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Shade

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In Early January of 2017 the WWE Held a tournament exclusively in the United Kingdom to crown it's first ever WWE United Kingdom Champion. The tournament would of course culminate with Tyler Bate defeating Pete Dunne to become the first ever WWE UK Champion. Since that time a WWE brand has been long rumored for the UK featuring the finest talent from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. However for reasons unknown as the months began to pass there was little to no word at all in regards to the future of the United Kingdom Brand. While the championship was defended across NXT television and the roster featured now and then, it felt like the UK brand would never come into fruition.

Until now...



WWE UNITED KINGDOM > MALE SUPERSTARS

A-Kid - Adam Brooks - Adam Maxted - Alexander Wolfe - Angelico - Ashton Smith - Asher Hale - Bo Dallas - Cara Noir - Carlos Romo - Curtis Axel - Eddie Dennis - Fabian Aichner - Finn Bálor - Flash Morgan Webster - Francesco Akira - Gabriel Kidd - Gunther - Ilja Dragunov - JD Drake - Joe Hendry - Kassius Ohno - Killian Dain - Kyle Fletcher - Ludwig Kaiser -Mark Andrews - Mark Davis - Michael Oku - Mike Kanellis - Nathan Cruz - Pete Dunne - Spike Trivet - Suge D - Teoman - Tony Nese - Trent Seven - Tyler Bate - Zack Gibson



WWE UNITED KINGDOM > FEMALE SUPERSTARS

Amale - Candy Floss - Hyan - Indi Hartwell - Isla Dawn - Jessi Kamea - Jinny - Kanji - Lana Austin - Laura Di Matteo - Millie McKenzie - Nina Samuels - Raquel Lourenço - Santana Garrett - Session Moth Martina - Steph De Lander - Tegan Nox - Toni Storm - Xia Brookside



WWE UNITED KINGDOM > TAG TEAMS & STABLES

Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) - Australia's Hottest Commodities (Indi Hartwell and Steph De Lander) - British Strong Style (Pete Dunne, Trent Seven & Tyler Bate)- The Foreign Legion (Amale, Francesco Akira & Ludwig Kaiser) - The House of Couture (Jinny, Lana Austin & Nina Samuels) - The Throne (Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel, Mike Kanellis and Tony Nese) - Team WhiteWolf (A-Kid & Carlos Romo) - Work Horsemen (Asher Hale and JD Drake)




WWE UNITED KINGDOM > ON-AIR TALENT

Andy Shepherd (Ring Announcer) - Anthony Ogogo (Guvnor of WWE UK) - Isla Dawn (Valet of Jayde and Teoman) - Joanna Rose (Backstage Correspondent) - John Gooden (Play-by-play Anyalst) - Katy Lees (valet of Nathan Cruz) - Maria Kanellis (Valet of Mike Kanellis) - Mariah May (valet of Team Whitewolf) - Nigel McGuinness (Representative of Gunther) - Ridge Holland (Bodyguard of Spike Trivet) - Simon Miller (Backstage Correspondent) - Wade Barrett (Color Commentator)




WWE UNITED KINGDOM > REFEREES

Artemis Ortygie - Chris Sharpe - Darryl Sharma - Thomas Scarborough




latest




WWE UK PERFORMANCE CENTER > MALE RECRUITS

Brady Phillips - Brendan White - Callum Newman - Charles Crowley - Charlie Dempsey - Charlie Sterling - Chris Brookes - Connor Mills - Damien Corvin - Danny Jones - David Finlay - Dereiss Gordon - Dover - Elton Prince - Ender Kara - Greg Burridge - Harry Smith - Icarus - Iestyn Rees - Jack Morris - Joao Santos - Joel Redman - Kez Evans - Kid Lykos - Kip Sabian - Kit Nelson - Levi Muir - Mark Billington - Mike D. Vecchio - Nathan Frazer - Nick Riley - Norman Harras - Oro Mensah - Ricky Knight Jr - Riley Osborne - Tate Mayfairs - Tom Billington - Xyon Quinn - Zak Zodiac




WWE UK PERFORMANCE CENTER > FEMALE RECRUITS

Aleah James - Amber Nova - Amira Blair - Aoife Valkyrie - Ava Everett - Ava White - Baby Allison - Betty Rose - Blair Davenport - Blair Onyx - Claudia Bradstone - Debbie Keitel - Eliza Alexander - Eliza Roux - Emersyn Jayne - Giulia - Harley Hudson - Helena Sixt - Iva Kolasky - Ivy Phillips - Jamie Hayter - LA Taylor - Maria De La Rosa - Masha Slamovich - Mercerdez Blaze - Monica Passeri - Myla Grace - Natalia Markova - Orsi - Rachel Ellering - Regina Rosenthal - Sadie Gibbs - Sara Leon - Stevie Turner - Thekla



WWE UK PERFORMANCE CENTER > COACHES
April Davids - Danny Burch - Dave Finlay - Dave Taylor - Doug Williams - Jetta - Jody Fleisch - Johnny Moss - Kasey Owens - Robbie Brookside - Wesna Busic




WWE UNITED KINGDOM > HALL OF CHAMPIONS
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#

CHAMPION

EVENT

LOCATION

DATE

DURATION

01

Tyler Bate

WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament

Blackpool, England

January 15, 2017

126 days

02

Pete Dunne

NXT Takeover: Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

May 20, 2017

421 days

03

Travis Banks

WWE UK - Episode 37

Dublin, Ireland

July 14, 2018

209 days

04

Fabian Aichner

WWE UK Showcase IV

Cardiff, Wales

February 07, 2019

227 days

05

Finn Bálor

WWE UK Showcase: Sydney

Sydney, Australia

September 21, 2019

283 days
06
Spike Trivet
EPISODE #138
London, England
June 29, 2020
Current



WWEUKTag-Team.png

#

CHAMPIONS

EVENT

LOCATION

DATE

DURATION

01

The Coffey Brothers
(Joe & Mark Coffey)

WWE UK - Episode 06

Blackpool, England

December 22, 2017

413 days

02

British Strong Style
(Pete Dunne & Trent Seven)

WWE UK Showcase IV

Cardiff, Wales

February 07, 2019

297 days

03

Aussie Open
(Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis)

Rebellion

Newcastle, England

November 30, 2019

Current



WWEUKWomens.png

#

CHAMPION

EVENT

LOCATION

DATE

DURATION

01

Tegan Nox

WWE UK Showcase II

Glasgow, Scotland

June 06, 2018

536 days

02

Jinny

War of Attrition

Nottingham, England

November 23, 2019

Current



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(NOT OFFICIALLY SANCTIONED)

#

CHAMPION

EVENT

LOCATION

DATE

DURATION

01

Timothy Thatcher

WWE UK Showcase IV

Cardiff, Wales

February 07, 2019

353 days

02

Kassius Ohno

WWE UK Showcase VII

Birmingham, England

January 25. 2020

Current
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#

CHAMPION

EVENT

LOCATION

DATE

DURATION

01

Gunther

WWE European Title Tournament

London, England

May 26, 2020

Current
 
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Shade

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So this is a thread I have run on another forum since 2017. There is a lot of history to cover over with the shows and my goal is to actually recap all the goings on over a series of posts between the big UK Showcases (Think NXT Takeovers). My goal is to have the first chapter up in the next few days
 

Gambit

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Nice to see you here, Shade!!
 

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Shade

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Bookers Note: So I am going to use this post to do a little world building ahead of a series of recaps I'll do about the history of my booker. Roughly there will be about seven recaps in total before the first show is posted. These will span Showcase (Think NXT Takeover) to Showcase in the course of a timeline. I'll be also happy to answer any questions as we go, Now this post as well is not only going to feature a big advertisement of a future show coming up but updates on some new events coming as well as some of the prior world building I did. Because in this world I created WWE basically did an NXT territorial system with NXT Japan, Mexico and India all becoming a thing.

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WWE UK NEWS - UPDATES ON OTHER BRANDS
NXT JAPAN

Tatsumi Fujinami - NXT Japan Match Maker
Katsuya Ichikawa - Play by Play
Fuka Kakimoto - Color Commentary
Shoichi Funaki - Backstage Interviewer
Aika Ando - Ring Announcer
Mio Shirai - Referee


Akira Tozawa
Ben-K
Boa - Sent on Excursion by NXT
CIMA
Daichi Hashimoto
Daisuke Sekimoto
Dante Chen - Sent on Excursion by NXT
Dick Togo - Also acting as one of the head trainers of the Japanese performance Center
EITA
El Linderman
Go Shiozaki
Hideki Suzuki
Hirooki Goto
Ikemen Jiro
Kaito Kiyomiya
Katsuya Kitamura
Kaz Hayashi - Also one of the trainers at the Japanese performance center
Kazuki Hashimoto
Kento Miyahara
Konosuke Takeshita
Kushida
Masaaki Mochizuki
Minoru Suzuki
Puma (TJ Perkins)
Ru Feng - Sent on Excurstion by NXT
Shigehiro Irie
Takashi Suguira
Tajiri
Taka Michinoku - NXT Japan head coach
T-Hawk
Yamato
Yuji Okabayashi

Arisa Hoshiki
Dash Chisako
Erica Yan - Sent on excursion by NXT
Giulia
Hiroyo Matsumoto
Io Shirai
Kairi Sane
Mayu Iwatani
Meiko Satomura
Nagisa Nozaki
Natsu Sumire
Reika Saiki
Sarray
Syuri Kondo
Tam Nakano

Champions
NXT Japan Heavyweight Champion: Minoru Suzuki
NXT Japan Junior Heavyweight Champion: T-Hawk
NXT Japan Tag Team Champions: Daisuke Sekimoto and Yuji Okabayashi
NXT Women's Tag Team Champion: Io Shirai
NXT MEXICO
Luis Fernandes Gil - General Manager
Angela Fong - Ring Announcer
Karlee Perez - Valet of Ricky Banderas
Hugo Savavonovich - Play by Play
Carlos Cabrera - Commentator
Marcelo Rodriguez - Commentator
Shaul Guerrero
Dasha Fuentes - Backstage Interviewer

Alejandro Saenz
Angel Del Oro
Angel Garza
Arturo Ruas
Averno
Bandido Jr
Bestia 666
Black Taurus
Cezar Bononi
Cruz Del Toro
Dominick Mysterio
Drago
El Hijo de Dr Wagner Jr
El Hijo del Vikingo
Flamita
Gran Metalik
Humberto Carillo
Joaquin Wilde
Kalisto
Laredo Kid
Lince Dorado
Puma King
Rey Horus
Ricky Banderas
Santos Escobar
Texano Jr

Catalina Garcia
Chik Tormenta
Elektra Lopez
Lady Shani
Ivelisse Velez
La Hiedra
Lady Flamer
Lady Maravilla
Lady Shani
Mercedes Martinez
Princesca Sugehit
Priscila Zuniga
Marti Belle
Star Fire
Taynara Conti
Thunder Rosa
Valentina Feroz
Vanilla Vargas
Yulisa Leon
Zeuxis

Champions
NXT Mexico Heavyweight Champion: Santos Escobar
NXT Mexico Light Heavyweight Champion: Bandido Jr
NXT Mexico Trios Champions: Rey Horus, Laredo Kid and Flamita
NXT Mexico Women's Champion: Ivelisse Velez
NXT INDIA

Gama Singh - Color Commentator
Moein Al Bastaki - Ring Announcer
Nathalie Mammo - Play by Play
Salil Acharya - Play by Play
Madonna Tixera - Backstage Correspondent
The Great Khali - General Manager

Apu Signh
Ariya Daivari
Baliyan Akki
Bhupinder Singh
Dilsher Shanky
Guru Raaj
Jeet Rama
Jinder Mahal
Jora Johl
Kamesh Koshale
Kishan Raftar
Mahabali Shera
Mansoor
Rajpoot Rudra
Raj Singh
Rohan Raja
Rohit Raji
Samar Singh
Sanga
Shawn Daivari
Sonjay Dutt
Sunil Singh
Veer Mahan
Vikas Kumar

Alexis Lee
Ariella
Cheeni Alia
Crystal
Elita
Kavita Devi
Mephisto
Mona
Ramona
Tyra

Champions
NXT India Champion: Jinder Mahal
NXT Flyweight Champion: Mansoor
NXT India Tag Team Champions: Ariya and Shawn Daivari
NXT India Women's Champion: Kavita Devi
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EUROPEAN TITLE TOURNAMENT BRACKET REVEALED
Following our next Showcase event we know that a tournament is set to take place to crown a new WWE European Champion. This will be the first time that the title will be competed for since 2002. The tournament is set to feature a variety of names from all across the European wrestling scene as well as some notable faces from Raw, Smackdown, NXT and of course WWE UK. As we know this multi night event will be filmed from the Lyceum Theatre in the West End of London. While on commentary for this special night will be Andy Shepherd, William Regal and Johnny Saint. It can also be confirmed that handling the ring announcement duties for this night will be Whatculture's Simon Miller. The opening round for the tournament has been put below.

"Der Ring General" WALTER vs. "The Predator Slayer" Oliver Carter
"The Arrow of Hungary" Icarus vs. "The Spanish Heartthrob" Angelico
"Guerrier Du Peuple" Senza Volto vs. "Il Ragazzo Prodigio" Francesco Akira​
"The Bulgarian Brute" Rusev vs. "The Kiwi Express" Dylan James
"The French Phenom" Rene Dupree vs. "The Falcon" Kris Jokic
"The Local Hero" Joe Hendry vs. "Unbesiegbar" Ilja Dragunov
"The Last Sick Boy" Rory Coyle vs. "Bad Bones" John Klinger
"The Celtic Warrior" Sheamus vs. "Bomber" Dave Mastiff
"Untamable" Emil Sitoci vs. "The Big" Omari
"The Swiss Cyborg" Cesaro vs. "The Hitta" Malik
"The Black Swan" Cara Noir vs. "The Russian Holigan" Alex Kozlov
"The Human Torture Device" Doug Williams vs. "The Bambi Killer" Chris Raaber
"The OJMO" Michael Oku vs. "El Sanguinario Frances" Heddi Karaoui
"The Ninja Warrior" Marius Al-Ani vs. "The Polish Pit Bull" David Oliwa
"The King of Smoke Style" Bobby Gunns vs. Adrian "The Perfect" Storm
"The American Destroyer" Dominik Dijakovic vs. "The Wildman" Heimo Ukonselka
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BRITISH BULLDOG TAG TEAM CLASSIC II Confirmed

Last year a tournament was announced in honor of one of the UK Wrestling scenes greatest tag teams the British Bulldogs. Featuring 32 tag teams from all over the globe, slowly the field would be whittled down until one team remained this being Aussie Open. From there of course Aussie Open as per the reward for winning this tournament would challenge for and win the UK Tag Team Championships from British Strong Style on Night One of Rebellion.

It can now be confirmed that a second iteration of this tournament will be taking place albeit with a massive difference in comparison to the first. For this time around we will see 32 tag teams comprised of some of the most talented women's wrestlers across the globe do battle. While dates for the tournament have yet to be confirmed, it is believed that it will take place sometime after this showcase and that the winners will receive a shot at the WWE Women's tag team championships which are currently held by Sasha Banks and Bayley. With that we can announce the teams set to participate in this tournament and they are as followed...

Aleah James and Kanji
Alex Windsor and Emersyn Jane
Australia's Hottest Commodities (Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta)
Borne N Bouji (Aliyah and Vanessa Borne)
Candy Floss and Xia Brookside
Chantal Jordan and Dani Luna
Cyber Squad (Stevie Turner and Zoe Lucas)
Emma and Toni Storm
Female Fight Factory (Laura Di Matteo and Raquel Lourenco)
Filthy Generation (Kay Lee Ray and Session Moth Martina)
Four Nations (Jessica Troy and Shazza McKenzie)
Gisele Shaw and Shanna
Iconic Duo (Billie Kay and Peyton Royce)
Isla Dawn and Jayde
Katana Chance and Kayden Carter
Liverbirds (Angel Hayze and Eliza Alexander)
LUX (Kingsley and Xena)
Medusa Complex (Charli Evans and Millie McKenzie)
Mercedez Blaze and Taonga
Nikki Cross and Piper Niven
Oedo Tai (Blair Davenport and Jamie Hayter)
She-Wolves (Kasey Owens and Rhio)
Shotzi Blackheart and Xia Li
Team Kick (Dakota Kai and Tegan Nox)
The House of Couture (Lana Austin and Nina Samuels)
The Red Devil Fight Club (Blair Onyx and Natalia Markova)
The Red Devil Fight Club (Leyla Hirsch and Masha Slamovich)
The Robert Stone Brand (Franky Money and Jessie Kamea)
The Royal Aces (Charlie Morgan and Jetta)
The Uprising (Rhia O'Reilly and Skye Smitson)
VXT (Chelsea Green and Deonna Purrazzo)
Woke Queens (Aoife Valkyrie and Debbie Keitel)
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WWE SHOWCASE NEWS​

While rumors had previously indicated that the WWE UNITED KINGDOM BRAND may have been looking to make a future WWE showcase, a two night spectacular. It was with William Regal's guest appearance on this past week's edition of WWE UK that we had it confirmed that this was in fact a reality. As in the words of Mr. Regal it was based on the ongoing power struggle between Katarina and Wade Barrett that WWE management has elected to make this coming Showcase a two day event in tribute to the War of the Roses. Also confirmed by Mr. Regal for this event would be a series of matches between Wade and Katarina's forces with only one of the management executives remaining following these events.

DAY #1 LANCASTER

MAZUMA STADIUM | MORCOMBE, LANCASTER

ROYAL AFFAIR
"THE KING" MIKE KANELLIS VS. "THE LOCAL HERO" JOE HENDRY

A QUEEN'S GAMBIT
"THE RED QUEEN" ISLA DAWN VS. "TWISTED SISTER" NIKKI CROSS

TEAM WADE VS. TEAM KATARINA
5 ON 5 MEN'S TAG TEAM MATCH
"THE PINNACLE" WADE BARRETT, "THE NEXT LEVEL" FABIAN AICHNER AND 3 PARTNERS VS. "THE REAL ROCK 'N' ROLLA" FINN BALOR AND 4 PARTNERS

DAY #2 YORK


YORK COMMUNITY STADIUM | HUNTINGTON, YORK

WWE UK TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
AUSSIE OPEN ("AUSSIE ARROW" KYLE FLETCHER AND "DUNKZILLA" MARK DAVIS) (c) VS. OPUS DEI (MARK COFFEY AND "THE SCOTTISH SUPERNOVA" NOAM DAR)

JUST ANNOUNCED
"THE 1%" EC3 VS. "THE SOVREIGN LORD" SPIKE TRIVET

TEAM WADE VS. TEAM KATARINA
5 ON 5 WOMEN'S TAG TEAM MATCH
"THE SCARLET WITCH" KATARINA LEIGH AND 4 PARTNERS VS. "THE FASHIONISTA" JINNY AND 4 PARTNERS
EPISODE #128
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
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ADAM BROOKS AND FLASH MORGAN WEBSTER VS. RIDDICK MOSS AND TINO SABBATELLI
Having been announced this past week, it can be confirmed that the opening match of this coming week's show will be a tag team match. As the duo of Adam Brooks and Morgan Webster unite once more to take on a pair of mercenaries brought in by Maria Kanellis. This duo will be the money hungry, world class athletes Riddick Moss and Tino Sabbatelli. How will Brooks and Flash fare against this duo?
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ANDRE TYSON VS. ILJA DRAGUNOV
With tension and bad blood building for weeks between the duo. We will now see Ilja Dragunov do battle with Andre Tyson. Tyson of course is the ruthless hit man for Wade Barrett and while we've not seen much of him in the ring so far. His reputation very much precedes him as a fearsome combatant. This time however he will face a man who not only isn't intimidated of the fight but who welcomes it in what promises to be a violent affair.
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HOUSE OF COUTURE IN ACTION
Berated by their employer this past week for what she deemed to be an embarrassing loss to Kanji and Laura Di Matteo the week previous. The pressure is on for the duo of Nina Samuels and Lana Austin this week as they step into the ring in an effort to impress their boss. Will they be able to appease the fashionista?
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CURTIS AXEL VS. JOE HENDRY
With his match against Mike Kanellis set to be taking place at the upcoming Showcase. It can be confirmed that this week Joe Hendry will step into the ring to battle one of the knights of the Throne Curtis Axel. Axel of course is a multi generational talent and former intercontinental champion who is a highly regarded in ring technician. Making him quite the test for Joe Hendry as he stands against the throne.
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THE RED QUEEN'S DEBUT!
For over a year the UK Brand has been enchanted by the high priestess of Wonderland. Known by many as the Red Queen. Isla Dawn has of course led many of her soldiers and kingdom into battle. Yet lately the Queen has shown a willingness to get her hands dirty. With this coming week's show set to feature her in ring debut!
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A TOP ONE PERCENT RETURN!
Finally we can confirm with this show that EC3 will be making his return to the brand. It has been a few weeks since EC3 was set up and assaulted by the duo of Ridge Holland and Spike Trivet. So it can be rest assured that the man known as the top one percent will have a lot to get off of his chest.
 

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Shade

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WWE UK PRELUDE
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THE WWE UK STORY
ACT I - The British are coming!
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Following the historic WWE United Kingdom Title tournament in early 2017. There was murmurs and rumors regarding a potential WWE European expansion. While to some this may have been designed to combat a fledgling World of Sport promotion. To others it was believed as per the brainchild of Triple H's revamp of NXT. This would be WWE's attempt to truly enter the UK as well as European Market. Before an electric crowd on this 2 night event fans would witness Tyler Bate be victorious as he was named the first ever UK Champion. Yet as history would write, Tyler Bate's reign wouldn't last as long as he'd hope as he'd fall months later to Pete Dunne. However while Bate may have not held the title for as long as he or fans would have liked. His thrilling contest against Dunne would further open eyes in regards to just what the UK had to offer.

This is why by the very end of that year the WWE would return to the UK for another special show. This time however it wouldn't be another tournament. Instead it would be the arrival of WWE's newest show, WWE UK. Promising to feature the best talent that the UK had to offer. It was no surprise that for this venture the WWE would not only opt to have the show take place at the Empress Ballroom where the tournament took place. Yet they'd also opt to have this venue in Blackpool act as their home base with the UK Brand's weekly shows all being filmed from the Ballroom. With a location set and the shows airing exclusively on the WWE Network on a Friday evening. The brand would quickly follow up by unveiling it's on air personnel.

Acting as a ring announcer for the brand would be Andy Shepherd. Shepherd of course previously acted as the ring announcer for the UK Championship tournament earlier in the year. Joining Andy in acting as one of the key voices for the brand would be presenter, sports commentator and announcer John Gooden. With John Gooden taking the role of play by play announcer the question of who would be taking the role of color would soon be answered. This of course would be UK wrestling veteran and pioneer Doug Williams. The Veteran very much would not only offer technical analysis on what was taking place in the ring but would also provide background for many of the talents involved having either wrestled against or partly trained many of the roster. Meanwhile acting as a backstage correspondent for the brand would be actress turned wrestling personality Joanna Rose who was always looking to chase up a lead. As for the question about who would be leading the brand, that was a question which would be answered on the first show.
The Champion
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Unsurprisingly prominent focus throughout the UK brand especially in the early days would be about just who would be challenging the UK Champion Pete Dunne. Shown to be an enigmatic individual, someone who was completely unpredictable. Pete Dunne very much followed a long list of stars who were as talented as they was troublesome. An exceptional professional wrestler capable of mixing it up with the best that the world has to offer, Pete Dunne unsurprisingly based on this attitude had very few fans in the back or in the crowd or that matter. This is why the first episode of the brand would open by Dunne not only being confronted by old foes and former friends Tyler Bate and Trent Seven but also by rising stars Mark Andrews and Wolfgang. All of whom were vying for a shot at the UK Championship. This confrontation would lead to the unveil of the UK Brand's general manager Katarina Leigh.

10 Worst Women's Gimmicks In WWE History – Page 10


The Former WWE diva and manager would perhaps not be anyone's first choice for the role. With some names in early speculation being Nigel McGuinness, Johnny Saint and William Regal. Katarina would soon prove to be an inspired choice for the role. Shown to a fair and capable leader who was unafraid to make at times unpopular or hard decisions. Katarina would kick off her first night on the job with the announcement of a fatal fourway to crowd Pete Dunne's first title challenger. This would lead to Wolfgang being victorious and being named the first opponent for the UK Champion. A tough and gritty individual who was looking to establish himself as a top contender. Wolfgang unfortunately would be the first to find that there was no depths that Pete Dunne would stoop in order to retain his title. As following a bump of referee Thomas Scarborough. Dunne took full advantage with a low blow to set up a Bitter End.

This victory earned the champion few fans with Doug Williams in particular not in the slightest impressed with what he had seen from the Champion. Yet while Doug Williams may have vocalized his disgust for what he had seen from Pete Dunne. The Champion would find some contenders looking to punish him for his actions. The first of which would be Wolfgang who was vying for another shot at the champion. Yet during their second clash which was all the more heated thanks to the ensuing bad blood. Pete Dunne again proved himself willing to resort to questionable tactics as this time he'd go for the eyes of Wolfgang during a chokehold while Wolfgang desperately looked to go for the ropes. This would force Wolfgang to submit to a triangle choke as he would try and fight Dunne's attack on his face.

While Pete Dunne may have been relieved to have thwarted Wolfgang albeit further earning disdain from the audience, the locker room and even Doug Williams. Dunne soon found himself with a dangerous opponent as BT Gunn unable to hide his disgust at Pete Dunne's actions. A hard hitting individual like his ally but also a skilled ring technician. It was in BT Gunn that Pete Dunne appeared to meet his match, especially as we'd see that the champion didn't fully seem to be focused on BT Gunn. Instead he was distracted as Pete Dunne appeared to be clashing with Doug Williams based on Doug's critiques of Dunne's actions. True to form however as we've come to expect from the Bruiserweight, he'd begin to mock Doug and taunt him at any opportunity as he looked to intimidate the veteran. Yet at the same time he would take his eyes off of BT Gunn allowing BT Gunn to pin him in non title match.

This would all lead to a title match between Pete Dunne and BT Gunn during which Gunn seemed to have Dunne's number throughout the match. Any attempt at foul play would be thwarted and Gunn managed to pick up numerous near falls. Yet in the end there was one approach that Gunn wasn't ready for and this would be Pete Dunne bringing the UK Championship belt into play. For while the referee would block Dunne using the belt. What he failed to see was Dunne driving BT Gunn into an exposed ring post before following up with the Chaos Theory German Suplex to finish his foe off. While this brought an end to Pete Dunne's clashes with BT Gunn, Dunne's post match attacked proved to be the straw which broke the camel's back as Doug Williams came from behind the desk and would throw the champion down to the canvas.

While Pete Dunne retreated from the ring, the out fall from this would see Katarina Leigh chastise Doug Williams for his actions. Reminding Doug that he was signed to the brand on a announcers contract not as talent. Williams would be forced to watch on as for weeks Pete Dunne would continue to mock him and go well over the line in what tactics he'd use against opponents. All of this built until Pete Dunne defeated one of Doug's close personal friends Danny Burch again with the chaos theory. Post match Dunne looked set to punish Burch further but Williams would again enter the ring and attack Dunne. Yet as we'd soon find the following week this wasn't the end of their battles with fan cam footage showing a vicious attack on Doug Williams in the parking lot following the event by the champion. Having seen enough of these battles Katarina Leigh for one night would allow Doug Williams to step in the ring as he'd challenge Pete Dunne for the UK Championship.

Before this match however Katarina would allow Williams one tune up match which saw Doug Williams face off with veteran Joey Hayes. In this match we'd see no signs of ring rush from the Anarchist who would eventually pick up the win following his Chaos Theory finishing mood. Unfortunately for Williams any celebration would soon be cut short thanks to a blindside attack by Pete Dunne. On the day of their big match an emotional Williams would cut a heartfelt reflective promo on how far UK wrestling had come. Williams remarked in this promo that while his better days maybe past him. He still has enough in him to humble Pete Dunne and give him a wrestling lesson on humility tonight. During this match we'd see Williams very much show himself to be as good as he ever was as he came close to putting Dunne away on several occasions. Yet in this match we'd see just how good Pete Dunne could be as after a lot of work on Doug's shoulder, Dunne managed to toss Williams' shoulder first into the ring post countering a Chaos Theory attempt before finishing his opponent with the Bitter End.

