Thursday, March 28, 2024
EditorialWhat Does The UK Championship Division Need To Flourish?

What Does The UK Championship Division Need To Flourish?

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Hi everyone. Today, I would like to talk about the UK Championship and the talent challenging for it. We’ve yet to see the division flourish on a regular basis, but we have seen glimpses of its potential shown on NXT. This week we will see an interesting match between 205 Live’s Jack Gallagher, and UK Champion Tyler Bate with the title on the line.

So who’s in this division? Well we know WWE is using Tyler Bate, Pete Dunne, Trent Seven, Mark Andrews, and Wolfgang for their UK shows. Gallagher will be the first UK talent who did not compete in the UK Championship tournament to challenge for the title, so I’m guessing he might join them on a regular basis.

When I look back at the tournament, one of the things I noticed was a lack of powerhouses. We saw many amazing matches, but many talents looked like they’d suit working 205 Live. The biggest guy was Wolfgang, a Scotsman who can fly around the ring like a cruiserweight. On the night, he played the good guy role due to the huge fan support. Even when some of the crowd turned on him in the semi-finals, he was reluctant to change his character to suit Tyler’s story.

There’s no ‘monsters’ to be seen though. It makes me wonder if the UK scene is incapable of producing memorable legends like the Big Daddy’s and Giant Haystacks of the past. Yes, I know those guys couldn’t work longer than five minutes a night .. but can you imagine a Braun Strowman UK equivalent and how that would change the game? There has to be someone .. somewhere? Right?

I also  remember taking notice of the lack of credible heels. Outside of Pete Dunne, I can only remember Finn Balor’s clone Jordan Devlin (and just like Balor he’s not British!). But you know what’s going to happen? When WWE starts airing regular shows .. all the heat will go to Dunne. Great for him right? But It doesn’t help the rest. You could book Tyler vs. Trent every night of the week, but it’s not going to beat Tyler vs. Dunne as they respect each other too much. And that’s another problem I feel compelled to mention  ..

.. what’s with the stereotypes? The clichéd moustache look of the 50’s represents old days gone by. We ain’t so friendly like Tyler .. I’d say there’s more like Pete Dunne. You won’t see men walking down the street, waving gentlemanly while grooming their fine moustaches .. no, you’ll find rough teenage kids swearing and doing what they want as their parents don’t care. Personally, I think the only guy who pulls it off is Gallagher as he takes it to another level .. so I think the other guys need changes to their characters.

And the last point I’d like to make is .. why exclude established talent? Cruiserweight Champion Neville. Drew McIntyre. Noam Dar. Hell .. get William Regal in a match or two to put guys over. The problem I see are guys like Tyler, Dunne, Trent and Wolfgang having not worked against known UK talent on a main show. Imagine Tyler vs. Neville, or Regal vs. Dunne. Pairing ’em with established names doubles their exposure.

Whatever WWE decides to do, I hope they can mold the UK division into something diverse. They should encourage main roster guys to compete and possibly win the title so it can be featured on Raw or Smackdown. Also .. the UK title should be defended on PPV. I don’t care which brand .. as long as it’s seen defended every 2-3 months on a main PPV. Every talent should have their own look .. as it’s confusing for new viewers when too many look and act alike.

I will give credit to the guys who stayed on as they are great wrestlers. I would recommend poaching Will Ospreay and Marty Scurll to fill out the ranks as well. Yes .. I know they aren’t monsters .. but Ospreay is athletic (and would do great in NXT) and Scurll is a good heel. It depends on how far WWE wants to go .. and whether American audiences can enjoy British Wrestling for what it is; which will ultimately decide the fate of the UK division.

Can you think of other UK talents who would do well in WWE? Do you think the UK title can survive against the competition? And a more interesting question: Should WWE make the UK title like the US / IC titles where anyone can challenge? And if the answer is yes .. do you not think the title would lose appeal?

Do we want more secondary championships for mid-carders? Or should the title represent the best the UK has to offer? Some interesting questions which can only be answered indefinitely with time. Speaking of which .. I’ve said my piece so I’ll bid you farewell Sir/Madam and thank you for your patronage.

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