NXT UK Heritage Cup
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| NXT UK Heritage Cup | |||||||||||||||||||
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 The NXT UK Heritage Cup trophy | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Promotion | WWE | ||||||||||||||||||
| Brand | NXT UK[a] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date established | 10 September 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||
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The NXT UK Heritage Cup is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It was defended on the NXT UK brand division, a sister brand of WWE's developmental territory NXT based in the United Kingdom, but its current status is unknown. Unveiled on 10 September 2020, it is defended just like any other championship but has a special stipulation in which all matches are contested under British Rounds Rules. The inaugural champion was A-Kid.
At Worlds Collide on 4 September 2022, all other NXT UK championships were unified into their respective NXT championship counterparts due to the closure of NXT UK, which will relaunch as NXT Europe in 2023. The Heritage Cup, however, was not contested at the event and there has been no announcement regarding its future, but WWE's website still lists it as active with Noam Dar as the current champion in his record-setting second reign. The last match for the title occurred during the 7 July 2022 tapings of NXT UK, which aired on tape delay on 25 August 2022.
History[edit]
On 10 September 2020, the American professional wrestling promotion WWE announced the relaunch of the NXT UK brand, following a production hiatus since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] Along with the relaunch, the promotion announced the NXT UK Heritage Cup tournament to crown the inaugural NXT UK Heritage Cup Champion. The announcement also revealed that the Heritage Cup would be defended just like any other championship, but all matches would be contested under British Rounds Rules.[2][3][4]
Only seven of the eight competitors for the tournament were revealed during the initial announcement: "Flash" Morgan Webster, Noam Dar, Alexander Wolfe, A-Kid, Dave Mastiff, Trent Seven, and Joseph Conners.[2][5] The eighth competitor was determined on the 1 October episode of NXT UK in a triple threat match in which Kenny Williams defeated Ashton Smith and Amir Jordan to win the final spot.[6] The tournament itself also began on 1 October and took place across episodes of NXT UK.[2] The final aired on tape delay on 26 November where A-Kid defeated Seven to become the inaugural champion (the date the episode was taped is unknown).[7]
Unlike other championships in WWE (and professional wrestling in general), the NXT UK Heritage Cup is represented by a trophy instead of a title belt. The trophy itself is a silver cup with a golden plaque that has a vertical NXT logo and below it the text "Heritage Cup". The cup sits atop a physical representation of the NXT UK logo with a banner below it that also says "Heritage Cup". Circling the wooden base are name plaques to notate the current and previous champions.[7]
In August 2022, WWE announced that NXT UK would go on hiatus after the Worlds Collide event on 4 September 2022 and the brand would relaunch as NXT Europe in 2023.[8] At Worlds Collide, all other NXT UK championships were retired as they were unified into their respective NXT championship counterparts. The Heritage Cup was the only title from either brand to not be contested at the event.[9] There has been no announcement regarding the championship's future, but WWE's website still shows that it is active. The last match for the title occurred during the 7 July 2022 tapings of NXT UK, which aired on tape delay on 25 August, where Noam Dar became a record two-time Heritage Cup Champion.[10][11]
British Rounds Rules[edit]
- Matches consist of six three-minute rounds with 20-second breaks between each round.
- Matches are 2-out-of-3 falls.
- Falls can be won by pinfall, submission, or countout.
- Once a fall occurs, the round ends.
- The match ends once a wrestler has won two falls.
- In the event of a disqualification or knockout, the match instantly ends without the need for two falls.
