Session Moth Martina has signed with Ring of Honor.
PWInsider reported this afternoon that Martina had signed with ROH, turning down a deal with WWE for the NXT UK brand. Dave Meltzer has since confirmed this report.
It was also said in the report that her deal with Ring of Honor would allow her to continue to work with STARDOM in Japan as well as take independent dates in Europe.
The Irish-born wrestler entered professional wrestling in 2011, working in the European independent scene for promotions such as PROGRESS, Insane Championship Wrestling and Over the Top Wrestling. She’s a former women’s champion under both the ICW and OTT banners and is also a former Gender Neutral champion in OTT.
She most recently took part in a tryout at WWE’s Performance Center in the United Kingdom this past June. Other wrestlers that took part in that tryout include Valkyrie, Candy Floss and Jamie Hayter.
WWE is reportedly heading to a new television home in the United Kingdom.
The Telegraph reported today that BT Sport is “set to announce plans to screen WWE as part of a dramatic shake-up in broadcasting rights for the wrestling franchise.” Sky Sports had been WWE’s TV partner in the U.K. for the past 30 years.
The Telegraph’s report noted that BT Sport declined to comment on the reported deal with WWE. Further details on the agreement, including the financials of it, have yet to be revealed.
WWE’s last deal with Sky was announced in 2014 and runs through this year.
WWE had noted last year that they expected to reach an agreement for their next U.K. TV deal by the end of 2018.
It was revealed last week that All Elite Wrestling’s pre-show for Double or Nothing will air live on ITV4 in the UK, with Double or Nothing itself available to purchase via ITV Box Office. A special called “Before the Bell” will also air in the lead-up to Double or Nothing.
The members of the WWE’s United Kingdom roster are currently doing a somewhat secretive one-week training camp in London, similar to tryout camps that the company does for potential signees.
Unlike almost everyone signed to regular developmental deals, much of the U.K. talent didn’t necessarily go through these type of camps before because they were attempting to sign as many of the top talent as possible to make sure they didn’t sign with ITV.
Wrestletalk broke the story and noted that the camp was being called a Performance Center crash course, focusing on strength and conditioning training as well as drills. The British trainers, Robbie Brookside, Johnny Moss, and James Mason, who are based in Orlando, were running the camp along with Matt Bloom, the head of the Performance Center. They also had a nutritional consultant to help teach the wrestlers about dieting and improving their cosmetic shape.
The intensive days included seven to 13 hours of both training and classes. Wrestletalk noted that the WWE has not publicized this, nor have any of the participants acknowledged this in their social media, meaning it was meant to be kept secret..
There is a media day for the WWE in the U.K. scheduled for Thursday. Members of the roster in training are under the impression that the U.K. television deal will be announced at that time.
When the tapings were scheduled, WWE was working on a U.K. television distributor for the already taped shows, believed to be with BT Sports. But the deal ran into a problem and wasn’t able to be finalized. The shows were already announced for the WWE Network, but that original idea was for it to be on the Network after debuting first on a U.K. platform where the shows would get greater exposure. But after the first announcement in a Network video of upcoming programming, nothing since has been said and no start date was ever announced.
Here are results from the first set of NXT UK tapings which took place in Cambridge, England:
– Dark match: Ligero defeated James Drake
Ligero won after a springboard DDT.
– Joe Coffey defeated Mark Andrews
Coffey pinned Andrews after a spinning lariat. Mark Coffey, who seconded his brother, got involved after the match. Flash Morgan Webster came in and made the save.
– Toni Storm defeated Nina Samuels
Storm won the match with a backbreaker.
Moustache Mountain came out for a promo. They want the NXT UK tag team titles, but need other teams to come in first.
– Dave Mastiff defeated Sid Scala
Mastiff won after a rolling turnbuckle backflip.
WWE UK GM Johnny Saint came out to introduce the next match…
– Pete Dunne defeated Noam Dar to retain the WWE UK title
Dunne pinned Dar with the Bitter End to retain.
– Kenny Williams and Joseph Conners went to a no contest
The match was stopped when Conners was knocked out by a William head kick over the top rope. He did get up and walk out with the help of officials.
