10 Times WWE Tried To Kill Wrestling

4. WWE Thwarts World Of Sport...

Devil Vince McMahon
ITV.com

The ill-fated World Of Sport venture of 2018 was a noble failure.

The rebooted league secured a TV deal far superior to that of WWE in the United Kingdom. WWE was nearing the end of its association with Sky Sports, the UK's equivalent of a cable channel, where ITV, the old and new home of WoS, is available in every home with a television set. This was a big deal, at the time: the channel aimed to capitalise on the buzz generated by the emerging BritWres scene, and the promotion itself attempted to fuse it with the familiar sensibilities of the past. This catch-all strategy, intelligent on paper, failed to catch fire: Will Ospreay's role was limited, enforced by his schedule, and the season-long arc centred around Crater, while well-plotted, felt as antiquated as its obvious inspiration.

Nonetheless, the significance of the deal and the potential it held forced WWE into retaliation.

After WoS announced its pilot, set to air on New Year's Day of 2017, WWE preempted it by announcing a two-night tournament to crown its first-ever 'United Kingdom Champion', a title that would not have existed - at least so quickly - without World of Sport and the threat it posed.

This, of course, begat the formation of NXT UK...

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!