] On 7 June, Johnny Saint was appointed General Manager of WWE's United Kingdom brand.[9][10]

On 18 June 2018, it was announced that WWE's United Kingdom brand would begin filming a new show titled NXT UK in July 2018, and that championships for the brand's women's and tag team divisions would be introduced.[11] The brand was in turn officially established as NXT UK.[12][13]

On 17 October 2018, the inaugural episode of NXT UK aired on the WWE Network at 8 p.m. UK time/3 p.m. Eastern Time.[14]

On 31 December 2019, WWE announced that NXT UK would begin airing on BT Sport in the United Kingdom. [15] On 21 January 2020, it was announced that NXT UK would also air on Paramount Network UK on a six-day delay after its WWE Network and BT Sport broadcasts.[16]

On 10 September 2020, WWE announced the relaunch of the NXT UK brand following production of shows for the brand being paused since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[17]

Champions[]

See also: List of current champions in WWE

Tyler Bate won the inaugural tournament to become the first WWE United Kingdom Champion.[3] The first title change, as well as first defense to air live, took place on 20 May 2017, at NXT TakeOver: Chicago, where Pete Dunne defeated Bate to become champion.[18]

Rhea Ripley won the inaugural tournament to become the first NXT UK Women's Champion.[19]

The NXT UK Tag Team Championships were announced on 18 June 2018.[20] At the 13 October 2018 NXT UK tapings, Triple H and NXT UK General Manager Johnny Saint unveiled the championship belts.[21]

On November 26, 2020 episode of NXT UK, A-Kid won the NXT UK Heritage Cup tournament to become the inaugural NXT UK Heritage Cup Champion. It is defended just like any other championship but has a special stipulation in which all matches are contested under British Rounds Rules.[22]

Current championships[]

NXT UK
Championship Current champion(s) Reign Date won Days held Location Notes Ref.
NXT United Kingdom Championship Ilja Dragunov 2019.jpg Ilja Dragunov 1 21 August 2021 202 Orlando, Florida Defeated Walter at NXT TakeOver 36. [23]
NXT UK Heritage Cup Noam Dar April 2019.jpg Noam Dar 1 6 October 2021 157 London, England Defeated Tyler Bate on NXT UK.
Aired on tape delay on October 28, 2021. 		[24]
NXT UK Tag Team Championship Trent Seven and Tyler Bate enter Axxess crop.jpg Moustache Mountain
(Trent Seven and Tyler Bate) 		1 N/A 93 London, England Defeated Pretty Deadly (Lewis Howley and Sam Stoker) on NXT UK.
Aired on tape delay on December 9, 2021.
NXT UK Women's Championship Meiko Satomura 2019.07.11.jpg Meiko Satomura 1 N/A 275 London, England Defeated Kay Lee Ray on NXT UK.
Aired on tape delay on June 10, 2021.
Actual date the match took place is unknown, as NXT UK has held empty arena tapings since resuming operations in late 2020 following a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 		[25]
The NXT Women's Tag Team Championship can also be defended on NXT UK.

Personnel[]

Main article: List of WWE personnel § NXT UK

Television show[]

Main article: NXT UK

The WWE Network broadcasts NXT UK's eponymous television programme in the United Kingdom and internationally. The inaugural tapings of NXT UK occurred on 28 and 29 July 2018, at the Cambridge Corn Exchange, and began airing on 17 October 2018.[26]

WWE Network events[]

See also: NXT UK TakeOver
Event Date Location Venue Main event
United Kingdom Championship Tournament 14 January 2017 Blackpool, Lancashire
England 		Empress Ballroom Tyler Bate vs. Tucker
15 January 2017 Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne for the inaugural WWE United Kingdom Championship
United Kingdom Championship Special 7 May 2017 Norwich, Norfolk
England 		Epic Studios Tyler Bate (c) vs. Mark Andrews for the WWE United Kingdom Championship
United Kingdom Championship Tournament 18 June 2018 Kensington, London
England 		Royal Albert Hall[27] Zack Gibson vs. Travis Banks to determine the #1 contender to the WWE United Kingdom Championship
19 June 2018 Pete Dunne (c) vs. Zack Gibson for the WWE United Kingdom Championship
NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool 12 January 2019 Blackpool, Lancashire
England 		Empress Ballroom Pete Dunne (c) vs. Joe Coffey for the WWE United Kingdom Championship
NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff 31 August 2019 Cardiff
Wales 		Motorpoint Arena Cardiff[28] Walter (c) vs. Tyler Bate for the WWE United Kingdom Championship
NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool II 12 January 2020 Blackpool, Lancashire
England 		Empress Ballroom Walter (c) vs. Joe Coffey for the WWE United Kingdom Championship

