WWE News: Finn Balor Talks WWE U.K. Championship Tournament Importance
The WWE U.K. Championship Tournament takes place next weekend, and Triple H has said that he hopes that the tournament will lead to a WWE Network exclusive series based on the U.K. talent. In an interview with ESPN, former WWE Universal Champion Finn Balor said he thinks this is huge for the WWE.
He points out the fact that some people are criticizing the idea of the WWE U.K. Championship Tournament because no one knows anyone competing in it. Finn Balor then pointed out that no one knew who he was when he went to NJPW as Price Devitt and he did just fine.
“The reason you don’t know their names or you’ve never seen them before, is because they’ve never had this exposure. This is gonna shine a light on all of these guys. The fact they may not be big names or used on a lot of big independent promotions, I don’t think that has any bearing on their ability. I think there’s gonna be a lot of standouts.”
When the WWE held their cruiserweight tournament on the WWE Network, hardcore fans knew all about British wrestlers like Zack Sabre Jr. and Jack Gallagher, but the common fans had no idea who they were. Despite that, they showed in the tournament why they were as great as advertised.
Neither of those men will take part in the WWE U.K. Championship Tournament, but there are some names that are just as big in the U.K. taking part in the event.
Comicbook.com reported that 18 names were originally listed for the WWE U.K. Championship Tournament: Joseph Conners, Roy Johnson, Jordan Devlin, Tyson T-Bone, Tucker, HC Dyer, Tyler Bate, Wolfgang, Pete Dunne, Trent Seven, Chris Tyler, Dan Moloney, Jack Starz, James Drake, Sam Gradwell, Ringo Ryan, Saxon Huxley, and Tiger Ali.
Only 16 wrestlers will compete, and the original announcement indicated that two of those 18 names were “alternates.” Also announced was former Ring of Honor world champion Nigel McGuinness, who will serve as the commentator at the event, similar to how Daniel Bryan commentated the cruiserweight tournament.
Despite that announcement, the WWE just reported that Mark Andrews has entered the WWE U.K. Championship Tournament as one of the 16 competitors. Andrews is probably the most famous of the tournament lineup, known by the name Mandrews in TNA Impact Wrestling since 2014.
The addition of Mark Andrews, who is from Whales, means that all four Home Nations of the U.K. are represented (England, Scotland, Whales, and Ireland). It is unclear who has been removed from the original 16 but names like Pete Dunne and Trent Seven are two other big names fans should watch out for in the WWE U.K. Championship Tournament.
One of the biggest names in British wrestling who won’t be in the WWE U.K. Championship Tournament is Will Ospreay. He was also one of the biggest indie names to not appear in the WWE cruiserweight tournament.
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Will Ospreay is a former Ring of Honor TV champion, Progress Wrestling Champion, and won the 2016 NJPW Best of the Super Juniors tournament. According to Finn Balor, Ospreay is someone people should watch for, even if he is not appearing in the WWE U.K. Championship Tournament.
“Will Ospreay has obviously done incredible things. He’s out in New Japan now and that’s gonna really make him brush up on his fundamentals. The fundamentals are literally the foundation for everything we do.”
The WWE U.K. Championship Tournament takes place exclusively on the WWE Network. The tournament takes place on January 14-15 at the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool.
[Featured Image by WWE]
