WWE NXT returns to UK in June – but will there be another clash with England’s Wayne Rooney?
WWE’s hottest stars could be set for another clash with Wayne Rooney - this time with the rest of the England squad as back up - as company chief Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque confirmed NXT will return to the UK in June.
Three Lions captain Rooney dished out a ringside slap to Brit brawler King Barrett last November during a taping of Raw at the Manchester Arena - and with yesterday announcement’s the critically-acclaimed WWE Network brand is set to debut at this year’s , football and sports entertainment could be going head-to-head again.
Although Levesque did not reveal timings for the unspecified amount of shows NXT will mount at the Donington Park rock event in the second week of June, his developmental standouts could face competition for fans’ eyes from England’s first Group B match against Russia if they perform on the Saturday night.
And with Black Sabbath - a personal favourite of metalhead Levesque, for whom rock icon Lemmy previously performed entrance themes - topping the main festival bill that same evening, a bizarre triple threat battle for live crowd attention take place if NXT’s highly-engaged, typically-male adult fans in the UK feel their loyalties are more divided than WWE’s on screen McMahon family.
West Ham fan Levesque - who defends his WWE World Heavyweight title against Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania this Sunday - also made public five subsequent additional dates in Belfast, Dublin, Liverpool, Bournemouth and Plymouth, but did not indicate whether other cities will be part of the sports entertainment giant’s fourth trip to the UK in eight months.
However, if another TakeOver special broadcast is held over here, NXT should avoid a fixtures collision with the meeting between home nations in Euro 2016. Frequently mounted mid-week and in the evening (local, rather than US time), another TakeOver is unlikely to go up against England’s mid-afternoon, second appearance of the championships against Wales.
Any potential scheduling crossover with England’s first round schedule probably won't prove an own goal for the live event planning department, though - as Levesque noted during a conference call yesterday, NXT particularly appeals to and ‘super-serves’ the most die-hard of wrestling fans, even though 2015's TakeOver in London was characterised by adapted footy chants.
Further British interest for July’s Global Cruiserweight Series was also confirmed with the unveiling of the first seven participants for the 205lb weight limit tournament.
The hotly-tipped Kent-born ace Zack Sabre Jr and Ayr marvel Noam Dar will join Rich Swann, Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano of NXT, China's Ho Ho Lun and Japan’s Akira Tozawa for the 32-man competition format.
Former Port Vale and Crewe Alexandra goalkeeper Stuart Tomlinson - better known in WWE’s development program as the polka dot trunks-wearing Hugo Knox - is not expected to drop muscle weight to take part, however.
Wrestlemania 32 is live on Sky Box Office, Sky Box Office HD and the WWE Network this Sunday night at 1am
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