NXT UK
| NXT UK | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Professional wrestling |
| Created by | Vince McMahon Paul "Triple H" Levesque |
| Presented by |
|
| Starring | NXT UK roster |
| Opening theme | "God of War" by Wargasm UK |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 122 (as of 3 December 2020) |
| Production | |
| Camera setup | Multicamera setup |
| Running time |
|
| Original release | |
| Network |
|
| Release | 17 October 2018 – present |
| Related | |
NXT UK is a professional wrestling television programme produced by WWE airing in the United Kingdom on BT Sport, Channel 5, and the Paramount Network. The show features competitors from WWE's NXT UK brand.[1] The show was officially announced during the 2018 United Kingdom Championship Tournament.[2]
History
In a press conference at The O2 Arena on 15 December 2016, Triple H 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, and aired exclusively on the WWE Network. At the time, it was stated that the championship would be the centerpiece of a new UK-based show produced in the UK, but since the inaugural tournament, it was defended on NXT as well as at independent shows in the United Kingdom.[3][4] The name of the show, NXT UK, and its premiere was finally revealed during the 2018 United Kingdom Championship Tournament. On 7 June 2018, Johnny Saint was appointed General Manager of WWE's United Kingdom-based brand, officially called NXT UK.[5][6]
The show had its first tapings in August 2018, and the premiere episode of NXT UK aired 17 October 2018.[7] Starting October 31 with the third and fourth episodes, new episodes were premiered in a double header format each week. On 12 January 2019 the first live special episode of NXT UK aired, called NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool. Beginning with the 16 January episode, NXT UK returned to airing one episode each week. In September 2019, Triple H stated that NXT UK was the second most watched programme on the WWE Network, behind NXT.[8] In October 2019, the show moved to Thursdays.[9]
Beginning on 2 January 2020, NXT UK began airing on BT Sport[10][11] On 21 January 2020 it was announced that NXT UK will also be airing on the Paramount Network every Wednesday and later on Channel 5.[12]
Special episodes
| Episode Title | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| NXT UK's debut episode | 17 October 2018 | Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, United Kingdom | Featured Pete Dunne (c) vs. Noam Dar for the WWE United Kingdom Championship. |
| NXT UK episode 30 | 20 February 2019 | Phoenix, Arizona, United States | First episode of NXT UK held outside the United Kingdom and in the United States. Featured Toni Storm (c) vs. Rhea Ripley for the NXT UK Women's Championship. |
| NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool | 12 January 2019 | Blackpool, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom | First NXT UK TakeOver event. Featured matches included:
|
| NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff | 31 August 2019 | Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom | Featured matches included:
|
| Best of NXT UK 2019 | December 26, 2019 | N/A | Recap episode featuring all of the year's events on NXT UK. |
| NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool II | 12 January 2020 | Blackpool, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom | Featured matches included:
|
| Rise Of NXT UK | 9 April 2020 | N/A | From April 2020 until September 2020, NXT UK was produced as a clip show due to the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| Superstar Picks Week 1 |
16 April 2020 | ||
| NXT UK's Most Brilliant Week 1 |
23 April 2020 | ||
| Hidden Gems Week 1 |
30 April 2020 | ||
| Imperium Dominates | 7 May 2020 | ||
| Superstar Picks Week 2 |
14 May 2020 | ||
| NXT UK's Most Brilliant Week 2 |
21 May 2020 | ||
| Hidden Gems Week 2 |
28 May 2020 | ||
| Gallus Boys On Top | 4 June 2020 | ||
| Superstar Picks Week 3 |
11 June 2020 | ||
