World Wrestling Entertainment's British Invasion
New British Blood Join the Veterans To Wrestle Across the Pond
The Veterans
With shows recently shot in the UK’s Manchester Evening News Arena, fans of veteran Brit, William Regal were able to see their hometown hero pick up his second Intercontinental Title win in a match that lasted only fifteen seconds. This will be his second title run, his last being in 2002, which spanned just under two months and included an epic rivalry with now current WWE Heavyweight Champion, Edge.
Regal isn’t the only veteran fighting his way to the top. Belfast’s Finlay also competed in a top-level contest in Manchester, taking on fan favourite Matt Hardy for his ECW World Championship Title. The match was a back and forth struggle from beginning to end, with Finlay just edging the crowd support, despite Hardy’s popularity in America. Despite his avid crowd support, Hardy was just able to edge a victory with a surprise Twist of Fate and a pin fall victory. Both performers received a standing ovation as they shook hands in a show of respect after all was said and done. Despite this loss, it does not seem to be the end for Finlay, who is still a top contender for the title.
New Blood
But it is not just the veterans that are making their impact felt, but also the young up and comers. Female talent Katie Lea Burchill has been involved in recent rivalries over the WWE Women’s Championship, coming close to dethroning Mickie James during her title run, who eventually dropped the title to Beth Pheonix. However, this hasn’t kept the Londoner down as she can be seen competing regularly on WWE Raw in their women’s division. Her on-screen brother, Paul Burchill, has also been involved in high-profile angles on the show, competing in a losing rivalry over the Intercontinental Title with previous champion Kofi Kingston. While they may not have quite reached the heights of success just yet, they have plenty of time yet to make their legacies in the industry and with the recent appearance of the newest talent to be signed to the WWE’s Extreme Championship Wrestling brand, Berkshire’s D J Gabriel, who is undefeated since his debut earlier this month, it would seem that big things could be about to happen for the Brits as the WWE try to expand their global popularity, especially in Europe.
All In The Family
Joining these up and comers is the son of the legendary British Bulldog, Harry Smith, who is itching to make his return to TV after a brief spell out, honing his skills at World Wrestling Entertainment’s training facility Florida Championship Wrestling. In a recent interview with the Miami Herald he said.
‘It's only going to be a matter of time before I go up to SmackDown, and then I'm going to show the wrestling world exactly why I am the past, present and future.'
Only big things can be predicted for this second generation superstar, whose father is not his only link to the pro-wrestling industry, being related to the legendary Hart family on his mother’s side, seven time heavyweight champion, Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart being his uncle. With a father and an uncle who were both legends in the business, could the laws of genetics lead to the first WWE Heavyweight Champion of Brit blood in Harry Smith? Only time will tell!
William Regal
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