United Kingdom Championship Tournament (2017)


United Kingdom Championship Tournament was a two-day professional wrestling event and tournament promoted by the American-based WWE promotion, that aired exclusively on the WWE Network. The first round took place on 14 January 2017, while the finals occurred on 15 January 2017. The tournament was held at the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool, Lancashire, England and crowned the inaugural WWE United Kingdom Champion.

Background

In a press conference at The O2 Arena on 15 December 2016, Triple H revealed that there would be a 16-man tournament to crown the inaugural WWE United Kingdom Champion. A United Kingdom Championship Tournament: Preview show aired on the WWE Network, on 9 January 2017, with a behind-the-scenes look at the creators of the event and the 16 competitors. The tournament was held over a two-day period, 14 and 15 January 2017, and aired exclusively on the WWE Network. The championship is now the top championship of the NXT UK WWE Network show, produced in the United Kingdom, that premiered on 17 October 2018.

Participants

Alternates

These competitors were initially announced for the tournament but weren't selected amongst the final 16. They were backup competitors if there were any injuries to the final 16, which there were not.
WrestlerHometownWeight
Tiger Ali Swindon, Wiltshire, England185
Ringo Ryan Liverpool, Merseyside, England198
Jack Starz Leicester, Leicestershire, England172
Chris Tyler Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England201

Results

14 January

15 January

Tournament bracket

On 9 January 2017, WWE.com announced the full bracket for the tournament.
The following time limits were in place:

Broadcast team

Aftermath

On 15 May 2017, a follow-up to the United Kingdom Championship tournament was announced by WWE, titled the United Kingdom Championship Special, the event aired on 19 May 2017. In April 2018, a second WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament was announced, to be held on 18 and 19 June 2018 at the Royal Albert Hall.