NXT Europe has been one of the many plans that needed to be put on hold during the sale of WWE and merging with UFC into TKO Holdings. It was originally claimed that the new brand of the developmental arm of WWE would be replacing NXT UK to represent the whole of Europe as opposed to just the British Isles. Many were sceptical that it would ever actually get going, and whilst we haven’t heard anything official from WWE in nearly two years, there is still a very real possibility that the company could decide to pull the trigger on the regionalised concept.
Triple H has been a staunch believer in ‘global localisation’ for some time, and as much as NXT UK very much felt like WWE hitting the panic button because World of Sport was heading to ITV, it was more of a jolt on the concept. Having NXT brands across the world to build ‘local’ talent to then move to NXT in the United States and the Main Roster has always been the plan, with the company wanting to create more pipelines to secure as much talent as possible.
Building global divisions is not something that is unheard of in combat sports, with the MMA promotion PFL (Professional Fighters League) having launched PFL Europe and PFL Africa to supplement their core business in the US.
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Why NXT worked
One of the biggest reasons that NXT was such a popular brand for WWE in the mid to late 2010s is that there was a palpable sense that the moment a Superstar moved up to the main roster that they would be ‘ruined.’ The idea that the likes of Johnny Gargano, Adam Cole, Andrade, Tyler Bate or The Revival being under Vince McMahon creatively sounded awful, and in most cases that was the case. Triple H and his crew seemed to have their finger on the pulse of what the ‘hardcore’ wrestling fan wanted, even if that just meant signing up as many of the top independent talent on the circuit as they could.
Part of the charm of smaller promotions is that you do not know how long you’re going to have certain talent on the roster, because there is always a bigger pay cheque and opportunity elsewhere. NXT had that in a strange way, because although it technically WAS the same company, it was nothing like the main roster of WWE was at that point.
The company is in a very different place now, with Triple H overseeing the creative and Shawn Michaels running NXT there is a clearer pipeline and communication between what NXT talent is doing and how they could fit into the main roster picture, rather than someone seemingly picking names because they had been down in developmental for years and it was time to sink or swim without any sort of plan.
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What NXT Europe needs to be
I do not believe that NXT Europe, if it does go ahead, will at first be the full developmental programme in the same way that NXT is. I’m sure the plan would be at some point to have a home base in Europe (which is easier than the UK thanks to Brexit) where you can put a Performance Centre, but originally it may not happen.
What I believe NXT Europe needs to be initially is a quarterly Supershow, with some of the best talents from the European independent scene appearing on Peacock, WWE Network (or Netflix in 2025) and being given the opportunity to appear in front of a global audience in the same way that the Cruiserweight Classic was. This could easily coincide with a WWE Live Tour in Europe, meaning that you could have a few main roster talents on the show to add an extra little bit of starpower to proceedings.
Introducing a Championship would also make sense, and bringing back the WWE European Championship makes the most sense for me here. Having Triple H and Shawn Michaels present the winner of a tournament on the initial show with the belt is something I can easily envision, with that person then appearing on NXT in the United States between these Supershows that I suggested.
Triple H’s plan is clearly to continue the global localisation plan, with NXT Japan/Asia, NXT Mexico and NXT Australia 100% where he wants to be. Whether or not that actually happens under TKO Holdings remains to be seen, but it’s actually far more likely to happen now than it ever was under Vince McMahon, with TKO happy to allow Hunter and WWE President Nick Khan to run things.
Jake Skudder
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