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WWE have announced that it will crown its first ever United Kingdom Champion during a two-night tournament in Blackpool early 2017.
The inaugural United Kingdom Champion will be crowned after a 16 man tournament held at Blackpool’s Empress Ballroom on January 14th and 15th. The tournament will feature wrestlers from the UK and Ireland.
WWE’s Triple H made the blockbuster announcement at a press conference in London, he said: “Our passionate UK fans deserve to have their own champion.
“The tournament is the next step in our ongoing strategy to develop another brand that engages our passionate fans, and add a new dimension to our on-going storylines.
“There’s no reason why it can’t be as big as Raw, Smackdown or NXT.”
Tickets for WWE’s United Kingdom Championship Tournament, which will be broadcast on the WWE Network, are on sale at www.livenation.co.uk.
The single-elimination tournament will feature wrestlers such as 19 year old Tyler Bate, Trent Seven, Scottish stat Wolfgang, Ireland’s Jordan Devlin and more.
British legends Robbie Brookside and William Regal were a huge part of the scouting process as WWE worked with promotions such as PROGRESS and Revolution Pro Wrestling.
William Regal, the on-screen General Manager of WWE NXT, said: “The 16 competitors are going to put everything on the line – everything to become the first WWE United Kingdom Champion.”
Irish star Finn Balor, who became the first ever WWE Universal Champion at SummerSlam in August, added: “This tournament is the bridge between the independent scene and the WWE. I would have loved to have been able to compete in it.”
Michael Cole, the voice of Monday Night Raw, will commentate on the tournament, alongside Londoner Nigel McGuinness, a well known star on the UK independent scene and former Ring of Honor World Champion.