- If all six rounds are completed, whoever is ahead on falls wins the match.[2]
Inaugural tournament[edit]
| Quarterfinals NXT UK Aired: 1–22 October 2020 | Semifinals NXT UK Aired: 5–12 November 2020 | Final NXT UK Aired: 26 November 2020 | ||||||||||||
| Alexander Wolfe[Note 1] | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Noam Dar | 2[6] | |||||||||||||
| Noam Dar | 1 | |||||||||||||
| A-Kid | 2[15] | |||||||||||||
| A-Kid | 2[12] | |||||||||||||
| Flash Morgan Webster | 1 | |||||||||||||
| A-Kid | 2[7] | |||||||||||||
| Trent Seven | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Dave Mastiff | KO[13] | |||||||||||||
| Joseph Conners | — | |||||||||||||
| Dave Mastiff | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Trent Seven | 2[16] | |||||||||||||
| Trent Seven | 2[14] | |||||||||||||
| Kenny Williams | 1 | |||||||||||||
- ^ Pete Dunne was the special guest referee
2021 Contender tournament[edit]
| First round NXT UK 12 August 2021 – 9 September 2021 | Semifinals NXT UK 16 September 2021 – 23 September 2021 | Final NXT UK 7 October 2021 | ||||||||||||
| Mark Andrews | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Noam Dar | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Noam Dar | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Kenny Williams | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Oliver Carter | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Kenny Williams | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Noam Dar | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Wolfgang | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Wolfgang | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Sam Gradwell | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Wolfgang | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Teoman | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Nathan Frazer | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Teoman | 2 | |||||||||||||
Reigns[edit]
Note: Unless there is a change in rules, all matches are contested under British Rounds Rules.
| No. | Overall reign number |
|---|---|
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| Days recog. | Number of days held recognized by the promotion |
| N/A | Unknown information |
| + | Current reign is changing daily |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | Days recog. | ||||
| 1 | A-Kid | 26 November 2020 (air date) | NXT UK | London, England | 1 | N/A | 175 | Defeated Trent Seven 2–1 in the tournament final to become the inaugural champion. WWE recognizes this reign as beginning on 26 November 2020 and ending on 20 May 2021, when the matches aired on tape delay. The actual dates the matches took place are unknown. | [17] |
| 2 | Tyler Bate | 20 May 2021 (air date) | NXT UK | London, England | 1 | N/A | 161 | Won 1–0. WWE recognizes this reign as beginning on 20 May 2021 and ending on 28 October 2021, when the matches aired on tape delay. The actual date of when the win took place is unknown. | [18] |
| 3 | Noam Dar | 6 October 2021 | NXT UK | London, England | 1 | 260 | 259 | Won 2–1 after Bate's partner, Trent Seven, who was ringside, accidentally threw in the towel. WWE recognizes Dar's reign as beginning on 28 October 2021 and ending on 14 July 2022, when the matches aired on tape delay. | [19] |
| 4 | Mark Coffey | 23 June 2022 | NXT UK | London, England | 1 | 14 | 42 | Won 2–1. Sha Samuels was banned from ringside. WWE recognizes this reign as beginning on 14 July 2022 and ending on 25 August 2022, when the matches aired on tape delay. | [20] |
| 5 | Noam Dar | 7 July 2022 | NXT UK | London, England | 2 | 254+ | 205+ | Won 2–1. WWE recognizes this reign as beginning on 25 August 2022, when the match aired on tape delay. On 4 September 2022, all other NXT UK championships were retired when they were unified into their respective NXT championship counterparts due to the closure of NXT UK, which will relaunch as NXT Europe in 2023. The Heritage Cup was the only NXT UK title that was not unified and there has been no announcement regarding its future, but WWE's website still lists it as active. | [10] |
Combined reigns[edit]
| Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns | Combined days | Combined days recognized by WWE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Noam Dar | 2 | 319 | 269 |
| 2 | A-Kid | 1 | ≥175 | 175 |
| 3 | Tyler Bate | 1 | ≥161 | 161 |
| 4 | Mark Coffey | 1 | 14 | 42 |
Notes[edit]
- ^ The NXT UK brand went on hiatus following the Worlds Collide event on 4 September 2022. The brand will relaunch as NXT Europe in 2023, but there has been no announcement regarding the future of the Heritage Cup.
- ^ WWE officially recognizes 259 days.
- ^ WWE officially recognizes 42 days due to tape delay.
