Should WWE Set Up A UK Division?

[rge2010]

Behind, USA, Canada and Mexico, UK has the best wrestlers currently in WWE. Wade Barrett, William Regal, Drew McIntyre, Mason Ryan and Sheamus (ok Irish, but from these waters). Weve also seen British Bulldog and Dynamite Kid from years gone by, the latter deemed a betetr tachnical wrestler than Benoit and Bret Hart by some.

How about WWE set up a UK 'breeding ground' kinda like FCW in order to find the next break out stars over here. Working under the WWE banner and people involved in the business will only help them succomb to the 'WWE style'.

It would need an investment from WWE (buying a venue and employing staff) but they could have a weekly programme which could be seen on the internet or WWE network, again like FCW is.

I also think this would help WWE once again tap into the UK market. WWE was huge here 10 years ago, but interest has wained. Yes there is still a hardcore fanbase, but we only see WWE live 2 times a year. There is also still demand for independant promotions.

They could also do some cross promoting now and again and established UK stars could visit to help build wrestlers and angles.

 

[Dr. Awesome]

I think this is an awseome idea because apart from Sheamus you never see british world champions so this could make more british world champions and grow intrest in WWE in the UK

 

[pharrison0scorpion]

im from england and i think this is an awesome idea. this is exactly what i think should happen because as has been mentioned, the interest in the UK has been slipping slightly. i would most certainly go and watch it if it came over here. this would be an awesome way of getting interest back up and make it more viable for people from the UK who are aspiring wrestlers to get noticed in the WWE.

 

[tomthebodz]

There are some really good UK wrestlers that I'd love to see in a WWE ring. Leroy Kincaide is one of the first names that come to mind.

However, I can't see WWE doing it if I'm honest. I'd like to see WWE send more scouts to UK federations rather than have a developmental deal. I just can't see WWE bringing someone straight from a UK fed to the main roster.

 

[J.J.]

It would be fine if the company used the current Wrestlers from UK on roster properly. I've seen times when a guy Mason Ryan's size would be shot up the ladder quick.

 

[willross]

It is a good idea in theory but its the same reason why Canadians and Americans don't make it to big European soccer clubs....not cause they aren't good but cause the clubs can get guys just as good as these international guys but for cheaper cause they live closer.

Its a dollars and cents thing. Of course there is going to be the odd one who comes over or gets the developmental deal but to have an entire system in a country or to bring in an international performer is alot of money.

Guys like Barrett, Sheamus, Regal, etc. were all extraordinary so they were worth the dollars spent but when it comes down to it, the talent levels are very similar no matter where u go so why spend the extra money when you got someone just as good in your own backyard.

 

[DeathClutch]

This is a pretty good idea,
Lately we've seen a huge influx in talent from the UK, obviously they're some hidden gems we've yet to see so I'd guess WWE could set this up pretty quickly and to get some exposure maybe they show highlight FCW/European talent on NXT as a farm league show so we're getting to see some of the talent before they're called up to the main roster.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

When I first saw the title of this thread I thought you meant a UK Division with its own title belt, like the tag-team division or a Hardcore division.

I now know that you mean a developmental company based in the UK, and I 100% agree it is a good idea. It would give British wrestlers a greater chance of getting noticed and making it to the WWE, and talent previously going unnoticed by WWE could get spotted.

Barrett, McIntyre, Ryan (even Sheamus even though he technically isn't British), all show that there is talent on these shores, plus with the likes of Desmond Wolfe, Magnus, Crimson, Doug Williams having done well in TNA there is even more of an argument to do something like this.

I think WWE were considering it at one point, and I hope it happens. Who knows, you may find the next Davey Boy Smith or Dynamite Kid....

 

[LSN80]

Barrett, McIntyre, Ryan (even Sheamus even though he technically isn't British), all show that there is talent on these shores, plus with the likes of Desmond Wolfe, Magnus, Crimson, Doug Williams having done well in TNA there is even more of an argument to do something like this.
.

I could be wrong bro, but isn't Tommy Mercer aka Crimson from Brooklyn? I know he's an American, wrestler, at the very least.

Anyway, I see no harm in this whatsoever and think this would be a good idea. When I first read the topic of discussion, I thought you were alluding to a notion of having a seperate "brand" in the UK consisting of UK wrestlers, which wouldnt be a good idea. But anyways, I truly believe this could work. Some of the wrestlers such as Sheamus, Barrett, and McIntyre were given incredibly hot starts when they debuted, which leads me to believe that the company had a tremendous amount of faith in them. Other then Barrett, none of the three spent a significant amount of time in WWE's developmental system, which showed they were close to ready.

