The 2017 United Kingdom Championship Tournament was a two-day

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streaming

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of e ...

and tournament 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 vari ...

. It aired exclusively on the

WWE Network WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals using digital encoding, in contrast to the earlier analog television t ...

. The first round took place on 14 January 2017, while the finals occurred on 15 January. The tournament was held at the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

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and crowned the inaugural WWE United Kingdom Champion.

Tyler Bate Tyler Bate (born 7 March 1997) is an English professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE where he performs on the NXT brand. In 2017, he became the inaugural WWE United Kingdom Champion (later renamed NXT United Kingdom Championship) ...

won the tournament to become the inaugural champion.

Background

In a press conference at

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on 15 December 2016,

Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969), better known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive, actor, and retired professional wrestler currently serving as the chief content officer for WWE. He is widely regarded as ...

, an executive for the American professional wrestling promotion

and head of the promotion's NXT

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 ...

, revealed that there would be a 16-man tournament to crown the inaugural WWE United Kingdom Champion. A United Kingdom Championship Tournament: Preview show aired on the

on 9 January 2017, with a behind-the-scenes look at the creators of the event and the 16 competitors. The tournament was held over a two-day period, 14 and 15 January 2017, at the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool,

and aired exclusively on the WWE Network. The championship later became the top championship of 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, th ...

brand and its show, ''

'', a WWE Network show produced in the United Kingdom that premiered on 17 October 2018.

Participants

Alternates

These competitors were initially announced for the tournament, but were not selected as part of the final 16. They were backup competitors if there were any injuries to the final 16, which there were not.

Results

14 January

15 January

Tournament bracket

On 9 January 2017, WWE.com announced the full bracket for the tournament. The following time limits were in place: * Round one: 15 minutes * Quarterfinals: 20 minutes * Semifinals: 30 minutes * Final: no time limit

Broadcast team

Aftermath

On 15 May 2017, a follow-up to the United Kingdom Championship tournament was announced by WWE, titled the United Kingdom Championship Special, the event aired on 19 May 2017. In April 2018, a second WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament was announced, to be held on 18 and 19 June 2018 at the Royal Albert Hall.

References

External links

* {{WWE Tournaments 2017 WWE Network events January 2017 events in the United Kingdom

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

Tournament 2017 2017 in England Blackpool WWE international