United Kingdom Championship Tournament (2018)

The 2018 United Kingdom Championship Tournament was a two-day professional wrestling event and tournament promoted by the American-based WWE promotion, that aired exclusively on the WWE Network and featured wrestlers from their NXT brand division, as well as wrestlers from their United Kingdom division.[2] The event was filmed on 18 and 19 June 2018 and aired on 25 and 26 June 2018.[3] It was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England.[4]

United Kingdom Championship Tournament
Promotional poster featuring various WWE wrestlers, including Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels
PromotionWWE
Brand(s)NXT
United Kingdom[1]
Date18 June 2018 (aired 25 June 2018)
19 June 2018 (aired 26 June 2018)
CityLondon, England
VenueRoyal Albert Hall
WWE Network event chronology
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Extreme Rules
WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament chronology
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Final

Day one of the event featured the second United Kingdom Championship tournament, which was won by Zack Gibson.[5] Day two (promoted as NXT U.K. Championship) saw Zack Gibson unsuccessfully challenge WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne, and the NXT North American, Women's and Tag Team Championships defended.[4]

Background

Production

On 14 and 15 January 2017 WWE held its first United Kingdom Championship Tournament event. At the event, a tournament to crown the inaugural United Kingdom Champion was won by Tyler Bate.[6] A follow-up to the event called the United Kingdom Championship Special[7] aired on May 19.[8] On 7 April 2018, a second United Kingdom Championship Tournament event was scheduled for 18 and 19 June at the Royal Albert Hall.[9][4][10]

On 25 May 2018, Shawn Michaels and Triple H were scheduled to make appearances at the event.[11][12] On 7 June, Johnny Saint was announced as the General Manager of WWE's United Kingdom-based brand.[1] A United Kingdom Championship Tournament: Bracketology special aired on the WWE Network later that day, with appearances from all 16 tournament competitors.[13]

Storylines

The card included matches that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches, with results predetermined by WWE's writers.[14][15] Storylines were produced on the NXT television program.

On April 28th, 2018, it was announced that British Strong Style (Pete Dunne, Trent Seven and Tyler Bate) would face The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong) in a six-man tag team match on the June 18 event.[11]

On May 14, WWE revealed details about the second United Kingdom Championship tournament, scheduling the first round matches for the 2018 Download Festival on June 8th-10th and succeeding rounds for the United Kingdom Championship Tournament event on 18 June.[16][17] The winner of the tournament will receive a United Kingdom Championship match with Pete Dunne on the following day.[16][17] On May 16th, the first 8 competitors of the 16 man tournament were officially announced on WWE.com. The first 8 revealed were Zack Gibson, Joe Coffey, Gentleman Jack Gallagher, Dave Mastiff, Kenny Williams, Ligero, Joseph Conners, and Amir Jordan.[18] On May 18th, the remaining 8 competitors were announced.[19]

On May 23rd, it was announced that Aleister Black and Ricochet would face EC3 and Velveteen Dream in a tag team match on the 19 June event.[20]

On May 25th, a fatal four-way match between Isla Dawn, Jinny, Killer Kelly, and Toni Storm was announced for the 18 June event.[11] The winner of the match will receive a NXT Women's Championship match with Shayna Baszler on the following day.[21]

On June 18th, it was announced that Adam Cole would defend his NXT North American Championship against Wolfgang the following day on June 19th.[22]

On June 18th, it was announced that The Undisputed Era (Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong) would defend their NXT Tag Team Championship against Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate and Trent Seven) the following day on June 19th.[21]

Participants
Wrestler Hometown Weight (lb) Ref
Travis Banks Auckland, New Zealand 190 [23]
Joe Coffey Glasgow, Scotland 240 [24]
Joseph Conners Nottingham, England 190 [25]
Jordan Devlin Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland 180 [26]
James Drake Blackpool, England 181 [27]
Gentleman Jack Gallagher Manchester, England 167 [28]
Zack Gibson Liverpool, England 220 [29]
Drew Gulak Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 193 [30]
Amir Jordan Dewsbury, England 185 [31]
Ligero Leeds, England 160 [32]
Dave Mastiff The Black Country, England 322 [33]
Ashton Smith Manchester, England 193 [34]
Tyson T-Bone Malvern, England 245 [35]
Tucker Belfast, Northern Ireland 191 [36]
Flash Morgan Webster Brynmawr, Wales 160 [37]
Kenny Williams Glasgow, Scotland 180 [38]

Tournament bracket
First round
NXT tapings (10 May)[39]
Download Festival (8–9 June)[40] 		Quarter-finals
United Kingdom Championship Tournament
(18 June)[41] 		Semifinals
United Kingdom Championship Tournament
(18 June)[41] 		Final
United Kingdom Championship Tournament
(18 June)[41]
        
Zack Gibson Sub[40]
Amir Jordan 09:29
Zack Gibson Sub[41]
Gentleman Jack Gallagher 13:30
Drew Gulak 06:32
Gentleman Jack Gallagher Pin[39]
Zack Gibson Sub[41]
Flash Morgan Webster 4:20
Flash Morgan Webster Pin[40]
James Drake 07:57
Flash Morgan Webster Pin[41]
Jordan Devlin 7:05
Tyson T-Bone 05:49
Jordan Devlin Pin[40]
Zack Gibson Sub[41]
Travis Banks 17:05
Tucker 07:01
Joe Coffey Pin[40]
Joe Coffey Pin[41]
Dave Mastiff 7:30
Dave Mastiff Pin[40]
Kenny Williams 5:51
Joe Coffey 9:20
Travis Banks Pin[41]
Ligero 5:11
Travis Banks Pin[40]
Travis Banks Pin[41]
Ashton Smith 6:20
Ashton Smith Pin[40]
Joseph Conners 9:45

