United Kingdom Championship Tournament (2017)

The 2017 United Kingdom Championship Tournament was a two-day professional wrestling streaming event and tournament promoted by the American promotion WWE. It aired exclusively on the WWE Network. The first round took place on 14 January 2017, while the finals occurred on 15 January. The tournament was held at the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool, Lancashire, England and crowned the inaugural WWE United Kingdom Champion. Tyler Bate won the tournament to become the inaugural champion.

United Kingdom Championship Tournament
Promotional poster featuring various tournament participants
Promotion	WWE
Brand(s)	United Kingdom
Date	14 January 2017 (first round) 15 January 2017 (finals)
City	Blackpool, Lancashire, England
Venue	Empress Ballroom
Attendance	3,236
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United Kingdom Championship Tournament chronology
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Background

In a press conference at The O2 Arena on 15 December 2016, Triple H, an executive for the American professional wrestling promotion WWE and head of the promotion's NXT brand, revealed that there would be a 16-man tournament to crown the inaugural WWE United Kingdom Champion.^[1] A United Kingdom Championship Tournament: Preview show aired on the WWE Network on 9 January 2017, with a behind-the-scenes look at the creators of the event and the 16 competitors.^[2] The tournament was held over a two-day period, 14 and 15 January 2017, at the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool, Lancashire, England and aired exclusively on the WWE Network.^[3][4] The championship later became the top championship of the NXT UK brand and its show, NXT UK, a WWE Network show produced in the United Kingdom that premiered on 17 October 2018.^[5]

Participants

Wrestler	Hometown	Weight (lb)	Ref
Mark Andrews	Cardiff, Wales	159	[6]
Tyler Bate	Dudley, West Midlands, England	175	[7]
Danny Burch	London, England	190	[8]
Joseph Conners	Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England	196	[9]
Jordan Devlin	Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland	180	[10]
James Drake	Blackpool, Lancashire, England	181	[11]
Pete Dunne	Birmingham, West Midlands, England	205	[12]
H.C. Dyer	Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England	213	[13]
Sam Gradwell	Blackpool, Lancashire, England	212	[14]
Saxon Huxley	Hartlepool, County Durham, England	215	[15]
Roy Johnson	London, England	206	[16]
Dan Moloney	Birmingham, West Midlands, England	216	[17]
Trent Seven	Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England	216	[18]
Tucker	Belfast, Northern Ireland	191	[19]
Tyson T-Bone	Malvern, Worcestershire, England	245	[20]
Wolfgang	Glasgow, Scotland	255	[21]

Alternates

These competitors were initially announced for the tournament, but were not selected as part of the final 16. They were backup competitors if there were any injuries to the final 16, which there were not.

Wrestler	Hometown	Weight (lb)
Tiger Ali	Swindon, Wiltshire, England	185
Ringo Ryan	Liverpool, Merseyside, England	198
Jack Starz	Leicester, Leicestershire, England	172
Chris Tyler	Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England	201

Results

14 January

No.	Results	Stipulations
1D	Chris Tyler and Jack Starz defeated Ringo Ryan and Tiger Ali	Tag team match[22]
2	Trent Seven defeated HC Dyer	WWE United Kingdom Championship tournament first round match
3	Jordan Devlin defeated Danny Burch	WWE United Kingdom Championship tournament first round match
4	Sam Gradwell defeated Saxon Huxley	WWE United Kingdom Championship tournament first round match
5	Pete Dunne defeated Roy Johnson	WWE United Kingdom Championship tournament first round match
6	Wolfgang defeated Tyson T-Bone	WWE United Kingdom Championship tournament first round match
7	Joseph Conners defeated James Drake	WWE United Kingdom Championship tournament first round match
8	Mark Andrews defeated Dan Moloney	WWE United Kingdom Championship tournament first round match
9	Tyler Bate defeated Tucker	WWE United Kingdom Championship tournament first round match
D  – this was a dark match

15 January

No.	Results	Stipulations
1D	Saxon Huxley and Tucker defeated Dan Moloney and Nathan Cruz	Tag team match[23]
2	Pete Dunne defeated Sam Gradwell	WWE United Kingdom Championship tournament quarterfinal match
3	Mark Andrews defeated Joseph Conners	WWE United Kingdom Championship tournament quarterfinal match
4	Wolfgang defeated Trent Seven	WWE United Kingdom Championship tournament quarterfinal match
5	Tyler Bate defeated Jordan Devlin	WWE United Kingdom Championship tournament quarterfinal match
6	Pete Dunne defeated Mark Andrews	WWE United Kingdom Championship tournament semifinal match
7	Tyler Bate defeated Wolfgang	WWE United Kingdom Championship tournament semifinal match
8	Neville defeated Tommy End	Singles match[24]
9	Tyler Bate defeated Pete Dunne	Tournament final for the inaugural WWE United Kingdom Championship
D  – this was a dark match

