What’s the story?
During a recent interaction with ESPN, WWE superstar Finn Balor spoke extensively about the upcoming tournament which will crown the first ever WWE U.K. Champion. Balor also provided his thoughts on British sensation Will Ospreay and how his ongoing run at New Japan Pro Wrestling will enhance his performance even more.
Here’s what ‘The Demon King’ opined about Ospreay’s NJPW stint:
“Will Ospreay has obviously done incredible things. He's out in New Japan now and that's gonna really make him brush up on his fundamentals. This is gonna take Will from an incredible performer to the finished product, being able to perform in New Japan. So hopefully in a few years, he will be involved here.”
In case you didn’t know...
The inaugural U.K. championship tournament will take place on 14 and 15 January this year at the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool, Lancashire, England. The 16-man tournament will involve wrestlers from all 4 countries in the U.K. namely England, Ireland, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
A majority of the tournament’s participants are from different parts of England whereas the other three countries have a single representative each. While none of the names may be too familiar to the WWE Universe, Finn Balor that it doesn’t make a difference as this tournament will bring them in the spotlight.
This is what Balor had to say:
“The reason you don't know their names or you've never seen them before, is because they've never had this exposure. This is gonna shine a light on all of these guys. The fact they may not be big names or used on a lot of big independent promotions, I don't think that has any bearing on their ability. I think there's gonna be a lot of standouts.”
The heart of the matter
Finn Balor, who is of Irish descent, has been one of the biggest names from the U.K. to have emerged on the pro-wrestling scene over the past few years. The reason why he is all the more excited about the tournament is the fact that it will provide a major boost to the wrestling scene in the region.
According to the former WWE Universal Champion, the interest of the local fans in watching their stars perform live is bound to increase when they see their antics on the WWE Network. Balor was quoted as saying this:
“This tournament, obviously it's great for WWE to build a new brand, but more importantly, it's gonna stimulate growth in the grassroots of local wrestling and independent wrestling. When kids tune in and see Jordan Devlin, Trent Seven, Pete Dunne, Wolfgang on the WWE Network, and then they see a poster at the town hall for their local wrestling show, they're gonna say, 'Oh my God, that's Pete Dunne, I wanna go see him’.”
What next?
After a new WWE U.K. champion has been crowned on 15 January 2017, it will be interesting to see how things proceed going forward. While it is likely that the new U.K. division of the WWE will have a show of its own, there has been no official word on its future so far.
Sportskeeda’s Take
The U.K. championship is certainly a major step taken by the WWE towards establishing their foothold in what is perhaps the greatest hotspot in the pro-wrestling business at present. However, its success will depend entirely on how things are handled by the world’s biggest pro-wrestling company.
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