WWE News: Cody Rhodes defends WWE amidst UK Indie Scene controversy

What's the story?

The WWE has been under fire recently by fans of the UK scene. Former WWE Superstar and current IWGP United States Champion was given the opportunity to chime in on the controversy in a recent interview, coming to the support of his former company.

In case you didn't know...

When NXT UK finally started up over the summer, the roster was free to work with other promotions in the area. However, fans wondered just how long this would be allowed to go on. Their fears were seemingly realized when several members of the NXT UK roster received new contracts which would prevent them from working with UK companies not associated with the WWE.

Since this has come to light, fans have started bashing the WWE and those on the NXT UK roster, including UK Champion Pete Dunne.

NXT coexists with an independent scene in the US. The UK will be no different. Now let’s just take a look at how far British wrestling has come. 12 years ago when I started this was not a career for anyone, now it’s attainable and thus a thriving scene of top quality has emerged.

— Pete Dunne (@PeteDunneYxB) December 5, 2018

Dunne has received the brunt of the backlash from fans, and the Bruiserweight has done his best to quell the situation, attempting to encourage those excited about the current UK wrestling scene.

The heart of the matter

In an interview with The Mirror, Cody Rhodes was asked what his opinion was on the recent controversy regarding NXT UK and the independent scene in the UK. Rhodes defended the WWE and dismissed the idea that they were trying to "destroy the indie scene in the UK."

I think it just means more opportunity. There's obviously a deep roster of talent and maybe some talent we're not seeing because we're seeing so many NXT UK guys that we know are wonderful. There's such a tendency to jump on WWE and talk bad about them in terms of these contracts and what they're doing. But with Johnny Saint, William Regal, and Triple H, how he is now, there's no secret plan to destroy the indie scene in the UK.

Rhodes also mentioned Pete Dunne's attempt to explain and defuse the situation and continued to remind the wrestling world that this will help continue the growth for the UK scene.

What's next?

NXT UK is setting up for their first ever TakeOver event in January. NXT UK: TakeOver Blackpool takes place on January 12th, and will feature some incredible matches from the UK roster. As far as Cody goes, he's working towards an ROH World Title match at ROH Final Battle on December 14th. Cody will face off against his rival Jay Lethal in what may be one of his last Ring of Honor matches.

What do you think about the WWE and the UK indie scene? Let us know in the comments below!