While Dunne may have proven once again that he was an elite level talent in between the ropes. His attitude and behavior would leave a lot to be desired as the next week Doug Williams called for Pete Dunne to come down to the ring. While Dunne would follow this request and listen as Doug offered him praise. He would refuse Williams' handshake and instead leave the ring without a word. Following this match with Williams, Dunne would follow up with a hard hitting victory over Tyson T-Bone. Yet just as questions began to be raised if anyone could pose a threat to the champion. This would be until an old rival Tyler Bate would come out following this match having been announced the new number one contender following a recent multi man match victory. Bate and Dunne would stare down as their match would be announced to take part at the very first UK Showcase. An event very much designed to be reminiscent of NXT Takeover. The build for this match would very much focus on their history with one another. During the match however just as it seemed like we'd have a new champion crowned, Tyler Bate would be double crossed and met with a low blow by his friend and mentor Trent Seven. This allowed a stunned Pete Dunne to pick up the victory and retain his championship to close Showcase!
A mountain crumbled!
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The story of Trent Seven and Tyler Bate in the UK Brand leading to this betrayal is one which very much goes back years. If you'd have asked Tyler Bate before the events of Showcase how he felt about Trent Seven, he'd tell you that Trent was his mentor and best friend in the business. Yet more so Tyler Bate would have also described Trent Seven very much as a father figure. In return if you asked Trent Seven about Tyler Bate, he'd describe him as his prized pupil and someone who he greatly considered a son. To put a point on where possibly this relationship could have took a turn. One might look back to that opening night of the UK Brand during that fatal four way between Bate, Andrews, Wolfgang and Seven. During the match Seven appeared to have things won with the seven stars lariat on Andrews only for Bate to wipe them both out with a crossbody block by the ropes which put both men out of the ring allowing Wolfgang to hit the match winning Howling on Andrews.

While this may have caused some dissension or tension soon they'd be back on the same size as the UK Brand sought to crown it's first ever UK Tag Team Champions. Following a first round victory over Experiment in Terror (Elijah and LK Mezinger) in the opening round and following up on that with a defeat of Alan Lee Travis and Hakan. It seemed that Bate and Seven were firmly on the same page. Yet during their next match against the pair of Chris Ridgeway and Sha Samuels. We'd see some tension begin to arise with the pair before they'd finally defeat their opponents and make it to the semi finals against Kid Lykos and Chris Brookes. Here we'd see their miscommunication truly fail them as Lykos managed to roll up Seven and eliminate Moustache Mountain from the tournament. This would then lead to Seven storming backstage leaving Bate behind in the ring.

The very next week however Seven was apologetic as he said that emotions had gotten the best of him. With that the pair agreed that for now they'd focus on their singles careers as they looked to get back on track. Yet as we'd soon see both men would very much have some varying success. Because while Tyler Bate would pick up some impressive victories over names like Dave Mastiff, Jack Jester, Chris Ridgeway and Eddie Dennis. We'd see Trent Seven have alternating success as while he'd pick up victories against Roy Johnson and Dan Moloney. He'd suffer defeats at the hands of Kenny Williams, Zack Gibson and BT Gunn. Yet following his loss to BT Gunn, Seven soon found himself met by one Jordan Devlin. A brash individual Devlin relished in Seven's defeat and mocked him for proving that he simply wasn't good enough. This served to infuriate Seven who challenged Devlin to a match.

Unfortunately for Seven during this match he'd suffer an injury to his knee which allowed Devlin to capitalize and land a spin kick for the victory. In the post match Devlin would stomp several times over on Seven's knee until Tyler Bate rushed out to save his friend. While Bate would find himself on a collision course with Devlin over the next few weeks. Seven as we'd learn would only have suffered a minor injury leading to just a few weeks out of the ring. Devlin however wouldn't let up as he brashly accused Seven of playing ill to let his more talented young boy do the work for him. In the main event of the very same show Tyler Bate would defeat Jordan Devlin in singles action all the while Trent Seven watched on from ringside. Yet it would appear that a slight disconnect was forming as Devlin despite his loss continued to mock Seven while Bate earned number one contendership with victory over Wolfgang, BT Gunn, Dave Mastiff, Eddie Dennis and Sha Samuels in a 6 pack challenge.

While Bate would begin focusing on his match with Dunne it appeared that Seven looked to prove himself. Following a couple of wins over Adam Maxted, Oliver Grey and Lionheart. Trent Seven the week before the showcase would shockingly beg Tyler Bate for a match that night. Seeking to prove something to the world Trent's challenge would be met with hesitancy by Bate but in the end he'd accept out of respect for his friend before defeating Seven that very evening. With this loss Seven again would be taunted by Devlin setting up a rematch between the two at the Showcase. With Seven coming close to winning until Devlin countered a burning hammer attempt with a rake of the eyes before following up with Ireland's call for the win. Of course as we'd soon find Seven's night wouldn't be over as he'd shockingly betray Tyler Bate in the main event costing him the UK Championship.
The Aces in the pack!
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When it comes to the UK Brand, many weren't surprised to quickly see Tyler Bate and Pete Dunne establish themselves right at the top of the mountain. Yet as WWE UK would go in week by week, we'd see more than a few rising stars begin to make a name for themselves. The first of course being "The Irish Ace" Jordan Devlin. A cold and calculated individual Jordan Devlin proved himself to be a master manipulator outside of the ring as he often would get in the heads of his opponents before matches leading to plenty of success in the early parts of his run. This would include victories over Tyson T-Bone, BT Gunn, Morgan Webster and Tucker. Yet we'd quickly see that Devlin had far greater heights in mind as he began to taunt and goad Trent Seven. Perhaps seeing a way to propel himself over Tyler Bate by first injuring his mentor, Devlin very much achieved the first part of this plan with his win over Seven. Unfortunately for him he'd soon be dispatched by Tyler Bate leading to Devlin seemingly going out of his way to torment and torture Trent Seven until their match at Showcase. Before a booing audience Jordan Devlin would pick up another victory over Seven, putting momentum firmly on his side out of this showcase.

Devlin of course wouldn't be the only name with building momentum as we'd see two men featured on the first show Mark Andrews and Wolfgang go from strength to strength despite setbacks in their UK title aspirations. Both would begin to find some success thanks the arrival of some friends as Andrews would not only have success teaming with his ally Morgan Webster but also with rising star Kenny Williams. Meanwhile Wolfgang would find himself with a valuable ally in his Bad Company ally BT Gunn. Because while both men had setbacks in singles competition they would make it to the semi finals of the tag team title tournament before eventually falling to the Coffey brothers. Yet they wouldn't have to look hard for a new fight as the pair would be attacked by Clint Margera and Jimmy Havoc setting up future tag team collisions.

Another standout albeit for different reasons would be Adam Maxted. A brash, inexperienced reality TV star. Maxted would come into the brand with all the arrogance in the world. Yet we'd soon see that despite his chiseled looks and ego, in the ring success wouldn't translate as Maxted fell in matches against Kenny Williams, Morgan Webster, Ashton Smith, Dave Mastiff and countless others. While Maxted seemingly couldn't win the respect of the fans or many in the locker room. Towards the UK Showcase it appeared he had won respect from Doug Williams who sought to mentor Maxted only for Maxted to throw it in his face. This would set up a match at Showcase in which Williams after a short bout would submit Maxted to a guillotine choke. Following the match Maxted would stroppily threaten to hijack the show until a debuting Travis Banks knocked out Maxted much to the joy of the crowd.
Coffey Boys reign supreme
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When the UK brand was announced, details were limited in what wrestlers and titles would be featured on the brand. While the first couple of weeks it appeared that the sole focus would be on the UK Championship. We'd soon learn from general manager Katarina Leigh that a tag team title tournament was set to take place featuring 32 tag teams from all across Europe all vying for tag team gold. While details at first were limited we'd soon have a full bracket of teams announced for the very first round of the tournament which was as followed..

Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate and Trent Seven) vs. Experiment in Terror (LK Mezinger and Elijah)
The Coffey Brothers (Mark and Joe Coffey) vs. Gideon and Jekyll
Bad Company (Wolfgang and BT Gunn) vs. Screwface Ahmed and Lucian Phillips
CCK (Kid Lykos and Chris Brookes) vs. William Eaver and Drew Parker
Marauders (Ashton Smith and Rampage Brown) vs. Mike Bird and Wild Boar
Welsh Dragons (Mark Andrews and Morgan Webster) vs. GBH (Dan Moloney and Robbie X)
Allan Lee Travis and Hakan vs. Joey Hayes and Martin Kirby
Chris Ridgeway and Sha Samuels vs. Kip Sabian and Adam Maxted
Filthy Generation (Stevie Boy and Davey Blaze) vs. The Kings of the North (Damien Corvin and Bonesaw)
Nathan Cruz and Matt Myers vs. HT Drake and James Castle
Tyson T-Bone and Saxon Huxley vs. Ashley Dunn and Kelly Sixx
Chuck Mambo and TK Cooper vs. Dunkan Disorderly and Scotty Davis
Oliver Grey and Charlie Garrett vs. The Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson)
Dave Mastiff and Danny Burch vs. Sam Gradwell and Alex Cyanide
The Agenda (David Deville and Colossus Kennedy) vs. Omari and Sean Kustom
The Hunter Brothers (Jim and Lee Hunter) vs. Jody Fleisch and Dean Allmark

These matches would take place all throughout the UK Brand events with regular recaps and highlight videos updating fans on the tournament and the brackets. As the tournament waged on it would become clear that there was a far few teams with the capability of winning the tournament with the odds on favorites being the Grizzled Young Veterans, CCK and Moustache Mountain. While outside favorites would be the Welsh Dragons, The Marauders and the Coffey Brothers. As the tournament waged on however we'd see that some surprises would be in store with Trent Seven and Tyler Bate's miscommunications having them eliminated before the semi finals while the Welsh Dragons would also face a shocking early elimination thanks to interference by Mark Haskins. The most shocking result came in the round before the semi finals however as The Coffey Brothers found themselves defeating the Grizzled Young Veterans in a shocking conclusion by disqualification after the duo of Gibson and Drake let their emotions get the best of them and started assaulting their foes with chairs.

As the tournament reached it's semi finals there would be doubts on the status of the Coffey boys while general manager Katarina Leigh announced the suspension of the Grizzled Young Veterans. The final four teams in the tournament would be CCK, The Coffey Brothers, Marauders and surprisingly the underdog pairing of Charlie Garrett and Oliver Grey. As we'd see unfortunately the clock would strike midnight for the underdog pairing as Garrett and Grey fell in the semi finals to CCK all the while The Coffey Brothers battled through injury to pick up a hard fought victory over the Marauders leaving to a final against CCK at the UK Showcase. Despite their injuries the Coffey Brothers would defeat CCK to claim the UK Tag Team Titles much to the delight of the audience. Yet their celebration was soon cut short thanks to the appearance of James Drake and Zack Gibson at ringside who reminded them that their suspension was up and that they was coming for what was rightfully theirs.
When Hawks flock together
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While many in the UK Brand would very much seem overjoyed at their tenure and their opportunities provided to them since it's inception. The same could not be said for poor Kenny Williams, who from day one seemed to be targeted and victimized by Mark Haskins and his cronies. Haskins would always be flanked both by his wife Vicky as well as his manager "Lord" Gideon Grey and it seemed that he truly delighted in wanting to humiliate Kenny Williams. It would also appear that Haskins because of his Grey connection had a never ending supply of allies to standby his side including Josh Bodom, MK McKinnan, CJ Banks, James Tighe and plenty of others in the hopes of wiping out Williams. As we'd soon see however Kenny Williams was a capable talent and more often than not he'd leave with his hand raised much to Mark Haskins' frustration.

Adding to Haskins' and Gideon's rage would be Williams' alliance with Mark Andrews and Morgan Webster. A trio based firmly on respect with a long friendship shared, Andrews and Webster would prove themselves to constantly be looking out for Williams no matter what odds he faced as they did their upmost to make sure he never went it alone. Albeit with some hesitancy on occasion they would be aided in this matter by Andrews' friend Eddie Dennis who made it clear that he did what he did as a favor for Mark and was more focused on his singles career. Yet while Grey would have his men leave Dennis alone, the same wasn't said for Andrews and Webster thanks to some interference by Haskins which eliminated both men from the tag team tournament.

While many of Haskins' men would be one off appearances he seemed to have a right hand in Josh Bodom who would have little issue in getting his hands dirty. Yet as time went on and their numbers dwindled Haskins out of frustration would challenge the trio of Websters, Williams and Andrews to a six man tag team match at the Showcase. Accepting the challenge without hesitation, the trio would be stunned as Haskins then revealed that he and Bodom would be teaming with the debuting Nick Aldis. While not associated with Haskins' Thriller contingent, Aldis made it clear he was very much doing this for the money and come showcase he'd prove to be worth every penny as he'd help Haskins and his team pick up the win.
Alpha Rockstar
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As we'd also see in this first part of the UK Brand's history, the arrival of it's first monster so to speak. While not a mindless beast or vicious brute, there was perhaps no talent more dominant than "The Alpha Male" Iestyn Rees. Shown to be an arrogant bully who delighted in making his opponents suffer and clearly enjoyed embarrassing his weaker foes all the while adding unnecessary humiliation to them. Following an unbeaten streak of seven straight victories, Rees would begin looking higher up the food chain until he would come across a man who was not intimidated by him and would refuse to back down. This of course being veteran Rockstar Spud.

A lifelong underdog thanks to his small size and having spent years proving people wrong for doubting him. Spud wouldn't be intimidated by any bully no matter how dominant or destructive they could be. Which meant regardless of the beating or cheap shot he received Spud would always keep coming back for more and this would only further infuriate Iestyn Rees who by this point seemed dead set on making his mark by ending Rockstar Spud's career. Yet doing so would prove easier said than done for in the run up to Showcase it very much seemed that nothing Rees would do would truly put Spud down.

This would lead to the challenge for Showcase, a Last Man Standing match where if Rees was truly going to reign supreme, he'd finally have to put Spud down once and for all. To describe this match in a summary, it was brutal especially in the early going as Rees took full advantage of the stipulation as he battered Spud without stopping. However once again we'd see putting Spud down and keeping him down were very much two different things as the Rockstar once again fought with all his might to make it to his feet. Gradually we'd see this match take two effects on Rees one being mentally as he couldn't hide his frustration while the other more physical as Rees began to breathe heavily not having had such a long match before in the brand.

This would allow Spud some chances to fight back against a bewildered Rees in what the announcers could only describe by this point as a Rocky story. While Rees still proved dangerous when he could grab Spud momentum soon fully turned as Spud began to find a chink in Rees' armor. This was thanks to a well timed dodge which saw Iestyn collide knee first with the ring steps and gave Spud a target as soon he'd take out Iestyn's legs from under him before punishing his knee with a steel chair. With the audience roaring Spud could only watch on as the referee eventually counted out Rees who could not make the ten count meaning that yet again Spud had defied the odds and conquered the beast.

(So This was my first summary of the key points of the first 16 weeks of the UK Brand's history. Showcases usually take place after 15 shows so I've figured the showcase to Showcase build makes sense. I'm aware there is a lot of text here for you all to read, so if anyone has any questions I'm more than happy to answer if it adds anything to this recap).
 
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Going to read through the summary and share my thoughts - I do enjoy summary approaches even if it is just a roundup.

- think the blurb and historical build up really helps set the scene. Something that often so many bookers (including myself sometimes forget to do, but really is a great way to approach a project
- I do also really love the overall style and how you are producing it for the reader - it just so easy and accessible.
- Pete Dunne is such a great character - that I felt IRL the fed never used probably or sold him how he should have been sold. Feel this project will offer us a great way for me to enjoy Dunne in an alternative reality
- Leigh as the GM offers a very different direction - but a direction that I can really get behind!
- I enjoy the feuds with Wolfgang and BT Gunn and I really love that all of this is leading to a big match against Doug Williams.
- Going on to Bate and then a betrayal from Seven this all seems really great and I imagine reading this project first time round must have been really great.
- The Bate/Seven storyline also just comes off intense.
- I love reading through the rest of the summary and Nick Aldis in NXT UK gets the biggest pop from me.

this is BLOODY BRILLIANT!
 
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Going to read through the summary and share my thoughts - I do enjoy summary approaches even if it is just a roundup.

- think the blurb and historical build up really helps set the scene. Something that often so many bookers (including myself sometimes forget to do, but really is a great way to approach a project
- I do also really love the overall style and how you are producing it for the reader - it just so easy and accessible.
- Pete Dunne is such a great character - that I felt IRL the fed never used probably or sold him how he should have been sold. Feel this project will offer us a great way for me to enjoy Dunne in an alternative reality
- Leigh as the GM offers a very different direction - but a direction that I can really get behind!
- I enjoy the feuds with Wolfgang and BT Gunn and I really love that all of this is leading to a big match against Doug Williams.
- Going on to Bate and then a betrayal from Seven this all seems really great and I imagine reading this project first time round must have been really great.
- The Bate/Seven storyline also just comes off intense.
- I love reading through the rest of the summary and Nick Aldis in NXT UK gets the biggest pop from me.

this is BLOODY BRILLIANT!

Thank you for taking the time to read through my project so far Lich. Please to know that so far you have enjoyed what you've read. I really like adding history to a build personally, so I'm glad you agree that it is a great way to very much introduce a project to new readers. I'll be honest when I was in the process of moving this project over from it's old home I was torn between reformatting and posting all the old episodes and recaps. I opted with the recap as I felt it'd be a great way of catching everyone up in a quicker fashion as opposed to putting out 3 years of episodes. Agree wholeheartedly with you on Pete Dunne, one thing I'm happy about with this project is that I'm able to present Pete Dunne and a few other talents who I believe in much different to how they are featured IRL.

Katarina Leigh as GM I know is a different choice compared to the usual routes of Nigel, Regal and Saint for example. I just always rated Katarina and felt she was a great talker and personality not too mention solid in ring worker who didn't get her shake. Which is why when I formed this she was my only choice. The build to Bate and Seven is one I definitely was happy with at the time, I feel though and this is always the writer's curse. That my recap here provided quite a bit more depth to it than I perhaps did at the time. So I'm glad it came off well as I really wanted it to be a big moment in the history of WWE betrayals. Glad you like the addition of Aldis also. If I'm honest with you one thing I needed to do with the brand was give it it's own identity in comparison to say NXT UK, Progress wrestling and all established UK wrestling promotions. That's why I used some real eclectic names especially in the early going such as Aldis, Haskins, BT Gunn, Jimmy Havoc and Rockstar Spud. So I am pleased to see that so far it is working for you. Thank you once again for reading and leaving feedback. I hope you continue to enjoy the recaps :)
 

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WWE UK PRELUDE
ACT II ~ THE UK WOMEN'S WRESTLING REVOLUTION
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Following the UK Showcase it appeared that many changes were taking place across WWE UK. From the breakup of Moustache Mountain to some new signings announced to be joining the promotion. Yet crucially one of the biggest changes would be an answer to the question of would we see a WWE UK Women's Division. This would be answered during the broadcast of the UK Showcase as Katarina Leigh during a segment would announce that a tournament would be taking place over the coming weeks building to the finals which would take place at the next UK Showcase. We'd also learn for the first time since its inception the UK Brand would be going on tour leading to its second Showcase taking place at the Royal Dublin Society. Yet with the 4 months between Showcases we'd have plenty of time to be introduced to the participants in the inaugural UK Women's Title Tournament. This would include a special Bracketology episode hosted by presenter Radzi Chinyanganya. Radzi would be joined by a group of UK Women's wrestling veterans "The Jezebel" Eden Black, Skye, Wesna, Klondyke Kate, The Blossom Twins and Saraya Knight. This group would very much share stories and tales of the competitors involved while offering valuable insights on the matches as well as some of the participants history.

As the tournament began it didn't take long for a few standouts to emerge and some favorites to be named. At the top of the list very much was Mae Young Classic winner Toni Storm. The charismatic Australian very much looked like a front runner in the early stages of the tournament as she proved herself to be one of its heaviest hitters. Also emerging as a standout would be Dakota Kai. The NXT veteran had her ups and downs on the Black and Gold Brand, but here she had an opportunity to prove just what she could do. She wouldn't be the only woman looking to show what she could do either, as Dakota Kai's longtime friend and occasional tag team partner Tegan Nox was also in this match. Nox would be returning from her severe knee injury as she looked to strike that bad memory from existence. These three wouldn't be the only individuals who stood out either as obviously the imposing "Alpha Female" Jazzy Gabbert would be up there as one to watch. As would the veteran and worldly travelled Shanna who was one of the most seasoned competitors in the tournament. The last two standouts albeit for a lot fewer positive reasons would be Rhea Ripley and "The Fashionista" Jinny. The Fashionista was shown to be a vain, conceited individual who was every bit vicious as she was arrogant. Ripley meanwhile had a chip on her shoulder and clearly something to prove as her antics would soon cause chaos.

Following an exciting opening round in which we'd see all the aforementioned names advance. We'd also see two more narratives begin to form in the tournament. The first of which was the sadistic shooter April Davids who appeared to take a warped delight in stretching and injuring the younger wrestlers in the tournament. This was shown in her first two tournament matches as she hooked both Zoe Lucas and then Xia Brookside for wins before she'd run afoul of Toni Storm who managed to bring an end to her reign of terror. The other would be the underdog story of Millie McKenzie, the youngest woman in the tournament Millie McKenzie very much had a lot to prove and she would do so making it all the way to the semifinals before she'd eventually have her Cinderella story brought to an end by Jinny thanks to some less than sportsmanlike techniques. As the tournament went on, we'd have a few surprises take place including an early elimination of Rhea Ripley at the hands of Toni Storm. Yet as we'd see this would come to bite Toni in the semifinals of the tournament. As Rhea Ripley would behind the referee and Tegan Nox's back cheap shot Toni Storm leaving her prime for a shining wizard from Nox which allowed Tegan to pick up the win. The other surprise would be the advancement of Shanna through the tournament. The veteran competitor would advance to the finals with wins over Erin Angel, Laura Di Matteo, Jazzy Gabbert and Jinny in succession.

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The finals of this tournament would take place at the Royal Dublin Society for the second ever UK Showcase. Yet as we'd see this show the women's division was quickly becoming the UK Brand's talking point. From Dakota Kai and Millie McKenzie picking up a preshow victory over Kasey Owens and Xia Brookside to a vignette airing of an April Davids' shoot faction called the Female Fight Factory which was comprised of Davids, Killer Kelly and Laura Di Matteo. To a backstage segment showing Jinny arriving at the building flanked by her House of Couture which was comprised of Melanie Price, Chakara and Gisele Shaw. Yet true to form one of the major talking points would be the immediate hijacking of the show by Rhea Ripley, in a fired up in ring promo Ripley demanded that she be added to the women's title match later in the evening. Yet her promo was soon interrupted by a pissed off Toni Storm leading to a wild brawl. This would draw out our general manager Katarina Leigh who having had enough of Ripley's antics would make her and Toni Storm official for Showcase right now. The match would be a wild, hard-hitting brawl which ended with Ripley hitting the Riptide to pick up the win.

Of Course, this wouldn't be the only match of the women for the night. As following a few video packages not just profiling the contestants but also their careers and backstories leading to the UK Women's title tournament. Adding to the ceremony of this match would be the addition of WWE diva Paige at ringside on commentary who would also be a key part of the title ceremony. The match between Shanna and Tegan Nox was a heated, respect filled battle of wills as both women did all they could to put one another away while in the process very much stealing the show. In an epic conclusion Tegan Nox very much lived up to her moniker of Lady Kane as she hit Shanna with a big chokeslam before finishing things off with a Shining Wizard. A tearful Nox's title coronation would then begin as not only would she be joined in the ring and be presented with her title by Paige. But various women's wrestlers from the tournament including Dakota Kai, Kasey Owens, Charlie Morgan, Xia Brookside, Toni Storm and Millie McKenzie would also be out to applaud her. Shanna then rose to her feet and would share an embrace with Tegan Nox before the champion would be left in the ring to bask in the adulation from the fans as the first ever UK Women's Champion.
(Tournament Bracket)
Tegan Nox vs. Alex Windsor -- Rhea Ripley vs. Aleah James -- Dakota Kai vs. Sierra Loxton -- Jinny vs. Melanie Price
Kasey Owens vs. Charlie Morgan -- Laura Di Matteo vs. Skye Smitson -- Xia Brookside vs. Ayesha Raymond -- Jazzy Gabbert vs. Chardonnay
Isla Dawn vs. Jetta -- April Davids vs. Zoe Lucas -- Toni Storm vs. Gisele Shaw-- Nina Samuels vs. Little Miss Roxxy
Emersyn Jayne vs. Killer Kelly -- Nikki Cross vs. Rhia O'Reilly -- Millie McKenzie vs. Dahlia Black -- Shanna vs. Erin Angel


Tegan Nox vs. Kasey Owens -- Rhea Ripley vs. Toni Storm -- Dakota Kai vs. Killer Kelly -- Jinny vs. Isla Dawn
Xia Brookside vs. April Davids -- Jazzy Gabbert vs. Laura Di Matteo -- Millie McKenzie vs. Nina Samuels -- Shanna vs. Laura Di Matteo

Toni Storm vs. April Davids -- Shanna vs. Jazzy Gabbert -- Tegan Nox vs. Dakota Kai -- Millie McKenzie vs. Jinny

Tegan Nox vs. Toni Storm -- Shanna vs. Jinny

Tegan Nox vs. Shanna
BEST FRIENDS.. BETTER ENEMIES
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Following the previous UK Showcase, A lot of focus would of course be on the stunning conclusion to the event which saw a stunning betrayal when Trent Seven assaulted his friend, protege and tag team partner Tyler Bate with a steel chair. In the week that followed after the evening John Gooden would attempt to hold an exclusive interview with Seven and later Tyler Bate but both men would refuse to participate with Seven making it clear that he'll speak when it is on his terms and his terms alone. This would lead us to the first episode of WWE UK following the showcase in which Trent Seven took to the ring in the final segment of the show. The suited up Seven who stood before the audience was far removed from the usual humble, entertaining Moustache Mountain member. Instead, we got a cold, calculated figure. Shown to be an embittered, delusional individual Trent Seven demanded respect for what he did and an apology from the audience for vilifying him as well as an apology from Tyler Bate for forgetting everything, he did for him. Stating that he was the real reason for the UK Brand's inception because he was the man who created Tyler Bate and molded him in his image. Crediting himself as the man who helped develop Pete Dunne, Trent Seven says that he is the true pioneer of UK Wrestling and without him none of this would be possible.​

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In the weeks that would follow this promo people would continue to try and hear from Tyler Bate in regard to what Seven had to say and his betrayal. Yet Bate remained quiet as instead we saw a spiritless Tyler Bate. Wrestling without his usual fire and seemingly filled with self-doubt as the specter of Trent Seven loomed over him. We'd see Tyler Bate suffer defeats in some uninspired efforts against Chris Ridgeway, Rampage Brown and Tyson T-Bone. With each loss it seemed that Bate was truly haunted by Seven as even when we saw flashes of the Bate of old all it would take is one memory of Seven or Moustache Mountain to cause him to freeze and suffer this defeat. This would only amuse Seven who in the meantime picked up a couple of victories over Omari, Sean Kustom and a couple of young prospects. During this time, we'd see Seven very much changed his in-ring style also as instead of his usual crowd-pleasing offense. Seven would begin finishing off his opponents with a piledriver while also liberally breaking the rules whenever he could. Over time it appeared that Seven himself couldn't resist in torturing Bate himself at points. As during some of Bate's flashes of life, Seven would appear and just his mere presence would distract Bate leading to Tyler losing to Nick Aldis or Jordan Devlin.

