5 British wrestlers who could have been WWE Champion
After Drew McIntyre vowed to be the first-ever Scottish WWE Champion, it was time to get thinking.
Of all the incredibly talented British wrestlers to compete in a WWE ring, it's pretty surprising that none of them have held the biggest prize in the company, so why have we never had a WWE Champion from the United Kingdom?
In late 2016, WWE announced the first ever WWE United Kingdom Tournament to crown the first ever United Kingdom Champion - with Tyler Bate winning the inaugural tournament and Pete Dunne later winning the Championship, but the much-rumoured weekly UK show seems to be on the backburner now.
WWE look to be investing heavily in British talent, though, with Paige (although her future is in question) on the main roster having won the NXT Women's Championship and the Divas Championship when it was around, Drew McIntyre returning to win the NXT Championship after a run in WWE that saw him hold the Intercontinental Championship previously, and UK talent being intertwined in NXT and 205 Live with Wolfgang, Mark Andrews, the aforementioned Tyler Bate appearing alongside CWC Tournament competitor Jack Gallagher.
Killian Dain from NXT may not be technically British, but he was born in the UK - hence his previous nickname The Beast from Belfast. Dain has also made his mark in WWE with a strong showing in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal last year.
In fact, the last British Superstar to appear on RAW was Pete Dunne, when the Bruiserweight defeated now-released former Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore on the Manchester edition of Monday Night RAW.
So it begs the question, why are we just seeing such a strong influence now when there have been some incredible British wrestlers competing in the squared circle of WWE?
I'm going to take a look back at five British WWE Superstars who could have been the first ever British WWE Champion had things been a little bit different.
#5 Neville
Okay, so this is the one red herring in the list. Neville is technically STILL a WWE Superstar, and could indeed still win the WWE Championship in the future - although you'd have to think it's a very unlikely scenario, and not for lack of talent.
The only reason Neville is at No.5 in the list is precisely that, he's still contracted to the company, but it seems like we may possibly never see him in a WWE ring again, or at least not under this current contract.
Not too long ago, Neville was actually appearing on RAW on a weekly basis as a champion when he held the Cruiserweight Championship. The Man That Gravity Forgot lost his title to Enzo Amore and was last seen in a rivalry where, after a monstrous run as heel champion, he almost turned face to speak on behalf of the Cruiserweight Division against Enzo Amore and, if rumours are to believe, there was an underlying truth here that caused Neville to walk out on the company.
During his run in NXT, Neville was actually the top dog for a while - holding the NXT Championship in a record-breaking run that was eventually surpassed by Finn Balor, as well as being a two-time NXT Tag Team Champion.
After reaching the main roster, Neville was incredibly over as a face, but never quite got that push to see him reach even a mid-card title. Neville could have made an incredible Intercontinental Champion or even a great Money In The Bank winner.
It may seem farfetched now, but imagine the champion being laid out in the ring, Neville's music hits, and he cashes in and hits the Red Arrow to win the WWE Championship! What a moment that could have been.