The idea would also give them a chance to get acclimated to the WWE style without having to go through culture shock as well, which I imagine is a key factor in perhaps why more wrestlers from over the pond aren't in WWE. Adapting to the WWE style would be difficult enough, Id imagine, but dealing with that and culture shock would take a tremendous toll on anyone. Obviously there are many whom have done it, but how many more could if given the chance to develop in their home country? I don't see the downside to this, to be honest.

 

[Iron Sheik Says FACK]

The idea would also give them a chance to get acclimated to the WWE style without having to go through culture shock as well, which I imagine is a key factor in perhaps why more wrestlers from over the pond aren't in WWE. Adapting to the WWE style would be difficult enough, Id imagine, but dealing with that and culture shock would take a tremendous toll on anyone. Obviously there are many whom have done it, but how many more could if given the chance to develop in their home country? I don't see the downside to this, to be honest.

I completely agree. I really like this idea to be honest. I don't think that there is any question that the UK has a lot of talented wrestlers and the WWE has done a good job in scouting out a lot of these guys. UK crowds are hot and I think development of new talent is key in shaping the way for the future. I'm a huge "indy" wrestling guy, but I appreciate that those are successful in the minor leagues don't always have what it takes to be successful in the WWE. Getting back to the point, I like the idea of the UK division, because I really think that the UK is producing better new stars than the USA is, but that's just my opinion. I would watch such a program!

 

[The Future Rises]

It would definitely make for some good television and there are a lot of good talents from the UK, but a better idea would be a European division. Just think about all the talent, William Regal, Sheamus, Drew McIntyre, Wade Barrett, Mason Ryan, Santino(?), and bring in Mr.Antonio Cesaro(Claudio Castagnoli) and you got a good roster.

Only problem I have with this division is that the crowd would likely start a big "USA" chant during all the matches.

 

[chadmarkmurray]

All Star Wrestling UK actually is kind of like this, everyone one of the above wrestlers have been there at one point and they've also had alumni like Gangrel, DJ Gabriel, Finlay, Dave Taylor, Paul Birchill, Tatanka, Jake "The Snake", Tyson Kidd, Harry Smith, Yokozuna and many of their wrestlers have gotten tryouts from WWE in the past as well. But, I think it's a case of WWE knowing that they have good taste and produce good wrestlers so they're a good place to scan for new talent. E.G I watched Sheamus wrestle there a few years back when he was still S.O.S/ Sheamus O' Sheanussey and said "This guy is like a brutal version of Test (R.I.P) why isn't he in WWE destroying Cena?" and the rest is history. Ha, Still have the S.O.S autograph XD

 

[Monkey_Mania]

While a good idea. Kind of not needed. They already have scouts looking for the best talent around the world. if they find someone they sign them and ship them to FCW. Just like Sheamus, Drew, Wade, and the others. I wouldn't say it would be a waste of finances for something like that, but for everything they spent their money on it would be a lot of money going towards something that may or may not be as beneficial as FCW. Good idea, but not really necessary.

 

[BigThunder]

Perhaps not a division, but we had a European title. Why not hold a tournament for it, and bring it back for defenses only on European tours, with only wrestlers of European extraction qualifying? Admittedly, if the champ is released, that may cause a problem, but there are workarounds. Suppose WWE started each European tour with a new tournament, have the champ defend the strap for the entire tour: if the champ doesn't drop the belt, they get to trade it in for a world championship match on the final night.

 

[irishwarrior]

They would have to hire a ton of people if they set this up. Currently they've got Drew, Sheamus, Barret, Regal and Mason Ryan. Sheamus is currently pretty over on Smackdown so he doesn't need it. Wade seems to be getting some kind of push. Mason was in the middle of a push but he seems to have lost it. Drew and Regal are being under used right now and they are really the only ones who would benefit from a UK division. Maybe if you expanded it to a European Championship division. Hire people like Paul Burchill, maybe Finlay back and Heidenreich. A couple of others could be tossed in as well to make a decent division.
UK division? No.

 

[harrythem]

The problem with the majority of British wrestlers is still the same as it was back in the days of Big Daddy & Giant Haystacks....they don't LOOK like wrestlers.

I'm not saying they have to be juiced up muscle freaks but, from the shows I've been to over here, you'd struggle to get a tv show where every guy has an acceptable (by WWE's standard) physique that could pass on their tv shows.