| NXT UK's Most Brilliant Week 3 |
18 June 2020 | ||
| Superstar Picks Week 4 |
25 June 2020 | ||
| Superstar Picks Week 5 |
2 July 2020 | ||
| Superstar Picks Week 6 |
9 July 2020 | ||
| NXT UK's Greatest Hits Week 1 |
16 July 2020 | ||
| NXT UK's Greatest Hits Week 2 |
23 July 2020 | ||
| NXT UK's Greatest Hits Week 3 |
30 July 2020 | ||
| NXT UK's Greatest Hits Week 4 |
6 August 2020 | ||
| Hidden Gems Week 3 |
13 August 2020 | ||
| Superstar Picks Week 7 |
20 August 2020 | ||
| Superstar Picks Week 8 |
27 August 2020 | ||
| The Champion And His Challenger | 3 September 2020 | ||
| History In The Making | 10 September 2020 | ||
| NXT UK Happy Holidays | 24 December 2020 | London, England, United Kingdom | Christmas Eve special episode. Recapped all of the year's events on NXT UK. |
| NXT UK Happy New Year | 31 January 2020 | New Year's special episode. Recapped all of the year's events on NXT UK. | |
| NXT UK TakeOver: Dublin | 20 June 2021 | Dublin, Ireland | First NXT UK TakeOver event held outside the United Kingdom and in the Republic of Ireland. |
Roster
On-air personalities
Authority figures
| Authority figure | Position | Date started | Date finished | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnny Saint | General Manager | 7 June 2018 | present | Was appointed General Manager of the NXT UK brand by Triple H at the 2018 United Kingdom Championship Tournament |
| Sid Scala | Assistant to the General Manager | 12 December 2018 | present |
Commentators
| Commentators | Date started | Date finished |
|---|---|---|
| Vic Joseph and Nigel McGuinness | 17 October 2018 | 12 June 2019 |
| 31 July 2019 | 3 October 2019 | |
| Vic Joseph and Aiden English | 19 June 2019 | 24 July 2019 |
| Tom Phillips and Nigel McGuinness | 10 October 2019 | 16 January 2020 |
| Tom Phillips and Aiden English | 23 January 2020 | 5 March 2020 |
| Andy Shepherd and Nigel McGuinness | 12 March 2020 | June 2020 |
| 17 September 2020 | present |
Ring announcers
| Ring announcer | Date started | Date finished |
|---|---|---|
| Andy Shepherd | 17 October 2018 | 5 March 2020 |
| Greg Hamilton | 13 February 2019 | 20 February 2019 |
| Sarah Schreiber | 20 February 2019 | 27 February 2019 |
| Francesca Brown | 12 March 2020 | present |
Backstage interviewer
| Backstage interviewer | Date started | Date finished |
|---|---|---|
| Radzi Chinyanganya | 17 October 2018 | present |
| Josiah Williams | 12 March 2020 | 2 April 2020 |
See also
References
- ^ "WWE launches new U.K. series". Retrieved 18 June 2018.
- ^ "BREAKING: Major Announcement At WWE UK Championship Tournament Tapings". 18 June 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
- ^ Currier, Joseph (December 15, 2016). "WWE to crown first United Kingdom Champion in January". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
- ^ 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 December 15, 2016.
- ^ "Johnny Saint named GM of WWE's United Kingdom brand". WWE. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
- ^ "WWE announces Johnny Saint as UK brand general manager". 7 June 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
- ^ "NXT UK joins WWE Network's already packed Wednesday line-up". Retrieved 11 October 2018.
- ^ 161385360554578 (2019-09-02). "Triple H: 'I want no part' of Enzo Amore, I run NXT, not Vince McMahon, The Rock". talkSPORT. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
{{cite web}}:|last=has numeric name (help) - ^ "NXT UK moving to Thursdays on WWE Network starting next week". WON/F4W - WWE news, Pro Wrestling News, WWE Results, UFC News, UFC results. 2019-09-25. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
- ^ "BT Sport secure WWE rights from rivals Sky Sports". The Independent. 2019-06-20. Retrieved 2019-10-31.
- ^ https://sport.bt.com/wwe/nxt-and-nxt-uk-join-raw-and-smackdown-on-bt-sport-the-new-uk-home-of-the-wwe-S11364421557178
- ^ "ViacomCBS Strikes U.K. Deal for WWE Programming".
Notes
- ^ Episodes of NXT UK air exclusively on the WWE Network in the United States.