Just one day after Tyler Bate, Gallus and Blair Davenport shockingly appeared on NXT 2.0, WWE officially announced that the NXT UK brand will be closing down following the upcoming Worlds Collide event. This is set to take place on September 4th, just one day after WWE Clash at the Castle. It was also announced that WWE would be launching a new “NXT Europe” brand sometime in 2023.
With the closure of NXT UK, unfortunately, some wrestlers have been released from their contracts. This writer’s humble hope is that once NXT Europe gets started, the majority of the released talent will be offered their jobs back or at least the opportunity to return to the WWE under the new NXT Europe banner.
Some names released have really shocked me due to a tournament currently taking place on the NXT UK tapings. As of writing, three superstars in the tournament have been released from their contracts, with the winner already showing up on NXT 2.0 before his title win has even aired on television. However, a lot of fans probably know he is the champion due to spoilers being leaked.
Shocking Releases and Halted Storylines
Out of all the names released, the most notable are former NXT UK Tag Team Champions, Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster, who famously won the titles in 2019 at TakeOver Cardiff in the Motorpoint Arena. Along with Andrews and Webster, former NXT Tag Team and NXT UK Tag Team Champion, Trent Seven has been released, even though the tapings due to air have him in the tournament to determine the new United Kingdom Champion. Trent recently turned heel on his Moustache Mountain tag partner Tyler Bate. This seemed like a big story was coming between the two superstars before the release.
With UK no longer being a brand after the Worlds Collide event, there will be questions asked about what will happen to the championships. Although the title change has yet to air on television, the NXT UK Champion Tyler Bate recently confronted NXT Champion Bron Breakker, following Bron’s successful defense against UK alumni JD McDonagh (formerly known as Jordan Devlin). The NXT UK Tag Team Champions, Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs, are current members of the NXT 2.0 roster. The other champions on the UK brand that have yet to have their contract status revealed are Heritage Cup holder Noam Dar and NXT UK Women’s Champion Meiko Satomura.
Speaking of Meiko Satomura, her on-screen (and off-screen) protege Emilia McKenzie was, unfortunately, one of the releases. The release of Emilia McKenzie has really shocked me due to the incredible talent she quite obviously possesses at such a young age. Dani Luna being on the list of releases has also stunned me as, since I first saw her at an independent show back in 2018, I noticed that Dani has incredible charisma, which, along with great in-ring talent, made her a very quick favorite on the UK scene.
With these names returning to the UK scene, it’s only a matter of time before they show up at any of the independent companies currently running shows. Mark Andrews, Wild Boar, and Eddie Dennis have already been announced for some independent shows, with Eddie returning to Progress as early as next weekend, where he is set to face Maggot.
It’s only a matter of time before the other talent shows up at a Progress, Kamikaze, or maybe even at the new Modern Nomad Pro Wrestling company, which runs a similar schedule to the former ATTACK! Pro Wrestling company. MNPW has been running the same venues, with a show taking place in Cathays Community Centre in Cardiff tomorrow.
Luckily names like Alba Fyre (FKA Kay Lee Ray), Axiom (formerly A-Kid), JD McDonagh (FKA Jordan Devlin), and Rip Fowler and Jagger Reid (formerly Zack Gibson and James Drake) have already made the jump from the UK brand to the main NXT brand in the US. There are quite a few that have been released that I believe would have been quite successful in making the jump to NXT 2.0, with Mark Andrews, Eddie Dennis and Millie McKenzie being my top three choices.
Although it is sad that these wrestlers have been released, it gives them an opportunity to return to the British wrestling scene where they made their trade and prove exactly why WWE signed them in the first place. They are all incredible talents and deserve to be on the biggest stage possible.
The Full List of NXT UK Talent Released
- Amale
- Amir Jordan
- Ashton Smith
- Dani Luna
- Dave Mastiff
- Eddie Dennis
- Emilia McKenzie | Twitter
- Flash Morgan Webster
- Jack Starz
- Kenny Williams
- Kirsty Bosley (Ring Announcer)
- Mark Andrews
- Nina Samuels
- “Primate” Jay Melrose
- Rohan Raja
- Sam Gradwell
- Saxon Huxley
- Sid Scala
- Teoman
- Trent Seven
- Tyson T-Bone
- Wild Boar
- Xia Brookside