We are entering new territory here, literally.
For the better part of, like forever, UK wrestling belonged solely to
those living over there. For years, they've produced a constant stream
of high quality wrestlers simply because they treat it as a way of life;
much like the good folks over in Japan. Some of the all-time greats are
from the land across the pond, names such as: Lord Alfred Hayes, Davey
Boy Smith, William Regal, Dynamite Kid, Fit Finlay, Nigel McGuinness and
Dave Taylor to name a few. Then now you have the likes of Finn, Becky,
Sheamus and Paige; (for now at least). There's a plenty of great things
about the UK and its fans that those who actually pay attention to
wrestling as a whole know that they deserve something of this nature.
So, congrats to them and I hope all works out well for them.
I'd like to also address half of the fans, (mostly on twitter), that say
they're either confused about this or don't care about this: it's not
all about you. Most of said fans reside in the United States, while also
the majority of them don't realize how big wrestling is globally. 99% of
the folks that check this out will know that wrestling is big all over
the world; but there is always that 1% who believes that wrestling
begins and dies with the WWE. Instead of chastising and trying to
lecture you about the wrestling culture overseas, I challenge you to do
some research on it. Start with PROGRESS Wrestling, Revolution Pro
Wrestling, All Star Wrestling or Insane Championship Wrestling. All of
those promotions are great and have had current superstars from the WWE
in them.
Open your mind a bit before you judge this move.
As we head into the actual tournament, naturally there were a couple of
questions that I came to mind. One being, who are half of these guys?
So, I did my research and I liked what I saw. Rather going through that
and other questions about the actual tournament, I want to fast forward
to after the tournament is over. While I was sitting there listening to
the press conference again, I realized that Triple H said that there
will be a weekly episodic show on the network, filmed exclusively
overseas. Now I imagine that they have the logistics worked out for a
fifth show, so hopefully we won't see any delay in tapings or shutting
down of shows due to unforeseen circumstances.
I don't foresee WWE running into any problems and that this show is
being produced solely for the fans in that market to enjoy. I mean after
all, it's almost like 4am in the morning when they start to watch Raw or
SmackDown, if they choose to see it live. So, having a show that airs
for them, during their primetime is another great reason for giving them
a show for all of their years of loyalty. Not to mention since World of
Sports is picking back up and folks were getting excited about it, WWE
couldn't possibly lose their #1 spot to them because of said time slot.
If WWE is serious about this whole making the network work thing, then
this will be a great move from that standpoint.
But let's get to the five questions I have for their live TV show on the
network.
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Who Is Going To Be The GM?
Off bat I know folks will yell out that William Regal should be the GM
simply because it's his home turf. Another argument I saw was that he's
the elder statesmen for that region and it's only right that he returns
home and overseas the development like no one else can. While I agree
with these sentiments, I don't think it will come true. Mr. Regal's
importance to NXT is far too great to move him at any point. I know WWE
wants to get this show off the ground as smooth as possible, I just
don't think they're willing to let Mr. Regal go so easily; given all
that he's done already for the brand. I couldn't imagine another
authority figure down there anyways, it would never feel the same.
I'd rather go the route of having Nigel act as both announcer and GM.
That would be a very interesting dynamic that isn't seen on WWE TV at
the moment. The prospect of having him in charge and providing
commentary just seems like a natural fit for him. Plus, as I said
before, it's not like anything that's being done on the brand now, this
is a great way for them to stand out from the others. But my longshot in
all of this would be to bring Wade Barrett back into the fold. We all
love him as a wrestler, but he's far too accident prone. Maybe with a
lighter schedule that could be provided with a smaller market, he could
flourish. But I think his best role would be to be as an authoritative
figure. Just hearing him say "well I have some bad news for you" would
really get that crowd riled up every single time.
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The Championship Scene
This is actually one of the first questions I asked myself when I
thought about the title being shown. The WWE UK Championship actually
looks pretty great, with its touch of UK in it. It reminds me of what a
modern championship belt should look like; (unlike the cartoonish vibe I
get from the Universal Championship). But that's pretty much all we know
about the championship scene. I know that there will be a tag team title
whenever they get the show up and going successfully. But where does
that leave the rest of the roster. I mean I know that they will
eventually have women wrestlers and a women's title; but is there room
for more?
One title that comes to mind, that fits beautifully with this promotion,
would be the European Championship. Now I know that the title history is
kind of murky with the reigns of no European holders and some reigns
that were terrible; but what championship isn't without flaw? I would
lobby for bringing back the European Championship as WWE UK's version of
the Intercontinental Title; it just makes sense. The inaugural winner
could go on about restoring the prestige of the title back to where
Davey Boy wanted it to be and run with that for a while. WWE UK is going
to be big after a while, just like NXT, it only makes sense to get a
mid-card title in there that not only the casual fan will recognize, but
the home crowd would love.
