NXT UK TakeOver

NXT UK TakeOver
NXT UK TakeOver logo
PromotionsWWE
BrandsNXT UK
First eventBlackpool (January 2019)
Last eventBlackpool II (January 2020)

NXT UK TakeOver was a series of periodic professional wrestling events produced by the American promotion WWE, exclusively for its former United Kingdom-based brand, NXT UK. Established in 2019, the UK TakeOver events served as the brand's counterpart to the main NXT brand's TakeOver shows, and were livestreamed exclusively on the WWE Network.

Only three NXT UK TakeOver events were produced: Blackpool and Cardiff in January and August 2019, respectively, and Blackpool II in January 2020. A fourth, Dublin, was planned for April 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic that began in March, it was ultimately canceled and no further UK TakeOvers were scheduled. In late 2021, the main NXT's TakeOver series was discontinued after NXT went through a restructuring. The NXT UK brand was then dissolved in September 2022 for an eventual relaunch as NXT Europe.

History

In December 2016, the American professional wrestling promotion WWE announced plans for a United Kingdom-based brand.[1] The first live specials held in the country were then the United Kingdom Championship Tournament and United Kingdom Championship Special in 2017,[2][3] followed by a second United Kingdom Championship Tournament in 2018.[4] These events aired exclusively on the WWE Network. Soon after the establishment of the NXT UK brand in June 2018 followed by its own television program in October, the brand began livestreaming its own "TakeOver" events on the WWE Network—TakeOver was the name for the main NXT's periodic live specials. The first NXT UK TakeOver was Blackpool in January 2019.[5] It was followed by Cardiff in August[6] and then Blackpool II in January 2020.[7]

Only one NXT UK TakeOver event had to be cancelled. Dublin was originally set to air live from the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland on 26 April 2020 and would have been the first TakeOver held outside the United Kingdom. The event was initially rescheduled to 25 October 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which began affecting all of WWE's programming in mid-March that year. However, due to the ongoing pandemic, the event was once again rescheduled, this time to 20 June 2021. On 30 April, however, WWE confirmed that the event had been cancelled.[8]

No further NXT UK TakeOver events were scheduled following the cancellation of Dublin. The main NXT's TakeOver series was also discontinued in late 2021.[9] NXT UK was then dissolved in September 2022 for an eventual relaunch as NXT Europe.[10][11]

Events

# Event Date Venue Location Main event Ref.
1 Blackpool 12 January 2019 Empress Ballroom Blackpool, Lancashire, England Pete Dunne (c) vs. Joe Coffey for the WWE United Kingdom Championship [12]
2 Cardiff 31 August 2019 Motorpoint Arena Cardiff Cardiff, South Glamorgan, Wales Walter (c) vs. Tyler Bate for the WWE United Kingdom Championship [13]
3 Blackpool II 12 January 2020 Empress Ballroom Blackpool, Lancashire, England Walter (c) vs. Joe Coffey for the WWE United Kingdom Championship [7]
(c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match

See also

References

  1. ^ Keller, Wade (December 15, 2016). "WWE announces new UK-based brand, holding tournament to crown UK Champion, Nigel McGuinness on announce team". PWTorch. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  2. ^ "UPDATED: WWE UK Championship Special to air on WWE Network on Friday with legend Jim Ross on commentary". Daily Mirror. May 15, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2017. 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
  3. ^ "WWE United Kingdom Championship Special premiere today". WWE. May 19, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
  4. ^ Sean Rueter (April 7, 2018). "Triple H reveals WWE's UK Championship Tournament returns in June". Cageside Seats. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
  5. ^ Rodger, James (January 11, 2019). "What time does NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool start? Full card, how to watch and the Midlands stars set to compete". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  6. ^ "NXT UK TakeOver". MotorpointArenaCardiff.co.uk. Archived from the original on June 8, 2019. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  7. ^ a b "NXT UK set to return to The Empress Ballroom for TakeOver: Blackpool II on Sunday, Jan. 12". WWE. November 17, 2019. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
  8. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (April 30, 2021). "NXT UK TakeOver: Dublin Officially Canceled By WWE". Fightful. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  9. ^ Thomas, Jeremy (November 9, 2021). "UPDATED: NXT WarGames Set For December, Takeover Name Removed". 411mania. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  10. ^ Gaydos, Ryan (August 18, 2022). "WWE to launch NXT Europe in 2023, NXT UK to make impact at upcoming event". Fox News. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
  11. ^ Kilbane, Lyle (August 22, 2023). "WWE Still Planning For NXT Europe". TJR Wrestling. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
  12. ^ Powell, Jason (12 January 2019). "1/12 Powell's NXT UK Takeover: Blackpool live review – Rhea Ripley vs. Tony Storm for the NXT UK Women's Championship, Pete Dunne vs. Joe Coffey for the WWE UK Championship, Trent Seven and Tyler Bate vs. Zack Gibson and James Drake to become the first NXT UK Tag Champions". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  13. ^ Johnson, Mike (June 1, 2019). "NXT UK TAKEOVER ANNOUNCED, AEW STAR RINGSIDE AT TAKEOVER: XXV". PWInsider. Retrieved June 1, 2019.