NXT UK (WWE brand)
Product type | Professional wrestling Sports entertainment |
---|---|
Owner | WWE |
Produced by | Paul "Triple H" Levesque |
Country | United Kingdom |
Introduced | 15 December 2016 (as United Kingdom) 18 June 2018 (as NXT UK) |
Discontinued | 4 September 2022 |
Related brands | Raw SmackDown NXT 205 Live ECW |
Previous names: United Kingdom (2016 – 2018) | |
General Manager: Johnny Saint (7 June 2018 – 4 September 2022) Assistant to the General Manager: Sid Scala (12 December 2018 – 18 August 2022) |
NXT UK was a
The brand went on hiatus following the
History
In a press conference at
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.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic that began in March 2020, production of NXT UK events were paused. On 10 September 2020, WWE announced the relaunch of NXT UK following its hiatus due to the pandemic. A secondary men's championship was also unveiled.[17]
On 19 August 2021, it was announced that WWE would be a sponsor of Enfield Town F.C.—a seventh-tier football club in the same borough as its UK-based WWE Performance Center facility—in the 2021–22 season, with their kits carrying the NXT UK logo.[18]
On 18 August 2022, WWE announced that NXT UK would take a "brief hiatus" and be rebranded as NXT Europe upon its return in 2023, expanding into a pan-European brand to include wrestlers from all European countries. The final NXT UK event was Worlds Collide on 4 September 2022. Shawn Michaels, who oversees talent development, said the company would work with the staff and talent to launch NXT Europe "bigger and better".[19] The relaunch as NXT Europe would be delayed due to WWE's acquisition by Endeavor, which also owns Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), with WWE and UFC merging to become divisions of TKO Group Holdings. The merger was finalized in September 2023. According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE's plan is to launch NXT Europe sometime in 2024.[20]
Championships
Overview
NXT UK had four championships exclusive to the brand. There were three for men and one for women. There were also two other championships that were shared with the brand.
The top men's championship of NXT UK was the NXT United Kingdom Championship. Established as the WWE United Kingdom Championship in December 2016, the inaugural champion was Tyler Bate, who won the original United Kingdom Championship tournament.[3] In January 2020, the title was renamed to reflect its status as the top title of NXT UK. The title was retired on 4 September 2022 at Worlds Collide when it was unified into the NXT Championship. Bate, the championship's only two-time holder, is recognized as the final champion.[21]
The top championship for female wrestlers was the NXT UK Women's Championship. Unveiled in June 2018, Rhea Ripley won a tournament final to become the inaugural champion.[22] The title was retired on 4 September 2022 at Worlds Collide when it was unified into the NXT Women's Championship. Meiko Satomura is recognized as the final champion.[21]
The NXT UK Tag Team Championship was the tag team championship for men. Unveiled in June 2018, the team of James Drake and Zack Gibson won a tournament final to become the inaugural champions.[23][24] The title was retired on 4 September 2022 at Worlds Collide when it was unified into the NXT Tag Team Championship. The team of Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs are recognized as the final champions.[21]
In September 2020, the
In addition to the above four championships, there were two other championships that were also available to NXT UK wrestlers but not exclusive to the brand. These were the NXT Cruiserweight Championship and the WWE 24/7 Championship.
The NXT Cruiserweight Championship was for wrestlers billed as 205 lbs and under, regarded as
Introduced in May 2019, the WWE 24/7 Championship was a specialized championship in which it could be defended anytime, anywhere, as long as a WWE referee was present, allowing it to be defended on any brand. Despite this, the title was never won by an NXT UK wrestler or appeared on any NXT UK event. The championship remained active until November 2022. After Nikki Cross won the title on the November 7 episode of Raw, she discarded the belt in a trash can backstage and two days later, it was listed as inactive on WWE.com.
Previous championships
Championship | Final champion(s) | Reign | Date won | Location | Notes | Ref. | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
NXT United Kingdom Championship | Tyler Bate | 2 | 7 July 2022 | London, England
|
Defeated Trent Seven in an eight-man single-elimination tournament final for the vacant title on NXT UK. Aired on tape delay on 1 September 2022. |
[27] | |
NXT UK Women's Championship | Meiko Satomura | 1 | 10 June 2021 (air date) |
London, England | Defeated Kay Lee Ray on NXT UK. Aired on tape delay on 10 June 2021. Actual date the match took place is unknown, as NXT UK held empty arena tapings for a period of time after resuming operations in late 2020 following a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. |
[28] | |
NXT UK Heritage Cup
|
Noam Dar | 2 | 7 July 2022 | London, England
|
Defeated Mark Coffey on NXT UK. Aired on tape delay on 25 August 2022. The title was transferred to NXT in April 2023. Noam Dar was the final champion to hold the title under the NXT UK banner. |
[29] | |
NXT UK Tag Team Championship | N/A | Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs | 1 | 22 June 2022 | London, England | Defeated on 23 June 2022. | [30] |
Other championships used by NXT UK
Championship | Final champion(s) recognized by NXT UK | Reign | Date won | Location | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
NXT Cruiserweight Championship[nb 1] | Carmelo Hayes | 1 | 4 January 2022 | Orlando, Florida | Defeated Roderick Strong at New Year's Evil to unify the championship with the NXT North American Championship. | [31] |
WWE 24/7 Championship[nb 2] | Dana Brooke | 7 | 18 July 2022 | Tampa, Florida | Pinned champion six-woman tag team match on Raw to win the championship.