It's a good idea in theory but, realistically, I can't see it happening any time soon.

 

[Ferreira]

I don't believe WWE needs a new organization on UK. It will help them against TNA on the ratings war over there, but they don't need it.

I guess they could make a International Show, intead of a new company or a sub-company. They could tape matches just like they do with Superstars but to air only on UK, Barrett, McIntyre, Sheamus, and others could benefit from the exposure.

It wouldn't hurt them, because they could tape like five matches per week and have them fight for 10/15 minutes and then you would have two shows made in only a week. Could be a show with a different concept, no need for championships but if they wanted they could have one, just for the fun of it.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Having a training camp in the UK might be a good idea. Keep it cheap though, you don't want to invest a ton of money over there because the payoff is relatively small. Maybe just have Regal or Dave Taylor run it.

A division, like the cruiser division or something? No, that limits everything and no one cares about that shit anyways.

I understand why a lot of you UK guys would love this. However, it's not that realistic because of the cost. It's a business, any successful company has been run as such.

 

[JWGunslinger]

I definitely think that they should, it's a very solid idea and if the WWE went for it I think it would be a very solid business move. It's true that there is tons of potential talent in the UK and I think that people could really go for an FCW equivalent developmental area. Part of me thinks that a UK Tough Enough would be a cool idea, maybe with someone like William Regal as the main coach, sure he isn't as big of a star as Stone Cold but he would be an excellent teacher. At the same time though it sounds a bit risky, without a doubt though a UK division sounds like a great idea to me. If they got a few more Barrett's or McIntyre's out of it then I would consider it a major success.

 

[shuckyducky]

I don't think WWE need one. They're the biggest wrestling comnpany in the world, by far. They can just scout talent in countries other than the USA (as they've done with Barrett, Sheamus etc) without having a dedicated wrestling promotion or whatever like FCW in the UK.

 

[Fear&Loathing]

This is an amazing idea i have to give credit where its due. some of the best WWE superstars at the moment are british (Sheamus and Wade Barrett) and over the years i have realised that U.K superstars work hard to get where they are. a U.K division would be awesome and definitely open up more directions for WWE like Pay Per Views in WWE like they did years ago from Wembley arena and with the new Wembley arena built I think a Summerslam from Wembley again would be an amazing idea and have chances for U.K superstars a chance to get over

 

[Dagger Dias]

I suppose it couldn't hurt to give something like that a try. WWE has a lot of stars who came from the UK region and if they set up a division there it could convince more people from that region who wish to join the WWE to sign on and do some training there. Why stop at just the UK though? A location in Europe will open the doors for other European wrestling prospects who would want to train there as well. WWE likely would capitalize on that too because they are a global organization rather than limiting theirselves to just the US or UK.

 

[The Champ]

At first, when I saw the thread title, I thought you meant a whole separate division within WWE that British stars would compete in. Which would be a lame idea, because many of them are more than good enough to be in there with the American stars.

However, the idea of a developmental territory overseas is an excellent idea. We've already seen what the potential results can look like. Sheamus is one of the biggest babyfaces in the company now and is on one of the greatest rolls of his career. Wade Barrett is excellent on the microphone and I feel he'll only get better in the ring as time goes by. I'm not much of a Drew McIntyre or Mason Ryan fan, but it's not like they haven't had American wrestlers who I've been meh about, and a 50 percent success rate isn't bad.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

There is not a market for a full time promotion in the UK. At best shows would be fortnightly, and the nature of the UK business is that most wrestlers have day jobs that pay enough for them to wrestle, rather than wrestling paying the bills. TV here is wrestling averse, they have a contract with Sky, but it would have to be on free to air to get any kind of traction in the market place.

For WWE to do this they would have to be paying out guaranteed money to possibles rather than to sure hits. The talent is here, but it is far more cost effective to ship them over to FCW than to even attempt a UK promotion. I work at an exhibition centre and they had a stall at last years "Body Power" event, so its far easier for them to show up there there for 2 days and the potential talent will come to them bearing DVD's etc.

Don't get me wrong, I would love it to happen, I think that WWE is going to go the Summerslam 2012 at Wembley route, with the 20 years later angle and the Olympics crowd in town it's a sure fire hit.

 

[J.J.]

How is Sheamus thrown in here as a UK wrestler, can't claim him! A FCW type of promotion over in UK would be good to help bring in talent. A UK division in WWE is not going to go over well with the fans from the USA. If anything you can create a faction first to see how well it gets over with the crowd.