NXT UK: new breath or death of UK Indy Wrestling

Hi guys,

It's been almost 24 hours (give or take) since WWE announced the NXT UK division and it's dividing UK fans and I'm pretty much one of them. WWE was the reason I got into wrestling and let me find all of these different UK promotions that I've become so invested in like Progess, ICW, Defiant, Future Shock and all so many more. 

We all know that WWE is trying to takeover the world and the UK is one of there biggest markets, so why wouldn't they want to create a more established brand after the initial UK division stopped the revival of World of Sport last year (or so the rumours say)? It's easy, WWE are smart and they know how popular wrestling is here in the UK so it seems natural to snap up some of the best talent and make use of them, the same talent which put the UK promotions on the map! They have success every time they come over here to put on shows and creating an exclusive brand is the best way to keep WWE dominance even without the main roster. This confirmation that WWE had a perfect market here was the success of the last two UK championships and they just used it to their advantage like any smart company would!

However, what does this mean for the UK Indy scene? We already know that tons of UK talent have been offered (and some accepted) a contract by WWE such as El Ligero, Travis Banks, Dave Mastif and loads more - what does that do for the promotions here in the UK if these superstars are signed with an exclusive WWE deal? We know there are some like Moustache Mountain who have contracts which allow them to work WWE and other promotions but it will definitely impact UK wrestling.
But will it be in a good or bad way? 

Here are some of the positives:

1. It will give UK talent more opportunities to live their dreams and be part of a company they grew up watching and wanted to work for.
2. A new kind of global spotlight will be put on the UK promotions because they'll want to know where these superstars came from and start watching old matches from other companies
3. All of this WWE investment must mean that they have bigger plans for the UK like PPVs or even a Wrestlemania which is great for WWE fans

4. It will show the rest of the world what we all know, that UK talent can put on some of the best matches you've ever seen and our talent can easily rival that of the US.

But, here are some of the negatives:

1. Are all of these new WWE UK superstar contracts going to be exclusive to UK NXT with a jam packed schedule?

2. With the amount of money WWE can offer the talent, it's going to be inevitable that some of the best UK superstars are going to go to WWE and it might lead them to the main roster

3. It has to impact the UK Indy scene in some way and, even if the talent aren't WWE exclusive, we know that NXT will take priority over any independent promotions which will impact the cards of these Indy show.

4. We know WWE are known for burying amazing talent. With all this talent they're getting, it's obvious that some of our favourite and most talented superstars are going to become jobbers, enhancement talent or not being allowed to shine!

As someone who got my love of wrestling from WWE, I thought this would excite me more but the negatives scare me a lot more. I know there are many wrestlers, like Rampage Brown, who have turned down contracts and loads who demand non-exclusivity but it's still scary and worrying. 

Maybe I'm being too negative and this might be one of the best things to happen! I also need to be semi-optimistic and have faith in the UK fans, the UK wrestlers and the other promotions that they will hold down the fort and not let all of these other promotions die or lose all of our best wrestlers to the 'Empire.' 

What does everyone else think about this announcement? Is the UK division going to breath a new sense of life into the UK Indy Wrestling scene or is it going to kill it... only time will tell!

Until Next Time

Bye!