However, one week we'd see a shift from Bate as following a confrontation with Nathan Cruz. Bate snapped and not only attacked Cruz leading to a disqualification loss but also attacked the official. Yet it was the look in his eyes as he caught sight of Seven which appeared to shake Seven. With Bate in hot pursuit Seven would flee the building before the week that followed Tyler Bate finally spoke. Admitting that he had suffered a broken heart with his friendship with Seven coming to such a bitter end, Tyler Bate could only apologize to the fans in attendance for not being the man they all knew he could be. Promising from this point onwards he would be the man who was the first ever UK Champion, Tyler Bate pledged that on top of that he would also destroy Trent Seven. In the weeks that followed Bate very much showed himself to be the man of old as he picked up wins over Ridgeway, T-Bone and Brown in return bouts. But at the end of the last match, he would be attacked from behind with a low blow from Trent Seven who then proceeded to hit Bate with a piledriver on top of the announce table. A seething Seven then told Bate that if he didn't recognize history, he would be swallowed by it as he pledged to end Bate once and for all at Showcase. With both men's hatred for one another clear Katarina Leigh decided that a singles match definitely wouldn't work. Which is why she would make their match a table's match in the hopes that this could be settled once and for all.​
In what to some was a controversial decision it would be the tables match which was the main event of the second Showcase. The decision to end the show with this match over the UK Championship bout and UK Women's title match was one which did lead to some critiques who felt that a title should headline the event. While there was a lot of validity to this statement, there was no denying that this was a heated rivalry which had all eyes on it once it was in the ring. Despite what he said in the run up Seven would soon find himself out matched by his younger, stronger, faster and more athletic foe as Tyler Bate beat him from pillar to post. Yet in an unfortunate conclusion to the show Tyler Bate very much had the match won as he had Seven prone on a table in the ring. Yet unfortunately Bate just had to look to punish Seven more so rather than making the jump from the turnbuckle onto his foe, Bate would produce a ladder from under the ring. Following setting it up, Tyler would make the climb up it as the audience roared. Unfortunately, in this time Seven had enough to make a recovery and push the ladder over sending Bate toppling out the ring and through a table set up at ringside. This would bring the second Showcase to an unpopular end as Trent Seven would be on his knees grinning having picked up the win over his young rival.​
By Royal Decree
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Continuing on from the previous Showcase would also be a story involving Kenny Williams. While for now it seemed that Kenny Williams was free of the attacks from Mark Haskins. He would still have to endure the rage of Gideon Grey, because it seemed that following the Showcase an amicable split had taken place between Haskins and Grey. As While Haskins would remain associated with Josh Bodom and his wife Vicky Haskins. Gideon Grey continued to focus on making Kenny Williams' life a misery and he'd do this at first with help from Chris Brookes who had chosen to step into the singles ranks following his partner Kid Lykos suffering an injury which led to his temporary retirement. As we'd see however Brookes was only a short-term investment when Brookes would fall to Williams. From here it seemed that Grey may have realized the error of his ways as he vanished for a couple of weeks. This allowed Kenny to finally start performing without distraction until Grey returned with his new charge Dave Mastiff.

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The Bomber was a bruising figure and soon it become clear exactly what Grey was looking to achieve as we'd see Williams' friend Morgan Webster attacked backstage. All the while Gideon Grey would orchestrate tag matches against local competitors in which Mastiff would do all the work before Gideon Grey tagged himself in to pick up the victory. Knowing that Grey was responsible for what happened to Webster, Williams would attempt to get his hands on Grey several times but every time he did the numbers game would play into effect as Mastiff attacked him and this allowed Gideon Grey to get a few shots in on Williams. Despite this happening on several occasions Williams was adamant he'd get his hands on Gideon Grey and bring an end to this series once and for all. Unfortunately for him even in his one-on-one matches with Mastiff, an illegal assist by Gideon Grey would play into effect allowing Mastiff to put him away with a cannonball.

As the numbers game continued to play into things however it soon become apparent that Kenny Williams had more allies on his side then he was perhaps aware. As while Mark Andrews was limited in what help he could provide as he had to contend with Nick Aldis. Mark Andrews would be able to provide him with some surprising help from Eddie Dennis. For while in the past Eddie Dennis had elected to go it alone, he admitted that he couldn't sit back and watch Kenny continue to be a victim of the number's game. This is why he aligned himself with Kenny Williams in a tag team match against Gideon Grey and Dave Mastiff at the UK Show. During the match we'd see Grey and Mastiff dominate in the early going thanks to their work together as a team. The tide would soon turn and when it did Gideon Grey showed his true colors as he'd abandon Dave Mastiff leaving him at a 2 on 1 disadvantage allowing Kenny Williams to put down the Bomber with a Satellite DDT.
Tag Team Turmoil
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Following the first UK Showcase it was clear that the Coffey Brothers didn't have to look far for their first challengers for the Tag Team Titles. This of course would be the pair of Zack Gibson and James Drake aka the Grizzled Young Veterans. These two teams of course had some bad blood from the tag team title tournament where The Grizzled Young Veterans lost by disqualification to the Coffey Brothers following an attack with steel chairs. Which is why in the words of Zack Gibson following the tournament, the Coffey Brothers never beat the Grizzled Young Veterans they merely survived them. In the weeks following the Showcase it seemed whenever the Coffey Brothers had a match that the Grizzled Young Veterans wouldn't be far away from ringside. While James Drake would watch them stoically, Zack Gibson made a point of joining commentary as he looked to bad mouth and berate the champions. Meanwhile when they were in the ring themselves The Grizzled Young Veterans proved themselves to be quite the team with victories over Bt Gunn and Wolfgang as well as wins over Ashton Smith and Rampage Brown.​
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Sick of hearing all of Gibson's trash talk, the no nonsense Coffey Brothers simply told the Grizzled Young Veterans to name a time and place for this match to happen. Wanting to prove their superiority before the world the Zack Gibson declared that they would challenge for the titles at the second UK Showcase so that they could get the coronation they truly deserved. Never ones to back down from a challenge the Coffey Brothers soon accepted but the second they did they would be cheap shotted by the pair of Drake and Gibson which ended with the Grizzled Young Veterans standing tall over the champions. This only added fuel to the fire as at the second UK Showcase, we'd see The Coffey Brothers retain their titles by defeating the Grizzled Young Veterans following a discus lariat from Joe Coffey onto Zack Gibson.​
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However, this wouldn't be the only tag team match of note on the UK Showcase. For in the run up to the first showcase we'd see the pair of BT Gunn and Wolfgang attacked by a nameless duo of individuals who came through the crowd. After the Showcase, this pair would introduce themselves as Jimmy Havoc and Clint Margera. A violent duo of sociopaths who wanted nothing more than to cause hurt and suffering to those who they saw fit. Never one to back down from a fight the duo of BT Gunn and Wolfgang wouldn't be one to let things lie. Refusing to allow Margera and Havoc to think that they could get away with such acts of violence, Wolfgang and Gunn would instead take the fight to Havoc and Margera who as we'd soon learn from General Manager Katarina Leigh were not even signed members of the roster. This rogue pair of gate crashers would soon be brought in on temporary contracts as it become clear that Wolfgang and BT Gunn wanted to tear them limb from limb.

Similar to Seven and Bate this was a match which couldn't be contained under regular tag team rules. This was shown during the few matches Margera and Havoc did have before the second Showcase. They would quickly lose those matches as a result of a disqualification. This would be thanks the pair showing little issue with using weapons on their opponent. This is why their match with the duo of Gunn and Wolfgang would face the pair in a wild street fight. A match which took place all throughout the building and even outside the building at points. The bout would eventually culminate in the parking lot of the building where Clint Margera picked up the win for his team following the use of a bottle on the back of BT Gunn's head.​
Cruising for a Bruising
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Still standing at the top of the UK Brand was its champion, Pete Dunne. Having been victorious over Tyler Bate at the UK Showcase to retain his title. The Champion was quick to assert that he had nothing to do with what Trent Seven did. Remarking that he's always been better than Tyler and doesn't need help to prove it, Dunne remarks that end of the day it doesn't matter because the title is still by his side. From here Pete Dunne would remark that he was very much looking for a new fresh face to be his opponent having grown sick of fighting blasts from the past. In response to this remark Katarina Leigh would book Dunne in a singles match against a surprising one-off appearance from Apollo Crews with the brand. Dunne would pick up the win in the back and forth contest all the while Katarina Leigh remained at ringside, with Dunne's victory he would be joined in the ring by the general manager as she began to speak to Dunne about his impressive reign and his next big challenger.

Talking about how the brand had gone from strength to strength with a wide variety of talent all worthy of contending for the championship. This is why Katarina elected to hold the first ever UK Rumble with the winner of the match being the man to challenge Pete Dunne for the UK Championship at the UK Showcase. Very much like the WWE's Royal Rumble match except for the fact that this rumble had just 25 men participating. The UK Rumble featured a who's who of talent with only the likes of Tyler Bate, Trent Seven, The Coffey Brothers, Grizzled Young Veterans, Jimmy Havoc and Clint Margera being absent from the field. The match itself would begin with quite the surprise as joining Rockstar Spud who had drawn number one would be former Cruiserweight Champion Adrian Neville who made his first appearance with the brand despite rumors of his WWE status in question. As the match went on Neville wouldn't be the only surprise in the match as both Jack Gallagher and Noam Dar from 205 Live would also be featured in the match. In the bout we'd see a few alliances formed including one between Chris Brookes, Charlie Sterling and Nathan Cruz who for a brief time looked to run the field until they were all eliminated in succession by the likes of Travis Banks and Jordan Devlin.

Following the entrance of the final entrant Nick Aldis at number 25 we were down to just 8 men left standing in this match. Collectively these 8 would be Nick Aldis, Rockstar Spud, Adrian Neville, Jordan Devlin, Travis Banks, Dave Mastiff, Mark Andrews and Mark Haskins. During Aldis entrance it appeared everyone began to see the threat of the monster Mastiff as a cumulative effort was then taken to eliminate The Bomber. Once Dave went however all bets soon were off as we'd see Banks and Haskins both topple to the floor in a brawl with one another while Jordan Devlin managed to eliminate Neville. True to form the big opportunist was Nick Aldis who took advantage of a lapse in concentration to eliminate Andrews much to the crowd's displeasure and he'd blindside Devlin to toss him out leaving him alone with a beaten and exhausted Rockstar Spud. In a stunning moment however Aldis in his over confidence set himself up to be counted with a head scissors from Spud which sent Aldis out of the ring to give Spud the victory and the match at the second Showcase!​
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With this career defining victory Rockstar Spud appeared on the next episode of WWE UK. In which he stripped back a lot of his flashier aspects. Calling himself by his true name of Drake Maverick, Maverick told the world of how he'd spent years looking to make it in wrestling and achieve his dreams. Yet he'd constantly beaten down in an attempt to run him off. Constantly told he wasn't good enough by the world and that he was too small to make it. Yet now he stands here as the winner of the UK Rumble with his name in history and his chance to finally prove everyone how good he is by beating Pete Dunne to become the UK Champion. While Drake's underdog story may have won the hearts of the fans in attendance and many of the wrestlers' backstage all of whom respected his time in the business and his story. One person who didn't respect what Drake had done was the champion, Pete Dunne. In fact, during a sit-down interview with Joanna Rose, Pete Dunne couldn't hide his disgust at having to lower himself by competing with in his words a caricature of UK Wrestling and someone who Pete Dunne felt lowered the stock of WWE UK and his reign.

This would very much set the tone of the story in regard to Pete Dunne and Drake Maverick. For no matter what mountain in which Drake Maverick would climb, Pete Dunne offered him absolutely no respect in return. Considering Drake beneath him Dunne had absolutely no shame in attacking Drake Maverick when he felt like it. Yet it seemed no matter what Pete Dunne would throw at him, Drake Maverick always got back to his feet. This would be shown in their match at the second UK Showcase where Pete Dunne hit Drake Maverick with everything, he had yet Drake seemed to refuse to stand down. While at first Dunne seemed to show enjoyment at torturing Drake as the match went on even Dunne could be heard telling Drake to stand down. In the end however Dunne trapped Drake with a mounted triangle choke and followed by clamping on an armbar at the same time with it. With Dunne's threats that he'll break Drake's arm lingering if he wasn't to submit, eventually Drake Maverick would tap out. While the Champion soon made a quick exit from the ring, an emotional Drake would be left sat in the ring with the audience in attendance applauding his efforts very much bringing the veteran to tears.​
New Arrivals profiled
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Following the first UK Showcase it seemed impressions of WWE UK were changing. As the brand very much began to establish its own identity and fanbase. We'd see more talents with a slightly more international flair or raised profile begin to be attached to the brand. The first name of course being Adrian Neville who made a surprise appearance as part of the UK Rumble. Despite a strong showing, sadly this was Neville's lone appearance with the brand as he and WWE management could not come to terms with a new arrangement, and he'd soon depart the promotion as a whole. While the brand may have lost out on Neville. He was far from the only talent looked upon to be joining the brand. This was seen at the UK Showcase II when in the crowd we'd see both Kay Lee Ray and Piper Niven present. Both of whom were mentioned by John Gooden to have recently been contacted by and entering negotiations with the UK Brand. Along with them in a news article on WWE.com we'd learn that Fabian Aichner, an Italian talent who had been plying his trade on NXT had been signed to compete with the brand in the near future.

During the second Showcase and in the run up to the Showcase, we'd also see vignettes air highlighting the upcoming debut of Marcel Barthel. The German born NXT standout was primed to debut the episode following the UK Showcase and was shown to also be in the crowd watching on unimpressed with what he'd seen. The final debut however was that of TM61. The Australian Tag Team had been hyped to debut for weeks ahead of the UK Showcase yet as time went on rumors began to indicate that the team's status may be in question leading to Showcase II promoting an appearance by the pair to address these rumors. Before the crowd in attendance a humbled Shane Thorne and Nick Miller cut an impassioned promo as they spoke about their time as a team. Stating that they have been away from their families for way too long in pursuit of their dreams. Nick Miller would tell a story of his new daughter and how it is with a heavy heart that the wwe run of TM61 was no more.

Before an appreciate and respectful crowd the pair would them embrace as it appeared both men were overcome with emotion. Yet all of this soon come crashing down when Shane Thorne low blocked Nick Miller with a kick to the balls. As Nick Miller crumpled to the floor, Shane Thorne cut a promo berating Miller for not being worthy of his partnership. Livid at Miller for in his words being a weight around his neck, Shane Thorne stomped away at Miller before saying TM61 maybe dead but the Mighty lives on. With that Shane Thorne would be joined in his attack on Nick Miller by his new allies Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis who spiked Miller into the canvas with a double team move before a stunned crowd in attendance.​
Lighting Storm
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Following the first UK Showcase one name on everyone's lips was that of Nick Aldis. A surprising addition to the UK Brand thanks to his time across the pond. Aldis very much was arguably one of the bigger names that the roster had acquired since its inception and many expected him to be a headline act for the brand. Yet as we'd soon see there was more to this than meets the eye. For while Nick Aldis would have you believe he was one of if not the greatest UK wrestling talent. The truth is as we'd quickly see there was a lot of smoke and mirrors behind this act. As while yes Aldis did have some skill in the ring, it soon became apparent that the real reason he began having success in the brand would be because of his willingness to take well timed short cuts. It would be with this style that Aldis earned victories over the likes of Eddie Dennis, Chris Ridgeway and Dunkan Disorderly. As we'd soon find however this wouldn't go unnoticed by the fans nor Mark Andrews for that matter.

Having previously crossed paths with Nick Aldis, Andrews very much felt that in a one-on-one situation he could very much expose the truth to the world that Aldis is not as good as he says or believes himself to be. With these words in mind, Mark Andrews looked to get a one-on-one match with Aldis which Nick Aldis only scoffed at proclaiming that when his team bested Andrews at Showcase and when he eliminated him from the rumble he proved his superiority. This in turn caused Andrews to slap Aldis leading to a scuffle between the two backstage. With the bad blood brewing between the two Nick Aldis participated in a sit-down interview with friend and former tag team partner Doug Williams in which Aldis stated that Andrews was trying to ride off his coattails by wanting this match. Calling Andrews an easy out and a night off Aldis would in the end accept his challenge leading to a match at Showcase II between the two. During this bout Mark Andrews would take Nick Aldis to the limit and come close to putting him away on numerous occasions before falling to a roll up with a handful of tights from Aldis which earned Nick another unpopular win.​
Don't Bank on it
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After making his surprising debut at the previous UK Showcase by laying out Adam Maxted. There was a lot of hype around the debut of "The Kiwi Buzzsaw" Travis Banks coming to the UK Brand. A gritty, hard hitting competitor Banks was someone that many in the know saw as a future star for the brand and he'd quickly make this apparent following the Showcase as he picked up an impressive submission victory over Tyson T-Bone during his in-ring debut with WWE UK. As Banks continued to pick up impressive wins his hard-hitting matches and fighting spirit would put a lot of attention on him. One name in particular who focused on Banks was that of Mark Haskins as Haskins decided that Banks would be a suitable ally to join him and his Thrillers contingent. Not impressed with Haskins, his group or the offer Banks simply would blow the group off as he continued to focus on his own business. Yet in this act Banks very much made a strong enemy as it became clear that if Banks wasn't with Haskins, then he was against him.

This was shown when Mark Haskins and Josh Bodom attacked Travis Banks following a victory he picked up over Chris Ridgeway. This would enrage Banks who called for a match with Mark Haskins. Yet on the fateful night in question Mark Haskins arrived at the building on crutches with a cast on his leg as he stated that he'd suffered a serious injury. When confronted by Banks, Haskins attempted to beg off while his tearful wife Vicky would begin to apologize on his behalf. As we'd soon see this was a ruse as while Banks managed to fight off a sneak attack attempt by Bodom. He'd be blasted across the back with the crutch by Mark Haskins. Revealing his injury to be a ruse Haskins then put the boots to Banks all the while yelling at Bodom to get up and help him. Which would actually be an interesting sub plot to follow as it appeared as time went on Haskins became more willing to use Bodom as his crash test dummy in order to save himself.

Which we'd see firsthand when Haskins signed Bodom up for a match with Banks ahead of his recently announced match with Banks at UK Showcase. While hesitant to go through with the match Bodom was eventually talked into it by Haskins but we'd see despite a spirited effort he'd come up short having been knocked out with a penalty kick by Travis Banks. With Bodom down and no one between them the stage was then set for the two to clash at UK Showcase II. During the match Haskins very much relied on his wife Vicky to help him with some timely assists but eventually this came back to bite them when Haskins was sent careening into his wife knocking her down off the apron. From here Banks planted Haskins with a tiger suplex and levelled him with a penalty kick before finishing things once and for all with the Kiwi Crusher.​
Irish Eyes are Smiling
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Despite his bad attitude and at times unnecessary moments of viciousness. There was no denying that when it came to the WWE United Kingdom Brand that one of its top stars was "The Irish Ace" Jordan Devlin. Having amassed quite an impressive winning record since the brand's inception. Jordan Devlin having defeated Trent Seven at the previous showcase seemed primed for big things as he proclaimed himself a future champion. As we'd soon see following the showcase Jordan was given a few surprising tests by the general manager Katarina Leigh as it seemed that he was perhaps being groomed for such a match. The first test was against longtime WWE veteran Goldust who showed up as a surprise opponent for Devlin. In what was arguably the toughest match of Devlin's UK run, the Irish Ace was forced to dig down and show he truly had what it takes before he'd finally pick up the win following the Devlin Scythe. This wouldn't be the only test either as not long after Jordan was matched up with two other American exports Kona Reeves and No Way Jose both of whom Devlin would also defeat.

With these victories steadily mounting behind him Jordan Devlin soon found himself matched with a tough opponent as he took on the no nonsense Chris Ridgeway in a series of hard-hitting bouts. The first of which came to a stunning conclusion which saw Ridgeway upset Devlin following a punt kick before Devlin won the rematch following a top rope Devlin Scythe. With every match it seemed that the reaction to Jordan Devlin was also changing as the crowd in attendance began to show him more respect in the lead up to the final match in his series with Ridgeway. Following a 15 minute thriller Jordan Devlin would be left victorious following his Ireland's call finishing move. Yet in the post-match Devlin further garnered an interesting response as he shook hands with Chris Ridgeway in what was a rare show of respect from Jordan Devlin to pretty much anyone. In the weeks that followed however while Devlin may have at times been met with cheers it was clear that he was far from the righteous path as he used crooked means to defeat veteran James Mason.

During an in-ring interview with Joanna Rose following another impressive win this time over Mike Bird. Jordan Devlin remarked that he has been looking for respect not adulation and that it is about time people recognized his greatness. While his comments may have conflicted the audience, what didn't leave the crowd conflicted was the arrival of Jordan Devlin's mentor Finn Balor. Balor was full of praise in the early going for Devlin but couldn't hide his disappointment at what Devlin had allowed himself to become. This led to a back and forth between the two before Devlin called for a match with Balor at the second Showcase in Dublin. Without hesitation Balor would accept and in the opening match of the Showcase Finn Balor would defeat his former student in what was a thrilling back and forth battle of wills. After the match if there was any doubt about Jordan Devlin it was soon squashed as he rose to his feet and engaged in an emotional embrace with his former teacher before the packed crowd in attendance.​

So here is my second write up for my Brand, again I've tried to convey 16 weeks of Shows and the showcase into one post. As you can see I hope after the first showcase was up the Brand began to find it's footing and picked up a few bigger name pieces of talent. Once again if you have any questions please let me know :)
 

Shade

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WWE UK PRELUDE
ACT III: THE NEXT LEVEL
The Big Picture
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Following another impressive title defense at the second UK Showcase in which Pete Dunne submitted Rockstar Spud. A question would begin to emerge of just who could challenge and possibly dethrone the Bruiserweight. Following an impressive title defense over guest opponent Tye Dillinger, Pete Dunne grabbed a microphone and very much asked the question himself. That question being who has the guts to step into the ring with the most dominant champion that UK wrestling has ever seen. After a few moments would pass, we'd get our answer in a name from Dunne's past. This being an old rival who was also coming off a win at the Showcase in Travis Banks. The Kiwi Buzzsaw of course since his arrival to the brand at the first UK Showcase, had been flawless with an unbeaten record and wins over the likes of Josh Bodom, Mark Haskins and Tyson T-Bone to his credit. Banks and Dunne of course had familiarities with one another from many battles across the UK independent scene and it appeared as these two faced off that some of the crowd was aware of this as the atmosphere began to build.

In what wasn't a witty or entertaining back and forth but more a tense affair of few words spoken. Travis Banks made his intention clear that he would be the next challenger for Pete Dunne and he would also be the man to dethrone Pete Dunne once and for all. While Dunne left without saying a word it was clear from his body language that he was far from happy to have been confronted by Banks. In the run up to the match, WWE clearly pulled some strings with Sky Sports as boxing icon Johnny Nelson hosted a special episode of the Gloves are off featuring both men in a sit-down interview. Here both men would begin to address their careers as well as their history with one another. During this interview Travis Banks showed himself to be quite respectful of Dunne with his issues with him coming more from a competitive fire as opposed to personal issues. Despite this Pete Dunne would be his usual self as he showed little respect for his old rival instead only expressing surprise that the UK Brand would even consider hiring him.

With the stage set for their match which was set for a 30 minute time limit. Both men very much proved to be even when it came to talents in ring. Any edge Banks may have had in Speed and striking, Dunne countered with strength and grappling. With the audience firmly behind him Banks in particular was fired up in what was a grueling contest. As the battle reached its 27-minute mark and both men exhausted but not out of the fight. Many wondered if this would be a case of just one mistake being the game changer and it very much appeared this was the case when with 45 seconds to go Pete Dunne trapped Travis Banks in the same mounted triangle he locked Spud in. Attacking Banks arm and wrenching on it for good measure having caught him in this position following countering one of Banks' own aerial attacks. Pete Dunne did all he could to force a submission yet try as he might Banks would not submit, and the time limit would expire bringing this contest. Arguably the finest match seen in the UK brand so far to a draw.

Now while both men may not have much in common and agree on much for that matter. One thing became clear following this bout directly after and in the weeks that followed. Neither man could live with a draw and there had to be resolution to this fact. This would bring out Katarina Leigh who very much had a decision to make in what would offer these two a chance to settle this once and for all. After a few moments of deliberation Katarina made her decision as she set the stage for a special episode of WWE UK. An episode dominated by one match and one match alone between this pair of hungry competitors in a two out of three falls collision. On a show featuring no segments or ad breaks whatsoever, these two men put on a classic near on 60-minute collision. While the challenger claimed the first fall catching Dunne off guard with a roll up it was this adversity which truly brought the wickedness out of Dunne who took the second fall following a series of nasty moves culminating with the Bitter End. With Banks welfare in question a predatory Dunne barely gave him any chance to recover as he went right after him.

As this final fall waged on Banks began to rally for a comeback connecting with a slice of heaven kick which knocked the mouth guard from Pete Dunne's mouth. This would come into play down the line in the match as Banks connected with a series of up kicks which rocked Dunne badly. Collapsing to his knees Dunne would then be trapped in the Koji Clutch by Banks right in the center of the ring. With the audience in attendance on their feet Banks plied as much pressure as he could on the hold yet try as he might Pete Dunne refused to submit. The Bruiserweight tried everything he could to escape including attacking the fingers and this relented Banks' grasp slightly allowing Dunne to barely escape the hold. Unfortunately for him as he got to a knee he'd be blasted with a roundhouse kick by Banks. Hurt badly by this but refusing to go down Dunne again stood up and this time ate a Slice of Heaven kick. Still refusing to go down the stubborn champion then ate a Kiwi crusher before Banks again trapped him in the Koji Clutch. Dunne again refused to submit but thanks to the damage he sustained he'd eventually pass out in the hold bringing his reign to an end.

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With this blockbuster title change it truly felt like a true changing of the guard for WWE UK. The next weeks' show this would continue as Travis Banks stood in the ring before the audience in attendance. Overwhelmed by the support and thankful for having this moment. Soon however Banks would find himself rejoined by Pete Dunne. The bruiserweight was nowhere near as respectful to the new champion as the champion was to the man he dethroned for the title. Instead, Dunne outright demanded a crack at the title, yet he wouldn't be the only one who would come out and call his shot. As another former UK Champion Tyler Bate was the next to come out and say that he was robbed of his opportunity and deserved his chance. Following Bate would be Nick Aldis who called for a shot based on his unbeaten record since coming to the brand. From here we'd see Mark Andrews, Wolfgang, BT Gunn, Trent Seven, Jordan Devlin and lastly Chris Ridgeway all call for their shots at the title. With an array of contenders standing in the ring we'd see one more face appear as GM Katarina Leigh came out and she'd introduce a new match to the brand called the elimination series.

The series would take place over the course of eight weeks in which these nine men would participate in a series of matches with the man who was pinned or submitted eliminated from the series. The series would begin with a hot start as Tyler Bate got a little redemption eliminating Trent Seven from the series. Yet unfortunately next week Seven got a little revenge as he'd provide a distraction to Bate allowing Nick Aldis to roll Bate up for the win. This wouldn't be the first opponent Aldis hooked or crooked the win over as he'd personally be responsible for the eliminations of Chris Ridgeway and BT Gunn under similar circumstances. With five men remaining we'd see a shocking upset the next week as Mark Andrews managed to roll up and eliminate Pete Dunne from the series. With one of the big favorites gone it was down to four men and the next week we'd see Wolfgang be the one to fall following a moonsault from Jordan Devlin. When it came to the final three unfortunately Pete Dunne made his presence felt with an assault on Andrews leaving him prone for Aldis to cover and it brought us down to two.

