WWE unveils gorgeous new United Kingdom Championship

Published Dec. 15, 2016 9:32 a.m. ET

Nick Schwartz

WWE announced Thursday that it is staging a 16-man, two-day tournament in January to crown a new United Kingdom Champion. The tournament, which begins January 14th and ends January 15th, will air on the WWE Network. WWE picked 16 rising stars from the British wrestling scene, and if the Cruiserweight Classic was any indication, the tournament should be a must-watch.

Via WWE:

"This unprecedented event will feature a single-elimination tournament and showcase competitors from all four Home Nations and Ireland including: charismatic Trent Seven, from Wolverhampton; hard-hitting Pete Dunne, from Birmingham; Tyler Bate, the bright young 19-year-old star from Dudley, West Midlands; big brawler Wolfgang, from Glasgow; tough Tyson T-Bone, from Malvern; the aggressive Northern Irish grappler Tucker; Irish high-flyer Jordan Devlin, who hails from Bray, in County Wicklow, the same home town as WWE Superstar Finn Bálor®; and Londoner Roy Johnson, a former champion powerlifter.

William Regal®, Head Scout, WWE Talent Development, and Robbie Brookside, WWE trainer, participated in the scouting process for the tournament competitors, using their unrivalled knowledge and experience of the UK scene, developed over careers of more than 20 years in the ring.

The WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament on WWE Network will be called by WWE lead announcer Michael Cole, who will be joined by color analyst Nigel McGuinness, a mainstay of the UK independent scene"

In a press conference in London, Triple H said the championship was "the next step in our ongoing strategy to create localized content for our global WWE Network," which would suggest we could potentially see a Japanese (or Chinese, given WWE's recent push in that market) Championship in the future.