– Dakota Kai defeated Killer Kelly
Kai won after a sunset flip pin following some turnbuckle kicks. After the match, she made clear that she wanted a shot at the NXT UK women’s title.
– Ashton Smith defeated Tucker
Smith defeated Tucker after a DDT.
– Trent Seven defeated Saxon Huxley
Seven pinned Huxley after the Seven Stars lariat.
– Flash Morgan Webster defeated Mark Coffey
Webster won with an armbar pin. Mark Andrews and Travis Banks came in for the save after Joe Coffey got involved.
– Tyler Bate defeated Wolfgang
Bate picked up the win after the Tyler Driver.
– Danny Burch defeated Sam Gradwell
Burch defeated Gradwell after the Tower of London. He then challenged Dunne to a title match.
– Zack Gibson defeated Noam Dar
Gibson defeated Dar by submission with the helter skelter.
The second day of live to tape UK action this afternoon on the WWE Network will feature a mix of UK and NXT talent, including yesterday afternoon’s UK title tournament winner.
Zack Gibson will get a chance to take out current United Kingdom champion Pete Dunn at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England. After defeating Travis Banks in the finals of the United Kingdom tournament yesterday, he’ll ride that momentum into the title match that he’s earned today.
Most interestingly, there will also be another number one contender’s match tonight to determine the next challenger for the championship. Travis Banks, Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster will compete to see who will step up to the challenge next.
Other matches set for this afternoon include a women’s championship match, with Toni Storm earning a shot to face champion Shayna Baszler. Moustache Mountain will get a NXT tag team title shot against Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong while Wolfgang will face Adam Cole for the NXT North American championship.
Join us this afternoon at 3 p.m. EST for live results.
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Moustache Mountain defeated Roderick Strong and Kyle O’Reilly to win the NXT tag team titles
Things start off hot for the challengers, but O’Reilly cuts off Trent Seven and works on him with strikes. Seven manages to eliminate both Strong and O’Reilly but right as he’s about to tag in Bate, Strong on the outside takes him out. Bate finally comes in with the hot tag and clears house.
Bate airplane spins both guys but O’Reilly hooks in a sleeper to break it up. While in the sleeper, Bate grabs Strong and hits a German suplex, taking out both men. Moustache Mountain hit a double back suplex on O’Reilly but Strong breaks it up. They focus on Bate as they go for a double move, but Bate dodges and sends them both reeling.
Bate hits a giant dive to the outside on Strong then goes to the top rope. With an assist from Seven, Bate hits a knee from the top rope and Seven connects with a burning hammer on O’Reilly, pinning him to win the titles. Great match with a hot crowd.
Charlie Morgan defeated Killer Kelly
Both start off with some good chain wrestling. Kelly gets the advantage, locking in a dragon sleeper. Morgan escapes, but Kelly strikes Morgan with a boot that sends her to the outside.
Morgan strikes Kelly with a superkick but Kelly comes back and goes for a straightjacket suplex. Morgan powers out and blocks a suplex attempt with a cradle, which gets her the win. Good, simple match that gets Charlie Morgan over.
Before the match starts, NXT UK GM Johnny Saint comes out and makes it a fatal four way match. Noam Dar comes out, returning from a knee injury after six months on the shelf.
Noam Dar defeated Flash Morgan Webster, Mark Andrews and Travis Banks
Everyone exchanges knee strikes as people try and recover. Webster meets Andrews on the top rope and goes for a hurricanrana but Andrews gets on his feet, then strikes Webster with a reverse rana. Dar comes in and takes Andrews down with a kneebar.
Banks hits the slice of heaven but is still favoring his arm. Andrews takes him out but doesn’t connect with a shooting star press. Dar attacks the injured arm of Banks on the apron then hits a knee strike for the win. That makes him the next contender for the UK title.
After the match Joe and Mark Coffey run down and attack the other three competitors. Noam Dar made his exit, not interested in what was going on.
Adam Cole defeated Wolfgang to retain the NXT North American title
Wolfgang starts out on the offensive, striking Cole with a forearm, then follows with a double knee gutbuster. Being the bigger of the two, Wolfgang had no problem taking down Cole again and again. Cole tries to build some momentum, but is taken out with another gutbuster.