With the crowd fully behind him Jordan Devlin took the fight to Aldis. Following a back-and-forth match in which it looked like Devlin would be the man to unseat Aldis. Much to the audience's chagrin it would be a well-timed thumb to the eye by Aldis which allowed him to steal the victory and win the series. This would give us our main event for the UK Showcase III this time set to take place at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland. Yet this wouldn't be the only match the series would gift us for this Showcase. For while Tyler Bate and Trent Seven's saga would continue (more on that later). We'd see Pete Dunne and Mark Andrews continue to collide based on what transpired between them at the showcase. We'd also see Jordan Devlin who was disappointed in himself following his defeat, issue an open challenge for the Showcase looking for redemption. This would lead to three big matches all taking place at the Showcase with Devlin himself opening up the night.

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This would give everyone in attendance quite the surprise as the man accepting the challenge would be none other than Sheamus. Unlike Devlin's match the previous showcase against his mentor Finn Balor. There was no respect in this contest at all, instead it appeared Sheamus was under the impression that Devlin was beneath him and enjoyed doling out punishment to his young opponent. However, Sheamus soon found himself with a fight on his hands as Devlin refused to back down and picked up a couple of impressive near falls on the former world champion. Unfortunately for Devlin it was Cesaro at ringside who provided an assist thanks to a well-timed European Uppercut on Devlin which sent him staggering into a Brogue kick by Sheamus for the victory. While Sheamus and Cesaro made their exit from the ring and backstage, we'd see slowly in the ring a dejected Jordan Devlin pull himself to his feet. But despite this disheartening loss Devlin would be met with a very of loud cheers and applause from the audience in attendance. It wouldn't just be Devlin however who'd clearly earned the respect of all the fans in attendance as the same could be said for Mark Andrews.​

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Having proven in the weeks running up to the Showcase that he would not back down and not be intimidated by the bully that is Pete Dunne. We'd see in the run up to this showcase that Pete Dunne was a little surprised by the fight that Mark Andrews had. Because no matter what Dunne did to him in the run up to this match Mark Andrews would always fire back at him and give him a fight. This would be the story of their showcase match as well because these two men had their fair share of history with one another. Having wrestled one another for years it appeared there was a lot of familiarity between the two while Williams mentioned that the pressure was on here for Andrews. As while he's always put up a fight, he has yet to defeat Pete Dunne in any of their previous matches. In this bout which was a back-and-forth contest between these two young competitors we'd see Andrews very much come close to putting the former champion away on many occasions but unfortunately for him in the end it was a Bitter End from Pete Dunne which was enough from the Bruiserweight to keep Andrews down for the three.

Finally in the main event of the night it would be the UK Championship up for grabs as Nick Aldis challenged Travis Banks. The crowd in attendance was fully behind Banks in this match especially as in the run up to this bout. They had seen Aldis hook and crook his way to a couple of tag team victories over the champion. True to form Aldis took every short cut he could in this match as once again he proved himself willing to do whatever it took to win. Yet Banks to his credit wasn't backing down in this match no matter what Aldis threw his way. After blocking a cloverleaf attempt from Aldis and catching him with a up kick, Banks very much took control of the bout from this stage and it didn't take long after for Banks to connect with two slice of heaven kicks right to the chin of Aldis putting him down for the three. As the showcase came to a close with Banks standing tall, the packed crowd in attendance were on their feet showering Banks with applause. Following this event we'd learn that this would be the final appearance of Aldis with the brand as he'd be called up to Monday Night Raw per the orders of Vince McMahon.
The New Arrival
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One other story which came from the Elimination series would be a surprising debut several weeks into the series. As following the elimination of Wolfgang, we'd see Fabian Aichner hit the ring and attack Wolfgang without word or seemingly a reason. The Italian NXT standout had previously been announced on WWE.com to have signed with the brand but from then had remained in the shadows with little said about his debut. Shown to be quite a vicious individual Fabian Aichner declared that he was here to take the UK Brand over in the weeks which followed. Yet he didn't have to look far for his next fight as Wolfgang was never going to take such an attack laying down. Following Aichner picking up a big win in his debut following a nasty dropkick on Wolfgang's friend BT Gunn. Fabian Aichner soon found himself confronted by a fired up Wolfgang who was more than looking for a scrap with the Italian.

While Aichner would make a swift exit from the ring as he said he'd fight on his terms. The match was soon set for the UK Showcase as Wolfgang pledged that Aichner's time with the UK Brand was going to be a short and highly unpleasant stay. On the night of the showcase however it would be John Gooden on commentary who alerted the audience that we had to go backstage midway through the show. Here we'd see a beaten Wolfgang laid out in catering having been slammed through one of the catering tables. All the while a smirking Fabian Aichner watched on surrounded by a group of security. Arriving on the scene a livid Katarina Leigh would order the security team to toss Aichner out of the building while medics arrived on the scene closely after to check on Wolfgang.
Into the Riptide
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Following her coronation as the first ever UK Women's Champion, Tegan Nox didn't have to look far for her first rival to appear. As from the week which followed that second Showcase Rhea Ripley was hot on her heels. Following an emotional defense of her title against friend and tag team partner Dakota Kai, Nox found herself attacked by Rhea Ripley with Rhea going right after Tegan's previously injured knee for further measure. This would bring back a stark reminder of Tegan Nox's heart breaking injury during the second Mae Young Classic during a match with Rhea Ripley. While in the past Ripley had remained quiet on this issue, Rhea seemingly in an attempt to goad Tegan into fighter her would taunt her about this injury further drawing the ire of the champion. However it wouldn't just be the champion that Rhea Ripley began to clash with, as her behavior would also put her in the crosshairs of general manager Katarina Leigh.

This would be down to Rhea doing all she could to ensure she was the number one contender. From repeated attacks on Tegan Nox to interrupting other matches and segments featuring some of the other women's wrestlers in order to force Katarina's hard. After a victory over Dakota Kai, it appeared there was no denying Rhea Ripley as begrudgingly Katarina made the decision to grant Ripley this match at the Second Showcase. The second she did so however Rhea was given a taste of her own medicine as Tegan Nox attacked her with a fury we'd not seen before from the champion. This would send Ripley fleeing from the ring in the show before the Showcase. During the event the match would be hyped with not one but three promo pieces with a video each profiling the women individually while the third profiled their history so far. Once these came to an end the match would take place with female referee Artemis Ortygie on hand to call the action and joining John Gooden and Doug Williams on commentary would be UK athlete and presenter Caroline Pearce for the occasion.

In what was perhaps the match of the night we'd see a very back and forth contest between the two. At first the match would be wrestled right down the middle but soon we'd see it start to break down as Rhea Ripley started to hone in on Tegan Nox's knee. This would greatly turn the tide of the contest in favor of Rhea Ripley as many UK wrestling luminaries watched on from the crowd including Nigel McGuiness who appeared to be taking notes. During one key point in the match Nox would make a comeback and again lived up to her lady Kane moniker with a chokeslam on Rhea for a near fall. Yet unfortunately an attempt at the Shining Wizard was blocked when Rhea pulled the referee in front of her to act as a shield. While Artemis pulled herself free from Rhea's grasp and moved around Nox, she failed to see Rhea drive her thumb in Nox's eye before landing a dropkick to Tegan's knee. From here she'd small package Tegan to pick up an unpopular title victory. As the audience erupted into boos and showered the ring with debris Ripley demanded her title when surprisingly Katarina Leigh came out livid at what had transpired.

Playing a replay of what took place for the referee to see Katarina Leigh over turned the decision much to the crowd's delight and ordered the match to continue. As she watched on from the stage a livid Rhea Ripley refused to give back the title. But this heated moment would cost Rhea as she turned around into a destroyer like move from Tegan Nox. The audience roared in approval as Nox limped to her feet and then connected with a shining wizard on the stunned Ripley to pick up the victory and retain her championship. While Tegan Nox sat in the ring with her title in her hands and the audience fully giving her their adulation, we'd see a groggy Rhea Ripley spill out to the floor before she'd slowly come to the realization of what had transpired.
Tag Team Disarray
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Following another successful title defense at the UK Showcase II. The Coffey Brothers wouldn't have to look far to find their next pair of challengers as the week after the Showcase the pair was confronted and then assaulted by the pair of Jimmy Havoc and Clint Margera. This vicious duo made it clear that the line started and ending with them when it came to challengers for the belts. Never a pair to back down from a challenge the Coffey Brothers would accept the match but as per what we've come to expect from Margera and Havoc a regular match wouldn't suffice as they lost their first challenge of the titles by way of disqualification after Margera used the Coffey's own titles against them. This would lead to a series of brawls between the teams over the next few weeks all throughout the arena as havoc ensued everywhere they crossed paths. Having had enough of what she deemed a threat to the titles and also to any poor bystanders who got in their way the General Manager elected to have the teams collide in a steel cage match at the Showcase.

With the rules being that both men had to escape the cage for their team to win, this tag match would be a brutal affair as Havoc and Margera brought a variety of weapons into the match. This crucially included some cable ties which they used to pin Mark Coffey against the cage so that they could force him to watch as they enjoyed a two on one advantage on his brother and started wearing him down with weapons. Throughout this Havoc in particular enjoyed taunting Mark Coffey who was defenseless from a series of attacks himself. A turning point however would be the arrival of BT Gunn. Having been shown to be a friend of the Coffey boys and having had some issues with Havoc and Margera in the past, Gunn unknown to Havoc and Margera passed Mark a pair of scissors which allowed Mark to begin cutting himself free. As he did so both Margera and Havoc began making the climb up the cage.

Much to the delight of the fans in attendance Mark Coffey connected with a low blow on Jimmy Havoc sending Jimmy falling to the canvas while Margera exited the cage unaware that his partner was not following behind. On realization of the fact a livid Margera tried to reenter the cage but was unable to do so as now his partner Havoc endured a two on one beating by the Coffey Brothers. Being given a taste of his own medicine would cause Havoc to uncharacteristically start begging off as the brothers threw him into every side of the cage before Joe sent him spinning in the air with a discus lariat. Clearly with malicious intent in mind Clint Margera began to scale the cage with what looked like a spike in his hand. Yet as he reached the top he was met by Joe Coffey and the pair would battle back and forth until Joe blocked a shot with the spike and slammed Margera head first into the top of the cage. This would send Margera falling from the cage and onto the mats below with a hard landing. With Margera down and Havoc beaten, the Coffey Brothers as a pair then made their exit from the ring before being presented with their titles by BT Gunn.

However this wouldn't be the only tag team match taking place at the Showcase. As we'd see a team whose debut shocked WWE UK to the core The Mighty (Kyle Fletcher, Mark Davis and Shane Thorne) in action against the duo of Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch. Burch and Lorcan while better known to the fans thanks to their wars with one another in NXT and later their battles against the Undisputed Era, had debuted as part of WWE UK following the showcase with Burch of course splitting time between WWE UK and NXT previously. A hard hitting duo of respectful battlers, this pair had some memorable clashes in their early going against duos such as Ashton Smith and Rampage Brown as well as The Kings of the North. Yet they'd soon begin to really draw attention as they started to come to a head with the Mighty. What began to some as just a couple of future title contender matches soon devolved into an ever-building saga of bad blood and animosity. This would be thanks in most part to the work of Shane Thorne.

Emerging as one of the most disdainful superstars that has ever stepped foot in WWE UK. Shane Thorne was conceited, arrogant and an all-around slimy individual. His presence at ringside was often key in the result of Fletcher and Davis' matches. As while the duo formerly known as Aussie Open made for an excellent team between the ropes. Thorne often even behind their back proved to be a difference maker with a timely assist here or there. After the pair had split a match apiece with one another in what was steadily becoming a best of five series. Thorne's involvement in the third proved to be too much for Burch and Lorcan as he helped his team pick up a win. So for the fourth match we'd see Thorne be counter acted by the presence of Tyson T-Bone who allowed Burch and Lorcan to even the odds. With the series tied at 2 wins apiece the final match in the series took place at the Showcase and while Shane Thorne would be run off early in the match by T-Bone. His interference later on proved timely as a well timed leaping kick by Thorne sent Lorcan stepping forward into a flatliner from Kyle Fletcher which gave The Mighty the win.
Consequences
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One story which didn't seem to be resolving any time soon was the rivalry between Trent Seven and Tyler Bate. These former friends and tag team partners had quite a blood feud developing which only intensified thanks to the elimination series. After being eliminated from the series by Tyler Bate, Trent Seven got some revenge by costing Bate his place in the Series the very next week. Continuing to prove himself as the dirtiest player in the UK, Trent Seven proved himself unwilling to let Tyler Bate forget about him or move on. Yet as we'd slowly see this time around Tyler having learned from his loss to Trent at the previous Showcase, had now managed to keep his emotions in check and the worst aspects of his own personality dialed down. Keeping a cool head Bate picked up a couple of impressive wins over Ashton Smith, Charlie Sterling and Chris Brookes despite Seven's best efforts. Bate meanwhile made it clear that when he got his hands on Trent Seven he would be sure to make him pay once and for all.

Seven meanwhile continued his attempts to goad Bate as he set about making this feud all the more personal with an assault on Tyler's close friend Dan Moloney. Showing there was no depths that he would lower himself to Seven continued to taunt Tyler Bate and mock him as much as possible. Hoping this psychological edge would give him an advantage ahead of a recently announced rematch at the second showcase under street fight rules. Yet not only could Seven not get one over on Bate his attempts to cheap shot Bate would constantly be cut short and while Seven always had an escape plan we could see that this time around Trent was the one who was rattled. In the final show before the showcase an impassioned Bate declared that he had been lost but now he was found and said at Showcase he would exorcise his demons.

The street fight was a brutal match and one which played heavily in Seven's wheelhouse as he was able to use all his tricks legally. However as we came to see this match was overall a showcase for Tyler Bate. This time round unclouded by his emotions and fully focused on the task at hand Bate for most part dominated Seven apart from a few moments. Towards the end of the match Seven began pleading with Bate looking to remind him of their old times. While Bate briefly seemed hesitant we'd see behind his back Seven had a pair of brass knuckles yet his attempt to hit Bate was blocked before Bate levelled him with the knuckles himself and then in the close eight months from the betrayal itself Tyler Bate brought an end to the contest with a sickening chair shot of his own on Trent Seven closing the feud once and for all.
True Colors
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Another story which had continued from the Showcase was that of Gideon Grey's vendetta against Kenny Williams. Seeing the prideful Kenny as someone who he couldn't buy or bride. Gideon Grey instead sought to remove Kenny Williams from the UK Brand as soon as humanly possible. Knowing that Kenny had some friends on the brand, Gideon would put that to the test with an open bounty of Ten Thousand Pounds on the head of Kenny Williams. In the early goings of this bounty, we'd see Kenny defeat the likes of Big Grizzly, Bad Bones and Alex Cyanide to his credit. Yet it would be another surprise from the main roster as we'd see Primo and Epico Colon arrive to collect the bounty as the duo launched in an attack on Kenny Williams. However, they'd be run off thanks to the arrival of Eddie Dennis, the next week however Kenny Williams found himself confronted by a ghost from his past Morgan Webster.

Having not been seen since an attack from Dave Mastiff. Webster very much showed himself to be a different man from the person we'd seen before. Embittered from his time away and blaming it solely on a selfish Kenny Williams. Morgan Webster would issue a surprising threat to his former friend as he warned him that he isn't here to collect any bounty on Kenny's head. Instead he will come for Kenny Williams when he is good and ready in retaliation for Kenny dragging him into his battles. This left Kenny with just Eddie Dennis on his side as the duo battled the Colons. The former WWE tag team champions were a formidable test but in the end Williams and Dennis would defeat them for another impressive victory for this makeshift duo. Rather than be angry however Gideon Grey instead smiled as he proclaimed he had more than enough monsters in the closet to let loose on Williams.

This included Colossus Kennedy who we'd believe attacked Eddie Dennis backstage ahead of his bout with Williams. Following another impressive victory in which he slayed a beast Eddie Dennis would join Williams in the ring however he wouldn't come alone. As despite his earlier beating he dragged Gideon Grey down to the ring by using Grey's own cane to throttle him. Just as Williams was about to get even however Dennis revealed this all to be a ruse as he blindsided and attacked Williams. In the weeks which followed Dennis accompanied by Grey revealed the extent of this ruse. Revealing he and Grey had been friends a long time and that they orchestrated this plan to pull the rug right from under Kenny, Eddie can only laugh at how easy it was to earn Kenny's trust and now he says it's time for him to attack the weakened Kenny and put him out of his misery. This all led to a singles match between the pair at Showcase in which Kenny while not a hundred percent overcame the odds and forced Eddie Dennis to submit to a kimura. It was the post-match however which was the real talking point as an enraged Kenny Williams finally got his hands on Gideon Grey. Cornering Grey atop the ramp Williams managed to land a few punches before Eddie Dennis attacked him. An attempt to throw Kenny off the stage however backfired with Kenny instead countering and sending Eddie Dennis tumbling off the stage onto the concrete. With Eddie Dennis nullified Kenny Williams chased Gideon Grey down to the ring and doled out a vicious beating to the lord in what we'd later learn was Gideon Grey's WWE UK send off.
The mat is sacred
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One of the more intriguing additions to WWE UK following the Showcase was that of Marcel Barthel. The German competitor had made it no secret his thoughts that the mat was sacred in NXT yet we'd soon see that taken to a new level from his arrival with WWE UK. For his first few arranged matches with WWE UK against the likes of Sid Scala, Elijah and Dunkan Disorderly. A disgusted Barthel would instead cut a promo uttering his refusal at competing against these men with a firm Nein. During an interview conducted with Joanna Rose, Barthel declared that he would not tarnish the ring against unsuitable opposition. Declaring his want for a true opponent, Marcel Barthel soon was given his wish as he battled veteran Joel Redman. After a back and forth technical display we'd see a reason for Marcel's proclamations as he picked up an impressive victory in what was his official in ring debut. With one victory under his belt however Barthel wasn't relenting in his mission as he followed up with a win over Ashton Smith. Yet soon his mission became a crusade as he started to come into conflict with a man he felt disgraced the sacred mat.

This would be Drake Maverick who on hearing Barthel's claims of wanting a real opponent would throw out the challenge to the German. However while at first this was just Drake trying to rebound following a heart breaking loss to Pete Dunne at the previous Showcase. Soon it would become a lot more personal as Barthel truly looked down his nose upon Drake Maverick. Having been underestimated his entire life and told he wasn't good enough, Barthel looking down his nose at him lit a fire under Drake Maverick. One which Drake Maverick then felt he had to prove a point by defeating Marcel Barthel. However even with this challenge Drake couldn't earn the respect of Barthel. As Marcel would only agree to a five minute exhibition which is what he felt was the exact time the bout would last. Much to Barthel's annoyance however not only would he not be able to put Drake away in five minutes but two weeks later he'd fail to do the same this time in ten minutes.

Despite these setbacks Barthel still believed he was better and this caused Drake to challenge Barthel to a 30 minute Iron Match at UK Showcase. With a smirk on his face Marcel Barthel would accept as he was truly confident he could beat Drake. In the early goings of this bout it seemed Barthel's proclamation was correct as he picked up not one but two straight falls on Maverick within the first few opening minutes. This flustered Maverick and caused him to make mistakes allowing Barthel to pick up a third fall at the 12 minute mark. Yet with his back against the wall Maverick began to shine as he not only caught Barthel in a roll up for a fall but then scored a second win following a Dudley Dog. With two minutes remaining and the pressure on Maverick continued to take the fight to Barthel and managed to plant him with another dudley dog. Unfortunately just as the referee would start to make that final count, the timer run out at a count of two. This would leave Marcel Barthel with a 3-2 victory as we'd learn this match proved to be Maverick's send off as he went up to 205 Live.
The House always wins
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As the UK Women's division continued to take shape. One of it's notable additions albeit not for the most complimentary means was "The Fashionista" Jinny. A vain and conceited individual who was shown to be a master manipulator and someone who wasn't afraid to throw her closest friends under the bus to get ahead. Case in point was Jinny's usage of her House of Couture faction. Shown to be a collaboration of mean girls who all flanked around their leader. The group was a collective comprised of Jinny, Chakara, Gisele Shaw, Melanie Price and new addition Natalie Wild. The group very much exploited the numbers game as they had little problem in singling people out for beatings all orchestrated by the Fashionista herself. Based on this it was no surprise that soon enough Jinny would have a few enemies come out of the woodwork. The most prominent being that of Toni Storm who couldn't hide her disgust at Jinny's antics.

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As we'd soon find it wasn't just Toni Storm who Jinny would clash with as we'd also see her come into conflict with the likes of Dakota Kai, Xia Brookside and Millie McKenzie on occasion. Yet it would always seem because of her numbers game and tactics Jinny was always a step ahead on her competition. This was until Melanie Price and Natalie Wild suffered a defeat to the young pair of Xia Brookside and Millie McKenzie in which we saw the ruthless side of Jinny come out as she ordered Chakara and Gisele Shaw to join her in beating down their former stable mates as Jinny remarked that failures do not belong in her house. The next week Chakara and Gisele Shaw defeated Price and Wild while Jinny picked up a victory over Dakota Kai. In the post match however an attack by Jinny was run off by Toni Storm. During a fired up promo the next week Toni Storm said that she would not let Jinny continue to run amok across the UK Brand and she implored those aligned with Jinny to get away from the Fashionista before they were cast aside.

Storm's proclamation didn't sit well with Jinny and not long after a match was set for the UK Showcase. Quickly we'd see the numbers game eliminated as Kasey Owens and Millie McKenzie united to fight Gisele Shaw and Chakara all the way backstage. Despite knowing she'd have to go it alone, Jinny was undaunted as she taunted Toni Storm throughout the match. Towards the end of the bout it appeared that Toni Storm had the match won as she set up Jinny for the Storm Zero. Unfortunately for Toni she'd be distracted by the presence of April Davids at ringside. Davids attempt to storm the ring was quickly halted by referee Thomas Scarborough. Yet while Thomas was in the process of making April leave, Toni was drilled with a double superkick by Killer Kelly and Laura Di Matteo. Thanks to this assist from the Female Fight Factory, Jinny was able to pick up a very unpopular victory.
Loser Leaves the Brand
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Having been defeated by Travis Banks at the previous Showcase. It appeared that frustration would begin to take over when it came to Mark Haskins. Along with his wife Vicky and his associate Josh Bodom, Mark Haskins after this defeat just couldn't seem to get his head quite in gear. This was shown in a non title tag team defeat to the Coffey Brothers and also a singles loss to Kenny Williams. As we'd also find Haskins in particular would continue to blame Josh Bodom for his defeats. This was very much a continued narrative as we'd see in the past Haskins had little issue in putting Bodom in harms way to further his own ends. As we'd see the audience in attendance had also become aware of this and at points would cheer for Bodom in the hopes that one day he'd stand up for himself and take a shot at Mark Haskins. Yet for reasons no one could quite explain Bodom instead constantly swallowed his pride and allowed this behavior to continue until finally he reached breaking point.

When Bodom finally did hit Mark Haskins he was met with a star reaction from the audience in attendance who were at this point begging for Bodom to shut his mouth once and for all. The following week Vicky Haskins would demand Bodom come to the ring as at first she played on his emotions and feelings reminding him that they brought him into the brand. From here Vicky demanded an apology from Bodom to her husband but Bodom refused this request and was promptly slapped for his trouble. We'd soon see however this was a diversionary attempt as Bodom was attacked from behind by Mark Haskins. This assault was a ruthless one as Haskins barked at Bodom reminding him that he wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him and that he brought him to the brand now he is going to take him out of it. With that Haskins followed with a DDT on the ring apron itself and then left with his wife as medics and officials tended to Bodom.

After a week away from the brand to recover Josh Bodom returned with a fiery promo as he said that he has took Mark Haskins' crap for way too long and now it's time for things to change. Stating that he isn't some punk that can be roughed up and not do anything back, Josh Bodom pledges that he will make a change in the United Kingdom Brand. Which is why he isn't just going to kick Mark Haskins' ass, he is going to kick his ass out of the UK Brand. This would set up a loser leaves WWE UK match between the pair at the third UK Showcase. In what was quite a short hate filled brawl between Haskins and Bodom. We'd see finally the interference backfire as a failed distraction attempt by Vicky would allow Bodom to put away her husband with a brainbuster much to the crowd's delight. With his departure from WWE UK confirmed, we'd later learn that Haskins and his wife were soon to arrive on 205 Live.
The Present Tense
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Lastly in one small detail of note since the last Showcase, there was an interesting individual shown watching from the crowd that night and who'd begin appearing in the background of many segments. This would of course be "The Present" Bill Eaver. Referred to by some as a motivational speaker while others didn't seem quite as sold in the narrative that Eaver was pushing. It also seemed like Eaver was very much specific in those he'd appear before and offer some guidance to. Namely young, impressionable talent who had some up on hard times. His first project would be Charlie Garrett, a tag team competitor who recently was forced to go it alone following his partner Oliver Grey's WWE UK departure. Eaver would talk of his belief about the importance of the present and how it was up to Charlie about what he made his present.

It seemed these words were taken to heart as a few weeks later Charlie renamed himself Charlie Sterling and showed a lot more arrogance in his behavior during a singles match with Sid Scala. While Bill Eaver watched on from ringside it would be Sterling who picked up the win following a diving middle rope DDT. With one success down Eaver's next recruit was that of Xia Brookside. After picking up a few rough losses to Jinny among others, Xia was starting to doubt herself until Eaver encouraged her to make a stand. What followed would be a shocking moment as Xia Brookside blindsided her former friend Millie McKenzie in an unprovoked assault. The final recruit was Chris Brookes, who in a similar situation to Sterling had lost his tag team partner recently. Brookes took a bit more convincing but soon we'd see Brookes and Sterling competing as a tag team with some decent success over local competition in the run up to Showcase.
 

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WWE UK PRELUDE
ACT IV: KINGS REIGN SUPREME
KINGS OF THE RING
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With three Showcase down and the viewership for WWE UK growing. We'd also hear of attendance slowly rising as it truly started to present itself as a European equivalent to NXT. Continuing it's tour of the UK having already visited Scotland and Ireland, WWE UK for it's next series of shows visited Wales with it's fourth Showcase confirmed to be held from the Newport Centre in Newport, Wales. Adding to the intrigue of this fourth Showcase would be the announcement that the King of the Ring Tournament would be returning in the run up to this event with the winner of the prestigious tournament being the man to challenge Travis Banks for the title at Showcase Four. The tournament field very much was an interesting collective of talents from WWE UK, NXT, 205 Live and also the main roster itself. Continuing to display it's own identity the opening round was comprised of triple threat matches with the winners advancing to the next round of the tournament.

Three tournament favorites from the brand had to be the former Champion Pete Dunne who was desperately looking to reclaim his championship. Another would be fellow former champion Tyler Bate who having finally was focused on the task at hand having beaten his rival Trent Seven. The final man looked upon as a favorite was the surging Jordan Devlin who despite suffering a tainted defeat to Sheamus at the past Showcase had been riding some very impressive performances. As the tournament waged on however a few more contenders emerged including the titan Keith Lee and also in what was a surprising showing. A career best series of performances by Zack Gibson who looked to recreate his UK title tournament success story. This would include Gibson picking up two very impressive submission victories over Bobby Fish and Mark Andrews to his credit. We'd also see a very surprising early elimination from the tournament when Tyler Bate defeated Pete Dunne in singles action in the quarter finals after backfired interference from Trent Seven. This didn't sit well with Dunne who stormed backstage following the bout to find Seven.

As the tournament progressed, we'd be down to two following Tyler Bate dispatching Zack Gibson and Jordan Devlin overcoming Keith Lee. This would set up the finals which took place on the final show before the Showcase. Set to open the night with a contract signing later in the evening to make the bout with Banks official. The final match was a respect filled clash between Bate and Devlin in which both men proved to be evenly matched. Adding to the intrigue surrounding this contest was John Gooden revealing that in singles competition Jordan Devlin had never beaten Tyler Bate. This bout was an excellent, back and forth contest between two talents at the top of their game. Sadly the match came to an unsatisfactory end thanks to the arrival of Fabian Aichner. The rogue superstar launched into a vicious attack on both men leaving them unable to continue and bringing the King of the Ring finals to a less than satisfactory end. With both men unable to compete the rematch was set for the Showcase itself giving both men a chance to heal albeit at the cost of the title opportunity.

