16 Wrestlers Who Must Feature In WWE's Crown Jewel World Cup

2. England - Reigning UK Champion

pete dunne uk title
WWE.com

Whoever it is at the time, the United Kingdom Champion needs to be present in this tournament. Right now Scotland and Northern Ireland all have decent representatives, but the actual English contingent on WWE programming is currently limited to Paige... and... Drake Maverick.

However in Pete Dunne they currently have an exceptional talent, carrying the belt, and at just the right sort of stage in his development to make sporadic steps up onto the main roster. The guy was fantastic in his TakeOver: New Orleans match, and his frequent NXT clashes with the Undisputed Era have shown he's more than capable when called upon.

Ultimately though, the United Kingdom Championship itself needs this spot. With NXT UK likely to draw virtually no viewers from outside the UK, getting it on prominent shows outside its native country is imperative to keeping it relevant as a world title. It's a great fit for Dunne at present, but WWE need to be careful he doesn't grow way beyond it.

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Articles published under the WhatCulture name denote collective efforts of a number of our writers, both past and present.

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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!