Wolfgang went to do something on the top rope, but Cole met him with a superkick then follows with a backstabber. Wolfgang hits the forward slam and goes for a moonsault but Cole rolls out of the way. He repeatedly kicks Wolfgang until he first back with a lariat.
Heading to the top rope, Wolfgang launches off with a swanton bomb but Cole gets the knees up. He follows with what was originally the last shot, then hits the new last shot (running knee strike on the ground) for the win. Good match, weird dynamic. Cole is usually the heel, and here he was a total babyface. Crowd absolutely loved him too. Solid stuff regardless.
Backstage, Moustache Mountain were happy that they won the titles here tonight.
Aleister Black and Ricochet defeated Velveteen Dream and EC3
Dream demanded Black to be tagged in. Ricochet is soon in, however, and clears house. Dream takes Ricochet on the apron and drags him down, throwing him into the barricade.
Both Dream and EC3 work over Ricochet until he makes the hot tag to Black, who takes them both out with a double springboard moonsault. Dream takes out Black and goes to the top rope, but Dream hurts his knee and is unable to hit the purple rainmaker.
EC3 lands a DDT on Black as Ricochet comes in to lay his opponents out, with Black coming in to help. Dream hits a DDT of his own on Black, but he kicks out. Ricochet is tagged in but eats a rolling death valley driver by Dream. EC3 comes out and goes for the TKO but Ricochet fires back with a standing shooting star press. EC3 takes him out again, but when he goes to tag in Dream, he bails on EC3, tending to his injured leg instead.
Meanwhile, Black recovers and strikes EC3 with black mass, scoring him the win. Pretty good match, but felt a little long. Dream is still really green, but I think he’s improving in regards to in-ring work.
Ricochet takes the NXT title from the referee after the match and hands it to Black, perhaps a sign that soon he’d like a title match.
Cathy Kelly talks to Toni Storm, who says she’s been a champion all over the world. Baszler knows what she’s about. She promises to win the title tonight.
Shayna Baszler defeated Toni Storm by count out to retain the NXT Women’s title
They start off with some chain wrestling, with Baszler getting the upper hand until Storm escapes. More chain wrestling ensues until Storm is able to send Baszler out of the ring and scores a dive to the outside. Baszler avoids a running boot to the guardrail, with Storm catching her foot in the rail. Baszler pounces, attacking the prone Storm.
Baszler chop blocks the leg of Storm as she begins to work it over. After some ground and pound, Baszler focuses on the leg some more. Storm manages to build momentum regardless. They both meet on the top rope, where Baszler plants Storm with a gutwrench suplex. Baszler follows with a kneebar. She escapes, strikes Baszler with a headbutt and hits the air raid clash, but Baszler kicks out.
Storm bridges Baszler but is still unable to get the pinfall. Baszler catches Storm in the kirifuda clutch but Storm rolls over and grabs the bottom rope. Bazler latches it on again on the outside. Storm struggles to get to her feet as the referee eventually counts to 10, giving the win to Baszler. Really good match, Baszler is improving and is really good at what she does. Storm has a ton of potential, especially at such a young age.
Baszler jumps Storm after the match, putting her in the kirifuda clutch once again.
Pete Dunne defeated Zack Gibson to retain the WWE United Kingdom title
Dunne outwrestles Gibson to start things off. They travel to the outside, where Gibson trips Dunne on the apron and shoves him into the barricade shoulder first. Gibson works over Dunne until he strikes with a headbutt. He follows with a running knee to the corner and an x-plex.
Dunner latches on to Gibson and applies a wrist lock submission Gibson escapes, but Dunne counters and lays him out, then goes to the top rope and flies off with a moonsault.
Gibson starts to mount a comeback, driving Dunne to the corner and pummeling him with strikes, his mouthpiece falling off. Dunne calmly puts it back on and starts attacking, soon leaving them both on the floor. The two trade headbutts with Dunne getting the better of it. He plants Gibson with the Bitter End, but Gibson kicks out.
Gibson lays out Dunne and hits the ticket to ride. Dunne kicks out, but the Shankly Gates is immediately put on by Gibson. Dunne manages to get to the ropes.Gibson takes him to the top rope and hits a big helter skelter off the top rope. Gibson puts on the Shankly Gates again, but Dunne still finds a way to make it to the ropes.
