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WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament

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WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament
WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament logo since 2017
PromotionsWWE
BrandsNXT UK (2017–2018)
NXT (2018)
First event2017
Last event2018

The WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament was a professional wrestling tournament and WWE Network event produced by WWE, 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 brand divisions.

The event was centered around the WWE United Kingdom Championship, 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

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In a press conference at The O2 Arena on 15 December 2016, Triple H, the chief operating officer and head of NXT for the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, revealed that there would be a 16-man tournament to crown the inaugural WWE United Kingdom Champion.[1] The tournament was held over a two-day period, 14 and 15 January 2017, at the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool, Lancashire, England and aired exclusively on the WWE Network. The tournament featured wrestlers from WWE's upstart United Kingdom division.[2][3] The tournament was won by Tyler Bate, thus becoming the inaugural WWE United Kingdom Champion.[4]

A follow-up to the first event called the United Kingdom Championship Special aired on May 19.[5][6] 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, England and to air on the WWE Network on 25 and 26 June. This tournament featured wrestlers from WWE's new United Kingdom based-brand, NXT UK, 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."[7][8] Zack Gibson won the second tournament and received a WWE United Kingdom Championship match against reigning champion Pete Dunne during the main event of the second night, where Dunne retained.[9]

Following the second tournament, the WWE United Kingdom Championship became the top championship of the NXT UK brand and its show, NXT UK, a WWE Network show produced in the United Kingdom that premiered on 17 October 2018.[10] In January 2020, the title was renamed to NXT United Kingdom Championship to reflect its status as the top title of NXT UK.[11]

Events

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# Event Date City Venue Main Event Ref.
1 United Kingdom Championship Tournament (2017) 14 January 2017 Blackpool, Lancashire, England Empress Ballroom Tyler Bate vs. Tucker [1][4]
15 January 2017 Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne for the inaugural WWE United Kingdom Championship
2 United Kingdom Championship Tournament (2018) 18 June 2018
(aired 25 June) 		Kensington, London, England Royal Albert Hall Zack Gibson vs Travis Banks to determine the #1 contender for the WWE United Kingdom Championship on Night 2 [12][9]
19 June 2018
(aired 26 June) 		Pete Dunne (c) vs. Zack Gibson for the WWE United Kingdom Championship
(c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match

References

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  1. ^ a b Melok, Bobby. "First-ever United Kingdom Champion to be crowned in January". WWE. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  2. ^ Currier, Joseph (15 December 2016). "WWE to crown first United Kingdom Champion in January". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  3. ^ Keller, Wade (December 15, 2016). "WWE announces new UK-based brand, holding tournament to crown UK Champion, Nigel McGuinness on announce team". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  4. ^ a b Soucek, Andrew. "SOUCEK'S WWE UK CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT REPORT 1/15: Ongoing coverage of night two of UK Championship tournament". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  5. ^ "UPDATED: WWE UK Championship Special to air on WWE Network on Friday with legend Jim Ross on commentary". Daily Mirror. May 15, 2017. Archived from the original on May 19, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2016. The 90-minute show, starring the company's top UK and 205 Live cruiserweight talent, will feature action from tapings in Norwich on May 6 and 7
  6. ^ "Jim Ross and Nigel McGuinness to commentate on WWE UK Championship show from Norwich". Metro. 2017-01-15. Archived from the original on 2017-05-20. Retrieved 2017-05-20.
  7. ^ Sean Rueter (April 7, 2018). "Triple H reveals WWE's UK Championship Tournament returns in June". Cageside Seats. Archived from the original on April 29, 2018. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
  8. ^ "Tickets for the WWE U.K. Championship Tournament at Royal Albert Hall are available now". WWE. April 13, 2018. Archived from the original on April 29, 2018. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
  9. ^ a b Erskine, James (June 19, 2018). "LIVE, ONGOING WWE UK CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT NIGHT TWO SPOILERS FROM LONDON". PWInsider. Archived from the original on June 20, 2018. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  10. ^ "NXT UK joins WWE Network's already packed Wednesday line-up". 11 October 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  11. ^ Satin, Ryan (January 17, 2020). "New NXT UK Championship Unveiled At TV Taping". Pro Wrestling Sheet. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  12. ^ Hall, Royal Albert. "WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament at Royal Albert Hall". WWE.com. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
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