WWE in the United Kingdom

WWE (formerly World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment), an American professional wrestling promotion based in Stamford, Connecticut in the United States owned by the McMahon family, has been promoting events in the United Kingdom (UK) since 1989. From 1989 to 2001 WWE was promoted under concert promoter Harvey Goldsmith and his brother Martin Goldsmith for UK and European shows.

WWE in the United Kingdom
Created byVince McMahon
Promotion(s)WWE
Brand(s)Raw
SmackDown
NXT
NXT UK

International broadcasts from the UK

Pay-per-views and supercard

Over the years, World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment has run several broadcast events based in the UK. In 1989, the WWF held their First WWF UK event, which aired exclusively in the UK.[1] From 1991-1993 similar UK exclusive broadcasts known as UK Rampage.[2][3][4] In 1991 the WWF filmed the supercard event Battle Royal at the Albert Hall, in London.[5]

SummerSlam 1992 was the first WWE pay-per-view broadcast from the UK on August 29 (aired August 31).[6] In 1997 they returned to the UK with WWF One Night Only.[7] In 1998 the WWF returned to the UK for WWF Capital Carnage, which aired exclusively in the UK.[8] The following year they returned with No Mercy.[9] From 1999 to 2002 they ran a fall pay-per-view from the UK known as WWE Rebellion.[10][11][12][13] In addition from 2000 to 2003 they ran a spring pay-per-view from the UK known as WWE Insurrextion.[14][15][16][17]

Date Name Brand Venue City Main event
10 October 1989 First WWF UK Event (1989) London Arena London, England Hulk Hogan (c) vs. Randy Savage for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship
24 April 1991 UK Rampage (1991) London Arena London, England Hulk Hogan (c) vs. Sgt. Slaughter for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship
3 October 1991 Battle Royal at the Albert Hall Royal Albert Hall London, England 20-man battle royal
19 April 1992 UK Rampage (1992) Sheffield Arena Sheffield, England The British Bulldog vs. Irwin R. Schyster
29 August 1992
Aired 31 August 1992		 SummerSlam (1992) Wembley Stadium London, England Bret Hart (c) vs. The British Bulldog for the WWF Intercontinental Championship
11 April 1993 UK Rampage (1993) Sheffield Arena Sheffield, England Lex Luger vs. Jim Duggan
20 September 1997 One Night Only NEC Arena Birmingham, England The British Bulldog (c) vs. Shawn Michaels for the WWF European Championship
4 April, 1998 Mayhem in Manchester NYNEX Arena Manchester, England The Undertaker vs. Kane
6 December 1998 Capital Carnage London Arena London, England Stone Cold Steve Austin, Kane, Mankind and The Undertaker in a Fatal 4-Way match
16 May 1999 No Mercy Manchester Evening News Arena Manchester, England Stone Cold Steve Austin (c) vs. Triple H and The Undertaker Anything Goes Triple Threat match for the WWF Championship
2 October 1999 Rebellion (1999) National Indoor Arena Birmingham, England Triple H (c) vs. The Rock in a Steel Cage match for the WWF Championship
6 May 2000 Insurrextion (2000) Earls Court London, England The Rock (c) vs. Shane McMahon vs. Triple H in a Triple Threat match for the WWF Championship
2 December 2000 Rebellion (2000) Sheffield Arena Sheffield, England Kurt Angle (c) vs. Rikishi vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock in a Fatal 4-Way match for the WWF Championship
5 May 2001 Insurrextion (2001) Earls Court Exhibition Centre London, England The Two Man Power Trip (Stone Cold Steve Austin (c) and Triple H) vs. The Undertaker in a Handicap match for the WWF Championship
3 November 2001 Rebellion (2001) Manchester Arena Manchester, England Stone Cold Steve Austin (c) vs. The Rock for the WWF Championship
4 May 2002 Insurrextion (2002) Raw Wembley Arena London, England Triple H vs. The Undertaker
26 October 2002 Rebellion (2002) SmackDown Manchester Arena Manchester, England Brock Lesnar (c) and Paul Heyman vs. Edge in a Handicap match for the WWE Championship
7 June 2003 Insurrextion (2003) Raw Telewest Arena Newcastle, England Triple H (c) vs. Kevin Nash in a Street Fight match for the World Heavyweight Championship

Weekly television shows

After 2003, all-UK exclusive pay-per-view shows were stopped as WWE started to broadcast Raw and SmackDown from the UK in 2004. Due to the time change, all broadcasts were recorded and aired on tape delay. The first Raw broadcast from the United Kingdom was October 11, 2004, with a SmackDown! recording the following day. Beginning in 2005 WWE would record twice per year in the United Kingdom, once in the spring and once in the fall. In November 2008, WWE recorded two episodes of SmackDown. As of May 2019 all recordings have occurred in England, with the exception of November 2016 which took place at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland.