Dunne is completely out of it at this point. He plays possum , grabbing one of Gibson’s fingers and breaks it. Gibson uses his feet to make it to the top rope, but Dunne meets him on the ground with a punch and lays him out with the Bitter End a second time to retain the UK title. Excellent main event match. Gibson will likely be a big deal on this brand.
Triple H and the rest of the WWE UK come out. Hunter says this is the next chapter of UK wrestling. This is your time, this is your brand, and we are NXT.
The first day of WWE UK tournament action begins this afternoon with the tournament that will crown the next number one contender to Pete Dunne’s WWE United Kingdom championship.
The taped-to-live event, which took place Royal Albert Hall in London, England last week will include all of the tournament action starting with the quarterfinals. Flash Morgan Webster, Dave Mastiff, Zack Gibson, Ashton Smith, Travis Banks, 205 Live star Jack Gallagher, Joe Coffey and Jordan Devlin will compete tonight for a chance to challenge the United Kingdom champion on the show that will be broadcast tomorrow afternoon.
There will also be appearances by Triple H, Shawn Michaels and the new General Manager for the WWE United Kingdom brand, Johnny Saint. More action from the UK will also be broadcast live to tape tomorrow, featuring a number of NXT superstars as well as the UK championship match.
Join us for live coverage this afternoon at 3 p.m. EST on the WWE Network.
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Quarterfinals: Zack Gibson defeated Jack Gallagher
Gibson refused to shake hands before the bell. He takes control early, grinding down Gallagher with holds, focusing on his left arm. Gallagher cuts him off and makes a comeback takes him to the corner but Gibson strikes back with a lungblower on the second rope.
Gibson takes down Gallagher with a powerbomb but Gallagher traps him with a triangle. Gibson counters with a buckle bomb, but Gallagher grabs Gibsons arm smashes it over the top rope then traps Gibson in a sleeper.
Gallagher takes out Gibson with a suicide dive. Back in the ring, Gison posts Gallagher and strikes with the ticket to ride (the lungblower). Gallagher counters and goes for a headbutt but Gibson gets both feet up. Gibson follows with the Shankly Gates (wristlock submission) for the win. Very good, hot back and forth opener.
Quarterfinals: Joe Coffey defeated Dave Mastiff
They test themselves early with some power spots. They trade shoulder blocks in and out of the ring as Mastiff throws him back into the ring after taking him out. Coffey, however, takes him down with a missile dropkick. Mastiff meets Coffey with a forearm then lands a giant senton.
Coffey hits a giant German suplex, a giant crossbody then connects with a discus lariat for the win. Pretty fun match while it lasted.
Cathy Kelly is in the ring to interview Coffey. He says he came here to win. He’ll take on Pete Dunne and win the title. This is opportunity, and he’ll do what he needs to do by any means necessary.
Quarterfinals: Flash Morgan Webster defeated Jordan Devlin
Devlin attacked Webster twice after clean breaks, but Gibson takes him down with some arm drags. Devlin laid out Webster with a uranage and a standing moonsault as he took Webster down on the mat.
Webster makes a comeback with a hurricanrana and a running knee to the corner. He dragged Devlin outside to the floor and hit two suicide dives and a tope con hilo. They go to the top rope where Devlin launches off with a spanish fly. A moonsault doesn’t connect for Devlin which allows Webster to strike with the Eton Rifle for the win. Another fun, fast-paced match.
Quarterfinals: Travis Banks defeated Ashton Smith
Some back and forth early. Banks injured Smith’s ribs, but Smith made a comeback. Banks dodges, sending Smith flying into the turnbuckle. Banks then connected with a big flying dropkick to the back of Smith.
Smith flies off to the floor with a giant tope con hilo then takes down Banks with a superkick. Banks fights back with forearms then pins Smith with a sitout fisherman’s buster. Good, short match.
