Backstage Reaction to WWE’s NXT UK Brand Going on Hiatus & Upcoming NXT Europe Launch

As noted before, WWE announced on Thursday that they will be launching a new brand called NXT Europe in 2023. It was also announced that their current NXT UK brand would be going on a hiatus for the foreseeable future as a result. As part of WWE’s announcement, the company released a large amount of talent from their NXT UK brand.

Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that the status of NXT UK brand talents Meiko Satomura, Ilja Dragunov, Noam Dar, Rampage Brown, Aleah James, Aofi Valkyrie, Eliza Alexander, and Stevie Turner are currently not known.

In regards to the backstage reaction over WWE’s announcement, Meltzer reported that his sources stated that the general feeling was one of skepticism. This feeling reportedly revolved around WWE’s vague details for their plans for NXT Europe and the release of a large batch of NXT UK talent that could have been useful for the new brand if WWE was planning to launch it within the next several months.

Meltzer reported that another cause for the backstage reaction was the release of Amale, who is from France and was the only talent from that country who had been under contract with the company.

Meltzer also reported that while WWE did not make a public announcement over its future, WWE officials had acknowledged privately that their NXT UK brand will be shutting down. The general feeling within the company was that their NXT UK brand had been “dead for years” due to it doing poor ratings and only running television tapings that did not lead to any new TakeOver events for the brand.

In regards to WWE’s current television contract with BT Sports, Meltzer reported that WWE officials have held talks regarding the potential idea for their NXT LVL UP series to replace NXT UK’s spot on the network.

In regards to the backstage reaction within NXT in Orlando, NXT officials and talent reportedly were not informed beforehand of the company’s decision to launch a new developmental brand for Europe and only found out after the announcement had been made.