WWE News: UK Championship Tournament preview show airing after WWE Raw; first round of matches announced
What’s the story?
In mid-December, WWE announced that the company is debuting a title, the United Kingdom Championship, and the winner will be crowned in early 2017. This will feature talents discovered from multiple promotions throughout the UK, as well as commentary from former Ring of Honor World Champion Nigel McGuinness.
Throughout the weeks, WWE has released more information about the 16-man tournament to declare the inaugural champion. WWE just announced that a preview show will air after WWE Raw to prepare the viewers of what to expect from the tournament and to highlight the competitors.
The First Round of the tournament will see eight intriguing matches, including:
Tyler Bate vs. Tucker
Jordan Devlin vs. Danny Burch
Trent Seven vs. H.C. Dyer
Wolfgang vs. Tyson T-Bone
Mark Andrews vs. Dan Moloney
James Drake vs. Joseph Conners
Pete Dunne vs. Roy Johnson
Saxon Huxley vs. Sam Gradwell
In case you didn’t know...
The United Kingdom Championship tournament is scheduled to happen on Saturday, January 15 and Sunday, January 16, beginning at 8 pm local time. It will be held at the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool, UK. The talent featured will be from the UK and Ireland, and the goal is to launch this division to be as successful as NXT and the Cruiserweights.
The heart of the matter
WWE announced the following:
WWE Network cameras go behind-the-scenes in an exclusive look at the competitors and creators behind the historic and headline-making United Kingdom Championship tournament.
Sportskeeda’s take
This special will be very beneficial to the fans who are not aware of the talent participating in the event, as well as those who are excited to see a familiar face compete in the tournament. From the looks of it, this preview will give fans a good level of excitement heading into the tournament this weekend. Moreover, based on personal knowledge of UK wrestling, it should be very fun to watch.
Obviously, every competitor is honoured to be a part of the tournament, and familiar names such as Mandrews – formerly of the TNA X Division – have been looking forward to this opportunity since beginning their wrestling careers.