From 2006-2009 WWE's recording schedule in the United Kingdom included episodes of ECW.

2004-2010
Date Name Brand Venue City
11 October 2004 Raw Raw Manchester Evening News Arena Manchester, England
12 October 2004
Aired 14 October 2004		 SmackDown SmackDown Manchester Evening News Arena Manchester, England
25 April 2005 Raw Raw NEC Arena Birmingham, England
26 April 2005
Aired 28 April 2005		 SmackDown SmackDown NEC Arena Birmingham, England
21 November 2005 Raw Raw Hallam FM Arena Sheffield, England
22 November 2005
Aired 25 November 2005		 SmackDown SmackDown Hallam FM Arena Sheffield, England
24 April 2006 Raw Raw Wembley Arena London, England
25 April 2006
Aired 28 April 2006		 SmackDown SmackDown Wembley Arena London, England
13 November 2006 Raw Raw Manchester Evening News Arena Manchester, England
14 November 2006 ECW ECW Manchester Evening News Arena Manchester, England
14 November 2006
Aired 17 November 2006		 SmackDown SmackDown Manchester Evening News Arena Manchester, England
23 April 2007 Raw Raw Earls Court London, England
24 April 2007 ECW ECW Earls Court London, England
24 April 2007
Aired 27 April 2007		 SmackDown SmackDown Earls Court London, England
15 October 2007 Raw Raw National Indoor Arena Birmingham, England
16 October 2007 ECW ECW National Indoor Arena Birmingham, England
16 October 2007
Aired 19 October 2007		 SmackDown SmackDown National Indoor Arena Birmingham, England
14 April 2008 Raw Raw The O2 Arena London, England
15 April 2008 ECW ECW The O2 Arena London, England
15 April 2008
Aired 18 April 2008		 SmackDown SmackDown The O2 Arena London, England
10 November 2008 Raw Raw Manchester Evening News Arena Manchester, England
11 November 2008 ECW ECW Manchester Evening News Arena Manchester, England
11 November 2008
Aired 14 November 2008		 SmackDown SmackDown Manchester Evening News Arena Manchester, England
11 November 2008
Aired 21 November 2008		 SmackDown SmackDown Manchester Evening News Arena Manchester, England
20 April 2009 Raw Raw The O2 Arena London, England
21 April 2009 ECW ECW The O2 Arena London, England
21 April 2009
Aired 24 April 2009		 SmackDown SmackDown The O2 Arena London, England
9 November 2009 Raw Raw Sheffield Arena Sheffield, England
10 November 2009 ECW ECW Sheffield Arena Sheffield, England
10 November 2009
Aired 13 November 2009		 SmackDown SmackDown Sheffield Arena Sheffield, England
12 April 2010 Raw Raw The O2 Arena London, England
13 April 2010
Aired 16 April 2010		 SmackDown SmackDown The O2 Arena London, England
8 November 2010 Raw Raw Manchester Evening News Arena Manchester, England
9 November 2010
Aired 12 November 2010		 SmackDown SmackDown Manchester Evening News Arena Manchester, England

2011-present
Date Name Brand Venue City
18 April 2011 Raw Raw The O2 Arena London, England
19 April 2011
Aired 22 April 2011		 SmackDown SmackDown The O2 Arena London, England
7 November 2011 Raw Echo Arena Liverpool, England
8 November 2011
Aired 11 November 2011		 SmackDown Echo Arena Liverpool, England
16 April 2012 Raw The O2 Arena London, England
17 April 2012
Aired 20 April 2012		 SmackDown The O2 Arena London, England
5 November 2012 Raw Birmingham LG Arena Birmingham, England
6 November 2012
Aired 9 November 2012		 SmackDown Birmingham LG Arena Birmingham, England
22 April 2013 Raw The O2 Arena London, England
23 April 2013
Aired 26 April 2013		 SmackDown The O2 Arena London, England
11 November 2013 Raw Phones 4 U Arena Manchester, England
12 November 2013
Aired 15 November 2013		 SmackDown Phones 4 U Arena Manchester, England
19 May 2014 Raw The O2 Arena London, England
20 May 2014
Aired 23 May 2014		 SmackDown The O2 Arena London, England
10 November 2014 Raw Echo Arena Liverpool, England
11 November 2014
Aired 14 November 2014		 SmackDown Echo Arena Liverpool, England
13 April 2015 Raw The O2 Arena London, England
14 April 2015
Aired 16 April 2015		 SmackDown The O2 Arena London, England
9 November 2015 Raw Manchester Arena Manchester, England
10 November 2015
Aired 12 November 2015		 SmackDown Manchester Arena Manchester, England
18 April 2016 Raw The O2 Arena London, England
19 April 2016
Aired 21 April 2016		 SmackDown The O2 Arena London, England
7 November 2016 Raw Raw SSE Hydro Glasgow, Scotland
8 November 2016 SmackDown SmackDown SSE Hydro Glasgow, Scotland
8 May 2017 Raw Raw The O2 Arena London, England
9 May 2017 SmackDown SmackDown The O2 Arena London, England
6 November 2017 Raw Raw Manchester Arena Manchester, England
7 November 2017 SmackDown SmackDown Manchester Arena Manchester, England
14 May 2018 Raw Raw The O2 Arena London, England
15 May 2018 SmackDown SmackDown The O2 Arena London, England
5 November 2018 Raw Raw Manchester Arena Manchester, England
6 November 2018 SmackDown SmackDown Manchester Arena Manchester, England
13 May 2019 Raw Raw The O2 Arena London, England
14 May 2019 SmackDown SmackDown The O2 Arena London, England
8 November 2019
Aired 11 November 2019		 Raw Raw Manchester Arena Manchester, England
8 November 2019 SmackDown SmackDown Manchester Arena Manchester, England

