5 non-British wrestlers who have become champions in NXT UK
WWE created NXT UK as a way to highlight the amazing British talent there was in professional wrestling with the likes of Tyler Bate, Pete Dunne, Grizzled Young Veterans, Kay Lee Ray and others proving that the British Isles are home to some of the best wrestling talent in the world.
There have been many memorable title reigns from British stars on NXT UK. Pete Dunne held the NXT UK Championship for a record-breaking 685 days before losing it. Similarly, former NXT UK Women's Champion Kay Lee Ray held her title for 649 days before losing it recently.
Whilst those two names, amongst others, are examples of British superiority on NXT UK, there has been an invasion of sorts on the brand as there are a handful of wrestlers from Europe and even further afield than that who have also found success on the show.
So, let's take a look at 5 non-British wrestlers who have become champions in NXT UK.
#5. Former WWE NXT UK Women's Champion Rhea Ripley
Rhea Ripley has skyrocketed up the ladder in WWE where she currently finds herself the reigning RAW Women's Champion after winning the Royal Rumble and successfully challenged Asuka on Night 2 of WrestleMania 37.
Before she was on RAW, Ripley was also dominating the Black and Gold brand after becoming the one to finally dethrone Shayna Baszler and win the NXT Women's Championship.
But many of you might have forgotten that neither of these instances were when Ripley first achieved championship success in WWE as she was, in fact, the inaugural NXT UK Women's Champion, even though she's Australian.
NXT UK held an eight woman tournament to crown the first ever NXT UK Women's Champion and Ripley defeated Xia Brookside, Dakota Kai and Toni Storm to win the title, and also become the first ever female Australian champion in WWE history, and all on a UK based wrestling show!