It's just what's best for business.
_______________________
The Women's Division
It's not an if, but more so a when is this going to happen? I know that
WWE will wait until the show gets its feet under them like they're doing
with 205 Live, before they implement a women's division. The women's
wrestling scene in the UK is definitely one of the stronger ones in the
world, so it's not hard to imagine what it's going to be like to have
them around. Aside from getting them on the show once the men show that
the show can be sustain, when is the right time to pull the trigger on
them? The answer to that question would be during the women's tournament
that's going to take place on the network sometime next year.
While there may not be a name significant enough to actually win the
tournament, you could have one of participants make it deep into the
tournament so that they can pop up on the show and say that they want to
be a part of it. They would highlight said run in the tournament and set
her up against a challenger that no one expects. Who that could that
challenger possibly be? Personally, I would love for Paige to show up
and lead that division until she's ready to move back over to Raw. But
we all know what she has going on at the current moment. And unless she
gets that whole deal sorted out, I doubt my dream scenario would work
out. Oh, and if you were wondering why not have Becky do it? Well she's
fine right where she is.
_______________________
UK Superstars Already On The Main Roster
And speaking of Becky, what about the other UK stars on the main roster
in the form of Sheamus, Finn, Neville and so many others? Do we have
them come to this brand if things aren't working out and rebuild their
credibility here? Do you pad some stats and have them win this
championship, which could double as either cheap pops or heat? My
answers to those questions is a simple one, no. The aforementioned stars
are doing pretty great where they are right now, (the ones I can
remember off the top of my head anyways). The only way I would want them
to switch over to this brand is if they chose to switch or the brand
really needed the boost in ratings. I'm sure that any of these stars
wouldn't hesitate to come back to their stomping grounds to make the
show better, but I love the feuds they are all currently engaged in.
The other big thing isn't a really big thing when the networks
viewership is taken into account. I mean most folks know NXT by name,
but they don't watch weekly. The same can easily said about what's going
to happen here with the UK brand, and it's not a bad thing. But when
thinking about pairing a "newcomer" with one of your main roster
staples, do you really want to risk any chance of them being knocked
down the totem pole in the fans eyes? That's my only concern for the
reason that WWE has bought in a lot of casual fans over the course of
the past three years and they don't really care for who's the best in
the ring, they cheer and boo anything the person next to them is. So,
with that in mind, I think the good gentlemen, (and eventually women),
of the UK brand can create something special on their own merits.
But you know how the world of wrestling can be sometimes. So, we'll have
to wait and see what plans WWE has for their current UK stars and their
brand-new show.
_______________________
Will Former Stars Return?
Wade Barrett, Drew McIntyre, Layla El, Paul Burchill and Mason Ryan are
all names that are quite familiar with WWE fans; (well the more seasoned
ones). A couple of those names are busy with things outside of wrestling
that make them happy and in their lane of life. This is more so geared
to Wade and Drew out of the list. I think that those two guys add a ton
of value for when WWE eventually starts a program. Wade, while injury
prone, could fill that GM spot and provide some personality from that
position like William Regal does so gracefully with NXT. But also, I
would prefer to see him inside the squared circle, because I liked his
style; same could be said for Drew.
There's no telling what could happen with WWE, but as they stated
talents can continue appearing on different shows as much as they want;
(until the show blows up). The main question that WWE asks when talent,
and the only question that matters honestly, will they add value to the
bottom line? Out of those names I would say that Wade and Drew
definitely do. I haven't kept up with everyone else to know if they're
even still active. But speaking solely as a fan, I really hope that both
are involved somehow, someway for the simple fact that they do have
talent, the schedule is lighter and the fans will relate to them.
_______________________
The bottom line for the tournament and subsequent show that will follow
after is that the United Kingdom has some of the best, (if not the
best), fan base in all of wrestling. I'm all for awarding them with an
awesome WWE produced program just for them, with the sporadic features
of wrestlers from the other rosters. The fans will relate and it will
show the world how great wrestling is on the other side of the pond. A
lot of people are complaining about the show simply because they don't
know anything about what's going on over that side of the world and they
think wrestling ends and begins inside of these borders. Think again
guys and gals.
I have extremely high hopes for this new budding brand, as detailed
above, and I have the highest hopes that they will succeed. Hopefully
they step outside of the box and show us what they are made of to the
effect that the other rosters will try and keep up with them sometimes.
Also, I'm hoping for a couple of invasion angles from other companies
over there, that is if WWE will allow something like that happen. Which
is a high probability seeing as how they have some kind of working
relationship with a couple of the other promotions there. All I ask is
that you keep an open mind and be excited that more wrestling is coming
to your screen.
2017 is the year the United Kingdom shows the world what they're working
with.
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