NXT/NXT UK

On December 16, 2015, the WWE held their first NXT event in the UK, NXT TakeOver: London.[18] In January 2017, they returned for the first United Kingdom Championship Tournament,[19][20] with the second tournament in June 2018.[21][22] In May 2017 they also hosted a United Kingdom Championship Special from the UK.[23]

In a press conference at The O2 Arena on December 15, 2016, Triple H revealed that there would be a 16-man tournament to crown the inaugural WWE United Kingdom Champion. The tournament was held over a two-day period, January 14 and 15, 2017, and aired exclusively on the WWE Network. Tyler Bate won the inaugural tournament to become the first WWE United Kingdom Champion.[24] In August 2018 Rhea Ripley became the first NXT UK Women's Champion.[25] In January 2019, James Drake and Zack Gibson became the inaugural NXT UK Tag Team Champions.[26]

When the championship was unveiled in December 2016, it was announced to be the top championship of a new WWE Network show, produced in the United Kingdom.[27][28] However, it was not until mid-2018 when WWE formally established NXT UK as the brand for their United Kingdom division.[29][30] The brand's show, also titled NXT UK, had its first tapings in August, which began airing on October 17.[31] On January 12, 2019 the first live special episode of NXT UK aired, called NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool.[26][32]

Date Name Brand Venue City Main event
16 December 2015 NXT TakeOver: London NXT SSE Arena, Wembley Wembley, London, England Finn Bálor vs. Samoa Joe for the NXT Championship
14 January 2017 United Kingdom Championship Tournament NXT UK Empress Ballroom Blackpool, Lancashire, England Tyler Bate vs. Tucker
15 January 2017 Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne for the WWE United Kingdom Championship
7 May 2017

Aired 19 May

 United Kingdom Championship Special NXT UK Epic Studios Norwich, Norfolk, England Tyler Bate vs. Mark Andrews for the WWE United Kingdom Championship
18 June 2018

Air date 25 June

 United Kingdom Championship Tournament NXT Royal Albert Hall Kensington, London, England Zack Gibson vs. Travis Banks
18 June 2018

Air date 26 June

 NXT U.K. Championship NXT UK Royal Albert Hall Kensington, London, England Pete Dunne vs. Zack Gibson for the WWE United Kingdom Championship
12 January 2019 NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool NXT UK Empress Ballroom Blackpool, Lancashire, England Pete Dunne vs. Joe Coffey for the WWE United Kingdom Championship
31 August 2019 NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff NXT UK Motorpoint Arena Cardiff Cardiff, Wales Walter vs. Tyler Bate for the WWE United Kingdom Championship

Broadcast

WWE has been broadcast in the United Kingdom on the Sky series of television channels since the 1980s.[33] In 2014 WWE signed a 5-year renewal deal with Sky, to carry programs through the end of 2019,[34] which included adding WWE Main Event to the line up of shows carried.[35] In June 2019 BT Sport announced that from January 2020 they would be the home of WWE in the UK.[36]

The WWE Network launched in December 2014 in the United Kingdom.[37]

BT Sport
Name Day Channel
Raw Tuesdays BT Sport 1 HD
NXT UK Friday BT Sport 1 HD
NXT Thursdays BT Sport 1 HD
Smackdown Saturdays BT Sport 1 HD
Pay-per-views Mondays BT Sport Box Office HD

Channel 5

WWE is also shown on tape delay on Channel 5 since February 2020.[38] The weekly Monday Night Raw and Friday Night Smackdown are shown every Saturday and Sunday at 10:30AM. The shows are 1 hour highlights with advertisements. On Channel 5's Paramount Network channel, full episodes of NXT UK are shown every Thursday at 1AM with advertisements.[39] On My5, every episode of Total Divas and Miz and Mrs are available to watch with no extra cost.