|
[32] |
Television show
The WWE Network broadcast 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. Since March 2021, NXT UK was broadcast on Peacock in the United States, due to the American version of the WWE Network merging under Peacock.[33]
WWE Network events
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. 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[34] | 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[35]
|
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
Notes
References
- Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
- PWTorch. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
- ^ PWTorch. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
- ^ "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
- ^ "WWE United Kingdom Championship Special premiere today". WWE. May 19, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
- ^ Sean Rueter (April 7, 2018). "Triple H reveals WWE's UK Championship Tournament returns in June". Cageside Seats. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
- ^ WWE.com Staff. "WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament at Royal Albert Hall". WWE. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
- ^ "Tickets for the WWE U.K. Championship Tournament at Royal Albert Hall are available now". WWE. April 13, 2018. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
- ^ "Johnny Saint named GM of WWE's United Kingdom brand". WWE. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
- Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. 7 June 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
- ^ John Pollock (June 18, 2018). "WWE announces NXT UK brand with two additional championships to be introduced". POST Wrestling. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
- ^ "WWE launches new U.K. series". WWE. June 18, 2018. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
- ^ WWE [@WWE] (June 18, 2018). "BREAKING NEWS: A new brand, #NXTUK is coming to @WWEUK. @TripleH and GM Johnny Saint announced the news this evening @RoyalAlbertHall" (Tweet). Retrieved June 18, 2018 – via Twitter.
- ^ "NXT UK begins streaming on WWE Network today at 3 p.m. ET".
- ^ "BT Sport | the Heart of Sport | BT Sport".
- ^ Felstead, Scott; Docking, Neil (January 21, 2020). "Channel 5 to show WWE Raw and SmackDown highlights". mirror. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
- Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
- ^ "Is Enfield Town ready for Triple H?". BBC Sport. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
- ^ Gaydos, Ryan (August 18, 2022). "WWE to launch NXT Europe in 2023, NXT UK to make impact at upcoming event". Fox News. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
- ^ Kilbane, Lyle (August 22, 2023). "WWE Still Planning For NXT Europe". TJR Wrestling. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
- ^ a b c d Moore, John (September 4, 2022). "NXT Worlds Collide results: Moore's live review of NXT Champion Bron Breakker vs. NXT UK Champion Tyler Bate in a unification match, NXT Women's Champion Mandy Rose vs. NXT UK Women's Champion Meiko Satomura vs. Blair Davenport in a unification match, Carmelo Hayes vs. Ricochet for the NXT North American Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
- ^ "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.
- POSTWrestling. Archivedfrom the original on 12 July 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ "Major news from Sunday night's NXT UK tapings (CAUTION: SPOILERS)". WWE. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
- ^ Currier, Joseph (November 26, 2020). "WWE CROWNS FIRST NXT UK HERITAGE CUP CHAMPION". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
- Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
- ^ Russell, Skyler (July 7, 2022). "Spoiler: New NXT UK Champion Crowned During 7/7 Tapings". Fightful. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
- ^ Harris, Jeffrey (June 10, 2021). "Meiko Satomura Captures NXT UK Women's Title From Kay Lee Ray". 411mania. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
- ^ Russell, Skylar (July 7, 2022). "Spoiler: New NXT Heritage Cup Champion Crowned At 7/7 Tapings". Fightful. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
- ^ Gronemann, Markus (23 June 2022). "NXT UK results: Tag Team Championship four-way elimination match Sarray, Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs made their newsworthy NXT UK debuts". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
- ^ Moore, John (January 4, 2022). "1/4 NXT 2.0 results: Moore's review of Tommaso Ciampa vs. Bron Breakker for the NXT Title, Walter, Fabian Aichner, and Marcel Barthel vs. Riddle and MSK, Mandy Rose vs. Raquel Gonzalez vs. Cora Jade for the NXT Women's Title, Carmelo Hayes vs. Roderick Strong in a title unification match, AJ Styles confronts Grayson Waller". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
- ^ Powell, Jason (July 18, 2022). "7/18 WWE Raw results: Powell's live review of Bianca Belair vs. Carmella for the Raw Women's Championship, Logan Paul appears on Miz TV, the build to SummerSlam continues". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
- ^ "WWE launches new U.K. series". WWE. June 18, 2018. Archived from the original on June 19, 2018. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
- ^ Hall, Royal Albert. "WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament at Royal Albert Hall". WWE.com. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
- ^ "NXT UK TakeOver". MotorpointArenaCardiff.co.uk. Archived from the original on June 8, 2019. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
External links
- Official website
- NXT UK on Twitter
- NXT UK on Facebook
- NXT UK at IMDb