What Is The NXT UK Heritage Cup Championship?

And which BritWres badass should win it?

NXT UK
Source: WWE

NXT UK is returning to screens next week via the WWE Network. Over the last six months, the British wrestling scene has been caught in a wave of chaos after several career-altering allegations were brought forward during the Speaking Out movement. Rightfully so, a lot of NXT UK superstars were either released from their contracts or put under serious scrutiny, whether you believe the latter was enough is another issue, but for now at least WWE are giving their UK sister show a soft reboot, with the new Heritage Cup Championship at the centre of all the change.

Announced via NXT General Manager, William Regal, the NXT UK Heritage Cup will be up for grabs in an eight-man tournament, involving the best and brightest from the UK roster, all competing under British Rules. What this means is that all the matches will be two out of three falls, split across six rounds lasting three minutes each. If the match reaches its conclusion at the end of the six rounds, then whoever is ahead on falls will win the match. In the event of a DQ finish, then the match ends without need to go through the last rounds.

We’ve seen a British Rules match featured already on an episode of NXT UK in a match between then-employed Kassius Ohno and NXT UK assistant GM, Sid Scala. The match was unique and brought a fresh feel to WWE programming, calling back to the throwback style of classic British stars like Johnny Saint, Giant Haystacks and Dynamite Kid.

Needless to say, this is a pretty exciting way to kickstart the next chapter of NXT UK, here’s hoping the roster of hopefuls not caught up in the midst of the Speaking Out movement will benefit from the inclusion of this new championship. But which of the eight confirmed superstars deserve the big win?

Already scheduled for the Heritage Cup tournament are the following names:

  • Flash Morgan Webster
  • Noam Dar
  • Alexander Wolfe
  • A-Kid
  • ‘The Bomber’ Dave Mastiff
  • Trent Seven
  • Joseph Conners
  • Wildcard Entrant

We suspect the mysterious ‘wildcard’ entrant is someone already involved in NXT UK programming; perhaps a Mark Andrews, Eddie Dennis or Tyler Bate could find themselves featured in the tournament. Although WWE could have been busy signing some new NXT UK superstars during the show’s downtime, so keep your eyes peeled for any new signees during next week’s redebut.

Out of the eight aforementioned names, I personally believe that one of the foundations of NXT UK deserves his moment in the spotlight. Of course I’m talking about the former NXT Tag Team Champion, Trent Seven. Trent is widely considered one of the founding fathers of the brand, alongside British Strong Style pals Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate. Seven has done the honours for several up-and-comers, including: Grizzled Young Veterans, Eddie Dennis and Noam Dar. He’s suited his role, but quite frankly is a big enough star to warrant his own singles run, and a mid-card championship (or cup) win could be massive for his star power.

Alongside the veteran is ‘The Bomber’ Dave Mastiff, who has also been heavily featured on NXT UK since his debut in 2018. Mastiff is a prominent name on the BritWres scene and has claimed the spot of a fan favourite. His matches with Joe Coffey and NXT UK champ WALTER have been highlights of the card, making him one to watch as NXT UK continues to evolve. A big win in this Heritage Cup tournament could go a long way in establishing Big Dave as one of the top stars of the budding brand.

Meanwhile you have the likes of A-Kid, Joseph Conners and Flash Morgan Webster, three stars that are waiting to finally culminate on the build they’ve received. Maybe not so much in terms of ‘The Modfather’ but A-Kid and Conners seem to be on the precipice of receiving a big run on the roster, especially the young Spaniard. A-Kid could very well shock the world and become the first ever Heritage Cup champion, or they could hand it over the the ever-popular mid-card star, Morgan Webster, who will forever remain one of the most dynamic stars on the NXT UK brand.

Wherever they choose to go with this tournament, it’s bound to be one of the biggest talking points going forward. Make sure you tune in this coming Wednesday for the return of NXT UK, fireworks are sure to pop off.

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