What’s the story?
Hot on the heels of the successful WWE United Kingdom Championship tournament, Mike Johnson of PWInsider is claiming to have heard from multiple sources that Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) could well be coming to the WWE Network, and an announcement could come as soon as this week.
Johnson speculated that the idea could be to have Tyler Bate (the WWE UK Champion) defend the title in ICW, along with OTT and PROGRESS (among others) until the company has their own show functioning on a weekly basis in the UK.
Those worrying that this will see ICW tone down its content will be pleased to hear that that is unlikely to be the case. The deal is also rumoured to be for two to three years and is more likely to be on demand as opposed to a live stream.
In case you didn’t know...
ICW is arguably the biggest independent promotion in the UK, at least when it comes to attendance figures. Their annual Fear and Loathing show took place at Glasgow’s SSE Hydro and attracted the largest crowd for an independent wrestling show in Europe for years.
The promotion has received plenty of mainstream media coverage in the past, with documentaries about ICW featuring on Vice and BBC.
A number of ICW regulars took part in the WWE United Kingdom Championship tournament, including current ICW Champion Wolfgang and the number one contender to that title, Trent Seven. Other regulars include Drew Galloway, Joe Hendry, Bram and Grado.
The heart of the matter
Many people believed that the UK Championship tournament represented the first step on WWE’s road to a complete monopoly of the wrestling business in the UK. For those who believe that, this news will come as a worry.
WWE simply has the financial clout that all UK promotions lack, and the lure of a WWE Network slot is going to be too much for many companies to resist.
What’s next?
Until official word comes from either WWE or ICW, the PWInsider rumour must be treated as nothing more than a rumour. When the announcement comes, look for a split and major changes in the ICW roster, as many current ICW performers also wrestle for TNA, ROH and other promotions.
That ICW will come to the WWE Network in its current form is unthinkable.
Sportskeeda’s take
It is difficult to judge this rumour. On one hand, WWE extending its corporate hand over the grassroots scene that has exploded in the UK is bad news, but on the other hand, this will give many wrestlers a chance to spread their wings and be seen by more pairs of eyes than ever before.
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