A Performance Center for NXT UK was officially revealed on today’s episode of British morning programme Good Morning Britain, courtesy of British Strong Style. Pete Dunne, Trent Seven, and Tyler Bate were on the show to hype up NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool on Saturday evening, where Trent had the following to say: “We’re going to be able to go from here straight to our secret location … our new NXT UK Performance Center. The fact that we’ve had this investment in us, and obviously the other wrestlers, and the British wrestling base is pretty exciting”. Saturday’s event will of course see Pete defend the United Kingdom Championship against Joe Coffey, while Trent and Tyler will attempt to become the inaugural NXT UK Tag Team Champions.
The first @wwe Performance Center outside of the United States has arrived to the UK! #NXTUK pic.twitter.com/GzPf5sVKFG
— NXT UK (@NXTUK) January 11, 2019
This was obviously the next step in the progress of NXT UK as a brand. With two episodes of one hour each airing every week, three championships, and now their first TakeOver event at the weekend, there wasn’t much else that could be done to further the status of the brand. Rumours had been on the go for a while now that this would indeed be happening at some point, and they’ve now been confirmed.
It follows in the footsteps of Triple H’s ‘global localisation’ plan, his intention to expand the NXT brand as a whole. This announcement, as well as the fact that several of the top tier NXT UK talents have been locked down to new contracts, seems to confirm these are his genuine plans for the foreseeable future. Those contracts bar the talent from competing for any non-WWE affiliated indies, just like what the regular NXT does with EVOLVE.
“This Performance Center here in the @WWEUK presents a clear pathway to the @WWE.” – @FinnBalor on his journey to the @WWEPC and #WWE. @NXTUK pic.twitter.com/P1cVIbIs0E
— WWE (@WWE) January 11, 2019
A press conference took place this morning, with the following being mentioned;
- Performance Center is based in London
- This is the first of many Performance Centers to open up outside of the US
- 30+ athletes training at the PC, mainly the core of the NXT UK roster
- Media training, interview skills, financial skills, etc. to be offered
- Medical and rehab facilities on-site to provide the best possible care for injuries
We’ll have more updates for you as and when they come.
You can watch the press conference for yourself on WWE’s YouTube channel:
