The 2018 United Kingdom Championship Tournament was a two-day

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 ...

streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

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 vario ...

. The tournament aired exclusively on the

WWE Network WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television network owned by the American entertainment company WWE. It primarily distributes original professional wrestling events, films, television and ...

and featured wrestlers from 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 ...

and

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- ...

brand divisions—the first event to officially promote NXT UK. The event was filmed on 18 and 19 June 2018 and aired on tape delay on 25 and 26 June. It was held at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Day one of the event featured the second United Kingdom Championship Tournament, which was won by

Zack Gibson Jack Rea (born 8 August 1990) is an English professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Rip Fowler. He is also known for his work as Zack Gibson on the UK independent circuit. H ...

. Day two (promoted as NXT U.K. Championship) saw Zack Gibson unsuccessfully challenge

WWE United Kingdom Champion The NXT United Kingdom Championship was a men's professional wrestling championship that was created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It was primarily defended as the top championship of the NXT UK brand division, a sister brand of WW ...

Pete Dunne Peter Thomas England (born 9 November 1993) is an English Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Butc ...

. NXT's

North American North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Ca ...

Women's A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

, and

Tag Team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

championships were also defended on day two. NXT UK's

and

championships were introduced during the event.

Background

Production

On 14 and 15 January 2017, the American

professional wrestling promotion A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling that has little relationship to the rules of the amateur olympic form. "Promotion" also describes a role which entails man ...

held its first United Kingdom Championship Tournament event. The tournament crowned the inaugural holder of the

WWE United Kingdom Championship The NXT United Kingdom Championship was a men's professional wrestling championship that was created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It was primarily defended as the top championship of the NXT UK brand division, a sister brand of WWE ...

, which was won by

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), ...

. A follow-up to the event called the United Kingdom Championship Special aired on May 19. On 7 April 2018, a second United Kingdom Championship Tournament event was scheduled for 18 and 19 June at the

and to air on 25 and 26 June exclusively on the

. In addition to featuring wrestlers from WWE's new

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 ...

, the tournament also featured wrestlers from the American-based

. On 25 May 2018,

Shawn Michaels Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative. Widely regarded as one of ...

and

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 on ...

were scheduled to make appearances at the event. On 7 June,

Johnny Saint John Miller (born 29 June 1941) is an English professional wrestling authority figure and retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he served as the on-screen general manager of the now defunct NXT UK under his career- ...

was announced as the General Manager of WWE's United Kingdom-based brand, officially named NXT UK. A United Kingdom Championship Tournament: Bracketology special aired on the WWE Network later that day, with appearances from all 16 tournament competitors.

Storylines

The card included matches that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed

villains A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character a ...

heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches, with results predetermined by WWE's writers. Storylines were produced on the ''

'' television program. On 28 April 2018, it was announced that

British Strong Style British Strong Style was a professional wrestling stable made up of Pete Dunne, Trent Seven and Tyler Bate, best known for their tenure together in WWE. Dunne currently competes on the SmackDown brand (now under the ring name "Butch") and Bate ...

(Pete Dunne,

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 Champion ...

and

) would face

The Undisputed Era The Undisputed Era was a professional wrestling stable from WWE's NXT brand. It formed on August 19, 2017 at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III shortly after Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, and Kyle O'Reilly signed with WWE, although Fish and O'Reilly had ...

(

Adam Cole Austin Kirk Jenkins (born July 5, 1989) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Adam Cole. He is also known for his tenures with WWE and Ring of Honor (ROH). Col ...

Kyle O'Reilly Kyle Edward Greenwood (born March 1, 1987) is a Canadian professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he performs under the ring name Kyle O'Reilly. He is also known for his time in Ring of Honor (ROH) from 2009 to 20 ...

and

Roderick Strong Christopher Lindsey (born July 26, 1983), better known by his name Roderick Strong, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand, as the leader of Diamond Mine, but is currently inactive due to ...

