The WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament was a

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 or ...

tournament and

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 ...

event produced by

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 ...

, an American-based professional wrestling promotion. The event was established in December 2016, debuting as a WWE Network-exclusive event on 14 and 15 January 2017. The second event was held on 18 and 19 June 2018 and aired on 25 and 26 June. The first event was held for WWE's new United Kingdom division, while the second event featured wrestlers from their American-based NXT and United Kingdom-based

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 divisions. The event was centered around 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 WW ...

, which had been established in December 2016. The first event determined the inaugural holder of the championship while the winner of the second event received a match for the championship. The inaugural event was the genesis to the formation of WWE's NXT UK brand, a sister brand of NXT based in the United Kingdom; the 2018 tournament was NXT UK's first official event. The championship itself was later renamed as the NXT United Kingdom Championship.

History

In a press conference at

The O2 Arena The O2 Arena, commonly known as the O2 (stylised as The O2 arena), is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the centre of the O2 entertainment complex on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London. It opened in its present form in 2007. It has the s ...

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 ...

, the

chief operating officer A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the " C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if ...

and head of NXT for the American professional wrestling promotion

, revealed that there would be a 16-man tournament to crown the inaugural WWE United Kingdom Champion. The tournament was held over a two-day period, 14 and 15 January 2017, 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 ...

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 ...

and aired exclusively on the

. The tournament featured wrestlers from WWE's upstart United Kingdom division. The tournament 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) ...

, thus becoming the inaugural WWE United Kingdom Champion. A follow-up to the first 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 Royal Albert Hall in Kensington,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

and to air on the WWE Network on 25 and 26 June. This tournament featured wrestlers from WWE's new United Kingdom based-

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 ...

, as well as wrestlers from WWE's American-based NXT. The full tournament was held on day one while the second day was promoted as "NXT U.K. Championship." Zack Gibson won the second tournament and received a WWE United Kingdom Championship match against reigning champion

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 ...

during the main event of the second night, where Dunne retained. Following the second tournament, the WWE United Kingdom Championship became the top championship of the NXT UK brand and its show, ''

'', a WWE Network show produced in the United Kingdom that premiered on 17 October 2018. In January 2020, the title was renamed to NXT United Kingdom Championship to reflect its status as the top title of NXT UK.

Events

References

External links

* {{WWE Tournaments Recurring events established in 2017 Tournament