Having both made a full recovery the pair would put on a contest that greatly eclipsed their previous one. Having had their earlier encounter though meant both men had a lot of familiarity with one another. Making the match especially in the early going quite a chess match as they expertly looked to counter one another in order to get ahead. Gradually the match soon began to pick up as both men gave everything, they had in an effort to be named the king. This would culminate with in a shocking moment Jordan Devlin utilized a package piledriver to pick up the victory and finally defeat Tyler Bate. With the crowd on their feet Devil was fully coronated the King of the Ring by a fellow former king William Regal. Yet the real story of the post match was a heated Tyler Bate storming out of the ring without shaking his opponents' hand as he clearly was overcome with frustration and disappointment at the setback.

Jordan Devlin vs. Charlie Sterling vs. The Brian Kendrick
Tyler Bate vs. Aiden English vs. BT Gunn
Pete Dunne vs. Apollo Crews vs. Chris Brookes
Buddy Murphy vs. Josh Bodom vs. Tye Dillinger
Mark Andrews vs. TJ Perkins vs. Wolfgang
Keith Lee vs. Luke Harper vs. Otis Dozovic
Bobby Fish vs. Chris Ridgeway vs. Zack Gibson
Zack Ryder vs. Shane Thorne vs. Michael Oku

Jordan Devlin vs. Buddy Murphy
Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne
Keith Lee vs. Shane Thorne
Mark Andrews vs. Zack Gibson

Jordan Devlin vs. Keith Lee
Tyler Bate vs. Zack Gibson

Jordan Devlin vs. Tyler Bate
Last Woman Standing
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Following her battle against Rhea Ripley at the previous Showcase, one might be forgiven for thinking that Tegan Nox would be able to move on to her next defense. Sadly following the controversy of this contest the pair had. It seemed that business very much was not handled between the pair of them. In fact it seemed that Rhea Ripley's bad attitude only magnified from their previous match. As not only would she continue to taunt and mock Tegan Nox but she'd also begin to chastise the GM Katarina Leigh further. One of the innocent women who'd face the wrath of Ripley would be veteran Shazza McKenzie. The veteran standout was looking for her hard-earned opportunity of a break with the brand but it seemed all she'd do is run afoul of Ripley who blasted her backstage with a clothesline.

In the weeks which followed we'd see an alliance formed between Tegan Nox and Shazza McKenzie as it become apparent that there was a mutual respect shared between the pair. With Shazza looking to earn herself a contract, she'd call for a match against Ripley in which Ripley picked up an impressive victory over the veteran after submitting her to a cloverleaf submission. Of course true to form Ripley refused to release the hold as she mocked Tegan Nox on commentary by remarking that she'd do the same to Shazza's knee which she did to her. This led to Rhea being run off by the champion who fled backstage. With that Tegan demanded from the general manager that she'd get another match with Ripley however before that Tegan found herself facing a respectful challenge from Shazza to a match.

This would be a physical bout with Nox being caught off guard a few times by Shazza before eventually taking a win following a Shining Wizard. In the post match however we'd be stunned as a handshake between the two women turned sour as Shazza distracted Nox allowing Ripley to blindside her. Here we'd learn in coming weeks that McKenzie at one time was a mentor to Rhea Ripley and in her words would do anything she could in order to see Rhea take her rightful place as world champion. As we'd see previously if there was one person capable of getting under Tegan's skin it truly was Rhea Ripley as again she'd demand a rematch. Yet it seemed around this time Katarina was increasingly getting frustrated herself by Rhea and adding to this pressure was the arrival of Nigel McGuinness. Revealed to be a representative of WWE management who was just here to oversee the goings on of the brand. Nigel would express some concern towards Rhea's clashes with the general manager and he urged Katarina to remain professional.

Looking to prove her impartiality and also show her ability to make judgement calls. Katarina granted a rematch between Nox and Ripley at the next Showcase. However not wanting any controversy from their previous encounter. Katarina revealed that this next bout between the paring would be contested over Last Woman Standing rules and to ensure the matches' integrity. She herself would be acting as the referee. This did not please Ripley at all but what would add to her displeasure was Katarina then announcing a preview last woman standing match between Nox and McKenzie with Ripley being removed from the building. In what was a hard hitting clash Tegan Nox would gain some needed closure following a chokeslam off of the ring apron through a table much to the crowd's delight. With one of her foes dealt with this would lead to Nox's clash with Ripley at the 4th Showcase.

A brutal contest between the two which was officiated right down the middle by Katarina. We'd see Ripley very much show her delight at torturing the champion in the early going but when it became apparent to her that she'd have trouble putting Tegan down. Rhea resorted to attacking her legs in an effort to keep Tegan down. Even with the GM remaining impartial however Rhea couldn't resist talking trash to her and this crucially allowed Nox a chance to fight her way back into the bout. This would culminate with Nox landing a beautiful destroyer on Rhea before strapping her own women's championship around her thigh before connecting with a shining wizard to the jaw of Rhea putting her down for the count of ten. While Tegan Nox celebrated her hard fought win and started to make her way backstage, back in the ring Katarina Leigh continued to show her impartiality as she expressed concern for Ripley and called for medics. Ripley however would start to climb to her feet of her own free will before blasting Katarina with a nasty headbutt and driving her into the canvas with the Riptide to the horror of the crowd!
Best Friends Better Enemies
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While he may have ridded himself and the UK Brand of Gideon Grey. Kenny Williams unfortunately didn't have to wander far for another enemy to surface. This one however would carry a lot more of a personal effect for Kenny as he'd find himself in conflict with an old friend Morgan Webster. Webster of course returned to the brand in the run up to the previous showcase having been injured as a casualty of Gideon Grey's crusade against Kenny Williams. Showing himself to be vengeful and embittered, Webster stated that he was a casualty in a war which he didn't start nor had any interest in fighting. Sadly of course as we'd find out not only did Webster not want to end their friendship, but he also wanted to garner some revenge as he held Kenny accountable for what happened to him.

As we'd see in the weeks that followed the Showcase from his time in the ring. Not only had Morgan changed in his behavior outside of the ring but inside he proved himself to be quite a vicious competitor. Adding to his new dynamic would be Webster's alignment with "Wild Boar" Mike Hitchman. Adding a brute force to Webster's new stylings, Hitchman and Webster proved to be quite a dangerous pair under the moniker of 198. Despite being hesitant to fight his former friend at first, Kenny soon having been the recipient of a couple of beatdowns realized that salvaging this friendship wouldn't be possible and instead he'd have to fight back against Webster. Yet try as he might he could not combat the numbers game however at the same time due to the betrayal of Dennis and Webster's change of heart Kenny found it hard to trust new people.

With his friend Mark Andrews being tied up elsewhere Kenny Williams soon found himself out numbered and out gunned by the 198. Despite a young rookie Michael Oku offering himself as a tag team partner, Kenny Williams didn't seem so sure about aligning with Oku. Despite Kenny's mistrust Oku proved himself to be a trusted ally as he'd even put himself in harms way taking a gore from Wild Boar which was intended to Williams. Come the Showcase when a tag match was expected. Williams told Oku that while he wouldn't be teaming with him that he'd help Oku find his place in the brand. For the tag match Kenny surprised everyone with special guest Matt Riddle standing by his side and helping even the score allowing Kenny to pick up an impressive victory over Wild Boar.
The Big One
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Having quickly made his presence felt since arriving to the UK Brand. Fabian Aichner very much continued where he left off. For while his match with Wolfgang at Showcase didn't take part due to Aichner assaulting Wolfgang backstage earlier in the show. The duo eventually had their contest in what was made a no holds barred contest as per the request of our general manager Katarina Leigh. A hard-hitting contest in which we'd see just how much of a game changer that Fabian Aichner could truly be. At the end of a ten minute war Aichner picked up the win following a nasty powerbomb which put Wolfgang through the announcer's table. Having dispatched Wolfgang it did not take us long to see just where Aichner had his focus.

Shown to be in some aspects an anarchist Aichner had no intention of just sitting back and waiting for his moment. He had a goal in mind and a target he wanted to achieve which is why the next we he'd attack the reigning UK Champion Travis Banks backstage. This wouldn't be the only attack Aichner launched on Banks drawing the champion's fury as he demanded a bout against Fabian. While Katarina Leigh remained hesitant it was under the watchful eyes of Nigel McGuinness that she would eventually accept as she made it the main event for the follow week's show. An excellent contest which proved that Aichner was very much worthy of competing in the main events, we'd quickly see that this match was marred by controversy. This was thanks to a cut which Banks suffered following a collision with the ring post outside the ring eventually leading to him sustaining a doctor stoppage defeat.

Enraged at this result Banks wanted another shot at Aichner all the while Fabian demanded that if he was going to grant Banks this rematch it would have to be for the title. Unhappy with Aichner's antics however Katarina Leigh instead opted to send him home. This in part to not derail the programming or jeopardize the Showcase main event of Banks vs the winner of the King of the Ring Tournament. As we'd see however by his attack on Jordan Devlin and Tyler Bate, Fabian Aichner was far from willing to go along with the plan. This was followed with him laying out Travis Banks shortly after and putting his name down on the notarized contract to officially make himself number one contender. This would lead to their highly anticipated match at the UK Showcase.

Their match would main event the Showcase before the electric Welsh crowd. In what was a back and forth battle between the champion and his contender. The match would start off scientifically before steadily breaking down into a heated brawl. Going throughout the crowd and among ringside, Travis Banks very much had his opponent on the ropes following a series of hard strikes. Unfortunately, the turning point in this contest was a vicious dropkick from Fabian Aichner which whiplashed Travis Banks off of the ring canvas. With the champion's eyes glazed over and him being badly rocked Travis Banks was defenseless as Fabian Aicher drove Travis Banks into the canvas with Hasta La Vista. Before the horrified crowd's eyes Fabian Aichner then made a cover to become the new UK Champion.
Tag Team Turmoil
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Coming off a successful UK tag team title defense, the question would be just who would stand up to challenge the Coffey Brothers next. The champions Mark and Joe Coffey very much asked this question themselves during an exclusive sit down interview with Joanna Rose. Soon however they'd find that they would have more than enough challengers still out there looking to take a crack at them. Following a hard fought contest against the Kings of the North, Mark and Joe found themselves confronted by one pairing who was that of the Mighty. With Shane Thorne doing the talking for them the duo very much called themselves the number one contenders for the titles. Yet as we'd see with this effort to be recognized as viable contenders the pair looked to change some things in their presentation.

Reverting back to their old Aussie Open moniker it become apparent that Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis were more than just cronies for Shane Thorne to have fight his battles. Instead they were a pair of hungry competitors looking to prove themselves as the top team in the division. They were not the only pairs vying for the throne as we'd also see the duo of Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan throw their name in the hat. Burch and Lorcan of course had quite the rivalry previously with Aussie Open and while they came up unsuccessful in the past, they were looking to solidify themselves with a title reign. With two new pairs of challengers emerging from the woodworks we'd also see the Coffey Brothers encounter an unimpressed Marcel Barthel. True to form Barthel was dismissive of the pair as he felt they were not conducting themselves as a champion should.

Promising to redeem the tag team division Marcel Barthel introduced the world to his new tag team partner Clement Petiot. Petiot of course had previously competed as part of Cruiserwight Classic, very much shared the ideals of Barthel in their pairing which was called the Foreign Legion. Over the course of the coming weeks we'd see some interesting shifts in the face of the division as Aussie Open attempted to amicably end their relationship with Shane Thorne. While Thorne vanished from their side Aussie Open picked up an impressive non title win over the champions while the Foreign Legion defeated The Kings of the North. Adding to the division was a union between Tyson T-Bone and BT Gunn as the pair seemed to form a kindship with Wolfgang based on their love of the fight.

It wouldn't just be new teams wanting the titles however as both the Grizzled Young Veterans and The Marauders looked to stake their claim. The Grizzled Young Veterans seemed to find new fire thanks to the addition of their third member Kip Sabian. While the pair of Ashton Smith and Rampage Brown expressed their anger at never having their title opportunity. With so many teams all wanting their shot at the title, Katarina Leigh elected to make a tag team turmoil match for the Showcase. However along with this she'd further add some intrigue to the bout with three more additions to the match. The first of which would be the duo of Akira Tozawa and Hideo Itami from NXT while we'd also see Breezeango and the Ascension from the main roster also scheduled to compete.

The turmoil began with Aussie Open against old rivals Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan. Again we'd see a physical clash between the pair of teams until Kyle Fletcher rolled up Danny Burch for the win. The next team the pair faced was former NXT Tag Team Champions the Ascension. While they may not have reached their NXT success on the main roster, Konnor and Viktor looked fired up here and put in a spirited effort before Davis pinned Konnor. Tragically we'd see Aussie Open and the Marauders take a regrettable end following an injury to Ashton Smith which left Rampage Brown to go it alone before he'd fall to the Coriolis. Unfortunately the next bout between Aussie Open and the Grizzled Young Veterans was marred by controversy as Shane Thorne returned to the brand and used a chair to wipe out Mark Davis leaving Kyle Fletcher to fall to a GYV double team.

A victory over Breezeango followed for the Grizzled Young Veterans before the champions entered tag team turmoil. After a hard fought battle the Coffey Brothers picked up the win and not long after they'd take an impressive win over Hideo Itami and Akira Tozawa. Following a hard hitting battle and win over T-Bone and Gunn, The Coffeys found themselves weak and against the fresh Foreign Legion. In what was an impressive showing of grit and determination the Coffey Brothers would overcome the odds and pick up the win to retain their titles or so we thought. As very soon their reality would be brought crashing down thanks to a seed that had been planted weeks before. Since his elimination from the King of the Ring tournament Pete Dunne had rightfully held Trent Seven accountable.

Out of fear and in an effort to save himself from the Brusierweight, Trent Seven promised to make things right with Pete Dunne. Showing some leniency based on their history, Dunne remarked that Seven only had a couple of weeks to redeem himself or else and this would culminate at the Showcase where we'd find that Pete Dunne and Trent Seven were the final two men participating in the turmoil match. With the Coffey Brothers weak and exhausted Seven and Pete Dunne very much looked to pick the bones of their opponent. Following a short contest we'd see Trent Seven trap Mark Coffey in a figure four leg lock outside of the ring which allowed Pete Dunne in the ring to finish Joe Coffey with the Bitter End for the end of the Coffey's reign.
Lightning Strike
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Having suffered a heart breaking defeat as part of the King of the Ring tournament. There was questions in regards to what was next for Mark Andrews. With some individuals calling Andrews a choker who fell before the final hurdle. While Andrews admitted this talk did frustrate him he promised the fans in attendance he wouldn't stop fighting until he was champion. Sadly as we'd see Andrews' struggles didn't go unnoticed by one Bill Eaver. The calculated self help guru had recently taken Chris Brookes, Xia Brookside and Charlie Sterling under his wing and had also recently began to scout Josh Bodom in a recent light. Sadly real life issues would come into play with this part of the storyline as quickly following a beatdown at the hands of Sterling and Brookes, Josh Bodom was written off of television in light of numerous behavioral issues which would lead to his immediate release.

Continuing this storyline transition we'd see Bill Eaver show a more manipulative side of his personality as he negotiated a deal with Jinny for Xia Brookside to be sworn into her House of Couture. We'd also see a potential replacement brought in for Eaver's collective in Sam Gradwell. With his group all showing their own identities we'd see that Eaver never truly cared about his clients. Instead he saw them as adverts for his program to embrace the present and this didn't go unnoticed by Mark Andrews. Especially after Andrews defeated Chris Brookes and Eaver ordered his remaining clients to beat down Brookes in what would be Chris' departure from the brand as he looked to return to Japan. Sick of what he'd seen Mark Andrews challenged Eaver to a match at the Showcase which Eaver would only agree if Andrews could beat both Gradwell and Sterling in the run up.

Andrews to his credit did just that beginning with a win over Gradwell which we'd see Eaver order Sterling to join in a post match attack on Gradwell. Sterling did show some hesitancy in this act and we'd see the week which followed Eaver on his own personally attacked Sterling following Sterling's fall to Andrews. With the match set for the Shwocase, we'd see Eaver make one last attempt to recruit Andrews before the match but once Andrews said no he'd be cheap shotted by Eaver. Yet it didn't take long for Andrews to turn the contest back in his favor with Eaver soon trying to flee the ring. Yet his attempts to escape were cut short by Sterling and Gradwell who tossed Eaver back into the ring. Following a short contest we'd see Mark Andrews put away Bill Eaver following a shooting star press.
Power in Numbers
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A continuing narrative from the previous Showcase was the formation of the House of Couture. The group led by Jinny was comprised of Chakara and Gisele Shaw. But we'd also see her alignment with The Female Fight Factory trio of Killer Kelly, Laura Di Matteo and April Davids who very much acted as hired guns for Jinny to further the Fashionista's ends. Adding to her numbers would be Xia Brookside who was sworn into the House of Couture following a deal arranged between Jinny and Bill Eaver. Yet with this powerful faction came it's fair share of enemies for Jinny and her squad. At the top of the list of course was Toni Storm who had engaged in prior conflict with the stable and even lost a match to Jinny because of it.

Joining Toni Storm would be one of her long time friends Dakota Kai. Kai had her fair share of run ins with Jinny previously but it seemed that Kai's true rival was the sadistic April Davids. Further adding to Storm's ranks was that of Millie McKenzie. While the young standout may not have been a fan of Jinny, her real vendetta was against her former friend Xia Brookside. It wouldn't take long for more allies to emerge as both Charlie Morgan and Kasey Owens agreed to fight alongside Toni Storm. The reason for Morgan and Owens joining side would be down to the pair coming into frequent conflict with the House over a series of tag matches which we'd see the two veterans fall thanks to some questionable methods and tactics by Jinny.

Even with Storm gaining allies it appeared that Jinny was far from impressed at what stood across from her. Yet soon two more names would emerge who would very much cause Jinny to take notice. The first of which would be the powerhouse Piper Niven, Niven a veteran of the UK scene had a lot of familiarity with a lot of women in the brand. This included Toni Storm who Niven considered a close personal friend and she came to the brand looking to help Storm bring the House to an end. The other addition was a lot more surprising and that was none other than Kay Lee Ray. A lone wolf who very much made it clear that she was out for her own interests alone. Yet it was when Jinny began to meddle in her business Kay Lee Ray became willing to side against the House of Couture.

Yet before then this group of seven would find themselves with one other threat. This would be thanks to more of Jinny's meddling as seven UK prospects led by Lizzy Styles arrived looking to unseat Storm and her partners. Styles group was comprised of herself, Zoe Lucas, Alex Windsor, Little Miss Roxxy, Skye Smitson, Gia Adams and Molly Spartan. This group of hungry young women very much had been led astray by Jinny's promises would be a preview of things to come for the Showcase. During this match the seven women led by Storm had some cohesion issues but eventually they were able to pick up the win when again in an act of showing how it's all about her. Kay Lee Ray would steal the win for her team from right under her partner's nose.

At the Showcase we'd see a blockbuster 14 women tag team elimination match. The added stipulation for this match being that if Jinny's team lost than the House of Couture would be forced to disband. As we'd see in the early goings of this match the team work of Jinny's group was the difference maker as they was able to eliminate Kasey Owens and Charlie Morgan. A big loss for Storm's team soon followed when Kay Lee Ray stormed out and left her team high and dry much to the chagrin of the audience in attendance. Despite being down a few numbers we'd see Toni's group mount a comeback with Millie McKenzie gaining some redemption by eliminating Xia Brookside while Piper Niven eliminated both Gisele Shaw and Chakara. Jinny for her part seemed content to stick and move with her approach as she'd cheap shot and eliminate Toni Storm much to the crowd's dismay.

Soon after we'd see Jinny play a part in the elimination of Piper Niven by count out with April Davids sacrificing herself to make the elimination happen. This left Jinny, Laura Di Matteo and Killer Kelly on one side against Millie McKenzie and Dakota Kai. Kai managed to eliminate Di Matteo before she'd be beaten herself by Jinny. Unfortunately for Jinny in what was a shocking moment we'd see the lone Millie McKenzie eliminate Jinny following a German Suplex. With the match down to Kelly and McKenzie we'd see a hard fought back and forth battle until Millie McKenzie managed to connect with a series of German Suplexes ending with a bridging German to pick up the needed victory. With this win we'd see later on in the evening the entire House of Couture would disband with all of Jinny's cohorts walking away one by one.
New Arrivals
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As the United Kingdom brand continued it's expansion we'd see a few more talents make their arrival while rumors of others joining the fold were also apparent. Two names rumored to be joining the promotion were that of Jamie Hayter and Bea Priestley. Having made their name in Japan, this pairing of troublemakers very much had reputations which proceeded them. Yet it wasn't until the Showcase when both women were shown in the audience in attendance that it became clear that business very much was continuing to pick up for the United Kingdom Brand. Yet while these two had merely been rumored to be making appearances we'd see a few other individuals over these months who would start competing as part of the brand.

The first of which would be "Supercard" Kip Sabian. A vain upstart, Kip Sabian as we'd see was introduced as a prospective member of the Grizzled Young Veterans. Helping the duo pick up some victories in the run up to the Showcase, we'd see that Sabian very much added a new dynamic to the group with his flashy move set. Sabian very much rubbed many the wrong way with his ego and arrogance making him a perfect fit for the United Kingdom Brand. He wouldn't be the only addition however who had the potential to rub people the wrong way. As vignettes and promos started to air through the Showcase hyping the arrival of Spike Trivet. The stuck up, snobbish Trivet very much came off as a detestable human being thanks to his bold claims of interjecting class to the UK.

Thankfully it wasn't all bad with the brand thanks to the plucky antics of Michael Oku. Known to some as the OJMO, Oku very much was a plucky young babyface. Shown to be a spirited competitor, Oku sadly didn't have much success in the early going of his run as he lost matches to the likes of Kip Sabian and Morgan Webster. As we'd soon see however towards the Showcase event Oku would come into his own with a few impressive victories including one over veteran talent Sha Samuels which really earned him praise from the audience in attendance. The last name was more surprising, and this was Damian Dunne. The leader of the Anti Fun police, Dunne made a shocking arrival to the brand as he attacked Mark Andrews on his way out of the building using a tazer gun as he promptly declared the brand to be a no fun zone.
The Alpha Female
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Of all these new additions there was one final name who warranted special mention of their own. This would be "The Alpha Female" Jazzy Gabbert. Having been unsuccessful during the UK women's title tournament, the monstrous Jazzy had a point to prove on arriving to the brand. This would be shown in a series of squash matches against a variety of unlucky local talents including UK wrestling veteran Jetta. All of whom were brutalized by Jazzy before the referee was left with no choice but to call for a stoppage. As we'd soon see Jazzy soon found a target for her actions as following McKenzie's impressive Showcase performance she'd be violently attacked by the Alpha Female.
 

Shade

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WWE UK PRELUDE
ACT V: RETURN TO WEMBLEY
Breakdown in Leadership
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Following it's tours of Ireland, Scotland and Wales it seemed that the UK Brand was returning home at a critical point. This was down in part to the huge announcement that thanks to the rising success thus far of the brand. It's next Showcase would be taking place from a location historic in WWE UK history, Wembley. Sadly though as we'd find getting to Wembley would be another story. As things in the UK Brand were far from harmonious and this was all transpiring before the eyes of management representative Nigel McGuinness. Watching intently in the background and constantly taking notes as he very much was here to review the work of general manager Katarina Leigh. Nigel would be witness firsthand to the chaos caused by Fabian Aichner who constantly rebelled against the orders of the general manager.

Along with the frustrations of her constant disrespect from Aichner, Katarina's stress was further added to by her conflicts with Rhea Ripley. Having been assaulted by Rhea following the previous showcase it was steadily getting harder for Katarina to maintain her professionalism. This was shown as following repeated taunting and goading by Rhea Ripley as well as another cheap shot. It was a comment regarding her pirate brother which caused Katarina to snap and retaliate against Rhea with a series of punches much to the delight of the crowd in attendance. Yet this was finally the straw which broke the camel's back for Nigel. Declaring that Katarina couldn't maintain order or professionalism with the manner befit of a general manager.

With that Nigel would depart the brand and we'd hear rumors of a representative being sent from the brand over the coming weeks. This would lead to the surprising arrival of Wade Barrett to the brand who revealed he was here to act as a consultant and oversee the running of the brand. Understandably Wade's reputation would proceed him as Katarina was hesitant to work with him. Of course this being from Wade's past as a noted manipulator renowned for playing chess matches with people acting as his pawns. While Wade promised that he was here to work with Katarina we'd soon see that Wade at points would begin making decisions without her knowledge or practically overruling her at points. This would include Wade bringing in Meiko Satomura for Showcase and also bringing back the UK rumbles for both the men and the women. Leading to quite a fascinating dynamic between the two as Wade maintained his focus was what was best for the brand.
Women's title tournament trauma
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As mentioned one big development from this previous UK showcase was Wade Barrett's declaration that Tegan Nox's next defense of her title would take place at Return to Wembley against the legendary Meiko Satomura. To get there however Tegan Nox would have to put her title on the line in the first ever UK women's rumble. Competing against 29 other women in this match, the odds very much racked up against the champion. This match would be filled with many twists and turns not too mention surprise returns adding further to the challenge of this match. For not only would this match feature many stars that the UK brand had featured before but we'd also see veteran Mickie James enter the field along with NXT standouts Candice LeRae, Xia Li, Rachel Evers, Santana Garrett and Abbey Laith. Along with these standouts would be the debuts of Bea Priestley and Jamie Hayter as well as the surprising returns of Shanna and Emma.

Entering the match at number 14 Tegan Nox would battle against some names of her past during the match as she personally managed to eliminate old foe Shazza McKenzie and former tag team partner Dakota Kai. Surviving all the way until the very end Tegan Nox found herself facing off with a woman she shares quite a history with Shanna. These two of course having clashed in the finals of the UK women's title tournament. Following a back and forth contest Tegan managed to eliminate her old foe to retain her title and set up her defense against the legendary women's wrestler. The following week Meiko arrived to the brand for the official contract signing with Tegan Nox were both women showed a ton of respect for one another. Satomura then revealed that she was set to compete that night in a preview for what is to come and we'd see her pick up a dominant victory over Molly Spartan.

Yet while Nox and Satomura may have shared some mutual respect for one another. It became apparent that the recently arrived Bea Priestley and Jamie Hayter did not share that sentiment. This disruptive duo very much looked to make their mark in the brand having previously plied their trade in Japan. Shown to be quite a vicious duo who very much played off one another with their sadism and viciousness. The pair also made it clear that they did not discriminate as they accused Meiko Satomura of hiding from them in Japan and using her status to keep them down. Yet it was when the pair began to get physical as they assaulted Tegan Nox backstage we'd see just how far the respect between Meiko and the champion would go as Meiko run the duo off.

This favor would be greatly returned a few weeks later when Tegan rescued Meiko from a beatdown attempt at the hands of Bea and Jamie. Agreeing to watch one another's back until the showcase the duo of Tegan and Meiko challenged Bea and Jamie to a tag team match to settle things once and for all. This would be a back and forth physical contest in which Tegan and Meiko worked well together. After fifteen minutes of action between the teams we'd see Meiko and Tegan pick up the win following a shining wizard by Nox onto Bea Priestley. After the match having dispatched their opponents Tegan and Meiko would engage in a tense staredown as it became clear that now they'd dispatched their foes it was back to business.