) in a

six-man tag team match Much like the singles match, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace. Tag team ladder m ...

on the June 18 event. On 14 May, WWE revealed details about the second United Kingdom Championship tournament, scheduling the first round matches for the 2018 Download Festival from 8–10 June and succeeding rounds for the United Kingdom Championship Tournament event on 18 June. The winner of the tournament will receive a United Kingdom Championship match with

on the following day. On 16 May, the first 8 competitors of the 16 man tournament were officially announced on WWE.com. The first 8 revealed were

, Joe Coffey,

Gentleman Jack Gallagher Oliver Westfield Claffey, better known by the ring name Jack Gallagher, is an English professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is best known for his time in WWE, where he performed on the NXT and 205 Live brands, mostly under the ring ...

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 ...

, Kenny Williams,

Ligero Ligero (pronounced "lee-HAIR-oh") is a type of tobacco leaf found near the top of each tobacco plant. Slower to mature than the seco (tobacco), seco and viso (tobacco), viso leaves found at the middle of the plant or the easy-burning volado leaves ...

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 ...

and Amir Jordan. On 18 May, the remaining 8 competitors were announced. On 23 May, it was announced that

Aleister Black Tom Budgen (born 19 May 1985) is a Dutch professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Malakai Black. He is also known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Aleister Black from 2017 ...

and

Ricochet A ricochet ( ; ) is a rebound, bounce, or skip off a surface, particularly in the case of a projectile. Most ricochets are caused by accident and while the force of the deflection decelerates the projectile, it can still be energetic and almost ...

would face EC3 and

Velveteen Dream Patrick Clark Jr. (born August 19, 1995) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in WWE where he performed under the ring name Velveteen Dream. Clark began his professional wrestling career in 2014, when he debuted in ...

in a

tag team 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 ...

on the 19 June event. On 25 May, a

fatal four-way 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 ...

between

Isla Dawn Courtney Florence Stewart (born 2 February 1994) is a Scottish professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, performs on the NXT brand under the ringname Isla Dawn. Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (2013–2016) On 17 Oct ...

Jinny Jinny is a feminine given name which may refer to: * Jinny Beyer (born 1941), American quilt designer and quilter * Jinny Jacinto (born 1976), Canadian contortionist * Jinny or Jinny Lee, a stage name of South Korean pop singer Chae Yeon (born 19 ...

Killer Kelly Raquel Lourenço-Winkler (born 21 March 1992) is a Portuguese professional wrestler best known under the ring name Killer Kelly, currently signed to Impact Wrestling. She is best known for her tenure with WWE where she competed on the NXT UK bra ...

and

Toni Storm Toni Rossall (born 19 October 1995), better known by the ring name Toni Storm, is a New Zealand-Australian professional wrestler. She is currently signed to AEW, where she is a former AEW Women's World Champion. She previously worked for WWE ...

was announced for the 18 June event. The winner of the match will receive a

NXT Women's Championship The NXT Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. Introduced on April 5, 2013, t ...

match with

Shayna Baszler Shayna Andrea Baszler ( ; born August 8, 1980) is an American professional wrestler, kickboxer and former mixed martial artist. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand. Baszler is a former two-time and longest ...

on the following day. On 18 June, it was announced that

would defend his

NXT North American Championship The NXT North American Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is primarily defended as the secondary men's championship of the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental ...

against Wolfgang the following day. On 18 June, it was announced that The Undisputed Era (Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong) would defend their

NXT Tag Team Championship The NXT Tag Team Championship is a men's professional wrestling tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. Introduced on January 23 ...

against Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate and Trent Seven) the following day.

Participants

Tournament bracket

Results

United Kingdom Championship Tournament (18 June)

NXT U.K. Championship (19 June)

Broadcast team

Aftermath

On 18 June at day one of the event, it was revealed that WWE's United Kingdom brand would be debuting its first

television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, e ...

me, called ''

''. The inaugural tapings of ''NXT UK'' occurred on 28 and 29 July at the

Cambridge Corn Exchange Cambridge Corn Exchange is a concert venue located in Cambridge, England with a capacity up to 1,681 people. Construction The site, on the corner of Wheeler Street and Corn Exchange Street, was earmarked for a new Corn Exchange in 1868 to repla ...

References

External links

* {{WWE Tournaments 2018 WWE Network events January 2018 events in the United Kingdom Events in London 2018 in London

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Tournament 2018 U.K. Championship WWE international