Photo courtesy of NXT UK
MANILA, Philippines — WWE’s NXT UK has always carried a niche crowd due to its region-based talents and independent vibe.
Its tag team champions, Pretty Deadly, however, weren’t surprised when the brand made its way to the Philippines.
Sam Stoker and Lewis Howley, who once visited Philippine ambassador to the UK Antonio Manuel R. Lagdameo in his official residence, said NXT UK’s expansion into the Philippine TV was to be expected with the growth the brand has experienced in the past few years.
“Obviously, the brand started off so early with NXT UK and it has such a big reach already. And we start slowly going into the European scene and North America, and we are slowly expanding,” said Stoker in a virtual press conference.
“So now to enter the world of the Philippines on TAP GO, NXT UK is going to explore a whole new market.”
Howley added NXT UK’s expansion also mirrored that of the first NXT’s in the United States.
NXT started as some sort of reality show for WWE to develop new talent but it has evolved into a brand of its own under the tutelage of Paul “HHH” Levesque, WWE’s Executive Vice President of Global Talent Strategy Development.
From its reality show roots, NXT became its own show in the WWE Network and now holds the 8 pm time slot for USA Network every Tuesday.
“It’s so exciting because you look at NXT four, five years ago and you can see the huge growth that the folks had there, in terms of the product itself and in terms of its reach. And NXT UK is following the same journey- thanks to our help, of course!” said Howley.
“So now to be able to premier in the Philippines on Sunday at 9-o’clock… No one wants to go to work on a Monday, but the only thing that makes going to work worth it is getting to see Pretty Deadly on your TV just before you go to bed.”
NXT UK is streamed on the TapGo app, a new video-on-demand service, every Sunday at 9 pm.