The match at Showcase very much had a big fight feel thanks to a series of interviews and promotional videos shown throughout the night. On top of this adding to the feel of the contest was the specially put together entrances both women would walk out to. Of note was Tegan Nox's tribute to Captain Marvel in her entrance before we'd get down to business. In the early goings we'd see quite the feeling out process as Doug Williams remarked for the champion being hasty in the early goings would be a mistake against someone the caliber of Satomura. As the match waged on however we'd see things begin to pick up and both women begin to pull out the big guns in an effort to reign supreme. After 23 minutes of action we'd see a Shining Wizard be enough for Tegan Nox to keep her reign intact. After the match she'd share an emotional moment with the icon who respectfully held Tegan's arm up high.
Kiwi Buzz Sawed
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With Wade Barrett's arrival to the brand very much bring forth a wind of change throughout WWE UK. One of the changes that Wade would make which clearly made his relationship with Katarina Leigh quite tense was his decision to negate any future rematch by Travis Banks to contend for his UK Championship. Declaring that the title would no longer be held up by this ongoing Banks and Aichner saga, Barrett elected instead that Aichner's next opponent would be the winner of the UK Rumble. Much to his annoyance however Katarina would elect to insert Banks into the rumble albeit with the caveat to appease Wade that Banks enter at position number one in the match. While to many this maybe a cause of anger or annoyance to someone as focused as Banks. This was just a mere mountain for him to climb to get what he wanted.

Similar to the UK women's rumble this match would be filled with a combination of WWE UK talents, main roster and NXT standouts as well as a surprise. This surprise addition being that of Zack Sabre Jr who arrived in the number 2 position having last appeared with WWE during the WWE cruiserweight classic. This wouldn't be the only surprise we'd see entering this rumble as we'd see names like Cedric Alexander, Otis Dozovic, Apollo Crews and Akira Tozawa all answer the call. While perhaps the biggest surprise of all would be the addition of Tomasso Ciampa at entrant number 28. To his credit Banks was very much the iron man of the match and right at the end he'd be one of the final two standing against Mark Andrews. Following some back and forth action we'd see Travis Banks manage to eliminate Mark Andrews from the match in order to secure his long awaited rematch against Fabian Aichner.

While this may not have pleased Wade Barrett he looked to make the best of the situation as he personally oversaw all the goings on with both Banks and Aichner. Making it clear that above all else he wanted to preserve the integrity of the brand, Wade had no issue reminding both men of his power over their careers when they looked to break out from under his thumb. Despite his orders and attempts to diffuse any volatile situations which may jeopardize their match, Barrett couldn't stop emotions getting the better of both men. With referees and security casualties in both men's wake, Barrett soon elected to name himself the special guest referee for the contest at Showcase. He also declared as per a stipulation that the loser of the match could not contest for the title further as long as the victor remained champion.

This in his mind would further free up the title picture. Despite the tension between the two previously Wade looked to appease Banks by making it clear that he was just looking to call a fair contest. To his credit Wade would do more than that as not only did he call both men out at points for crossing the line but he also very much ordered Aichner's allies Marcel Barthel and Clement Petiot to the back. Wanting a strictly clean contest Wade's decision making was firm and fair until a well timed dodge by Aichner put Wade in the position for a kick from Banks which knocked Wade out. Banks wobbled Aichner but his attempts to wake Wade backfired as a stunned Barrett blasted Banks with a bullhammer. This sent Banks staggering into a powerbomb from Aichner which was enough for the champion to retain all the while a groggy Wade was unsure as to what had transpired.
Women's Wrestling Wars
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While Tegan Nox's story and her win at Showcase against Meiko Satomura may have been one for the history books. There was a lot more going on for the women's division following the fourth UK Showcase from Wales. Following this showcase we'd see several grudge matches and wars all take place seemingly in the fall out from the House of Couture's defeat at the hands of Toni Storm's team. The first of which was a brutal no holds barred match between Dakota Kai and April Davids, this was a hard hitting contest with both women going out of their way to punish one another. In the end the match culminated with Dakota Kai hitting a Kai-Ropractor on the ring apron to her opponent which was enough to pick up the win. This would also be April Davids' last appearance on WWE UK as she progressed into a trainer's role helping develop the talents of tomorrow. This wouldn't be the only match seemingly dissolving the Female Fight Factory as Charlie Morgan and Kasey Owens would defeat Laura Di Matteo and Killer Kelly in a tag match with the losing pair being forced to disband.

While Laura Di Matteo would temporarily step into a trainer's role amid rumors of her being repacked. We'd see Killer Kelly go under her real name Raquel Lourenco as she took her place by Katarina Leigh's side as the GM's chief of security. While being assigned by Wade Barrett, we'd quickly see that the former Kelly was incredibly loyal and solely focused on her task of watching out for Katarina. Sadly we'd find this would also be it for Charlie Morgan as a bad ankle injury suffered in this match would lead to Charlie Morgan stepping away for the ring following a tearful retirement. Another shock departure would then soon follow as Millie McKenzie battled and defeated the monstrous Jazzy Gabbert in a last woman standing match which was used to finished up the alpha female with the brand as she looked to pursue other exploits away from the ring. Continuing these winds of change Jinny picked up a win over Xia Brookside who looked to return to her roots as a fan favorite. More decisive however would be her win over Chakara in which afterwards we'd learn that Chakara also was departing the UK Brand.

Chakara wasn't the only departure we'd soon see either as following her defeat to Toni Storm, Gisele Shaw requested her release in an effort to pursue her dreams of wrestling overseas. With all these changes we'd see one last big match as Piper Niven battled Kay Lee Ray in a hard fought clash which went to a no contest. With all these big wins we'd see an announcement that at the Wembley showcase, we'd see a 7 woman ladder match between Jinny, Toni, Piper, Kay Lee, Millie, Dakota and Kasey. This would be a wild clash between these 7 competitors which featured numerous stunning moments including a big sunset flip powerbomb off of a ladder from Dakota Kai to Kasey Owens. Towards the end of the match we'd see in a stunning moment Emma would arrive with the UK Brand and viciously assault Toni Storm with a steel chair. While Emma laid Toni to waste at ringside in the ring Jinny would begin to make the climb to the top aided by Lana Austin while Nina Samuels very much stood watch affording Jinny an unpopular victory.
No Fun Zone
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Arguably one of the UK brand's most popular stars Mark Andrews would find himself in quite a surprising position having defeated Bill Eaver at the previous showcase. After being attacked by the chief of the Anti-Fun Police Damian Weir. A no nonsense individual who was shown to be prejudicial in what his belief a wrestler should be, Weir was always flanked by his fellow officers who would help him serve in his crusade. These officers would be Connor Mills, HT Drake, Rishi Ghosh, Lee Hunter and Elijah. All of whom were dutifully willing to serve their chief's commands to make WWE UK a gimmick free, no fun zone. This would earn them comparisons to right to censor. Yet despite Weir's claims of wanting to make wrestling a no fun zone he had little issue in using weaponry himself would the occasion call for it. In particular he'd use a retractable police baton, tazer and pepper spray along with handcuffs to make Andrews' life miserable.

With Andrews very much the target of his wrath, Weir and his squadron would continue to make his life a misery leading to Andrews demanding a match against Damian at the next Showcase. In order to get there however Mark Andrews would be forced to take on Weir's deputies one by one. He'd not only fight them but defeat them one by one including a win over HT Drake in a baton on a pole match as well as besting Mills in a handcuff match. With all of Weir's deputies down, Damian was forced to face off with Andrews in what was a short and dominant showing for Andrews before the Wembley crowd. Having defeated Damian in an impressive showing Andrews would fight off a post match attack from Damian and give him a taste of his own medicine by not only pepper spraying Damian but following up by using his own Tazer against him much to the delight of the crowd in attendance.
All Hail the Commonwealth
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During the Wales' Showcase we'd see a backstage interview which highlighted the arrival of a new superstar to WWE UK. This would be "The Messiah" Timothy Thatcher, a no nonsense and hard nosed grappler. Timothy Thatcher during an interview with Joanna Rose would introduce himself as a man WWE UK could be proud to have on it's roster and with that he'd unveil himself as WWE's first ever Commonwealth Champion. Introducing his own title which he promised to defend weekly against any and all comers. Thatcher quickly proved himself to be a man of his word in the week's that followed as he'd defeat Kieran Kelly. Yet over the course of the coming week's we'd see some concerning traits beginning to emerge from Timothy Thatcher. Seemingly picking lesser competition who he'd show a sadistic delight in torturing throughout the contest, Thatcher soon developed a penchant for injuring his opponents usually by clamping on a vicious submission hold.

This wouldn't go unnoticed and soon Thatcher would have to deal with veteran Tyson T-Bone. Far from impressed with what he'd seen from Thatcher, T-Bone dared the Commonwealth Champion to face some real competition. Unfortunately for T-Bone he'd find himself to be the next victim of Thatcher's wrath as the champion forced a submission following a horrific kimura hold which had T-Bone screaming in pain. His sadism seemingly growing as he also used a vicious headbutt to knock out Davey Blaze in a title defense. Thatcher soon found himself with quite the interesting challenger when Morgan Webster returned to the brand after his loss at the past Showcase. Seemingly filled with regret for what he'd allowed himself to become previously. Webster called his return a form of atonement as he set his sights on bringing an end to Thatcher's violent reign.

Before that however he'd be confronted by former partner Wild Boar and after a hard fought win over Boar, Webster found himself with no time to celebrate as he'd be attacked by Thatcher. Thatcher clearly was livid at being challenged by Webster clearly looked to prove himself at Webster's expense. Rather than be run off however Webster refused to back down and instead promised he'd be the one to dethrone Thatcher come Showcase. Yet as the match would take place we'd see Webster come close to putting Thatcher away following a back pack stunner. However as he'd climb the ropes Webster was distracted by the arrival of Malcolm Bivens which allowed Thatcher to take him down with a cross armbar for the submission victory. As the announcement was made a smirking Bivens climbed into the ring and presented Thatcher with the Commonwealth title.
The Real Mighty
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Having shown his true colors and betrayed Aussie Open, it seemed that all Shane Thorne wanted to do following this act was boast and brag that if it wasn't for him there wouldn't be an Aussie Open. These words would not sit well with the pair of Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis who very much had a score to settle a few weeks later when they'd corner Shane Thorne, however as we'd soon learn Shane Thorne would always have an angle to play and something in his back pocket. This would be the debut of the the real mighty which was a collective comprised of Bronson Reed, Duke Hudson and Adam Brooks. To the horror of the crowd a four on two beating would then ensue all the while Shane Thorne continued to prove himself to be one of the most detestable human beings which the brand had to offer.

Shown to be smart and highly manipulative Shane Thorne and his new group very much had their sights set on Aussie Open. Thorne in particular was vocal that he wanted Aussie Open finished and now he had the unit to do it. Over the coming weeks we'd see the Real Mighty very much prove their worth as they would beat down Aussie Open repeatedly. As we'd soon find however one of Thorne's group began to have some hesitation at the fact as we'd see Adam Brooks at points shown some displeasure at how far Thorne was willing to go. This disenchantment would even be mentioned during a confrontation between old friends Fletcher and Brooks in which Kyle mentioned that he knows exactly what it's like to be manipulated by Shane Thorne.

With a tag match set for the Showcase it seemed these words were taken to heart by Adam Brooks as in a backstage segment earlier in the night. He'd question Thorne why they both needed to be at ringside if Thorne had such faith in Hudson and Reed. The contest would be quite the back and forth battle with Davis proving himself capable of throwing down with both big men while Fletcher showed a ton of heart in overcoming the odds against the giants. Towards the end of the match however an illegal assist by Thorne was what it took to turn the tables and we'd see Reed crush Fletcher with a Tsunami splash. Following this Thorne having seen his team win demanded more damage be done to Aussie Open but what he didn't count on was the change of heart by Adam Brooks who'd snatch a chair and fight off the Mighty running them off and rescuing Aussie Open from further damage.
Welcome to Wonderland
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Showing it's continual growth we'd continue to see more talents looking to ply their trade as part of the UK Brand. One name in particular would be that of "Gentleman" Jack Gallagher. A respectful competitor who very much saw his matches as contests and looked to show great respect to anyone who stood across from him. Gallagher would have early success in his WWE UK bouts picking up wins over Mike Bird and Terry Brazier. Yet with Gallagher's success, he'd draw the attention of another new star. A series of haunting vignettes had been playing hyping one Isla Dawn. Shown to be a potential sorceress and the head of a mysterious coven, Dawn spoke openly of her ascension coming soon. This would be shown in the weeks before showcase as Isla appeared before Gallagher posing as a member of the ring crew.

Ever the gentleman Gallagher in his attempts to help Dawn would be drugged and kidnapped by Isla Dawn and brought to her coven. Here over the coming weeks we'd continue to see more vignettes as Isla Dawn looked to awaken her champion. This would culminate with a vignette which aired at Showcase wembley in which Dawn's ritual was complete and we'd see that Gentleman Jack Gallagher was no more. Instead in his place was the maniacal and frenzied "Mad Hatter" Jack Gallagher who quickly freed himself from his chains and launched into an attack on the poor camera man all the while Isla Dawn cackled.
Forever Defiant
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With WWE UK continuing it's growth around this time we'd be given some exciting news. While promotions like OTT, WXW and Progress wrestling had in the past been used as feeder promotions for WWE UK. We'd see that WWE UK in it's continued expansion would open the doors to it's WWE UK Performance Center. Housed in Enfield, London the performance center would be home to many talents brought in from around Europe as well as the UK itself to train and develop before starting to compete as part of WWE UK. In an effort to further help talent development WWE would purchase the rights and absolve the entire Defiant Wrestling promotion. This promotional purchase would allow the UK performance Center trainees and prospects to compete before a live crowd at the BT Sport Studios in London.

Looking to create it's own identity for the brand. WWE UK would bring in a select group of on air personalities to add to it's dynamic. We'd see acting as the ring announcer for the promotion would be none other than Whatculture's Simon Miller. While handling the broadcasting duties would be the duo of Play by Play announcer Dave Bradshaw and Color Commentator So Cal Val. Rounding out the group would be two backstage interviewers who'd aid in adding further backstory to the competitors. This would be the pair of Rachel Springer and Radzi Chinyanganya. For these shows as well we'd see video packages similar to prefight videos ahead of UFC bouts in which both competitors would talk about the match and their opponent while also the matches would lean heavily into win loss records and a ranking system. The first class of UK performance center competitors would be as followed.

Amir Jordan
Andre Tyson
Angelico
Big T Justice
Cara Noir
Charlie Sterling
Dave Mastiff
Dereiss Gordon
Emil Sitoci
Gabriel Kidd
Jason Prime
John Klinger
Marius Al Ani
Metehan
Michael Oku
Nathan Cruz
Oliver Carter
Ricky Knight Jr
Suge D
TK Cooper
Warren Banks

Aleah James
Alex Windsor
Amale
Aoife Valkyrie
Candy Floss
Charli Evans
Dani Luna
Debbie Keitel
Eliza Alexander
Mercedez Blaze
Rhio
Stevie Turner
Taonga
The Snake in the Grass
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While the WWE UK's open door policy very much made things exciting for many with the talents one would get to see. On occasion we'd see that the open door would let in a guest who wasn't quite as welcome. One name in particular who was far from welcome was that of Spike Trivet. While it hasn't been uncommon for those in the upper class to step foot in wrestling. We'd come to find that what truly made Spike Trivet standout was just how far he was willing to go in order to draw the hatred from the crowd in attendance. The villainous Trivet in his vignettes would talk about his regal upbringing in Cambridge and his silver spoon gifted life which made Spike entitled, spoiled and bratty. As we'd see Trivet seemed to thrive on hatred and it seemed the more the audience reviled him the better Spike performed.

While he was clearly technically gifted in the ring what made Trivet standout was this vicious mean streak he'd display at times which greatly contrasted his upper society image. Along with this Trivet would always be accompanied by his associate Ridge Holland. Holland a former rugby player would very much serve dutifully as Spike's problem solver and it seemed he had little issue in going down to his employers level. This was firmly displayed at Wembley during a ceremony which was planned to honor the UK legends of yesteryear. With faces such as Finlay, Dave Taylor, William Regal, Johnny Saint, Brian Maxine and others in attendance while family of the likes of Dynamite Kid, British Bulldog, Giant Haystacks among others in attendance. Spike Trivet would crash the ceremony and he'd very much berate these legends for being tragic relics which someone like him would buy and toss aside. Much to the audience's horror Holland would soon strike as he blasted Regal and Finlay with a double clothesline while Trivet blindsided Dave Taylor. Before this onslaught could go any further Kassius Ohno would hit the ring and run off Spike and Holland.
Harsh Lessons
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In continuation of an arc we'd seen building before Showcase Wales, Michael Oku looked to earn the approval of Kenny Williams as he continued to show his growth with the brand. The young standout despite having his setbacks was humble in the face of adversity but despite his best efforts Kenny Williams just wouldn't seem to accept his offer of friendship or partnership. Having been burned by friends in the past Kenny seemed hesitant to stand with OKU which only made Oku seek to prove himself more. Sadly however despite picking up some decent wins over the likes of Leyton Buzzard and James Tighe. Michael Oku would soon run afoul of one Chris Ridgeway. His appearances with the brand fleeting as he excelled in the role of one of the head trainers of WWE UK.

A vicious, hard nosed competitor Chris Ridgeway at first called what he was doing to Oku as part of his training. But we'd soon see what Ridgeway classed as Oku paying his dues was in fact Ridgeway looking to torture the young prospect for his own sadistic enjoyment. While Kenny may have been hesitant to standby Michael Oku he couldn't sit back and watch this go on forever. Especially when in one match Michael Oku suffered a serious orbital bone injury which Ridgeway would target further in unnecessary fashion throughout the matches to them. Not willing to standby and let this continue on further Kenny Williams would rush to the ring in an effort to save Oku which led to Ridgeway making a swift exit from the ring.

During an interview the following week Chris Ridgeway made it clear that what he was doing was a right of passage in this business and Kenny Williams was disrupting what he referred to as a natural order. Giving Kenny a chance to walk away and let Oku pay his dues like one should. Ridgeway was far from impressed at Kenny's rebuttal in which he'd refuse to stand down and would make sure that Ridgeway wouldn't put his hands on Oku anymore. This would culminate in a grudge match at the UK Showcase between Williams and Ridgeway in which Williams picked up an impressive win following a satellite DDT. Following the match he'd offer and shake Michael Oku's hand finally accepting his offer of friendship and respect.
Winter is coming
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The built to Wembley very much was less than harmonious thanks to a lot of chaos and disarray. While a lot of this would be down to Fabian Aichner. A fair share of this chaos would be caused by Rhea Ripley. This would be thanks in part with Rhea's constant clashes with Katarina Leigh which have gone back to the very second UK Showcase. Since her arrival to the UK Brand Rhea Ripley had been nothing but a thorn in Katarina's side. It began with ignoring her orders and disrespectful remarks or glances but soon escalated to physicality when Ripley assaulted Katarina at the previous showcase. In the follow up from this Ripley would suspend Rhea Ripley indefinitely. However with Nigel McGuinness observing her, Rhea would eventually be brought back sadly she would be the straw that broke the camel's back when Rhea made a remark about Katarina's family all being thieves and pirates.

This caused Katarina to lash out and attack Ripley with a fury to the delight of the crowd until she was pulled away and berated by Nigel McGuinness for her actions. With Wade Barrett then being brought in to oversee her Katarina was forced to play nice with Ripley despite Ripley continuing to taunt her. During the women's UK rumble Rhea entered at position number one and she eliminated the 6 women which followed her before in a surprise Katarina Leigh would be the next entrant and would attack Rhea with a fury before eliminating herself and Rhea from the match as she continued to attack Rhea all the way to the back. Continuing her onslaught on Ripley to the back Katarina would later refuse to listen to Barrett's orders to keep her emotions in check.

As in the weeks which followed Katarina Leigh would further reveal that for one night at Showcase Wembley she would be stepping away from her GM's role and instead stepping back in the ring to battle Rhea Ripley. This news would stun Ripley and very much anger Barrett who derided Katarina for doing such before in a surprising move offering to give Katarina a tune up match against old Rhea Ripley ally Shazza McKenzie. Despite some ring rust Katarina would defeat McKenzie only to be attacked post match by Ripley leading Katarina to retaliate by making their match a falls count anywhere affair. In what would be a wild bout at Showcase, these two women would really look to take it out of one another before Katarina eventually risked it all by climbing the set and diving off of one ledge with a crossbody block on Rhea which put both women through a table to pick up an impressive victory.
British Strong Styles
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One of the biggest talking points following the Wales' showcase was the alignment of Pete Dunne and Trent Seven. This pair of competitors formed an unholy union to become the new UK tag team champions and later that evening they would assault the new King of the Ring Jordan Devlin. This would lead to questions about where Tyler Bate stood in the situation as he shared quite a history with Dunne and Seven and was also noted at this Showcase for refusing to shake Jordan Devlin's hand following their final match. In a promo following the showcase Bate was apologetic as he said his emotions got the best of him and he truly was proud and happy for Devlin. He claimed he wanted to make it up to Devlin for what he did by storming out and also stated that he'd never align himself with those two men.

Devlin would come out and while wary he'd eventually seem to believe Bate as the pair shared a handshake and a hug in the ring before Bate raised his arm. The pair however found themselves with competition for wanting to get a crack at Dunne and Seven as the Coffey Brothers also made it known that they wanted revenge against Seven and Dunne. This would lead to a tag match between the two pairs in which a distraction by Dunne on Mark Coffey and the referee would see Trent Seven behind everyone's back blast Joe Coffey with a title belt leading him to be pinned by Tyler Bate. Despite Bate's pleas following this revelation the Coffey Brothers didn't trust Bate and made it clear his time would come. Devlin however maintained Bate's innocence and swore they'd give the Coffey's a rematch once they beat Seven and Dunne.

The night of this tag however the cameras cut to backstage where a beaten Tyler Bate was laid out. Having been assaulted by some mystery assailants, Bate was medically ruled out of the match leading to Devlin battling Dunne and Seven on his own. Sadly the numbers would play into effect through the match and Devlin was soon in position for a spike piledriver when Tyler Bate rushed down to the ring. Bandaged up from his attack Bate rolled into the ring as Seven and Dunne backed up before he'd pick Devlin up before shockingly low blowing Jordan Devlin. It would then be Bate who climbed the turnbuckle before he helped Trent Seven administer a spike piledriver on Jordan Devlin much to the audience's disgust. with a smirk Tyler Bate then stood by as Dunne made the cover and the trio celebrated the win.

In the weeks which followed Bate showed a new side to himself as Seven called the trio British Strong Style. They would all enter in the UK rumble following a backstage beatdown on Mark and Joe Coffey. Yet their designs on winning would be cut short with the return of Jordan Devlin who managed to fight and eliminate all three men in succession. Jordan would then be joined by the Coffey brothers to fight his mutual enemies and they'd challenge British Strong Style to a street fight at the UK Showcase. This would be a wild match which went throughout the building but it would be cohesion which won the day as BSS used their teamwork and numbers to overwhelm their opponents with Devlin taking a nasty tumble down a flight of stairs and Mark Coffey being powerbombed through a merch table. This led to a defenseless Joe Coffey being submitted to a nasty trio of submissions with a triangle choke, crossarm bar and figure four leg lock leading to the referee calling for the bell and British Strong Style reigning supreme.
 
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Shade

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WWE UK PRELUDE ~ ACT VI: OUT SPOKEN
BULLDOGS
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With the United Kingdom Brand continuing to grow very much as a European counterpart to NXT. It seemed the fledgling promotion very much had begun breaking past any preconceptions about niche appeal as it entered it's first ever tour outside the UK. Taking advantage of it's Commonwealth ties the promotion would head to Australia for a tour which would lead up until Showcase Sydney. Set to take place in the State Sports Arena in Sydney, New South Wales we'd see WWE very much look to add to the proceedings with the introduction of the British Bulldog Tag Team Classic. Very much a traditional 32 tag team field we'd learn that before WWE UK would jet to Sydney that they would do a two night special in which the 32 teams would have to qualify for the tournament. Split across two days and nights. The events would each feature 16 tag matches with teams from the UK, Australia and also from the WWE's main roster in action with the knowledge that the winners would challenge British Strong Style for the belts at Showcase Sydney.

Download Day One
Sanity (Alexander Wolfe and Killian Dain) defeated Alan Lee Travis and Hakan
Kenny Williams and Michael OKU beat Jawdroppers (Adam Maxted and Sean Kustom)
Massive Product (David Starr and Jurn Simmons) beat Experiment in Terror (Elijah and LK Mezinger)
The New Mighty (Bronson Reed and Duke Hudson) beat Bitter and Dangerous (Brendan White and Hustle Malone)
Kings of the North (Bonesaw and Damien Corvin) beat Danny Jones and Gabriel Kidd
Ridge Holland and Spike Trivet beat The Righteous Army (Michael Dante and William Eaver)
Akira Tozawa and Apollo Crews beat Kip Sabian and Iestyn Rees
The Foreign Legion (Clement Petiot and Marcel Barthel) beat the Ascension (Konor and Viktor)
Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan beat Kosta Industries (Kosta K and Malik)
The Workhorsemen (Asher Hale and JD Drake) beat Ashley Dunn and Kelly Sixx
Sunshine Machine (Chuck Mambo and TK Cooper) beat James Castle and HT Drake
The Coffey Brothers (Joe and Mark Coffey) beat the 87 (Omari and Roy Johnson)
Lykos Gym (Kid Lykos and Nico Angelo) beat Danny Black and Joe Lando
Jody Fleisch and Johnny Storm beat Robbie X and Dean Allmark
The Marauders (Ashton Smith and Rampage Brown) beat Gideon and Jekyll
Symbiosis (Wild Boar and Jason Primate) beat Joey Hayes and Martin Kirby
Download Day Two
The Welsh Dragons (Mark Andrews and Morgan Webster) defeated The Origin (Dave Mastiff and Tyson T-Bone)
Smoking Aces (Charlie Sterling and Nick Riley) beat Hit Set (Alexander Roth and Kieran Kurupt)
Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis) defeated The Kinky Party (Sha Samuels and Jack Jester)

Suzuki Nation (Minoru Suzuki and Taka Michinoku) beat Oliver Grey and Eddie Ryan
Big T and Suge D beat The Hunter Brothers (Jim and Lee Hunter)
Arrows of Hungary (Icarus and Dover) beat Desination Everywhere (Connor Mills and Oisin Delaney)
Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson) beat Monster Consulting (Robert Dreissker and Julian Nero)
Breezeango (Fandango and Tyler Breeze) beat The Agenda (Colossus Kennedy and David Deville)
Young Guns (Luke Jacobs and Ethan Allen) beat The Sons of Ulaid (Rory Coyle and Bas Bann)
Final Cut (Noam Dar and Liam Thompson) beat Andy Wild and Kez Evans
Bad Company (Wolfgang and BT Gunn) beat Nathan Cruz and Matt Myers
Filthy Generation (Steve Xavier and Davey Blaze) beat Tuck Shop (Jack Sexsmith and Visage)
Arturo Ruas and Cezar Bononi beat Thatcher Wright and Ian Skinner
0121 (Dan Moloney and Man Like Dereiss) beat Clint Margera and Luke Douglas
Iron Lions (Andrew Simmons and James Tighe) defeated Screwface Ahmed and Lucian Phillips
Untouchables (Damian Slater and Marcius Pitt) beat Big Guns Money (Gene Munny and Big Guns Joe)


Following this Download double header special, the tournament officially began to kick off and it seemed for every match Trent Seven made a point to be on commentary as he scouted every team in the tournament. Quickly some favorites in the tournament would emerge with Aussie Open seemingly one of the front runners in the pack. Along with them would be the monstrous pairing of Duke Hudson and Bronson Reed plus the pairing of the Foreign Legion. Yet as the tournament progressed a few travelers to the brand emerged as front runners. The first of which would be former NXT tag team champions Sanity. This would be the full collective of Sanity who similar to the Grizzled Young Veterans in this tournament would operate under a free bird rule with any iteration of the trio competing. Along with Sanity an independent duo of David Starr and Jurn Simmons began to make waves. This would partially be down to David Starr's frequent promos during matches which would shock many with WWE allowing him to continue his controversial character. The last imports to standout would be that of the Suzuki Nation. Comprised of NXT Japan's veterans Minoru Suzuki and Taka Michinoku. We'd see the sadistic Suzuki very much play apart in some hard hitting bouts through the tournament.