Results

United Kingdom Championship Tournament (18 June)
No. Results Stipulations
1D Amir Jordan defeated Joseph Conners Singles match[42]
2 Zack Gibson defeated Gentleman Jack Gallagher by submission WWE United Kingdom Championship tournament quarterfinal match[43]
3 Joe Coffey defeated Dave Mastiff WWE United Kingdom Championship tournament quarterfinal match[44]
4 Flash Morgan Webster defeated Jordan Devlin WWE United Kingdom Championship tournament quarterfinal match[45]
5 Travis Banks defeated Ashton Smith WWE United Kingdom Championship tournament quarterfinal match[46]
6 Toni Storm defeated Killer Kelly and Isla Dawn[note 1] Triple threat match to determine the #1 contender for the NXT Women's Championship[47]
7 Zack Gibson defeated Flash Morgan Webster by submission WWE United Kingdom Championship tournament semifinal match[48]
8 Travis Banks defeated Joe Coffey WWE United Kingdom Championship tournament semifinal match[49]
9 British Strong Style (Pete Dunne, Trent Seven and Tyler Bate) defeated The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong) Six-man tag team match[50]
10 Zack Gibson defeated Travis Banks by submission Tournament final to determine the #1 contender to the WWE United Kingdom Championship[51]
  • (c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
  • D – indicates the match was a dark match
  1. This match was originally a fatal four-way match also involving Jinny, but she was injured in the match and subsequently the match was made into a triple threat match.

NXT U.K. Championship (19 June)
Logo of the NXT U.K. Championship event.
No. Results Stipulations
1D Ligero defeated Mike Hitchman Singles match[52]
2 Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven and Tyler Bate) defeated The Undisputed Era (Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong) (c) Tag team match for the NXT Tag Team Championship[53]
3 Charlie Morgan defeated Killer Kelly Singles match[53]
4 Noam Dar defeated Flash Morgan Webster, Mark Andrews and Travis Banks Fatal four-way match to determine the #1 contender for the WWE United Kingdom Championship[53]
5 Adam Cole (c) defeated Wolfgang Singles match for the NXT North American Championship[53]
6 Aleister Black and Ricochet defeated EC3 and Velveteen Dream Tag team match[53]
7 Shayna Baszler (c) defeated Toni Storm by countout Singles match for the NXT Women's Championship[53]
8 Pete Dunne (c) defeated Zack Gibson Singles match for the WWE United Kingdom Championship[53]
  • (c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
  • D – indicates the match was a dark match

Broadcast team
Ring name Real name Notes
Andy Shepherd Andrew Shepherd Ring announcer
Cathy Kelley Catherine Kelley Backstage interviewer
Mauro Ranallo Mauro Ranallo Lead commentator
Nigel McGuinness Steven Haworth Color commentator

Aftermath

On 18 June at day one of the event, it was revealed that WWE's United Kingdom brand would be debuting its first television programme, called NXT UK.[54] The inaugural tapings of NXT UK occurred on 28 and 29 July at the Cambridge Corn Exchange.[54]

See also

References
  1. "Johnny Saint named GM of WWE's United Kingdom brand". WWE. Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
  2. "U.K. Championship Tournament, Mae Young Classic 2 and more announced for WWE Network!". WWE on YouTube. Apr 19, 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-05-26. Retrieved Apr 28, 2018.
  3. Paul Jordon (June 5, 2018). "WWE RELEASES OFFICIAL DETAILS ON WWE UK CHAMPIONSHIP BROADCASTS". PWInsider. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
  4. Staff, WWE.com. "WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament at Royal Albert Hall". WWE.com. Archived from the original on April 14, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  5. Scott Felstead (April 8, 2018). "Triple H reveals what wrestling fans can expect at WWE UK Championship Tournament this summer". Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on April 29, 2018. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
  6. Soucek, Andrew. "SOUCEK'S WWE UK CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT REPORT 1/14: Ongoing coverage of night one of UK Championship tournament". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on 15 January 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  7. "UPDATED: WWE UK Championship Special to air on WWE Network on Friday with legend Jim Ross on commentary". Daily Mirror. May 15, 2017. Archived from the original on May 19, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2016. The 90-minute show, starring the company's top UK and 205 Live cruiserweight talent, will feature action from tapings in Norwich on May 6 and 7
  8. "Jim Ross and Nigel McGuinness to commentate on WWE UK Championship show from Norwich". Metro. 2017-01-15. Archived from the original on 2017-05-20. Retrieved 2017-05-20.
  9. Sean Rueter (April 7, 2018). "Triple H reveals WWE's UK Championship Tournament returns in June". Cageside Seats. Archived from the original on April 29, 2018. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
  10. "Tickets for the WWE U.K. Championship Tournament at Royal Albert Hall are available now". WWE. April 13, 2018. Archived from the original on April 29, 2018. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
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  12. WWE.com Staff (May 25, 2018). "Shawn Michaels returns to London's Royal Albert Hall on June 18". WWE. Archived from the original on May 25, 2018. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  13. "2018 United Kingdom Championship Tournament bracket". WWE. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  14. Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 18, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  15. "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on February 26, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
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  27. "James Drake". WWE. Archived from the original on 2018-05-19.
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  30. "Drew Gulak". WWE. Archived from the original on 2018-06-19.
  31. "Amir Jordan". WWE. Archived from the original on 2018-05-19.
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  44. "Joe Coffey def. Dave Mastiff in a Quarterfinal Match". WWE. June 25, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
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  46. "Travis Banks def. Ashton Smith in a Quarterfinal Match". WWE. June 25, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
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