When World Of Sport (WOS) announced it’s comeback last year, WWE went straight into Predator mode with NXT UK. They proceeded to make formal agreements with Over The Top (OTT) Wrestling, Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) and PROGRESS Wrestling and signed some of the scenes brightest talents. When World of Sport initially fell through, WWE’s NXT UK looked like a wasted attempt at blocking competition. Despite all this, WOS is back and has announced their roster. Is there enough talent left for another TV product? Well, let’s find out together.
Full Roster Recap
NXT UK
- Pete Dunne, WWE UK Champion
- Trent Seven
- Tyler Bate
- Mark Andrews
- Wolfgang
- Travis Banks
- Zack Gibson
- Joe Coffey
- Mark Coffey
- Jordan Devlin
- Tucker
- Noam Dar
- Kenny Williams
- Tyson T-Bone
- Flash Morgan Webster
- Wild Boar
- Ashton Smith
- Sam Gradwell
- Saxon Huxley
- Amir Jordan
- El Ligero
- Dave Mastiff
- Jinny
- Toni Storm
- Isla Dawn
- Charlie Morgan
- Killer Kelly
World Of Sport
- Grado, WOS Champion
- Rampage
- Iestyn Rees
- Sha Samuels
- Adam Maxted
- Nathan Cruz
- British Bulldog Jr.
- Will Ospreay
- Joe Hendry
- Justin Sysum
- Martin Kirby
- Lionheart
- Doug Williams
- Stevie Boy
- BT Gunn
- Crater
- Kip Sabian
- Robbie X
- CJ Banks
- Gabriel Kidd
- Liam Slater
- Brad Slayer
- HT Drake
- Ayesha
- Kasey Owens
- Kay Lee Ray
- Bea Priestley
- Viper
The Product: NXT UK vs WOS
When looking at the rosters and analyzing their potential, the best place to start is what sort of product are they producing. NXT UK is very NXT in style – you have to get over as a star, but in-ring work is also extremely important. It is a multi-tooled product that mixes Sports Entertainment with the Indies. World Of Sport, based on their one-off return, is a WWE style of product. It is about solidly black and white characters, with good guys vs bad guys. It is about the stories being told and building to moments. For this reason, an ability to play a character is important, as well as having Charisma and Star power.
Key Players: Men’s Division
With the product’s in mind let’s look at who some of the Key Players are for both rosters. Obviously, NXT UK has built itself around British Strong Style with Pete Dunne leading the way. Moustache Mountain having already been NXT tag champions will certainly help anchor down the tag team division. Add to that the new heel in town in Zack Gibson and the NXT UK roster is anchored by 4 fantastic talents surrounded by people who are just beginning their journeys, like Travis Banks and the Coffey brothers. World of Sport will almost surely be built around Grado. Grado won the championship in their one-off return. The entertaining Scot is one of the most recognizable names on the roster thanks to his everyman personality and ability to be entertaining in every scenario. His role in taking Insane Championship Wrestling and UK wrestling as a whole to the level they are at cannot be understated. Another key name is Will Ospreay, a man who has dazzled audiences all around the world with his aerial abilities. While known early on for his high flying, he has since developed every area of his game to become one of the world’s best and will bring the eyes of hardcore fans to the product. Rampage stands out as possibly the number one heel of the promotion. His experience having been in WWE, TNA and 5 Star Wrestling on Television is as valuable as is his 17 years of experience. With a name like Rampage, you can be sure that this man is a big bruiser who’s sole aim is to hurt his opponents.
Key Players: Women’s Division
World Of Sport, on paper, has the better women’s division (so far). Viper and Kay Lee Ray are two of the UK’s biggest names. Both women were in the first Mae Young Classic and are among the best pure wrestlers out there. Viper has become something of a belt collector, at one point holding 5 titles from all over the globe. For a comparison, Kay Lee Ray is reminiscent of Ivelisse from Lucha Underground. She is a badass who is not afraid to wrestle anyone or fight anyone. Another former ICW champion, Kasey Owens, has stood out as the singles star between her and her sister as she has gone on to become the centerpiece of the ICW women’s division. Joining them all is Bea Priestley, like many wrestlers from the Australia/ New Zealand wrestling scene despite being a big name at home, made the jump to the UK where she improved greatly before her numerous tours of Stardom perfected her skills. Priestley plays a great character and has a cool look as well as the in ring skills needed to be a success on World Of Sport. Last, but not least, is Ayesha, who could use WOS as her break out. Despite being in the first Mae Young classic, she is still kept mostly to IPW:UK and German Wrestling Federation. She has the necessary look to be the bruiser of the division as she uses all of her 6 foot in height to dominate her opponents. NXT UK managed to nab two future stars in Jinny and Toni Storm. For years, Jinny has been the number one heel in PROGRESS, where she blazed a trail in helping them set up their women’s division. The division’s first champion Toni Storm had a huge 2017, as she won top titles in almost every company she competed in, including beating Mayu iwatani for the World Of Stardom championship. Fearless Charlie Morgan is someone who is always improving. In 2018, she has managed to become a featured name as a heel in PROGRESS and as the Face of EVE. Playing both aspects so well is what can help her stand out, as she makes for an entertaining heel as well as an entertaining face. Isla Dawn at 24 years old has all the time in the world to improve but is still currently a decent talent. Killer Kelly is someone who NXT UK can build as it’s own star. Kelly has started to make a name for herself in 2018 and is becoming one of the most hyped women in the European wrestling scene.
Who To Watch
While the talents listed above are the main event and name brand talent, a company in modern times needs to be strong from top to bottom. Which roster has the best utility players? Well NXT UK has Jordan Devlin. Devlin has spent the last year conquering OTT becoming it’s champion, as well as regularly having the performance of the night in Fight Club: Pro and PROGRESS. NXT also has ICW standout Kenny Williams, a man tipped to be a future WWE star for awhile. The high flying Scotsman has the look and abilities necessary to be a babyface hit for NXT UK. On the other side of that coin is Dave Mastiff. Mastiff is made in the mould of Giant Haystacks, a big burly man who can throw you around the ring at his leisure and in the WWE we have seen Mastiff showcase his more serious side and finally use his power advantage. A strong heel run to the top is not out of the equation for the powerhouse. Kip Sabian has the potential to be a standout star for WOS. SUUPPERBBADD Kip Sabian has oodles of charisma as well as the microphone skills to excel in World Of Sport’s environment. Finally, we have Adam Maxted – the former Love Island participant has been on the verge of breaking out for years. His stint on Love Island gives him the name recognition, on top of that he has the perfect look for a pro wrestler and has been improving his in-ring abilities over the years. Both WOS and NXT UK have stars on their roster just waiting to break out and it will be interesting to see who builds their own stars quicker.
So Who’s Better? NXT UK or WOS
NXT UK has the headline names and at first glance may have the talented roster. But World Of Sport is not to be underestimated, they have a strong roster of talent who will all be hungry to finally prove themselves. NXT UK will produce better matches with their roster but WOS won’t be far behind with Will Ospreay. Where this war will be won is the storytelling. WOS has a roster of people that can create great moments and storylines which will keep people tuning in.
