Opinion: NXT UK Is Doomed To Fail

[Dave]

I think as WWE fans, we always tend to feel slightly undervalued. It doesn't matter how much luck you have with WWE scheduling, you always want more.

That's why it's been particularly heartening to see the WWE try to bridge the gap between their worldwide fan base and doing their main business in the United States. In the last two years in particular, the WWE have did tremendous work in bringing the action to the rest of the world and, what's more, have done so very seriously. In fact, since the inception of the Cruiserweight Classic, I've noted a very serous effort coming from the WWE in trying to expand on their business and worldwide offer. That offer has been firmed up since then with the Mae Young Classic, The Greatest Royal Rumble, the upcoming Suoer Show-Down and (of course) the NXT UK Championship Tournaments.

As a WWE fan who lives in the UK, I have to touch on the overall feeling that the WWE doesn't exploit this market even nearly enough. Truth be told, until a couple of years ago, being a WWE fan in the UK seemed like a waste of time. Sure the WWE did a few Raw and Smackdown events in the UK every year but the same was true of other European countries. I can't even tell you happy I was that the WWE created the United Kingdom Championship. Again, that offer was formed up some time later with the announcement of NXT UK - something that most UK fans will be hotly anticipating.

But this is where, in my eyes, the WWE will encounter trouble.

So far, the WWE have had it all their own way Inn domestic shores. Since the destruction of WCW, the WWE have had almost no competition. It's only now that the WWE are facing any sort of competition in America. Make no mistake, the WWE is the preeminent wrestling brand in the world and, most certainly, in the USA. Whilst other wrestling products exist, the WWE is simply untouchable in that regard.

The same is not true of WWE in the UK. They are not the preeminent brand of wrestling in the UK and whilst there is no front runner for that title, there are numerous wrestling brands that are fighting for that title. The UK wresting scene, after years of struggling, is now finding it's feet once again and the WWE might struggle to break through that, even with their money, business trategy and platform. Whilst the WWE spent the last few years standing still, the rest of the UK scene relentlessly moved forward. Most promotions in the UK now have an online offer to their fans, all of which are currently priced below the price of the WWE Network. What's more, the WWE is currently borrowing superstars from these promotions to actually facilitate their shows. There's no doubt that the wrestlers would love to make it to the big leagues in the US, but is that ever likely to happen? For most, it's unthinkable.

It's also worth mentioning the religious fan base of these promotions too. Think of the way NXT is regarded in the US - that's a good example of how these promotions are viewed in the UK. Whilst the promotions don't have ridiculously huge fan bases like the WWE, they are totally loyal to the product - a product that has been built from the ground up and that they feel a part of. The WWE simply wants to waltz into the UK, become the preeminent brand and scoop the profits. Let me make this clear, if I had the chance to go to a WWE NXT event or an ICW event, the WWE wouldn't be getting a cent of my money.

And therein lies the problem for the WWE. Right now, they want to work in partnership with the other promotions in the UK but there will come a time when that partnership reaches its end. The WWE wants a monopoly, they always have. But there's no way that UK fans are going to allow the life in the UK scene to be strangled again. UK fans are fiercely loyal of their indies and will not allow the WWE to marginalise them again.

It's going to be a tricky road for the WWE, make no mistake. It remains to be seen whether they'll succeed in the long run. But the WWE must be very careful in their strategy. There's room enough for everyone to get a slice of the pie. If the WWE intends to own the bakery, they'll be shown soon enough that the times when everyone was scared to stand up to them are over.

 

[Hyorinmaru]

Not knowing the mindset of the UK fan I'm going to agree.

I'm hoping with it being NxT Trioke H is in charge and he seems smart enough to realize everything you said and makes his plans accordingly. Since the UK tournament i really have enjoyed UK wrestling and hope this gets off the ground and stays there

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I think it depends on how they go about it. As the guy running the show, I think Vince would believe that he'd just waltz into the UK scene like a bull in a china shop and would just overwhelm the competition by sheer brute force, AKA money. It's that alpha male mentality that Vince sometimes lets get in the way sometimes. Triple H, on the other hand, genuinely comes off as a methodical planner, more along the lines of the "Cerebral Assassin" character in that he doesn't rush into things, he plans things out for a long while before initiating everything. I have a feeling that he realizes that WWE won't be able to just bully its way into this.

I don't know if Triple H wants a monopoly or not. Maybe he agrees with Vince along those lines and maybe he doesn't, there's no real way to know. I mean, it's not as if Triple H can come right out and say that he disagrees or opposes WWE being the only real game in town because Vince is still his boss. For instance, during a recent conference call, he was asked if he thought the main roster would thrive under him based on what he's done with NXT and he's done what he's always done when asked that question: he answers it without really giving an answer. He always says something along the lines of NXT being able to provide something for everyone and that some are into aspects of NXT more than the main roster and vice versa all while putting over how important Vince is. Hell, he can't just come out and say that he believes that he'd do a better job than Vince would because it'd stir up a shitstorm and a half. Vince is still his boss and Triple H only gets to run NXT his way because Vince allows it and on top of that, Vince is also the grandfather of his Trips' three children. As difficult as it might seem to some people, Vince and Triple H are human beings and I believe Trips genuinely loves the old man and this would cause a major rift between them and possibly even the rest of the family itself.

Regardless of all that, everything I've read suggests that Triple H's management style and his approach to things is a lot different from that of Vince's. It obviously yields great results or changes would be enforced. When Triple H says that he's a fan, I tend to believe him and he's someone that's been in the trenches, so to speak. He comes off as much more sincere than Vince or Stephanie because he's been on the road 300 days a year for most of his adult life, he's suffered the injuries, he's played "the game" of backstage politics like just about every other major star has and has thrived. While that sincerity MIGHT be superficial, it comes off as believable. If the NXT UK brand is still going strong, is thriving and growing 5 years from now, then I think WWE will be able to surge forward if that's the idea. By then, WWE will be very firmly entrenched within the UK scene and then MAYBE, just MAYBE WWE won't need the cooperation of the UK indies.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

First of all, i loved the article, you bring up some good point about this subject and i agree to a point about pretty much everything. The thing is that i feel right now, this is just some pet project for HHH to try get show what is vision of WWE would look like when he take Vince's place. HHH is a smart guy as far as wrestling is concern, he knows that the future of the business is to please as many different type of fans as humanly possible. So he started NXT and while it's not a financial success, it's still regarded as a successful brand and a great way to train the next crop of WWE superstar.

When he did the uk tournament, that was a test to see if it would be a successful idea and it was, so they went and sign them to WWE contract that gave them the liberty of wrestling in other organizations when WWE didn't need them which was a smart move on their part. Try and keep them happy while at the same time have some of the biggest name in the UK under contract if they needed them. Then they went back this year with the second Uk tournament and again they did pretty well bringing more talent from the UK and i'm guessing signing them to WWE contract as well. So on that aspect, HHH did is homework before launching the new brand. The problem is, at some point, you need to have to talent sign to exclusive contract if you want to keep them and make money of this brand and will a Pete Dunn or tyler bate want to be exclusive to the NXT UK Brand/NXT brand. Also the other thing is, will fans follow those stars that they loved from other promotion in a more mainstream WWE environment? That's another question that they will have to have a answer to eventually. For now, i think they have all the tool to succeed since Vince really doesn't look too much into HHH'S pet project and don'T mind losing money on those. But if WWE starts losing money then NXT and NXT UK might be the first place Vince looks into and try to make changes so that those brand can turn a profit and that's when Both brand will be in trouble.