Toni Storm defeated Isla Dawn and Killer Kelly
This was short, but pretty good while it lasted. Storm was taken out, allowing Killer Kelly and Isla Dawn to go at it. Storm came back in as everyone struck one another with some stiff shots. Storm took out Kelly with a kick to the outside then hit the air raid clash on Dawn for the win. She’ll face Shayna Baszler tomorrow for the NXT Women’s title.
Triple H came out for a big announcement. He talked about how a year ago they came here and changed wrestling in the UK. He listed some of the talent from last year’s shows. They’ve made names for themselves all around the world. He feels that they’re just scratching the surface in the UK. We’re going to give you more. Triple H brings out Johnny Saint, the GM of the UK brand.
Saint announces the formation of the NXT UK brand. Triple H says we’ll be starting a tag team and women’s divison soon. He also gives a list of dates: July 28 and 29 in Cambridge, August 25th and 26th in Birmingham, October 13 and 14 in Plymouth and Nov 24 and 25 in Liverpool. Triple H closes the announcement with a “are you ready”.
Semifinals: Zack Gibson defeated Flash Morgan Webster
Webster jumps Gibson early, brawling with him around the ring until he goes for the Eaton Riffle. Gibson cuts him off with the snake eyes and grinds him down.
Webster took out Gibson with what can only be described as a moonsault into a clothesline. Another suicide dive by Webster, but Gibson catches a second and plants him with a the helter skelter (spinning suplex) on the ramp.
Webster is able to make it back to the ring, but Gibson latches on the Shankly Gates and immediately taps out. Short, frenetic match.
Semifinals: Travis Banks defeated Joe Coffey
The two went at it, with Coffey lighting up Banks in the corner with chops. Banks tries to build some momentum but Coffey grinds him down with submissions. Banks comes alive, taking out Coffey with a kick on the outside then connects with a running knee.
Coffey spears Banks into the corner but Banks connects with a knee, only for Coffey to counter with a powerslam. A deadlift German follows. He goes for the discus clothesline but Banks fires back with a flurry of offense.
Coffey attacks the back as he goes for a crossbody but Gibson cuts him off and catches him in a roll up, pinning him to advance to the finals. Another good match.
As Banks’ hand was raised, Coffey jumps Banks from behind and posts him shoulder first into the turnbuckle, eventually planting him with the discus clothesline. That leaves him questionable for the main event.
Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate and Trent Seven defeated The Undisputed Era
Seven and Strong grapple for a bit before Strong and Dunne tag in. Dunne lays out Strong as everyone comes in. The UK contingent lays everyone out with strikes big enough that everyone’s sent to the outside.
Cole works over Seven, but no sells chops and begins to take out all of Undisputed. Strong drops Seven outside on the guardrail as they all work on him inside the ring. Cole misses a charge in the corner, and despite O’Riley taking out Bate, Seven tags in Dunne who runs wild on Strong.
Bate is tagged in as he actually grabs both Strong and O’Riley and does a airplane spin/swing combo that was really cool. Cole hits the last shot on Dunne as O’Riley comes in and goes for the armbar. O’Riley traps Dunne in a guillotine, but he’s able to tag in Bate, who plants O’Riley with a foot stomp.
Seven lays out Strong, but Adam Cole distracts Seven long enough for him to be taken out. Lots of craziness ensues, with everyone being laid out. Dunne hits a moonsault that takes out Cole and Strong.
Back in the ring, Seven hits a lariat on O’Riley as he and Bate connect with a dragon suplex/springboard clothesline combo for the win. Excellent tag team match, easily the best thing on the show so far. The UK contingent has excellent chemistry with one another.
Shawn Michaels comes out. After the crowd were finished singing his song, Shawn mentions that he wrestled here way back in 1991, before most of the people in the audience were born. He hyped up the NXT UK brand, saying that the new brand is for you, the UK audience. He sets up the crowd for the finals, which are about to commence…
Finals: Zack Gibson defeated Travis Banks
This was a very good main event. I think the six man tag team match was better, but this was a good finals bout that showcased both men well. Gibson could be one of the top heels on the brand if pushed right, and based on this result I think that’s the direction they’re going in.
Gibson refused to shake Banks’ hand before the match, The two brawled out of the ring, but Gibson immediately preys on Banks’ shoulder injury that he suffered at the hands of Coffey. Gibson grabs and throws Banks shoulder first into the stairs. The two fight, with Gibson able to send Banks into the post.