References[edit]
- ^ Currier, Joseph (September 10, 2020). "WWE ANNOUNCES HERITAGE CUP FOR NXT UK". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
- ^ a b c d "NXT UK Heritage Cup Champion to be crowned in eight-man tournament". WWE. September 10, 2020. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
- ^ Satin, Ryan (September 10, 2020). "NXT UK – Heritage Cup Tournament Set, WALTER And Kay Lee Ray's Next Opponents Confirmed". Pro Wrestling Sheet. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
- ^ Harris, Jeffrey (September 10, 2020). "UPDATED: NXT UK Heritage Cup Tournament Will Crown New Champion". 411mania. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
- ^ Johnson, Mike (September 10, 2020). "NXT UK HERITAGE CUP DETAILS". PWInsider. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
- ^ a b Powell, Jason (October 2, 2020). "10/1 NXT UK TV results: Noam Dar vs. Alexander Wolfe in a NXT UK Heritage Cup tournament match, Xia Brookside vs. Jinny, Ashton Smith vs. Kenny Williams vs. Amir Jordan in a Heritage Cup qualifier". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
- ^ a b c Currier, Joseph (November 26, 2020). "WWE CROWNS FIRST NXT UK HERITAGE CUP CHAMPION". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
- ^ Defelice, Robert (August 18, 2022). "WWE Announces The Impending Launch Of 'NXT Europe' Final NXT UK Event To Be 'Worlds Collide' On 9/4". Fightful. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
- ^ Moore, John (September 4, 2022). "NXT Worlds Collide results: Moore's live review of NXT Champion Bron Breakker vs. NXT UK Champion Tyler Bate in a unification match, NXT Women's Champion Mandy Rose vs. NXT UK Women's Champion Meiko Satomura vs. Blair Davenport in a unification match, Carmelo Hayes vs. Ricochet for the NXT North American Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
- ^ a b Russell, Skylar (July 7, 2022). "Spoiler: New NXT Heritage Cup Champion Crowned At 7/7 Tapings". Fightful. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
- ^ Defelice, Robert (August 25, 2022). "New NXT UK Heritage Cup Champion Crowned On 8/26 WWE NXT UK". Fightful. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
- ^ Powell, Jason (October 8, 2020). "10/8 NXT UK TV results: A-Kid vs. Flash Morgan Webster in a NXT UK Heritage Cup tournament match, Nina Samuels and Amale vs. Xia Brookside and Dani Luna, Jack Starz vs. Saxon Huxley". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
- ^ Powell, Jason (October 15, 2020). "10/15 NXT UK TV results: Walter and Alexander Wolfe vs. Ilja Dragunov and Pete Dunne, Dave Mastiff vs. Joseph Conners in an NXT UK Heritage Cup tournament match, Isla Dawn vs. Piper Niven". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
- ^ Powell, Jason (October 23, 2020). "10/22 NXT UK TV results: Trent Seven vs. Kenny Williams in an NXT UK Heritage Cup tournament, Amale vs. Nina Samuels, Oliver Carter vs. Eddie Dennis, the Walter and Ilja Dragunov contract signing". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
- ^ Powell, Jason (November 6, 2020). "11/5 NXT UK TV results: Noam Dar vs. A-Kid in a Heritage Cup semifinal match, Gallus vs. Sam Gradwell, Sam Stoker, and Lewis Howley, Jinny vs. Aleah James". Pro Wresting Dot Net. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
- ^ Powell, Jason (November 13, 2020). "11/12 NXT UK TV results: Trent Seven vs. Dave Mastiff in a Heritage Cup tournament semifinal match, Nina Samuels vs. Xia Brookside, Rampage Brown vs. Jack Starz, Amir Jordan and Kenny Williams vs. Wild Boar and Primate". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (November 26, 2020). "WWE NXT UK #120 - TV-Show @ BT Sport Studios in London, England, UK". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
- ^ Defelice, Robert (May 20, 2021). "New NXT UK Heritage Cup Champion Crowned On 5/20/21". Fightful. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
- ^ Thompson, Andrew (October 28, 2021). "NXT UK notes: Noam Dar wins Heritage Cup, Satomura vs. Jinny, NXT UK Tag Titles". Post Wrestling. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
- ^ Guzzo, Gisberto (June 23, 2022). "Spoiler: Title Changes Hands During 6/23 NXT UK Taping". Fightful. Retrieved June 23, 2022.