NXT UK is back as part of our wrestling week following its return from hiatus a fortnight ago, and tonight the brand is set to kick it up a notch with the opening round of the Heritage Cup.
The Heritage Cup will be contested between eight of the top NXT UK stars, under British Rounds Rules.
Matches will consist of six three-minute rounds with 20-second breaks between each round and be determined by 2-out-of-3 falls. It’s a style that will be new to the majority of WWE fans, but a style that according to one of the competitors in the tournament will exceed all expectations.
NXT UK Superstar, A-Kid, spoke to Ash Rose eariler this month about the Heritage Cup and fan expectation.
“When they get to watch it, fans aren’t going to believe how good it is. I’m very familiar with it as I’ve studied a lot of old British wrestling and it’s something we used to do in Spain too. I think bringing back that European style is really nice for the brand. I’m really jealous of anyone who hasn’t seen that style before, because I think it’s one of the best in the world.”
A-Kid joins Trent Seven, Joseph Conners, Dave Mastiff, Flash Morgan Webster, a mystery competitor and the pair that will kick-off proceedings Alexander Wolfe and Noam Dar.
Kid’s opening bout sees him take on former NXT UK Tag Team Champion Webster in an ideal opening match for the 24-year-old Spaniard.
“There’s a few I’ve already wrestled already in there like Noam Dar and Joseph Connors, but I’ve never really mixed it up with Flash Morgan Webster, so that would be good because he was one of my favourites on the independents. Then there’s Trent Seven and Dave Mastiff, so many great talents that I can’t wait to come up against.”
The tournament takes place in NXT UK’s new home at The BT Sport Studios in North London, so what does A-Kid, someone who’s fought across Europe, think of the state-of-the-art set up?
“I was amazed when I saw it. I remember seeing Triple H sharing the social media of the set-up and thinking wow, and now I’ve been there it’s surreal because it’s so amazing. I think it’s one of my favourite places to compete and its main roster level in my opinion.”
Watch the Heritage Cup tonight at 8pm on the award-winning WWE Network.