Round One
Sanity (Eric Young and Alexander Wolfe) beat Bad Company (BT Gunn and Wolfgang)
Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Kip Sabian) beat Breezeango (Tyler Breeze and Fandango)
Kenny Williams and Michael Oku beat Lykos Gym (Kid Lykos and Nico Angelo)
Massive Product (David Starr and Jurn Simmons) beat Akira Tozawa and Apollo Crews
The New Mighty (Duke Hudson and Bronson Reed) beat the Kings of the North (Bonesaw and Damien Corvin)
Ridge Holland and Spike Trivet beat Johnny Storm and Jody Fleisch
The Foreign Legion (Clement Petiot and Marcel Barthel) beat Big T and Suge D
Aussie Open (Mark Davis and Kyle Fletcher) beat Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan
The Workhorsemen (Asher Hale and JD Drake) beat Arturo Ruas and Cezar Bononi
Sunshine Machine (Chuck Mambo and TK Cooper) beat Final Cut (Noam Dar and Liam Thompson_
The Coffey Brothers (Mark Coffey and Joe Coffey) beat Symbiosis (Primate and Wild Boar)
Suzuki Nation (Minoru Suzuki and Taka Michinoku) beat The Marauders (Ashton Smith and Rampage Brown)
The Welsh Dragons (Mark Andrews and Morgan Webster) beat Iron Lions (Andrew Simmons and James Tighe)
Smoking Aces (Charlie Sterling and Nick Riley) beat Filthy Generation (Davey Blaze and Steve Xavier)
0121 (Dan Moloney and Man Like Dereiss) beat Arrows of Hungary (Icarus and Dover)
Young Guns (Luke Jacobs and Ethan Allen) beat Untouchables (Damian Slater and Marcius Pitt

As we'd see however this tournament wouldn't be without it's drama as in one of the opening matches we'd see Ashton Smith suffer a severe knee injury. This would force Rampage Brown to go it alone and despite a spirited effort he'd be overwhelmed by Suzuki and Michinoku leading to the Marauders' elimination from the tournament. Along with this tragic injury we'd also see frequent bouts of miscommunication between Kenny Williams and Michael Oku. While this wouldn't be surprising to some considering their inexperience as a team what would become noticeable would be Kenny Williams' anger and frustration directed towards his inexperienced partner. As it soon become clear that while he may be teaming with OKU, Kenny didn't share the same respect for his partner. Surprisingly they wasn't the only team struggling with cohesion as we'd see some miscommunications between Mark and Joe Coffey come close to costing the brothers their matches throughout the tournament.

Round Two
The Welsh Dragons (Mark Andrews and Morgan Webster) beat Ridge Holland and Spike Trivet
Suzuki Nation (Minoru Suzuki and Taka Michinoku) beat the Young Guns (Luke Jacobs and Ethan Allen)
The Foreign Legion beat 0121
Massive Product beat Smoking Aces
The Grizzled Young Veterans beat The Coffey Brothers
The New Mighty beat Sunshine Machine
Sanity beat The Workhorsemen
Aussie Open beat Kenny Williams and Michael Oku

This drama we'd soon see come to a head during round two as the Coffey Brothers suffered a devastating early elimination from former foes James Drake and Zack Gibson. Williams and OKU meanwhile failed to coexist and would fall at the hands of Aussie Open. During the post match however we'd see Kenny Williams let frustration get the better of him as he'd shove down his partner. Also of note during these matches was a count out defeat that Spike Trivet and Ridge Holland faced when a frustrated Trivet would march backstage unhappy with how his match with the Welsh Dragins was going. We'd also see a continued dominance from Suzuki Nation, The New Mighty and also Sanity all of whom would pick up some hard fought wins to put themselves in the Quarter Finals of the tournament.

Quarter Finals
The Welsh Dragons beat The Foreign Legion
Suzuki Nation beat Massive Product
Sanity beat The Grizzled Young Veterans
Aussie Open beat the New Mighty

It would be during the quarter finals however that this tournament kicked itself into a new gear. This would begin with a series of upsets and surprising results as Mark Andrew and Morgan Webster continued their underdog story through the tournament and bested the Foreign Legion. This was then followed with a moment which audiences had been clamoring for since his team's arrival in WWE UK. As David Starr would finally be shut up once and for all at the hands of a surprising hero by the name of Minoru Suzuki. Although it would be a bitter sweet moment as it was Jurn Simmons who was beaten by Suzuki and not the outspoken Starr who showed his true colors by bailing on his partner when things got tough. In a surprising elimination we'd see the impressive run of the Grizzled Young Veterans come to an end when for once they couldn't use the numbers game when Kip Sabian was laid to waste by Alexander Wolfe at ringside. Despite their savvy as a team Drake and Gibson were no match for the mammoth Dain who was proving himself as a breakout star in this tournament. While finally in the heated bout of the quarter finals Mark Davis and Kyle Fletcher would pick up a impressive victory over the Mighty Rivals Duke Hudson and Bronson Reed.

Semi Finals
Sanity beat Welsh Dragons
Aussie Open beat Suzuki Nation

This would lead into the semi finals and it would be here that things would take quite the dramatic turn. Firstly as not only did British Strong Style continue to take a vested interest in the tournament with Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate now present in the front row while Trent Seven remained on commentary. Unfortunately, as we'd see the tournament would take a setback when Kyle Fletcher was attacked and injured in a backstage assault by the New Mighty which put him out of action. This meant Adam Brooks would step in his place and participate in the next bout in the tournament with Mark Davis. As a duo despite not teaming together previously they was able to surprise everyone by picking up the win over Suzuki Nation. Meanwhile the group of Sanity would use Alexander Wolfe's erratic behavior and Eric Young's veteran status to defeat the Welsh Dragons so that they could also advance to the finals.

Finals
Sanity beat Aussie Open

Which brought us to the finals where Sanity would pick up a surprising win defeating Mark Davis and Adam Brooks to be crowned the first winners of the British Bulldog tag team classic. With the knowledge that they'd be receiving a title shot at the next Showcase, the trio of Sanity would be confronted by Champions British Strong Style. Thanks to the combustible elements in play we'd soon see a brawl breakout between the groups until Sanity showed they had a equalizer to combat them. This being the twisted sister Nikki Cross who had little issue in throwing herself in harms way. As we'd soon find Nikki's chaos however would make waves in the women's division also as Cross would begin competing in the ring and actually start battling some of the women's wrestlers.

Soon her erratic behavior however would put her across from the no nonsense Millie McKenzie. In what was a hard hitting contest between the two, the match soon come to a shocking end thanks to the arrival of BSS. With Trent Seven preparing to hit a piledriver on Nikki, we'd see Millie McKenzie look to stop this only to be blasted with a forearm strike by Pete Dunne. The arrival of Sanity would soon run off BSS and we'd see a special match announced between Eric Young and Trent Seven where the winner would be able to decide the stipulation of their bout. In a back and forth clash Eric Young managed to pick up the win and selected a TLC match which as we'd learn would be competed for as a trio team as opposed to a tag team.

Before the match could take place at the Shwocase however we'd see Trent Seven on crutches claiming an injury while Eric Young was later shown attacked backstage. This meant that the match would be a straight TLC tag team title match. In the crowd we'd see Millie McKenzie present as she'd reveal she suffered a severe jaw injury from the assault by Pete Dunne. What followed was a wild TLC match which was back and forth between the teams and soon it become clear that Seven's injury was a ruse as he looked to use his crutches to beat down Killian Dain. However he'd soon be attacked by Nikki Cross while at ringside Alexander Wolfe speared Tyler Bate through a table. As we'd soon see however Pete Dunne would blast Nikki with a Bitter End as Millie McKenzie rolled into the ring and grabbed one of Seven's crutches. Staring down Dunne, Millie soon broke out into a smile before snapping the crutch across Dain's back. This allowed Dunne to make the climb and grab the titles before BSS celebrated their win as a group with it's newest member.
The Mighty don't kneel
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Having suffered a heart breaking defeat in the finals of the British Bulldog Tag Team Classic. Aussie Open soon was rejoined by a livid Kyle Fletcher as the trio agreed their saga with the Mighty couldn't go on for much longer. Now recognized as a fully fledged member of Aussie Open, Adam Brooks agreed to help them take down the Mighty and expose Thorne for being the manipulative parasite that he really is. Despite them costing Aussie Open the classic, it appeared that the Mighty wasn't done either as Shane Thorne made it clear that he didn't want Aussie Open beaten but rather he wanted them broken. This was shown in the weeks which followed as Thorne would lead his group into a series of attacks on the Aussie Open stable with Thorne in particular doling out punishment to Adam Brooks who he deemed a traitor.

As time went on as well we'd see a lot more to the pair of Duke Hudson and Bronson Reed in regards to their characters. While Reed for most part seemed to have some reluctance in joining these assaults as he preferred to handle his business in the ring. Duke Hudson was shown to be quite the arrogant, vain and conceited individual. With both teams very much at war with one another it soon become apparent that town wasn't big enough for the two of them. Which is why they agreed to a six man tag team match in which not only would the losing team be forced to disband. But the person who took the fall would in fact be forced to leave the brand entirely. This would lead to their match at the Showcase which thanks to a year's story behind it would surprisingly be put in the co-main event slot.

In what was a heated back and forth clash between both teams. We'd see every man go all out as they looked to deliver the goods in front of their home crowd. This would culminate with Adam Brooks landing a swanton bomb on Shane Thorne which was enough for him to pin Thorne and win the match for Aussie Open. With the audience on their feet Aussie Open would celebrate their win while the Mighty stood on dejected in the ring. Slowly climbing to his feet Thorne would berate Hudson and Reed which led to Hudson leaving the ring and walking backstage. Reed meanwhile eventually would snap and clobber Thorne with a clothesline before hitting a tsunami splash on Thorne much to the audience's delight.
Meet the New me
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A major talking point of the british bulldog tag team classic was the new attitude displayed by Kenny Williams. Having in the past shown himself at points to be quite the temperamental human being. Williams truly showed a more hot headed side to his nature in this tournament towards his young partner Michael Oku. While at points this would be Williams scolding Michael Oku at other points especially following their elimination from the tournament. We'd see Kenny Williams lash out and berate Michael Oku before shoving him down to the canvas. This would earn Kenny a few boos and jeers from the audience in attendance for the first time since his arrival to the WWE UK brand following it's inception.

Over the next few weeks Michael Oku and others would look to talk to Williams in order to see just where his head was at. Williams at first would try to pass things off like everything was fine and there was no issue. However we'd soon see his true colors shining through in his matches. With an increased aggression and opting to shift from crowd pleasing moves like the satellite DDT and instead using a vicious kimura to pick up wins. Kenny Williams truly embraced the hate following a confrontation with Michael Oku in which Williams blind sided Oku with a headbutt and then proceeded to dole out a vicious beat down to the young rookie fully cementing his heel turn. During a sit down interview the following week with Joanna Rose, Kenny very much played the blame game putting all his issues on Oku for letting him down and the audience for not recognizing his struggles.

This would lead to Oku challenging Kenny to a match at Showcase Sydney. Admitting that this isn't what he wanted Oku promised that if nothing else he will make Kenny Williams respect him. It must be said as well during their conversations with Michael Oku, neither Mark Andrews or Morgan Webster knew exactly what to say in regards to this new side of Kenny Williams. During the match we'd see Williams continue to show his viciousness while Michael Oku entered a career best performance. Unfortunately in the end Kenny Williams managed to spike Oku into the ring apron with a satellite DDT before he'd then clamp on a kimura hold for the win. During a segment later in the show Williams found himself confronted by former friend Mark Andrews who despite Williams' attempts to carry on as normal, admitted that he could not recognize the man standing here as his friend.
Lone Ranger
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After his attempts to disrespect and humiliate the legends of UK wrestling in Wembley. We'd finally see someone out there looking to show Spike Trivet and his associate Ridge Holland the error of their ways. This of course being a true student of the game especially when it comes to European wrestling Kassius Ohno. Having recently announced him signing a contract with WWE UK, Ohno said he was here to honor British Wrestling and we'd see him do that in the weeks that followed as he competed in a few traditional world of sport matches against veterans like James Mason and Jon Ritchie. Unfortunately Ohno's attempts to show respect would only further earn him the mockery and disdain of Spike Trivet who disregarded Ohno as a peasant looking to prove himself against the elite.

Trivet however made it clear that he wouldn't be one for getting his hands dirty. At least not right away which is why he placed a bounty on Kassius Ohno's head. We'd see a interesting collective of mercenaries all look to collect on this deal. Some names who went for Ohno in this time would include Steve Xavier, Tyson T-Bone, Arturo Ruas and Brian Kendrick. Yet time and time again Kassius Ohno would manage to defeat and dispatch these foes with one of his many vicious strikes which only served to enrage Spike Trivet who finally agreed to face Ohno, should Ohno defeat his associate Ridge Holland. In what was a hard fought and bruising contest Kassius Ohno would eventually pick up the win to earn himself a shot at the Snake in the grass.

Yet unfortunately for Kassius, Trivet would be the first to draw blood during the contract signing. This would be thanks to Trivet using the fountain pen as a weapon to gouge Kassius Ohno in the eye before viciously assaulting his foe and bloodying him. Shockingly Trivet would then sign the contract in Ohno's blood making their feud all the more personal. During their match at Showcase it seemed Kassius' eye was in fact still causing him some issues with Trivet actually targeting that side of his face. Towards the end of the match however Ohno had Trivet reeling and hurt following a series of hard strikes but an errant shot to the referee allowed Trivet to take advantage and spray champagne in Ohno's eyes momentarily blinding him and allowing Trivet to hit a flatliner for a tainted victory.
Don't fight a street fighter
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Since his arrival to the brand and his Commonwealth Championship's introduction, Timothy Thatcher had run roughshod over his competition. With the addition of Malcolm Bivens by his side however not only did Timothy Thatcher continue his dominant reign but he'd also continue to express his enjoyment at inflicting extra damage to his opponents. Usually finishing his opponents with a form of submission hold, Thatcher would often keep the hold locked in tight to further injure his opponents. This was showcased particularly in a special challenge match against veteran Matt Hardy in which Thatcher trapped Hardy in a vicious heel hook submission which left Matt screaming in the ring before being taken backstage on a stretcher.

With his dominance and viciousness continuing Thatcher's antics wouldn't go unnoticed by those in the locker room in particular one BT Gunn who promised to take the fight to the commonwealth champion. While Thatcher was never one to back down or refute a challenge, his manager Malcolm Bivens seemed a lot more hesitant based on BT Gunn's experience as a hard core wrestler and street fighter. During the match this was on display as not only did BT Gunn give Timothy Thatcher his toughest challenge yet but he also provided Thatcher with something he'd not yet encountered. An opponent willing to bend the rules if not break them in order to take the fight directly to the commonwealth champion. This was on firm display when Gunn would get himself disqualified with a blatant low blow on Thatcher before he'd knock out the champion with a superkick.

In the coming weeks we would see that BT Gunn's offense and unorthodox style very much had taken the commonwealth champion off of his game. Gunn even managed to pull Thatcher into a few brawls backstage in which Gunn would come out on top. All the while Malcolm Bivens would plead with his client not to get into a street fight with a street fighter. Despite Bivens' pleas Thatcher elected to put his title on the line against BT Gunn at the Showcase. In what was a hard hitting contest between the two, we'd see Thatcher really have to fight from underneath before finally he'd hurt Gunn badly with a headbutt before choking him out with a rear naked choke in what was BT Gunn's send off match with the United Kingdom Brand.
Familiar Foe
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One of the more surprising moments from the previous Showcase was the arrival of Emma to WWE UK. The former NXT standout made her business felt during the women's ladder match as she viciously launched an unprovoked attack on Toni Storm with a steel chair. In the weeks which followed the showcase Emma through a series of interviews would blame Toni Storm for costing her the big moment in her return to the brand during the UK women's rumble. Stating that Storm ruined what would have been her crowning moment, Emma felt that all things were level now as she made Toni experience the very same hurt that she did. Of course Toni Storm wouldn't take this laying down as she branded Emma to be delusional and promised to make her pay.

Over the next few weeks these Emma interviews would continue in which she claimed that she was the Aussie wrestler who broke the door and walls down for everyone else that followed. Stating that if it wasn't for her there would be no Toni Storm, Emma remarks that it is time for her to stand in line and know her place behind her. Her final interview however would be crashed by Storm leading to quite the chaotic pull apart brawl between the two. Having seen enough of the pair going back and forth with one another it would be general manager Katarina Leigh who decided to announce Emma vs Toni Storm for the opening match at Showcase Sydney.

These two rivals would very much give the audience quite the back and forth war to open the show before their home crowd. Following a hard fought back and forth battle Toni Storm would shock everyone by hitting Emma with a Storm Zero on the ring apron. This would very much be the decider in the contest and not long after she would pick up the win over her rival. Sadly as we'd come to find later on in the evening this feud was far from over as Toni Storm was confronted by Billie Kay and Peyton Royce who disingenuously began congratulating Toni distracting her so she could be attacked by Emma. The Iconic duo wasted little time in joining the assault as they and Emma would put the boots to a downed Storm.
Clash of Kings
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Having won the King of the Ring tournament months ago it seemed now was finally the time for Jordan Devlin to put any distractions aside and get his long awaited title opportunity by challenging Fabian Aichner. For the first time since his arrival to the brand the champion Aichner had here in front of him a foe who he couldn't goad or play any mind games with as not only did Jordan show himself unwilling to flinch to Aichner's games but he also showed he was in fact better at playing them and would seemingly rattle the champion especially during their press conference where Devlin managed to rock Aichner during their face off with a headbutt. Having seen what Devlin was willing to do, Barrett would put down an order mandating that neither man from this point could touch the other until their match.

Yet this didn't stop the mind games from flowing as Devlin and Aichner would get a chance to pick one another's poison over the coming weeks. For Jordan Devlin, Fabian Aichner would select second generation star Harry Smith who was looking to make his big WWE return having plied his trade in Japan. The bruising heavyweight very much made an impression in this match thanks to his big suplexes on Devlin but much to Aichner's annoyance Devlin would over come Smith and put him away with the Ireland's call. In response to this Devlin called in another returning talent in Justin Gabriel to battle Aichner. A talented athlete and high flyer Gabriel very much kept Aichner on his toes throughout the match until Aichner put him down with Hasta La Vista. Yet with everything building up to this moment we'd soon find that not everything would go as planned come Showcase Sydney.
The House always wins
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While her match with Meiko Satomura at the previous Showcase may have been quite the respect filled clash for champion Tegan Nox. She'd find following this Showcase, the build to her next Showcase match against "The Fashionista" Jinny was far from the respectful, honorable affair. Because as has been a consistent story through her time during the WWE UK, there wasn't a cheap shot or low blow that Jinny would not take to get ahead of her. This included her using her two House of Couture cohorts Lana Austin and Nina Samuels to her advantage with Lana and Nina loyally following Jinny's orders without question. In fact we'd see two separate non title singles matches as both Lana and Nina looked to take down Tegan Nox themselves under the orders of their employer.

Before these matches both women were afforded interview time in which they explained their motivations and why they worked with Jinny. For Nina Samuels, a veteran of the independent scene who had never been given an opportunity or chance in the past. This was her chance and her big break to make it having spent years toiling away for little money. Whereas Lana Austin spoke of her children and her family life. How she had mouths to feed and everything she would do for Jinny was because the Fashionista was able to help provide her more for her family than she ever made doing the right thing. Unfortunately for both Nina and Lana they would come up short against Tegan Nox on both occasions which would draw them the ire of Jinny who demanded that they step up and make their mark.

This would soon be shown when the pair would launch a vicious attack on Nox the week before the Showcase which called into question her health ahead of the event. During the match we'd see a lot of adversity thrown Tegan Nox's way including attacks at the hands of Nina Samuels and Lana Austin as well as Jinny targeting Tegan Nox's compromised knee. Yet to her credit Nox showed her resiliency and also her willingness to play Jinny's own game against her as behind the referee's back she'd use the steel chain around Jinny's handbag as a chain to lay out both Nina and Lana before putting down Jinny with the shining wizard to once again retain her championship much to the delight of the audience in attendance.
Women's Division Rundown
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Of course it wasn't just Emma and Toni Storm or Jinny and Tegan Nox which just had the talking points in WWE UK's women's division. Arguably possessing one of the most talent rich rosters of women around, WWE UK had a large group of talents looking to make a statement. No one more so perhaps than pair of Bea Priestley and Jamie Hayter seemed as willing to go further than most to make a statement. Shown to be a pair of in some ways psychopaths feeding off of one another. This duo would attack and look to hurt anyone who garnered their attention and for reasons unknown one name which caught their eye was Piper Niven. While at first the pair would be watchers soon a post match attack showed that this pair had designs on injuring Niven.

Yet soon Niven had an ally of her own to fight the good fight in veteran Dakota Kai. Unfortunately for Niven even with the numbers even Kai and her would be unable to get a straight up match against Priestley and Hayter. As during a brawl we'd see Priestley and Hayter combine to injure Piper Niven's arm. Yet despite the damage still done they'd move on to targeting Dakota Kai. Thankfully for Kai she'd be joined by Kasey Owens to fight the pair off and what followed would be a wild tornado tag rules street fight. During this chaotic affair we'd see Kai manage to get some retribution on the pair before sadly Hayter managed to knock out Kasey Owens with a ripcord lariat on the apron. This left Kai isolated but before further damage could be done Piper Niven would return and even the odds which allowed Dakota Kai to pick up one of her biggest wins following a diving double stomp through a table on Bea.

This wouldn't be the only women's feud of note as we'd see the lone wolf Kay Lee Ray continue to make her presence felt. Racking up wins against the likes of Zoe Lucas and Alex Windsor. Kay Lee Ray soon found herself with a rival willing to stand against her as Xia Brookside looked to prove herself against one of the best the division had to offer. Not only did she look to prove herself against Kay Lee Ray but she also looked to earn her respect as Kay Lee Ray would outright refuse any attempts by Xia Brookside to show her respect. This would lead to a couple of hard fought matches between the pair all of which would be won by Kay Lee Ray. This culminated with one last chance by Brookside which say Kay Lee Ray put Brookside away with a middle rope gory bomb. Yet judging by the nod of her head that she gave Xia Brookside following it appeared that Kay Lee Ray did in fact have a little respect for the young talent.

Lastly we'd be introduced to a new addition to the women's division over the course of these weeks. A mae young classic tournament competitor who had been plying her trade on NXT. "The Virtuosa" Deonna Purrazzo would be hyped by several vignettes as she boastfully spoke about her proficiency in the ring. Yet what really made people stand up and take note would be the revelation that Deonna Purrazzo was the newest client to be led by none other than Malcolm Bivens. Bivens would proudly promote Deonna as the future of the UK women's division and from here we'd see her compete in a series of squash matches in the run up to the Showcase. All of which she would win after clamping her opponents in the fujiwara armbar to claim the submission.
Wonderland
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An intriguing plotline which was being followed since the previous showcase was the brainwashing of Jack Gallagher at the hands of "The Red Priestess" Isla Dawn. Having been manipulated and having a spell cast over him to see Isla Dawn as his queen. This manic Jack Gallagher would serve Isla's every wish as the chaotic Mad Hatter of her kingdom. In the ring Jack showcase this viciousness even more which led to him drawing the attention of Morgan Webster. Webster would look to find out what happened to his friend yet as we'd find this prying wasn't welcomed by Isla Dawn or the rest of her kingdom. As firstly Webster would be viciously assaulted by Jack Gallagher but then he'd also be misted by Isla's newest subject "The March Hare" Aivil.

With Webster proclaiming that he would snap Jack Gallagher from this spell. We'd see Isla Dawn continue to state there was no spell as all she was doing was allowing those by her side to live a life of providence in her wonderland. There would be some stark differences in the mania shown by Gallagher compared to Aivil especially in the ring. While Gallagher was shown to be violent and sadistic, we'd see Aivil was a lot more erratic and very much a daredevil. Soon however we'd see one more addition to Isla Dawn's collective this being "The Knave" Jurn Simmons. A stoic and stone faced big man who served as the muscle for the group. Jurn Simmons would protect the queen at all costs while Gallagher would battle against Webster. Although as we'd soon find this story would soon take an interesting turn.
Strange Bedfellows
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Following the British Bulldog Tag Team Classic it appeared that there was a burgeoning partnership forming between the Foreign Legion and the Grizzled Young Veterans. While two duos one wouldn't automatically group together, it seemed there was a mutual respect or agenda for this collective to be aligned. The reason for this grouping though seemed designed to target Travis Banks and make his life miserable. At first it seemed like an innocent encounter in which Kip Sabian went out of his way to antagonize Travis Banks yet clearly as we'd see this was a ruse to bait him into a sneak attack by the Grizzled Young Veterans and the Foreign Legion. What this collective perhaps didn't count on was just who else they'd draw the fury of.

Thanks to their relentless usage of the numbers game both duos would begin to rack up the wins. As we'd see Zack Gibson beat Mark Andrews following a DDT on the floor by James Drake. We'd also see Marcel Barthel and Clement Petiot pick up a tainted victory over the pair of Wolfgang and Tyson T-Bone which only furthered the narrative of this collective using their numbers to further their own ends. Having had enough of the group Travis Banks would challenge the man he saw as one of it's leaders Marcel Barthel to a match. Following a back and forth bout we'd see Banks have the bout won with a koji clutch only to be attacked by the rest of this collective which in turn would draw out Wolfgang, Tyson T-Bone and Mark Andrews. While the GYV and the Foreign Legion made their leave this time it was clear that the numbers game very much would still come into play.

That would be until a call was answered by a surprising source. Following Ashton Smith's injury in the British Bulldog Classic, a change was seen in Rampage Brown. Isolated, angry and antisocial Brown said that now the world would see him for what he really is. A series of destructive squashes followed with Brown debuting a new lariat to his arsenal. Seeing potential in Brown the GYV attempted to recruit him to their side but this backfired when Brown reminded them he had a match against Kip Sabian. During this match he'd be attacked and beaten down by the collective which led to Banks, Andrews, Wolfgang and T-Bone coming to the rescue. Despite their help Brown wasn't happy nor was he willing to be a team player leading to a one on one match between Banks and Brown. In a huge moment Brown would pick up the win following a diving lariat but after the match he made it clear that he'd be willing to team against the Foreign Legion and The Grizzled Young Veterans. This would lead to a much anticipated 10 man tag team match being added to Showcase Sydney but as with many things set to take place at this event.. What we expected and what we got was two different things!
The Arrivals!
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One big talking points going into Showcase Sydney was a series of announcements by Wade Barrett. Talking about his pride at what WWE UK has become, Wade Barrett says that in proof of it becoming a hotbed for wrestling. A few well known and established faces will be joining the brand. Vignettes and promos over the coming weeks would air for every superstar set to be coming to WWE UK. The first of which would focus on the Iconic Duo who of course would show up at Showcase Sydney and instantly align themselves with Emma to attack Toni Storm. A more surprising arrival at Showcase Sydney was a promo by Drew Gulak, the founder of Catchpoint. Gulak sold himself as a mercenary who promised to break bones of those he was hired to target.

After a few changes in the card due to reasons out of the brand's control. A match between Morgan Webster and Jack Gallagher was cancelled with rumors indicating that Webster would fight a too be determined opponent. This opponent would be unveiled as veteran Shelton Benjamin who praised WWE UK for being full of hungry young stars. His character reminiscent of a veteran knowing his time was slowly coming up, Shelton admitted he looked to come to WWE UK for one last memorable run to show he could hang with the kids of the future. Which is why in his first night he'd take on Morgan Webster and pick up a shock win following paydirt. He wouldn't be the only main roster member Webster encountered that night however as he'd be confronted by Maria Kanellis which led to Morgan being assaulted by Mike Kanellis.