Banks starts to build momentum with a running knee and a double stomp to the back of Gibson. Gibson cuts him off and lands the lung blower. They head to the apron where Gibson tries for a suplex but Banks fights him off and misses a charge. Gibson grabs him and throws him into the barricade, but Banks jumps on top and counters with a clothesline.
They exchange palm strikes as Gibson falls to the ground. Banks connects with some knee strikes, then grabs him and stomps. Banks misses a springboard clothesline, allowing Gibson to sink in the Shankly Gates, but Banks manages to escape.
Banks connects with a running stomp and connects with the slice of heaven but Gibson is able to kick out. Gibson rolls up Banks and uses the ropes, but the referee notices and stops the count. Gibson hits the fisherman’s buster, but still doesn’t get it.
Banks goes for a suicide dive, but Gibson blocks it, throws him in the ring and lays him out with the helter skelter for a nearfall. Shankly Gates is applied again, and this time Banks doesn’t have an answer, submitting. This means tomorrow it will be Zack Gibson vs. Pete Dunne for the WWE United Kingdom title.
Triple H, Johnny Saint and Shawn Michaels came out and posed with Gibson. Gibson was about to cut a promo when Dunne came out. He headed to the ring and the two had a stare down as the show closed.
Here are results from the second night of the WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament tapings at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England:
– Ligero defeated Wild Boar
– Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate and Trent Seven) defeated Undisputed Era (Roderick Strong and Kyle O’Reilly to win the NXT tag team titles
Moustache Mountain won the titles after a stomp assisted burning hammer.
– Charlie Morgan defeated Killer Kelly
Morgan pinned Kelly after reversing a suplex into a small package.
– Noam Dar defeated Travis Banks, Flash Morgan Webster and Mark Andrews to become the number one contender for the WWE UK title
UK GM Johnny Saint came out and made the match a fatal four way, adding Dar who is returning from a knee injury. Andrews hit Banks with a stundog then missed the shooting star press. Dar came in and pinned Banks with a leg lariat.
Joe Coffey and Mark Coffey ran in after the match and lay everyone out except Dar.
– Adam Cole defeated Wolfgang to retain the NXT North American title.
Cole pinned Wolfgang with a knee trembler to retain.
– Ricochet and Aleister Black defeated Velveteen Dream and EC3
Black pinned EC3 following Black Mass.
– Shayna Baszler defeated Toni Storm by countout to retain the NXT Women’s title
The two went to the outside, with Baszler winning by countout after choking Storm. Baszler returned to the ring after the match and laid out Storm with the Kirifuda clutch.
– Pete Dunne defeated Zack Gibson to retain the WWE UK title
Dunne retained the title after pinning Gibson with the Bitter End. This would mean the next UK title match is Pete Dunne vs. Noam Dar.
The show ended with Triple H cutting a promo saying this is the next chapter in UK professional wrestling, this is your brand and this is NXT.
The NXT Tag Team titles changed hands at Royal Albert Hall this afternoon.
Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) defeated The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong) to become the new champions. The match was announced yesterday after Bate, Seven & Pete Dunne won a six-man tag against O’Reilly, Strong & Adam Cole on the first night in London.
This is Bate & Seven’s first Tag Team title reign in WWE. Bate was the inaugural United Kingdom Champion before losing it to Dunne.
Noam Dar also returned to action for the first time since undergoing surgery for a torn meniscus last year. He defeated Travis Banks, Mark Andrews, and Flash Morgan Webster in a fatal four-way number one contender’s match and will get a future shot at the UK Championship. After the match, Joe Coffey and Mark Coffey attacked everyone except Dar.
The UK Championship tournament shows will air on the WWE Network at 3 p.m. Eastern time next Monday and Tuesday.
– Zack Gibson defeated Jack Gallagher in a UK Championship tournament quarterfinal match
Gibson, a heel from Liverpool, tapped out Gallagher with his Shankly Gates arm submission.
– Joe Coffey defeated Dave Mastiff in a UK Championship tournament quarterfinal match
Coffey hit a discus lariat to win before doing an interview after the match where he promised to win the tournament by any means necessary.
