The NXT UK Heritage Cup is a

professional wrestling championship A championship or title in professional wrestling is a recognition promoted by professional wrestling organizations. Championship reigns are determined by professional wrestling matches, in which competitors are involved in predetermined rivalri ...

created and promoted by the American promotion

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

. It was defended on the

NXT UK ''NXT UK'' is a professional wrestling television programme that was produced exclusively in the United Kingdom by the American promotion WWE. It aired on BT Sport and 5Action (previously known as Paramount Network). In the United States, the s ...

brand division, a sister brand of WWE's

developmental territory In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

NXT NXT may refer to: Professional wrestling * ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010 ** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory * ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...

based in the United Kingdom, but its current status is unknown. Unveiled on 10 September 2020, it is defended just like any other championship but has a special stipulation in which all matches are contested under British Rounds Rules. The inaugural champion was

A-Kid Carlos Ruiz (born May 9, 1997) is a Spanish professional wrestler known under his ringname A-Kid. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on NXT as Axiom. He has also performed in NXT UK, where he was the inaugural NXT UK Heritage Cup Ch ...

. At Worlds Collide on 4 September 2022, all other NXT UK championships were unified into their respective NXT championship counterparts due to the closure of NXT UK, which will relaunch as NXT Europe in 2023. The Heritage Cup, however, was not contested at the event and there has been no announcement regarding its future, but WWE's website still lists it as active with

Noam Dar Noam Dar (; born 28 July 1993) is an Israeli-Scottish professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, and is a record setting two-time NXT UK Heritage Cup Champion. He also wrestles for Scottish promotion Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW ...

as the current champion in his record-setting second reign. The last match for the title occurred during the 7 July 2022 tapings of ''

'', which aired on tape delay on 25 August 2022.

History

On 10 September 2020, the American

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

promotion

announced the relaunch of the

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

, following a production hiatus since March due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Along with the relaunch, the promotion announced the NXT UK Heritage Cup tournament to crown the inaugural NXT UK Heritage Cup Champion. The announcement also revealed that the Heritage Cup would be defended just like any other championship, but all matches would be contested under British Rounds Rules. Only seven of the eight competitors for the tournament were revealed during the initial announcement: "Flash" Morgan Webster,

, Alexander Wolfe,

Dave Mastiff David Minton (born 21 July 1984) is an English professional wrestler. He is most known for his time in WWE, where he performed on its NXT UK brand under the ring name "Bomber" Dave Mastiff. Professional wrestling career Total Nonstop Action ...

Trent Seven Benjamin Maurice Webb (born 21 August 1981), better known by the ring name Trent Seven, is an English professional wrestler, wrestling promoter, and actor. He was signed to WWE on their NXT UK brand, where he is a former NXT UK Tag Team Champi ...

, and

Joseph Conners Joseph Conners (born 28 May 1987) is an English professional wrestler. Conners competed in many British wrestling promotions, most notably New Generation Wrestling (NGW) and What Culture Pro Wrestling (WCPW), where he was a one-time WCPW Champ ...

. The eighth competitor was determined on the 1 October episode of ''

'' in a

triple threat match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

in which Kenny Williams defeated Ashton Smith and Amir Jordan to win the final spot. The tournament itself also began on 1 October and took place across episodes of ''NXT UK''. The final aired on tape delay on 26 November where A-Kid defeated Seven to become the inaugural champion (the date the episode was taped is unknown). Unlike other championships in WWE (and professional wrestling in general), the NXT UK Heritage Cup is represented by a trophy instead of a title belt. The trophy itself is a silver cup with a golden plaque that has a vertical NXT logo and below it the text "Heritage Cup". The cup sits atop a physical representation of the NXT UK logo with a banner below it that also says "Heritage Cup". Circling the wooden base are name plaques to notate the current and previous champions. In August 2022, WWE announced that NXT UK would go on hiatus after the Worlds Collide event on 4 September 2022 and the brand would relaunch as NXT Europe in 2023. At Worlds Collide, all other NXT UK championships were retired as they were unified into their respective

championship counterparts. The Heritage Cup was the only title from either brand to not be contested at the event. There has been no announcement regarding the championship's future, but WWE's website still shows that it is active. The last match for the title occurred during the 7 July 2022 tapings of ''NXT UK'', which aired on tape delay on 25 August, where Noam Dar became a record two-time Heritage Cup Champion.

British Rounds Rules

*Matches consist of six three-minute rounds with 20-second breaks between each round. *Matches are 2-out-of-3 falls. *Falls can be won by pinfall, submission, or countout. *Once a fall occurs, the round ends. *The match ends once a wrestler has won two falls. *In the event of a disqualification or knockout, the match instantly ends without the need for two falls. *If all six rounds are completed, whoever is ahead on falls wins the match.

Inaugural tournament

2021 Contender tournament

Reigns

''Note: Unless there is a change in rules, all matches are contested under British Rounds Rules.''

Combined reigns

Notes

References

External links

Official NXT UK Heritage Cup Title History
{{British wrestling titles WWE NXT championships National professional wrestling championships

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...