Tournament bracket

On 9 January 2017, WWE.com announced the full bracket for the tournament.^[25]

The following time limits were in place:

• Round one: 15 minutes
• Quarterfinals: 20 minutes
• Semifinals: 30 minutes
• Final: no time limit

First Round 14 January 2017[26]

Quarter-Finals 15 January 2017[24]

Semi-Finals 15 January 2017[24]

Final 15 January 2017[24]

Tyler Bate

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Tucker

10:34

Tyler Bate

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Jordan Devlin

6:05

Jordan Devlin

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Danny Burch

8:55

Tyler Bate

Pin

Wolfgang

5:55

Trent Seven

Pin

H.C. Dyer

5:25

Trent Seven

6:35

Wolfgang

Pin

Wolfgang

Pin

Tyson T-Bone

6:20

Tyler Bate

Pin

Pete Dunne

15:10

Mark Andrews

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Dan Moloney

5:35

Mark Andrews

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Joseph Conners

8:10

James Drake

7:12

Joseph Conners

Pin

Mark Andrews

10:33

Pete Dunne

Pin

Pete Dunne

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Roy Johnson

7:30

Pete Dunne

Pin

Sam Gradwell

4:50

Saxon Huxley

6:00

Sam Gradwell

Pin

Broadcast team

Ring name	Real name	Notes
Andy Shepherd	Andrew Shepherd	Ring announcer[27]
Charly Caruso	Charly Arnolt	Backstage interviewer
Michael Cole	Michael Coulthard	Lead commentator[1]
Nigel McGuinness	Steven Haworth	Color commentator[1]

Aftermath

On 15 May 2017, a follow-up to the United Kingdom Championship tournament was announced by WWE,^[28] titled the United Kingdom Championship Special, the event aired on 19 May 2017.^[29] In April 2018, a second WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament was announced, to be held on 18 and 19 June 2018 at the Royal Albert Hall.^[30]

See also

• Professional wrestling in the United Kingdom

References

1. Melok, Bobby. "First-ever United Kingdom Champion to be crowned in January". WWE. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
2. "Watch the WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament Preview Show tonight after Raw on WWE Network". WWE. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
3. Currier, Joseph (15 December 2016). "WWE to crown first United Kingdom Champion in January". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
4. Keller, Wade (December 15, 2016). "WWE announces new UK-based brand, holding tournament to crown UK Champion, Nigel McGuinness on announce team". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
5. "NXT UK joins WWE Network's already packed Wednesday line-up". 11 October 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
6. "Mark Andrews". WWE.com.
7. "Tyler Bate". WWE.com.
8. "Danny Burch". WWE.com.
9. "Joseph Conners". WWE.com.
10. "Jordan Devlin". WWE.com.
11. "James Drake". WWE.com.
12. "Pete Dunne". WWE.com.
13. "H.C. Dyer". WWE.com.
14. "Sam Gradwell". WWE.com.
15. "Saxon Huxley". WWE.com.
16. "Roy Johnson". WWE.com.
17. "Dan Moloney". WWE.com.
18. "Trent Seven". WWE.com.
19. "Tucker". WWE.com.
20. "Tyson T-Bone". WWE.com.
21. "Wolfgang". WWE.com.
22. "WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament - Tag 1". Cagematch. Retrieved 2017-09-22.
23. "WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament - Tag 2". Cagematch. Retrieved 2017-09-22.
24. Soucek, Andrew. "SOUCEK'S WWE UK CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT REPORT 1/15: Ongoing coverage of night two of UK Championship tournament". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
25. WWE.com Staff. "WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament bracket and First Round matches revealed". WWE.com. WWE. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
26. Soucek, Andrew. "SOUCEK'S WWE UK CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT REPORT 1/14: Ongoing coverage of night one of UK Championship tournament". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
27. Bobby Melok (10 January 2017). "Meet Andy Shepherd, ring announcer for WWE's United Kingdom Championship Tournament". WWE. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
28. "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, 2016. The 90-minute show, starring the company's top UK and 205 Live cruiserweight talent, will feature action from tapings in Norwich on 6 and 7 May
29. "WWE United Kingdom Championship Special premiere today". WWE. May 19, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
30. WWE.com staff (April 13, 2018). "WWE U.K., NXT championship matches announced for Royal Albert Hall". Retrieved April 21, 2018.

External links

• United Kingdom Championship Tournament on Facebook

• United Kingdom portal