5 Ways NXT UK Is Actually Better Than NXT (& 5 Ways It Isn’t)

The NXT UK brand is a unique entity under the WWE umbrella. Whereas NXT itself started out feeling underground before showing up on the USA Network, NXT UK has remained a product for hardcore fans. The US audience can only watch it on the WWE Network, and it’s a purist’s product with relatively modest production and few familiar names to American fans.

NXT UK has succeeded, though. Barring a hiatus due to the pandemic, the brand has put on a well-received product that some would go so far as to rate higher than NXT itself. This article considers the best of what each of these developmental brands has to offer.

10 NXT UK Is Better: The Fresher Crop Of Stars

NXT has its signature longtime stars at this point, like Adam Cole, Johnny Gargano, and Tommaso Ciampa whom fans have grown familiar with. Moreover, names from the main roster like Finn Balor and Breezango have cycled back to the black and gold brand. Even the fresher faces are often indie-established, and thus known to hardcore fans who tend to gravitate to NXT.

While NXT UK has largely assembled a whose who of top European talent, the brand also features a denser population of younger, less exposed talent whom fans legitimately aren’t familiar with. For better or worse, that means fresh rivalries, and storylines most fans have truly never seen before.

9 NXT Is Better: TakeOver Quality

The NXT brand hosts recurring NXT TakeOver events. Yes, NXT UK has its own version of these showsand they’ve mostly been well received. However, when it comes to the modern standard for excellent professional wrestling, it’s hard for any brand or series of events to compete with TakeOver.

While the most recent TakeOvers haven’t received as glowing praise, as the roster shifts and the absence of a hot live crowd have compromised them, the tradition of the event lives on. TakeOver is synonymous with great title matches, with breakout performances from emerging stars, and with big news like title changes nad heel turns. NXT UK simply hasn’t been able to put on shows of that caliber to date.

8 NXT UK Is Better: Imperium

Imperium is the lead heel stable of NXT UK, headed by champion Walter, and including former WWE main roster talent Alexander Wolfe, and tag team Fabian Archner and Marcel Barthel. They’re a group that go in the ring, and that has been protected to feel like a genuinely dominant force.

While NXT has The Undisputed Era and other factions of its own, Imperium is the fresher, less exposed stable that feels as though it has years left in the tank. The group still has time to grow and develop, but within the context of their brand, have a chance to compare to some of the most impactful stables in wrestling history.

7 NXT Is Better: The Wider Talent Pool

Bigger isn’t always better, and there is something to be said for NXT UK getting to offer all of its relatively small roster of stars more of a spotlight and more consistent opportunities to wrestle. Moreover, there have been a number of great wrestlers from the UK throughout WWE history.

However, in terms of variety and sheer numbers, the Florida-based NXT brand certainly has the advantage. Between its US-based stars and a bevy of international talent, NXT has a clear advantage over NXT when it comes to depth.

6 NXT UK Is Better: The Smaller Spotlight

NXT has a long history of having classic matches broadcasted via the WWE Network. A year ago, the NXT brand moved to airing weekly on the USA Network, and expanded to a two hour format. By contrast, NXT UK is largely on more of the original NXT trajectory—airing one hour shows on the WWE Network, with sporadic TakeOvers to build to.

With fewer eyes on it and less TV time to fill, NXT UK has the opportunity to tell stories at a more patient pace. Top talents don’t necessarily wrestle every single week and feel more special for not being overexposed. More generally, having fewer eyes on NXT UK facilitates a more patient, old school approach that is largely successful for the brand.

5 NXT Is Better: The History

One of the key challenges for any new wrestling promotion is instilling a sense that the brand matters. Why should fans feel invested in their events when they have no history? How prestigious can a title be when it has no lineage to trace? While NXT UK has done well in patiently building its own history, their TV show has only aired on the WWE Network for two years now.

NXT itself is also still a relatively new brand, and it has a checkered track record when it comes to converting its stars to main roster hits. Nonetheless, fans have gotten to watch over six years of excellent title matches on the WWE Network to shore up the credibility of NXT's championships, both through longevity and the quality of the talent.

4 NXT UK Is Better: Johnny Saint

WWE traditionally doesn’t acknowledge wrestling outside its own sphere. That dynamic has shifted by degrees as the company has grown increasingly dominant—without rival and with ownership of the old tape libraries from most promotions that ever could have been considered competition. Indeed, the WWE Network has become host to all sorts of hidden gems from a range of promotions.

In placing Johnny Saint as the general manager of NXT UK, WWE has acknowledged a whole catalog of wrestling history from outside WWE lore. NXT UK operates largely separate from WWE’s other operations. Saint’s casting creates a bridge between WWE and traditional British wrestling, establishing NXT UK as a nexus point between the two, and unique entity made up of new stars, but that celebrates history.

3 NXT Is Better: The Depth Of The Women’s Roster

NXT UK has some excellent female talent, including Toni Storm, Piper Niven, and reigning champion Kay Lee Ray. However, there’s a drop off after that point, both in terms of talent and name recognition, and it’s telling that NXT snagged Rhea Ripley to use in the States as soon as her breakout potential was clear.

The NXT women’s division has a history of excellence. At present day, in addition to Ripley, the roster boasts Tegan Nox and Io Shirai, in addition to compelling heel presences in Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai, and Raquel Gonzalez. That’s not to mention talents like physical phenom Kacy Catanzaro and Chelsea Green with untapped potential waiting in the wings. It’s a roster ripe with potential title contenders and a clear road forward with additional talents who can move up if or when call ups or injuries demand it.

2 NXT UK Is Better: Walter

On the surface, Walter is a classic big man wrestler with an old school look who centers most of his wrestling on a traditional style offense. However, he’s also a remarkably well traveled wrestler who works a compelling and believable stiff style, while also boasting remarkable agility.

In the end, Walter is one of the most compelling wrestlers working in the world today, and totally credible champion to stand atop the NXT UK brand. Moreover, rumor has it that he didn’t want to base himself in the US, so far from his native Europe. So, NXT UK has offered a unique opportunity to bring him into the WWE fold in a way such that he can stay based in Europe, but still be under contract to bring in for occasional shots in the US.

1 NXT Is Better: The Undisputed Era

The Undisputed Era has been a presence at or around the top of NXT for over three years. They’ve held a wealth of titles. They’ve been featured in three straight War Games matches. They’ve delivered high quality matches, and arrived as quite arguably the greatest faction in all of wrestling since The Shield.

The Undisputed Era is synonymous with NXT. They’re a defining element for the black and gold brand and a key reason why NXT remains hard to top by any other wrestling promotion today.

Next: 10 NXT Wrestlers Triple H Took Under His Wing