Fans of two of the biggest United Kingdom wrestling promotions could soon be able to watch them via the WWE Network.
According to this week’s edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, an announcement could be coming very soon on WWE‘s plans to move forward with airing PROGRESS and Insane Championship Wrestling via the company’s streaming service.
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This is not the first we have heard of ICW and PROGRESS coming to the Network; the move was all but officially announced last year before Vince McMahon nixed it after a change of his mind. Even so, WWE has continued to closely monitor the U.K. wrestling scene, both because of their existing U.K. division as well as a desire to launch U.K. exclusive show in the coming months. WWE does have a working relationship with both PROGRESS and ICW, which has allowed for them to share talent and work across company lines.
Triple H recently discussed WWE’s continuing plans to launch a U.K. centric WWE brand during an interview with Mirror Sport.
“While we are there at this UK event at the Royal Albert Hall, we will be making some announcements about the future of the UK Championship brand there in the UK and moving forward,” Triple H said.
“That brand still remains very near and dear to me and it’s something I want to move on,” Triple H continued. “It’s taking a little bit longer than I anticipated in getting things done and getting them done in the way I want them to get done … but it’s happening. It will be meaningful to everybody there and I look forward to showcasing the UK talent to the world.”
If WWE were to air a new U.K. brand, PROGRESS (the U.K.’s most popular wrestling company), and ICW on the WWE Network, it would give them near total control of streaming content of the most popular wrestling groups within the nation. PROGRESS, it should be noted, already offers a streaming service (Demand Progress), so it’s unknown as of right now how a WWE Network relationship would affect that existing streaming platform.
Once the WWE U.K. brand is up and running, the company also plans on opening a WWE Performance Center in the United Kingdom. Television tapings for the brand would occur within the U.K. exclusively, though it is yet unknown how often they would occur.
