WWE: Triple H says weekly show in the UK is 'inevitable'
Sunday 15 January 2017 15:34, UK
Triple H believes it is “inevitable” that WWE runs a weekly show in the United Kingdom in the future.
WWE will host its maiden United Kingdom Championship Tournament at Blackpool’s Empress Ballroom this weekend, with the winner becoming the inaugural WWE UK Champion.
Triple H reckons the 16-man, two-night competition will be followed by a regular UK-based programme.
The WWE Chief Operating Offer is not yet sure what guise the weekly show will take but insists the reaction to this weekend’s event will give a strong indication.
“I’m optimistic about [a weekly show] and believe it’s kind of inevitable,” said Triple H during a pre-WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament conference call.
“It’s all going to depend on the next few days and the level of excitement that we see coming off of this tournament.
There is still a lot of talent I would love to work with in the UK [who are not in the tournament], so when it comes to a weekly show and you bring more people in, it’s going to be fresh and exciting.
“It would be premature for us to say ‘this is exactly what we are going to do’ because we don’t know exactly how it will go.
“How this tournament plays out will determine the format and give us a better feel of what exactly we want the product in the UK to be – and what the fans want it to be.
“There is still a lot of talent I would love to work with in the UK [who are not in the tournament], so when it comes to a weekly show and you bring more people in, it’s going to be fresh and exciting.
“It’s going to light the UK up sports entertainment-wise like it hasn’t been in a long, long time.”
WWE’s main-roster stars visit the UK and Ireland twice a year for annual spring and autumn tours, while an episode of NXT: TakeOver was held at London’s Wembley Arena in December 2015.
Triple H says the United Kingdom is a key market for WWE and believes this weekend’s event presents a tremendous chance for wrestlers from these shores to make an impact.
“It was something we’ve been working on and something I’ve been thinking about for a few years now and I feel the timing is right,” he said.
The UK is our biggest and most exciting fan-base outside of the US – we’ve always wanted to plant a bigger footprint here.
“The UK is our biggest and most exciting fan-base outside of the US – we’ve always wanted to plant a bigger footprint here and we’ve been able to find the talent and the people we want to do it with.
“We can now give the talent the opportunity to showcase themselves and be seen by the rest of the world – there is a pathway to success, and WWE, that they may never have had before.”
Blackpool natives Sam Gradwell and James Drake, plus Irish star Jordan Devlin and Scottish grappler Wolfgang, are among the 16 men set to compete at Empress Ballroom.
And Triple H insists that the meticulous scouting process that British wrestling legend William Regal undertook means fans will be in for a host of spectacular bouts.
“When it comes to the independent scene I don’t have time to keep track of everybody but William Regal, who is kind of like my right-hand man, does,” added The Game.
“He’s awesome at it, so when I told him we were going to execute this tournament, the list was there and ready to go.
“The biggest challenge for us was not necessarily to find talent – there is a lot of talent – but to put together matches that work stylistically.
“You can put two guys in the ring who are both very good but for whatever reason their styles don’t mesh.
“We wanted to give the best matches we could, so that’s where your match-making head goes on and you think which guys will be great together and showcase themselves.
“I think this tournament is going to be phenomenal.”
Upgrade to Sky Sports now and get 9 months half price. Hurry, offer ends January 16th!