A special series of vignettes would also begin to air following Sydney. With the first starting at Sydney highlighting the Premier Athlete hunt. This would be a hunt by Tony Nese in finding the right manager for him. Hyping up his own capabilities and athleticism, Nese would call himself a must see and must sign prospect before calling him the hottest free agent in wrestling history. The final arrival would be more of a fun tease as following his win over Kassius Ohno earlier in the night, Spike Trivet found himself confronted by EC3. The top one percenter was far from impressed with what he'd seen from Spike Trivet and branded him a pretender before making his way out of the building.
SPEAKING OUT
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As mentioned and teased previously there was a lot of changes and chaos throughout the UK brand following these months. For a movement that was long overdue would begin and highlight the abuse incurred by multiple women across numerous wrestling promotions. Like many promotions in the UK, the UK brand was affected by this and looked to make changes immediately. The first of which was the immediate termination of both Travis Banks and Jack Gallagher's contracts. Along with this we'd learn that Bea Priestley, Wolfgang, Joe Coffey and Jordan Devlin would all be suspended for varying reasons. Of the bunch only Bea Priesley would be pegged for a return to the brand as her issues were more behavioral as opposed to allegations behind them. In the meantime she'd be suspended and moved to the UK performance Center.

Creative changes would also be made with plans to bring in James R Kennedy on color commentary curtailed and potential for El Ligero to join the brand cut completely off. Along with this two touted prospects Scotty Davis and Lucas Steele were released immediately from the promotion. With all this upheaval the card for Showcase Sydney and plans for the future were in danger. Yet as we'd soon learn the brand was resilient and in a short space of time was able to salvage if not strengthen the card thanks to a big assist by WWE management. The first step was salvaging the main event which originally was supposed to be Jordan Devlin and Fabian Aichner for the UK Championship. In it's place Fabian Aichner defended his title against none other than Finn Balor who to the shock of everyone would defeat Fabian Aichner to become the UK Champion much to the audience's delight.

With the departure of Jack Gallagher, not only was the Morgan Webster match in jeopardy but so was the Wonderland storyline which Jack was at the center of. As we'd soon learn however thanks to the decision to bring in some main roster faces Shelton Benjamin was able to wrestle Morgan Webster in an atypical match between babyfaces. While rumors indicated that Wonderland would continue with recent signing Joseph Conners taking the role meant for Jack albeit under a different moniker of the Cheshire. Another story which took a shift was the rumored coffey brother 7 match series with Joe's departure. With Mark stuck in limbo and on his own a segment would play backstage with Mark meeting with Wade Barrett who had brought in a new talent for him to team with before introducing Mark to his new partner Noam Dar!

Finally with Wolfgang and Banks out the five man match was also crucially effected and here is where the WWE truly made some blockbuster replacements. In the run up to Sydney it was rumored that the brand was on the lookout for some top level free agents and it become clear that with these departures some offers were made and accepted very quickly. The first of which would be of Ilja Dragunov, with the highly regarded Russian standout making his mark across Europe. Dragunov had long been on the brand's radar and in this time of desperation he was a first round draft pick for sure. The second more surprising name was that of Scotland's Joe Hendry. The charismatic standout was very much a surprising signing due to his more independent nature yet with these two signings WWE was able to add more intrigue to the event as Hendry and Dragunov teamed with Brown, Andrews and T-Bone to defeat The Grizzled Young Veterans and The Foreign Legion after Hendry submitted Sabian with an ankle lock!
 

Shade

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WWE UK Prelude - ACT VII: MILESTONES
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Following what was perhaps the biggest Showcase since the brand's inception. Things only seemed to be looking up for WWE UK as things pushed forward towards it's one hundredth episode. The episode was set to take place in the Empress Ballroom in blackpool which of course was where the very first UK tournament was held which then led to the creation of the brand. For this show as we'd learn WWE was willing to pull out all the stops including bringing in Daniel Bryan who had in the past spoken of his fondness for wrestling in the UK while also honoring it's own history with the rematch between Shanna and Tegan Nox and classily paying tribute to the recently deceased Lionheart with a memorial battle royal. This would continue to show the brand's growth following Showcase Sydney which very much felt like a key turning point for the brand especially with it's new champion Finn Balor at the top of the mountain.

Quickly Finn Balor would prove himself to be a honorable champion more than willing to put his title on the line against all comers. This would be shown following the first event after Showcase Sydney in which Balor would defend his title in a impressive showing against Shelton Benjamin. It would then be announced that Finn Balor's next defense would be against the winner of the Lionheart memorial battle royal which would take place at the 100th episode of WWE UK. Yet this wouldn't be the only big news going into this show as we'd learn that Finn Balor wasn't willing to sit aside for the 100th episode without stepping in the ring. As the Champion would issue an open challenge which was accepted by Timothy Thatcher in what was a rare champion vs champion clash.

In a match which some have called one of the best matches seen so far since WWE UK's inception. Finn Balor would become the first man to defeat Timothy Thatcher and retain his UK Championship. All the while with the knowledge that his next opponent would be the spirited Mark Andrews who was the victory of the Lionheart memorial battle royal. Sadly this match wouldn't happen unfortunately due to a backstage assault by a mystery assailant on Mark Andrews the following week. With Mark Andrews not cleared to compete and no one coming forward to admit the attack. Finn Balor soon found himself with a interesting series of matches against all the members of the Grizzled Young Veterans culminating with a successful title defense at the Rebellion network special. However he wouldn't have much time to celebrate thanks to a vicious post match assault at the hands of Fabian Aichner.

The former UK Champion would very much make his intention clear that he wanted his rematch for the title. Balor for his part would welcome the challenge as he told Aichner if he wanted a match with him he could have it right now. Balor's offer would be intercepted however by the arrival of Wade Barrett. Continuing to make decisions without the knowledge of GM Katarina Leigh. Wade Barrett would declare that Fabian Aichner instead would get his rematch at the upcoming Showcase which was set to take place at the Royal Albert Hall in London. However as we'd come to find the road to this match would take some very unexpected turns with plenty speedbumps on the road to the Royal Albert Hall for this Showcase Sydney Rematch.
Gang Warfare
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Another Championship feud from Sydney which didn't end at the event but only increased in volatility and intensity was the gang warfare between British Strong Style and Sanity. This saga was only intensified by the actions of Millie McKenzie who aligned herself proudly with British Strong Style as her history as a student of Pete Dunne was revealed. Yet her attack on Sanity would earn her quite the target on her back from the twisted sister Nikki Cross. For as bad as BSS and Sanity may be these two truly brought combustibility to the rivalry with numerous backstage encounters and assaults. Yet soon we'd find this rivalry would greatly go further beyond any titles or opportunities. As we'd see Millie and Nikki's personal animosity bubble over into their War of Attrition qualifier with both women taking a nasty spill off the stage.

Yet it wouldn't just be the women where this chaos would reign as we'd see at Rebellion. British Strong Style would suffer a shocking defeat at the hands of Aussie Open which saw their title reign come to an end. Despite the defeat they would still find themselves chased by Sanity with the two factions clearly couldn't function apart of the same brand. After numerous backstage collisions it appeared that the GMs had enough of the situation also as they elected to announce a match for the Royal Albert Hall. Before then however the two groups would face off in a best of three matches with the group who won two of the matches being able to pick the stipulation. We'd see British Strong Style take an early lead thanks to Millie McKenzie defeating Nikki Cross in a wild no holds barred clash.

Yet soon the tide would be evened thanks to Killian Dain who picked up a impressive singles victory over Tyler Bate. With the score currently at one apiece it was left to a tag team match as Pete Dunne and Trent Seven took on Eric Young and Alexander Wolfe. Here we'd see a critical miscommunication take place with Dunne and Seven which led to Alexander Wolfe pinning Pete Dunne following a sit out powerbomb. Having won this series Sanity would elect to pick an 8 person street fight for the Royal Albert Hall however this match would come with a caveat that the losing faction would be forced to disband entirely. What followed at Showcase would be a wild and brutal match filled with numerous big moments. Including a stunning sit out spinebuster from Killian Dain off the apron through a table on Millie.

As the match continued we'd see the field continue to be whittled down as Killian Dain missed a running body press on Tyler Bate and crashed through one of the barricades. Soon after we'd see both Alexander Wolfe and Tyler Bate laid out as Wolfe put his body on the line to hit a huge running powerbomb off the stage through several production crates below on Bate. This left Pete Dunne and Trent Seven against Eric Young and Millie McKenize. Thanks to a well timed chair shot followed by a Bitter End we'd see Young laid out before Nikki launched herself at Pete Dunne. Despite being against Cross, Dunne seemed hesitant to strike back sadly the same couldn't be said for Seven who blindsided Nikki and followed with a piledriver to pick up the win for British Strong Style. As we'd learn following this event Eric Young would return to NXT while Nikki Cross was kept on WWE UK. As for Wolfe and Dain they'd return at least for now to Defiant to work with the new prospects while WWE looked to find their new home.
New Beginnings - New Faces
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With the UK brand continuing to grow as it returned from it's Australian tour. We'd see just how much it's growth had manifested in it's roster especially with it's newly arrived talents. Of course that is without first mentioning a man who had come to WWE UK from the main roster himself. This being veteran Shelton Benjamin who as we'd learn from backstage reports had been brought in as a player coach for the younger talents to work with. In his story however we'd learn that Shelton was a veteran well aware that his prime had passed him. Yet still he was looking to prove himself against the kids of today to show he can still compete with the best that the brand had to offer. This would see him put on memorable matches with the likes of Finn Balor, Fabian Aichner, Joe Hendry, Ilja Dragunov, Zack Gibson and Kassius Ohno to mixed results. Yet at the Showcase in a backstage segment it appeared that Benjamin would start to serve as a mentor for Gabriel Kidd.

Shelton wouldn't be the only familiar face that would be a notable figure in these months. As we'd continue to see the former Killer Kelly now under her real name Raquel Lourenco continue to dutifully serve as Katarina Leigh's protector. This of course would be until she was blindsided by the Iconics and Emma as part of Wade Barrett's regime change. As we'd learn however Lourenco with or without Katarina wasn't one to stop fighting. We'd also see veteran Eddie Dennis return to the brand albeit in a non wrestling capacity as per the orders of Wade Barrett, Eddie Dennis would join the commentary table and it didn't take long for him to begin sniping at and clashing with Doug Williams. Another return following the showcase would be Ashton Smith who had been absent following a serious knee injury sustained at the Bulldog classic. The affable talent now going it alone as a singles picked up a couple of impressive wins over local talents.

Also riding a few impressive victories were the newly put together duo of Mark Coffey and Noam Dar. While at first the teem had some teething issues thanks in part to the brash outspoken nature of Noam Dar. The duo would finally fully unite with an impressive victory over veterans Andy Wild and BT Gunn. Following this victory Noam Dar in a promo would christen their team as Opus Dei. Also being rechristened would be two new recruits for Isla Dawn's Wonderland collective. Already being served dutifully by the powerhouse "knave" Jurn Simmons and the maniacal "March Hare" Aivil. We'd be introduced to the vicious and sadistic "Cheshire" Joseph Conners as well as as Isla's lieutenant "The White Rabbit" Jayde. Continuing on this trend of new teams and arrivals we'd also see Mariah May, a social media star introduce to WWE UK her team of Team Whitewolf who picked up a couple of impressive wins against local competitors.

The final two talents worth mentioning in their piece both debuted as part of Showcase Sydney thanks to the card changes. Both highly regarded talents for their skills we'd see both Ilja Dragunov and Joe Hendry continue to have success as part of the brand. Dragunov for his part seemed to be looking for the toughest tests possible as we'd see him pick up wins over the likes of Shelton Benjamin, Tyson T-Bone and others. Hendry meanwhile while lacking perhaps the humble nature of Dragunov also impressed audiences with his skills as he also picked up a win over Shelton Benjamin and also Kenny Williams before he'd make an impression at the Royal Albert Hall with a version of I want to know what love is dedicated to Maria Kanellis and Mike Kanellis.
Monster's Brawl
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Two big talking points from Showcase Sydney were two monstrous superstars who seemed to be showing their true natures. As while Bronson Reed seemed to see the light and embrace the support of the fans in attendance. Rampage Brown fully turned his back on the people and his friends choosing to go it alone. Slowly over the following weeks we'd see Reed and Brown each pick up impressive squash wins but with the matches being back to back it didn't take long for the two men to catch one another's attention. It'd start with one staying on the ramp to watch the other's matches to full on staredowns as they made their way down to the ring. This soon escalated to just who could put their opponent away the quickest with Reed beating Brown's time by a mere second much to Brown's annoyance.

Crucially in Brown's case there seemed to be one extra set of eyes on him during these matches as Metehan Hakan Aslan would be seen in the crowd observing Brown's every move. With these two monsters eying one another up and clearly not having much patience when it came time to getting physical. We'd see a match announced between the two for the rebellion live event. With a whole lot of anticipation behind it these two would have quite the hoss battle culminating with a shocking double knockout as both men took each other out at the same time. While the differences in personality may have been noted both men agreed that this could not be the way their story ended and thus a match was set on the Insurrextion event which took place before the Royal Albert Hall Showcase. Here we'd see Rampage Brown pick up the win following a vicious lariat as reports later indicated that Reed was set to go to NXT.
Class Divide
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Having done a great job of alienating the fans and his fellow wrestlers. Spike Trivet didn't have to look too far for his next opponent. As this would be a man who perhaps in a another life would be sat in one of Trivet's parties or a member of his club. Yet Spike's attitude had rubbed EC3 the wrong way and soon EC3 made it clear that he felt in Trivet we had a hypocrite and a pretender. This didn't sit with Spike Trivet either who actually recognized EC3's stature and wanted EC3 to acknowledge Trivet's wealth and superiority. While at first things would be very passive aggressive between the two as we'd see segments involving both men at a country club or at an equestrian rally. In these segments we'd learn that Trivet had arranged to face Daniel Bryan at the 100th episode of WWE UK.

Yet as we'd come to see there was always an angle or an agenda with Spike Trivet. As on this day Trivet arrived wearing what looked like an eye patch as he revealed that due to an eye injury from an errant champagne cork, he was unable to compete. So in his place would be Spike Trivet's ally Ridge Holland. There would of course be a lot of doubt and suspicion over Spike Trivet's injury especially as he'd interfere in the match allowing Holland to pick up a shocking upset victory. During the coming weeks EC3 continued to slander Trivet's actions and his performance as he said that everything about Spike and who he claimed to be was fake. This didn't sit well with Trivet and led to a confrontation between the two at a private members club by the heated pool.

With neither man willing to back down and the two unwilling to reach a compromise with one another. So instead a challenge would be made from EC3 to Spike Trivet. Knowing that he wouldn't get a fair fight with Spike, EC3 instead opted for a tag team match with the idea being that he and a partner of his choosing could take on Trivet and Holland. This partner would soon be revealed to be Ilja Dragunov. This would catch everyone off guard with Dragunov and EC3 very much not being two to have much in common. Yet what they did share was a disdain for Spike Trivet and at the Showcase we'd see them come together in perfect synergy. As EC3 was able to stop Trivet using a champagne bottle as a weapon before laying out Trivet with it himself which allowed Dragunov to pin Holland following a Torpedo Moscow.
Former friends turned foes
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One of the big talking points before Sydney was the new attitude of Kenny Williams on display. Shown to be conceited, vicious and egotistical Kenny Williams' behavior rubbed many people the wrong way including that of his former friend Mark Andrews. What added to this was Kenny's treatment of Michael Oku which seemed to sever the friendship between the pair for good. Following a confrontation at Sydney these two seemed destined to collide and they'd do so as the final men standing in the Lionheart Battle Royal. Watching these two fight you'd be hard pressed to believe they was once friends and in the end Andrews would beat Kenny to earn a shot at the UK Championship. A shot which wouldn't come sadly as Andrews was one of many victims of a series of backstage attacks.

While Andrews was out of commission Kenny showed very little in the way of compassion or remorse for his old friend. Instead Kenny seemed to find a new kinship with the likes of the Grizzled Young Veterans and also the Foreign Legion. With these new friends only further highlighting Kenny's new attitude, what we'd see to cement it was the reveal that it was in fact Kenny Williams who assaulted Mark Andrews backstage. While Kenny was proven to have not been apart of any of the other assaults. It was CCTV footage which revealed that Kenny was in fact the man to personally participate in this assault. This didn't sit well with Andrews on his return to the brand as he'd attack Kenny Williams backstage during a interview involving Kenny.

As per the orders of Wade Barrett we'd learn that a match had been scheduled for the upcoming showcase before a packed royal albert hall. This would be the opening bout of the night and it was clear from the off there was a lot of familiarity between the two by the numerous counters and back and forth. While the early going featured some uncharacteristic brawling between the two, it become apparent as the bout went on both men began looking to prove just who was better. This would all lead to Mark Andrews picking up a highly impressive victory over Kenny Williams following a Spanish Fly. While Andrews celebrated his win, a distraught Kenny Williams would sit against the barricade stunned at his defeat as in an online article we learned that Kenny Williams had gone into 'exile' as he looked to find himself before making his return.
War of Attrition
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As Wade Barrett began to further look to put his influence across the UK Brand. It seemed apparent that he was looking to make some friends or connections with a select few members of the roster. One of which would be the UK Women's Champion Tegan Nox who Barrett praised for her reign. Unfortunately for Wade it appeared that Nox was wise to his act as she made it crystal clear that she wanted nothing to do with any of Wade's machinations. This would be something that Wade would warn her she'd come to regret at a later moment which once he'd assumed power in his regime change he was sure to do. As he'd announce in a first time ever match that Tegan Nox would be defending her title in a war of attrition match.

This match would feature ten competitors including Tegan Nox all vying for her championship. The challengers would all qualify from a special edition filmed on youtube as we'd see Kay Lee Ray (defeated Aivil), Nikki Cross (defeated Kasey Owens), Piper Niven (defeated Jamie Hayter), Jinny (defeated Sadie Gibbs), Emma (defeated Dakota Kai), Deonna Purrazzo (defeated Xia Brookside), Millie McKenzie (defeated Candy Floss), Toni Storm (defeated Laura Di Matteo) and Xia Brookside (won a second chance gauntlet match). The war of attrition match would start with a randomly drawn five on five tag team match. In which we'd quickly see the team belonging to Piper Niven facing a serious disadvantage when Millie McKenzie and Nikki Cross both of whom were on this team brawled their way to the back and continued to fight through the episode. This left Niven, Emma and Toni Storm to fall after Emma further turned the odds against them by blindsiding Storm.

With 5 participants gone the next stage of War of Attrition was a fatal five way which culminated with Xia Brookside gaining a needed measure of revenge as she pinned Deonna Purrazzo to eliminate her from War of Attrition. Having got the win Xia was allowed to pick her partner for the next stage and she selected Tegan Nox to go up against Jinny and Kay Lee Ray. Sadly for Nox despite coming this far here would be her limit as Jinny took advantage of a distraction by Purrazzo on Xia to pin the young superstar. This would in turn whittle the field down to two as Jinny battled Kay Lee Ray. Despite her lone wolf nature and at points villainous ways Kay Lee Ray was the crowd favorite. Sadly she'd fall however as Jinny defeated her to become the new women's champion.

Branding herself the queen of WWE UK, Jinny found herself with Tegan Nox chasing right after her for a rematch but it wouldn't just be her as Piper Niven also demanded a shot. While Wade was willing to grant Nox a rematch at the Showcase, first Nox would have to face Niven with the caveat that a Niven win would grant her entry in the match. Thanks to Jinny, Niven would pick up the win setting up the triple threat. While they may have had some mutual respect it was soon apparent that Niven and Nox didn't quite trust or like one another and this was perfectly played on in the match by the champion. As thanks to these mind games as well as her use of Nina Samuels and Lana Austin, we'd see Jinny retain her championship.
Women's roster revolution
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Continuing to be a major talking point of the UK brand was the strength of it's women's division. Thanks to the inclusion of War of Attrition we'd find that the division was at it's boiling point with numerous feuds and stories. The first of which was the saga between Xia Brookside and Deonna Purrazzo as during Deonna's win streak since her arrival to the brand. It become apparent that the Virtuosa had developed a fondness for humiliating her foes. This included Xia Brookside who she would defeat on two separate occasions. With Xia eliminating her from War of Attrition it seemed to make things personal for Deonna as she'd launch a vicious attack on Xia looking to not embarrass her but injure her instead with a fujiwara armbar. This would lead to a grudge match set for the Insurrextion preshow event which saw Xia Brookside defeat Deonna once and for all.

Insurrextion was very much a big night for a lot of superstars. Perhaps none more so than for the young wrestler Candy Floss. While at first Candy Floss would just be seen as a local competitor, her plucky and spirited efforts would soon attract her attention. Shown to be gutsy and never one to back down Candy Floss would begin to get a solid fanbase and earn the respect of some of her peers. One person who didn't respect Candy Floss though was Jamie Hayter who delighted in mocking and berating the young talent for her winless effort as part of the brand. This would set up a match between the pair at Insurrextion where much to the delight of the audience in attendance, Candy Floss would pick up a submission victory for her first ever win with the brand.

One major talking point going into War of Attrition was the true colors of Kasey Owens. Referring to herself as the Mother of Chaos Kasey would betray her long time friend Dakota Kai in what was an unprovoked assault in the run up to the event. Showing herself willing to use weapons in order to get the job done, this vicious side of Kasey Owens would draw her the fury of the crowd and Kai. This was shown when during an assault on Kai at the Insurrextion event, a young fan who had been present at many shows would hop the rail and try to rescue Kai. Yet in turn this would earn her the rage of Owens as Kasey Owens would knock the fan down and proceed to land several soccer kicks on her until security intervened and pulled Owens away.

The final talking point of the women's division followed Showcase Sydney as Toni Storm looked to gain some retribution against Emma and the Iconics. Sadly Toni at first would struggle with the numbers game until she was joined originally by Dakota Kai and Kasey Owens. With Owens showing a new side of herself Kai and Storm would still be up against it until they was aided by a surprising source. This being Katarina Leigh's chief of security Raquel Lourenco. Lourenco would prove to be a difference maker at the Showcase as she helped combat Emma and the Iconics. With Emma again showing herself willing to abandon ship, she'd bail as things got tough leading to a dual finish as Billie Kay would submit to a choke from Lourenco while Storm put Royce away with Storm Zero in what was a send off for the Iconics from the brand.
The Power of Love
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Since arriving to the UK brand it appeared that Mike Kanellis and his wife Maria had targeted Morgan Webster. Shown to be a conniving pair who was unafraid of taking a short cut we'd see Maria provide several distractions to help Kanellis pick up a few wins and also blindside Morgan Webster. Over time however it wasn't just Maria that Morgan had to contend with as we'd see Drew Gulak begin to work for Maria as a hired mercenary paid to do Mike's dirty work. Looking to help Webster combat these odds was Adam Brooks, unfortunately as we'd learn Maria had a counter measure for this as well because she'd be revealed to be the new manager for Tony Nese having won the Premiere Athlete Managerial hunt.

Despite these numbers games Webster remained undaunted as he'd also be assisted by Ashton Smith to even the odds. But while Smith and Brooks managed to pick up a surprise win over Nese and Gulak at Rebellion. We'd see at the Showcase Maria Kanellis always had an ace up her sleeve. This was shown in a backstage attack during the show by Nese and Gulak on Adam Brooks. While we'd see during the match between Kanellis and Webster in which Nese and Gulak were banned from ringside. The arrival of two new members of Kannelis' camp would throw things into disarray as a well timed distraction by Bo Dallas allowed Curtis Axel time to slide Mike Kanellis a set of Brass Knuckles which he used to defeat Morgan Webster. In the post match Kanellis had little time to celebrate thanks to a special song put together by Joe Hendry.
May the best wrestler win
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An intriguing story which came following Showcase Sydney was a confrontation between Kassius Ohno and Timothy Thatcher. With an apparent history teased between the two it was Ohno who mentioned acting as a mentor to Thatcher in his early years and encouraging him to focus on the serious, scientific nature of the grappling game. This is why Ohno now couldn't help but express his displeasure and disappointment with what Thatcher had allowed himself to become. Of course these words wouldn't sit well with Thatcher who demanded a match with Ohno much to Malcolm Bivens' concern. Ohno however would only agree to the match if Thatcher was willing to prove his worth as a competitor in a thirty minute Iron Man Match.

While Thatcher and Ohno's rivalry going into this match may have been heated. It was lit on fire following this hard hitting back and forth battle. This culminated with less than 30 seconds to go and neither man picking up a fall. In a wild exchange with 10 seconds to go Ohno knocked Thatcher out on his feet with an elbow only for Thatcher to respond in kind with a headbutt for the same effect with Thatcher collapsing on top of Ohno to pick up a fall with seconds remaining. While Thatcher and Bivens rejoiced with this victory, Kassius Ohno wasn't impressed with what he branded as a fluke and he said that the Thatcher he knew wouldn't be satisfied with merely eeking out a victory. These words appeared to sting Thatcher who would declare that he'd face Ohno at the Showcase.

Yet it would be Malcolm Bivens who made the caveat for this match which is that Ohno could only get the title match if he was willing to risk his career. Ohno without hesitation would accept this challenge and the match was set for the Showcase for the Commonwealth Championship. While the first match may have been a technical masterpiece filled with hard hitting action. This bout topped it with aggressive chain wrestling and some downright vicious strikes thrown back and forth. Going back to the well one time too many Thatcher looked for one of his headbutts on Ohno who timed it perfectly with a forearm counter which rocked Thatcher bad and allowed Ohno to put his foe down with a cyclone kick to become the new Commonwealth Champion. Following the event it was confirmed that Thatcher and Bivens would be heading to NXT.
Takeover
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In what has been a long arching story throughout the past 6 months if not more has been Katarina Leigh's reign as general manager and the lack of faith in her abilities following her confrontation with Rhea Ripley as well as the chaos caused by Fabian Aichner. Since his arrival to the brand as a managerial consultant, Wade Barrett has shown himself willing to overrule and at points make decisions which the general manager has not been privy to. While a lot of these decisions were received positively by fans in attendance or recognized as accurate decisions. It created some noted tension between Wade and Katarina as despite Wade's claims he was only there to assist, it was apparent that he was willing to make decisions without her consultation or knowledge.

This would create quite a tense dynamic between the two which only got worse following Showcase Sydney as Wade seemed to be trying to curry favor with several superstars. Having become aware of this Katarina Leigh would call for a state of the union address in the ring before the fans in attendance the week after the one hundredth episode. Here she looked to confront Wade about his doings and also make it clear to the roster that it would be her rule and her rule alone for the brand. Yet it also seemed that Katarina had an ace up her sleeve as she'd reveal that a spate of random attacks backstage lately had been conducted by the Grizzled Young Veterans and the Foreign legion barring one exception by Kenny Williams designed to fit the profile.

As Katarina appeared set to fire the chosen individuals she'd soon be confronted by Fabian Aichner who was revealed to be the ringleader of these attacks. Aichner and Katarina of course had a far from harmonious relationship themselves and Aichner said now was the time for a righting of the ship. What followed would be a stunning moment when on cue half the roster would attack the other without provocation in what was clearly a planned attack. With Finn Balor laid out at ringside and her associate Raquel Lourenco blindsided by the Iconics, Katarina was told by Wade Barrett to standby him as she could trust him. Sadly this moment of weakness was what Wade needed as he'd spin Katarina round before driving her into the canvas with Wasteland.

In the weeks that followed Wade would reveal that this whole regime change as he branded it was a long time coming and he was the man who first planted the seeds in Ripley and Aichner's heads for the chaos they caused. With him and Aichner personally making a deal as cohorts for Wade to take the brand and Aichner to take the title. Remarking that this was all for the benefit of the brand. Wade called this move a true righting of the ship as he looked to bring the brand back to prominence. Yet as we'd see by his treatment of Tegan Nox, Wade's rule wouldn't be entirely fair and he greatly stacked the deck against Balor for the Royal Albert Hall as he named himself the referee. Proving to be the biased official it seemed Barrett would live to his end of the bargain in having the belt back with Aichner when Katarina Leigh returned to the brand along with several off the attacked superstars. This culminated with a wild roster wide brawl through the building as Katarina Leigh closed the Showcase by saying that she would be taking her brand back!