Well fist me and call me Jerry this came out of nowhere! We heard that WWE had been sending out some kind of contracts to UK talent to ward off World of Sport and WCPW signing everyone, but Christ O'Riley I did not see this coming. So what exactly is this? Well....
That, my friends, is the WWE United Kingdom Championship. Whose is it? January 14th and 15th, we have a two day tournament in Blackpool, England to decide who will be the first UK Champion. 16 wrestlers from across the British Isles will converge to compete in this bad boy, including PROGRESS Champion, Pete Dunne. Tickets have already sold out, sorry guys.
Not only that, we have learnt that there is a new member of the WWE announce team, Nigel McGuinness. Side note, I fucking love Nigel McGuinness. For those who don't know who this man is, Nigel is, in my opinion, one of the best British wrestlers ever. He's a former Ring of Honour Champion, having a classic rivalry with Daniel Bryan (then Bryan Danielson) and was just awesome.
As a flavour, here's him vs KENTA (Hideo Itami)
He very nearly joined D-Bry in WWE, but due to prior injuries, the contract was withdrawn. Crying shame. He did go on to sign with TNA, but his run there was cut short due to health issues. McGuinness retired from in-ring competition in 2011, and has since had various other on-screen roles for TNA & ROH, including commentary. So glad to see him finally arrive in WWE, though he may not be in-ring, it's still lovely.
Added to all this goodness, it was said that these Brits would also be getting a weekly show on top of this. Perhaps the most interesting point however, is that it is of my understanding that they are free to wrestle on the indies. Very, very interesting. We've not seen anything like this, the closest being allowing signed wrestlers to finish up dates, but this is ongoing.
Also, its got a fucking sick theme.
Now, as with anything ever, there are some positives, and perhaps one or two negatives, giving me hopes and also some fears. So, let's get to the discussion.
Let's start with saying that this massively important to the British wrestling scene, no doubt about it. We're getting the beginnings of a turf war, with the main sides seemingly being WWE, WCPW and World of Sport, not to say that they're the only big players on the British scene. We have the likes of PROGRESS, RevPro, ICW, OTT and many more, the three mentioned are the only ones looking for contracts to keep them from the others.
While some may seem this as a negative, dividing an ecosystem that has been living in relative harmony, contractual agreements give these wrestlers job security, something that is very handy in independent wrestling, especially for your less well known guys who are receiving these opportunities. Money may not make the world go round but it fucking helps.
It's also worth noting that these factions mean one thing; competition. And competition creates excellence. Clearly, WWE are the big dogs here. I dunno how big a fish World of Sport is gonna be, I'm not massively optimistic judging from the reports of the tapings, but maybe this will fuel the flames and show them they can make some waves. WCPW have quickly risen the ranks of the British scene, expanding their reach across the country, having iPPVs and getting talents such as Cody Rhodes, #BROKEN Matt Hardy and Kurt Angle. It'll be interesting to see what steps they take to further themselves.
Another aspect that I'm a tad cautious about is the concept of a new weekly show. In the conference, Triple H went out of his way to give dates and times for the tournament, so I imagine the tournament will be broadcast over said weekend, rather than how the Cruiserweight Classic was shown over the summer. That means I'd imagine the weekly show to get underway pretty soon-ish.
Now, I'll be honest, I'm already struggling a bit to fit everything in; RAW, SmackDown!, 205 Live, NXT, Pay-Per-Views, and that's just WWE. I'd hate to have to start economising my wrestling time even more, but this may become a reality, hopefully not. I know I like to watch as much as possible, and this really has me excited, so I'm definitely gonna try my hardest to fit it in, something else may have to go.
Also, I think it's fair to say that 205 Live hasn't gotten off to a great start, and I'm a tad worried similar may happen to the Brits. Though it can be said the Cruiserweights suffered most from their less than spectacular introduction on Monday Night RAW, general neglect is what I think did it. With this being quite separated from the main roster, I should think it will be managed like NXT, with Triple H/Papa Hunter taking the reigns, which sounds great.
With the weekly show, that means there is potential for another touring brand. As a guy living in Britain, I would love and jump at the chance to see these guys. It is one of my goals next year and forward to try and go to more shows, so this would be ideal. I can understand them staying in Blackpool, sort of like a version of Full Sail, but with that being on the other side of the fucking country to me, that wouldn't be great for me. Just hit up some other big cities near me and I'll be a happy boy.
Possibly the biggest thing for me, as a British guy, is that it makes me feel a lot closer to WWE, and more cared for, if that makes sense.
Us Brits on out little island can sometimes feel a little isolated when it comes to our international entertainment outlets. As for WWE, yeah we get shows, and a lot more than other countries who have more of a right to complain at that, but we don't get a whole lot of major stuff. We got TakeOver: London last year, but that was the first thing like that in a long time. With this, I feel like WWE is seeing us as a more important and significant audience/market. It makes me feel like they appreciate us here on the British Isles, and that's lovely.
Something that hits home with me though is something a tad more personal. It is a dream of mine to work for WWE in any capacity, be it on or off screen, however unimportant. This expansion to my homeland could mean I may have some minuscule chance, like my boy Nigel McGuinness, to actually realise it.
That's all from me, hope you guys enjoyed, but most of all, what do you think about this whole thing? Potential masterpiece or ticking timebomb? Lemme know somehow, whether it be over this fine interwebs or shouting in my face, either way. I will catch your ass down the road, and I will leave you with Nigel's awesome theme..
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