WWE News: United Kingdom Championship Tournament Returns in June
What's the story?
With all the excitement stemming from WrestleMania weekend, WWE announced another show aimed at their international audience.
The United Kingdom Championship Tournament will return to the WWE Network this summer in June for two nights.
In case you didn't know...
During the Business Partner Summit over WrestleMania weekend, Triple H revealed that June 18th and 19th will be the dates for the second UK Championship Tournament.
The inaugural UK Championship tournament took place in January 2017, before the Royal Rumble, and saw Tyler Bate become the Champion on the second day of the contest.
The heart of the matter
The company said the following regarding the return of the UK Championship tournament to the WWE Network:
NEW ORLEANS — Triple H revealed during today’s Business Partner Summit that the United Kingdom Championship Tournament will return for two nights this summer on June 18 and 19. This showcase for the finest talent in the U.K. will emanate from the most famous arena in London, Royal Albert Hall...
The Royal Albert Hall, meanwhile, is one of the world’s most vaunted arenas. Opened by Queen Victoria in 1871, it has hosted Beatles concerts, Muhammad Ali boxing matches and sports-entertainment bouts dating back as far as 1904 when WWE Hall of Famer George Hackenschmidt grappled there. And on June 18 and 19, it will serve as the proving ground of WWE’s next great U.K. talent.
The title is currently held by Pete Dunne, who defeated Bate in an incredible match last year, at NXT Takeover: Chicago.
Dunne has defended the title against Wolfgang, Johnny Gargano, Jack Gallagher, Roderick Strong and Adam Cole, across various NXT and non-WWE programming.
The Royal Albert Hall in London has a 5,000+ seating capacity, which is close to double the amount of seating for the initial tournament that was held at Empress Ballroom in Blackpool, Lancashire, England.
What's next?
With Dunne as the current UK Champion, this tournament will more than likely be used to determine the No.1 Contender for the title.
WWE has employed many Superstars from the UK, so it will be interesting to see which current wrestlers return and which talent from the UK make their debut on WWE programming.
Author's take
WWE has a lot planned after WrestleMania and all of it seems exciting.
What more could they have in store?