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Currier, Joseph (December 15, 2016). "WWE to crown first United Kingdom Champion in January". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  2. ^ Keller, Wade (December 15, 2016). "WWE announces new UK-based brand, holding tournament to crown UK Champion, Nigel McGuinness on announce team". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  3. ^ a b Soucek, Andrew (15 January 2017). "SOUCEK'S WWE UK CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT REPORT 1/15: Ongoing coverage of night two of UK Championship tournament". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  4. ^ "UPDATED: WWE UK Championship Special to air on WWE Network on Friday with legend Jim Ross on commentary". Daily Mirror. May 15, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2016. The 90-minute show, starring the company's top UK and 205 Live cruiserweight talent, will feature action from tapings in Norwich on May 6 and 7
  5. ^ "WWE United Kingdom Championship Special premiere today". WWE. May 19, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
  6. ^ Sean Rueter (April 7, 2018). "Triple H reveals WWE's UK Championship Tournament returns in June". Cageside Seats. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
  7. ^ Staff, WWE.com. "WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament at Royal Albert Hall". WWE.com. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  8. ^ "Tickets for the WWE U.K. Championship Tournament at Royal Albert Hall are available now". WWE. April 13, 2018. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
  9. ^ "Johnny Saint named GM of WWE's United Kingdom brand". WWE. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
  10. ^ "WWE announces Johnny Saint as UK brand general manager". 7 June 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  11. ^ John Pollock (June 18, 2018). "WWE announces NXT UK brand with two additional championships to be introduced". POST Wrestling. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  12. ^ "WWE launches new U.K. series". WWE. June 18, 2018. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  13. ^ "BREAKING NEWS: A new brand, #NXTUK is coming to @WWEUK. @TripleH and GM Johnny Saint announced the news this evening @RoyalAlbertHall". WWE on Twitter. June 18, 2018. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  14. ^ "NXT UK begins streaming on WWE Network today at 3 p.m. ET".
  15. ^ "BT Sport | the Heart of Sport | BT Sport".
  16. ^ Felstead, Scott; Docking, Neil (2020-01-21). "Channel 5 to show WWE Raw and SmackDown highlights". mirror. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
  17. ^ Currier, Joseph (September 10, 2020). "WWE Announces Heritage Cup for NXT UK". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  18. ^ Zimmerman, Zack (20 May 2017). "5/20 Zim's NXT Takeover: Chicago live review – Bobby Roode vs. Hideo Itami for the NXT Title, Authors of Pain vs. Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa in a ladder match for the NXT Tag Titles, Asuka vs. Nikki Cross vs. Ruby Riot for the NXT Women's Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
  19. ^ "The first NXT UK Women's Champion to be crowned at NXT UK tapings this weekend in Birmingham". WWE. August 21, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  20. ^ Pollock, John (June 18, 2018). "WWE announces NXT UK brand with two additional championships to be introduced". POSTWrestling. Archived from the original on 9 September 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  21. ^ "Major news from Sunday night's NXT UK tapings (CAUTION: SPOILERS)". WWE. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  22. ^ Currier, Joseph (November 26, 2020). "WWE CROWNS FIRST NXT UK HERITAGE CUP CHAMPION". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  23. ^ Moore, John (August 22, 2021). "NXT Takeover 36 results: Moore's live review of Karrion Kross vs. Samoa Joe for the NXT Championship, Raquel Gonzalez vs. Dakota Kai for the NXT Women's Title, Adam Cole vs. Kyle O'Reilly in a best of three falls match, Walter vs. Ilja Dragunov for the NXT UK Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  24. ^ Defelice, Robert (May 20, 2021). "New NXT UK Heritage Cup Champion Crowned On 5/20/21". Fightful. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  25. ^ Harris, Jeffrey (June 10, 2021). "Meiko Satomura Captures NXT UK Women's Title From Kay Lee Ray". 411mania. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  26. ^ "WWE launches new U.K. series". WWE. June 18, 2018. Archived from the original on June 19, 2018. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  27. ^ Hall, Royal Albert. "WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament at Royal Albert Hall". WWE.com. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  28. ^ "NXT UK TakeOver". MotorpointArenaCardiff.co.uk. Archived from the original on June 8, 2019. Retrieved June 8, 2019.

External links[]

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