– Flash Morgan Webster defeated Jordan Devlin in a UK Championship tournament quarterfinal match
Webster advanced with a tilt-a-whirl reverse DDT. He’ll face Gibson in the semifinals.
– Travis Banks defeated Ashton Smith in a UK Championship tournament quarterfinal match
Banks vs. Coffey will be the other semifinal.
– Toni Storm vs. Jinny vs. Killer Kelly vs. Isla Dawn was stopped after Jinny suffered an injury, which appeared to happen when Dawn hit a crossbody on her and Kelly, and was helped to the back.
– Triple H came out and announced that the women’s match would be started again as a triple threat. He brought out Johnny Saint and they announced the launch of the NXT UK brand and series. It will feature the UK Championship, with a Women’s Championship and Tag Team titles also being created.
– Toni Storm defeated Isla Dawn and Killer Kelly in a triple threat match (Storm will challenge for Shayna Baszler’s NXT Women’s Championship tomorrow)
Storm pinned Dawn with a neckbreaker slam before being stared down by Baszler from the crowd.
– Zack Gibson defeated Flash Morgan Webster in a UK Championship tournament semifinal match
Gibson hit his Helter Skelter slam on the floor and submitted Webster with the Shankly Gates to move on to the finals.
– Travis Banks defeated Joe Coffey in a UK Championship tournament semifinal match
Banks blocked a discus lariat and pinned Coffey with a roll-up. Coffey then attacked Banks, throwing him shoulder first into the ring post and hitting the lariat to set up an injury angle for the finals.
– British Strong Style (Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) defeated The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong)
Bate and Seven will get a shot at O’Reilly & Strong’s NXT Tag Team titles tomorrow after beating O’Reilly here.
– Shawn Michaels made an appearance and praised the UK brand.
– Zack Gibson defeated Travis Banks in the UK Championship tournament finals (Gibson will challenge for Dunne’s UK title tomorrow)
Banks had his shoulder taped up, and Gibson used the Shankly Gates to win the title shot. Triple H, Michaels, and Saint congratulated him after the match.
Gibson cut a heel promo, being booed down by the crowd as usual, until Dunne came into the ring, faced off with Gibson, and slapped him.
WWE’s United Kingdom division is finally getting off the ground.
While at Royal Albert Hall for this week’s UK tournament shows, Paul “Triple H” Levesque and on-screen general manager Johnny Saint officially announced the launch of the brand. It will have its own series with the UK Championship, which is currently held by Pete Dunne, being featured. The brand will also have its own Women’s Championship and Tag Team titles.
WWE also announced the following events that will be taped for the series:
July 28 and 29 at the Corn Exchange in Cambridge
August 25 and 26 as part of the Insomnia gaming festival at NEC Birmingham
October 13 and 14 at Plymouth Pavilions
November 24 and 25 at Liverpool Olympia
Details on when and where the series will be airing weren’t revealed. Tickets for all eight shows will go on sale on June 29.
The brand is being positioned as falling under the NXT umbrella, and Levesque has spoken about wanting to create a global territory system with similar outposts around the world. It’s being advertised that the series will feature wrestlers from the UK and Ireland, with it also including wrestlers who were born elsewhere but are based in those countries.
“The UK has an amazing talent base and incredibly passionate fans that are deserving of their own showcase,” Levesque said. “This is the next step in our ongoing strategy to create localized content and further develop our brand globally.”
Adam Cole has an opponent for his NXT North American Championship defense at Royal Albert Hall.
WWE announced today that Wolfgang would be challenging for Cole’s title on night two of this week’s shows in London. Wolfgang, who is one of WWE’s United Kingdom division-contracted wrestlers, didn’t appear in this year’s UK Championship tournament. He lost to Tyler Bate in the semifinals of the 2017 edition.
There will also be three other title matches at Royal Albert Hall tomorrow. Pete Dunne will defend the WWE United Kingdom Championship against the winner of today’s tournament, Toni Storm vs. Jinny vs. Killer Kelly vs. Isla Dawn is taking place today to decide a challenger for Shayna Baszler’s title, and Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong’s Tag Team titles will be on the line.