Name Day Channel
Raw Highlights Sundays Channel 5
NXT UK Wednesdays Paramount Network
Smackdown Highlights Saturdays Channel 5
Miz and Mrs Online Exclusive My5
Total Divas Online Exclusive My5

WWE Performance Center

The second branch of the WWE Performance Center, located in Enfield, London, opened on January 11, 2019.[40]

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References
  1. "WWF @ London, England - Arena - October 10, 1989 (sell out)". The History of WWE.
  2. "UK Rampage 91 - London, England - Docklands Arena - April 24, 1991". The History of WWE.
  3. "WWF European Rampage Again Tour « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  4. "WWF UK Rampage 1993 « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  5. "Mayhem in Manchester". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  6. Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Card « WWF SummerSlam 1992 « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  7. "WWF One Night Only « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  8. "Capital Carnage Results". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2008-08-31.
  9. "Card « WWF No Mercy 1999 (UK) « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2019-05-15.
  10. "Historical Cards: Rebellion (October 2, 1999. Birmingham, England)". PWI Presents: 2007 Wrestling Almanak and book of facts. Kappa Publications. p. 155. 2007 Edition.
  11. "Historical Cards: Rebellion (December 2, 2000. Sheffield, England)". PWI Presents: 2007 Wrestling Almanak and book of facts. Kappa Publications. p. 156. 2007 Edition.
  12. "Historical Cards: Rebellion (November 3, 2001. Manchester, England)". PWI Presents: 2007 Wrestling Almanak and book of facts. Kappa Publications. p. 156. 2007 Edition.
  13. "Historical Cards: Rebellion (October 26, 2002. Manchester, England)". PWI Presents: 2007 Wrestling Almanak and book of facts. Kappa Publications. p. 157. 2007 Edition.
  14. "WWF Insurrextion 2000 « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  15. "WWF Insurrextion 2001 « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  16. "WWF Insurrextion 2002 « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  17. "WWE Insurrextion 2003 « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  18. "NXT TakeOver: London Times". Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  19. "WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament - Tag 1". Cagematch. Retrieved 2017-09-22.
  20. "WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament - Tag 2". Cagematch. Retrieved 2017-09-22.
  21. "WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament 2018 - Tag 1". cagematch.net. June 18, 2018. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  22. "WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament 2018 - Tag 2". cagematch.net. June 19, 2018. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  23. Csonka, Larry. "Csonka's WWE UK Championship Special Review 5.19.17". 411Mania. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
  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 January 15, 2017.
  25. "Major news from Sunday night's NXT UK tapings (CAUTION: SPOILERS)". WWE. Retrieved 2019-05-15.
  26. Powell, Jason. "1/12 Powell's NXT UK Takeover: Blackpool live review – Rhea Ripley vs. Toni Storm for the NXT UK Women's Championship, Pete Dunne vs. Joe Coffey for the WWE UK Championship, Trent Seven and Tyler Bate vs. Zack Gibson and James Drake to become the first NXT UK Tag Champions". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  27. Currier, Joseph (December 15, 2016). "WWE to crown first United Kingdom Champion in January". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  28. 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 December 15, 2016.
  29. "Johnny Saint named GM of WWE's United Kingdom brand". WWE. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
  30. "WWE announces Johnny Saint as UK brand general manager". 7 June 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  31. "NXT UK joins WWE Network's already packed Wednesday line-up". Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  32. Garoon, Brad. "NXT UK 26". Brad Garoon Dot Com. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  33. "WWE on BT Sport: Sky Sports to lose WWE coverage in the UK". Radio Times. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  34. "WWE UK TV rights heading to BT Sport - BT Sport". TV Newsroom. 2019-05-18. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  35. Nissim, Mayer (2014-01-30). "WWE signs new five-year deal with Sky". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
  36. "BT Sport and WWE announce new partnership in multi-year TV deal". BT Sport. Retrieved 2019-06-20.
  37. "WWE Network now available in the U.K. and Ireland". WWE. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
  38. "WWE Announces Channel 5 Highlights Deal. RAW and Smackdown Coming To Free Air TV". metro.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-01-20.
  39. "WWE announce big NXT UK TV Deal". whatculture.com. Retrieved 2020-01-20.
  40. "WWE opens London performance centre as part of international expansion". Sky Sports. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
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