Cole, O’Reilly & Strong are teaming against Dunne, Bate & Trent Seven today.
The Royal Albert Hall shows will air on the WWE Network at 3 p.m. Eastern time on June 25th and 26th.
The quarterfinals for WWE’s United Kingdom Championship tournament are set coming out of the second day of Download Festival.
The final three first round matches took place today, with Jordan Devlin defeating Tyson T-Bone, Joe Coffey defeating Tucker, and Dave Mastiff defeating Kenny Williams. They join Zack Gibson, Jack Gallagher, Flash Morgan Webster, Travis Banks, and Ashton Smith in making up the eight-wrestler field for the quarterfinals.
Gibson vs. Gallagher and Webster vs. Devlin are set for the left side of the bracket, while the right side has Coffey vs. Mastiff and Banks vs. Smith.
The quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals of the tournament will take place at Royal Albert Hall on June 18th. The winner will then challenge Pete Dunne for the WWE UK Championship at the venue the next night.
The Royal Albert Hall shows are airing on the WWE Network on June 25th and 26th at 3 p.m. Eastern time. The first round matches will also be released online.
Four wrestlers advanced to the quarterfinals of WWE’s United Kingdom Championship tournament as Download Festival began today.
Zack Gibson defeated Amir Jordan, Flash Morgan Webster defeated James Drake, Travis Banks defeated El Ligero, and Ashton Smith defeated Joseph Conners. They join Jack Gallagher in the next round, who advanced by defeating Drew Gulak during a set of NXT television tapings last month.
With that, Gibson vs. Gallagher and Banks vs. Smith (on opposite sides of the bracket) are set for the quarterfinals. The remaining first round matches will take place as Download Festival continues over the next two days.
The quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals will be held at Royal Albert Hall on June 18th, with the winner challenging for Pete Dunne’s WWE UK Championship the next night. The Royal Albert Hall shows will then air on the WWE Network on June 25th and 26th at 3 p.m. Eastern time.
On the bracketology special for the tournament, it was noted that the first round matches will be released on WWE’s digital and social media platforms.
Ahead of this month’s events in London, WWE has named an on-screen general manager for its United Kingdom brand.
Technical wrestling legend Johnny Saint was announced for the role today. The 76-year-old Saint was most recently involved with WWE when he completed a six-month stint as a coach at the Performance Center last year before returning home to England. He was invited to spend the six months in Orlando after appearing as a guest coach in 2016.
Saint will be part of WWE’s two United Kingdom Championship tournament shows at Royal Albert Hall on June 18th and 19th. The first night will feature the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals of a tournament to decide the challenger for Pete Dunne’s WWE UK Championship on night two. Past that, WWE has yet to officially announce what’s next for the brand or when it will be getting its own series.
“For the guys who are in the wrestling scene here in the UK, the worldwide exposure is a wonderful thing,” Saint said about the brand. “It’s something that we never really had before, so the new product is going to be tremendous for them.”
The Royal Albert Hall shows will be airing on the WWE Network on June 25th and 26th at 3 p.m. Eastern time.
While WWE’s two United Kingdom Championship tournament shows will be airing on the Network later this month, they won’t be shown live.
WWE announced the broadcast plans for the events today, noting that they’ll be taped at Royal Albert Hall on June 18-19 and will stream on the WWE Network on Monday, June 25th and Tuesday, June 26th. They’ll air at 3 p.m. Eastern time.
The first night will feature the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals of a tournament to decide who will be challenging for Pete Dunne’s WWE UK Championship on night two. All but one of the first round matches will take place at Download Festival on June 8-10, with Jack Gallagher vs. Drew Gulak having already been filmed during a set of NXT television tapings last month.
Here are the lineups for each show:
Night one —
Quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals in the UK tournament
Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate & Trent Seven vs. Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong
Toni Storm vs. Jinny vs. Killer Kelly vs. Isla Dawn for an NXT Women’s Championship shot on night two (advertised but not yet announced)
Appearances by Triple H and Shawn Michaels
Night two —
WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne defending against the tournament winner
Aleister Black & Ricochet vs. EC3 & Velveteen Dream
NXT North American, Women’s, and Tag Team title matches
