NXT_UK_Heritage_Cup_Champion

NXT Heritage Cup

NXT Heritage Cup

Men's professional wrestling championship in WWE


The NXT Heritage Cup is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is a specialized championship for men of NXT, the promotion's developmental brand. The title is defended just like any other championship but has a special stipulation in which all matches are contested under British Rounds Rules. The current champion is Tony D'Angelo, who is in his first reign. He won the title by defeating previous champion Charlie Dempsey by 2–1 on the May 14, 2024, episode of NXT.

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Unveiled on September 10, 2020, as the NXT UK Heritage Cup, it was originally established as a secondary championship for the NXT UK brand, which was a sister brand of NXT based in the United Kingdom. The inaugural champion was A-Kid. At Worlds Collide on September 4, 2022, all other NXT UK championships were unified into their respective NXT championship counterparts due to the closure of NXT UK. The Heritage Cup, however, was the only championship from either brand that was not contested at the event. The title then saw months of inactivity until April 2023 when reigning champion Noam Dar brought the Cup with him to NXT, with it in turn becoming an NXT championship.

History

Inaugural champion A-Kid

On September 10, 2020, the American professional wrestling promotion WWE announced the relaunch of the United Kingdom-based NXT UK brand, following a production hiatus since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] Along with the relaunch, the promotion announced the NXT UK Heritage Cup tournament to crown the inaugural NXT UK Heritage Cup Champion. The announcement also revealed that the Heritage Cup would be defended just like any other championship, but all matches would be contested under British Rounds Rules.[2][3][4]

Only seven of the eight competitors for the tournament were revealed during the initial announcement: "Flash" Morgan Webster, Noam Dar, Alexander Wolfe, A-Kid, Dave Mastiff, Trent Seven, and Joseph Conners.[2][5] The eighth competitor was determined on the October 1 episode of NXT UK in a triple threat match in which Kenny Williams defeated Ashton Smith and Amir Jordan to win the final spot.[6] The tournament itself also began on October 1 and took place across episodes of NXT UK.[2] The final aired on tape delay on November 26 where A-Kid defeated Seven to become the inaugural champion (the date the episode was taped is unknown).[7]

In August 2022, WWE announced that NXT UK would go on hiatus after the Worlds Collide event on September 4, and the brand would relaunch as NXT Europe at a later time.[8] At Worlds Collide, all NXT UK championships were retired after they were unified into their respective American-based NXT championship counterparts. The Heritage Cup was the only title from either brand to not be contested at the event.[9] The last match for the title occurred during the July 7, 2022, taping of NXT UK, which aired on tape delay on August 25, where Noam Dar became a two-time Heritage Cup Champion.[10][11] Following this, the title saw months of inactivity until the April 4, 2023, episode of NXT when Dar, with the Heritage Cup, made his NXT debut. He stated he would defend the title when he sees fit.[12] The title was subsequently renamed to NXT Heritage Cup, with the first NXT defense of the championship coming at NXT Battleground on May 28, which was also the first time the title was defended in the United States.[13]

After Charlie Dempsey won the Heritage Cup in February 2024, his stable, No Quarter Catch Crew, announced the "Catch Clause", where the stable as a whole called themselves as the Heritage Cup Champions and that any member of the stable (Dempsey, Drew Gulak, Damon Kemp and Myles Borne) could defend the Cup but WWE only recognized Dempsey as the official champion.[14] The Catch Clause was first invoked on the March 19 episode of NXT, with Gulak defeating Chase University's Riley Osborne 2–1.[15]

British Rounds Rules

  • Matches consist of six three-minute rounds with 20-second breaks between each round.
  • Matches are 2-out-of-3 falls.
  • Falls can be won by pinfall, submission, or countout.
  • Once a fall occurs, the round ends.
  • The match ends once a wrestler has won two falls.
  • In the event of a disqualification or knockout, the match instantly ends without the need for two falls.
  • If all six rounds are completed, whoever is ahead on falls wins the match.[2]

Inaugural tournament

Quarterfinals
NXT UK
Aired: October 1–22, 2020
Semifinals
NXT UK
Aired: November 5–12, 2020
Final
NXT UK
Aired: November 26, 2020
         
Alexander Wolfe[Note 1] 1
Noam Dar 2[6]
Noam Dar 1
A-Kid 2[16]
A-Kid 2[17]
Flash Morgan Webster 1
A-Kid 2[7]
Trent Seven 1
Dave Mastiff KO[18]
Joseph Conners
Dave Mastiff 1
Trent Seven 2[19]
Trent Seven 2[20]
Kenny Williams 1
  1. Pete Dunne was the special guest referee

2021 Contender tournament

First round
NXT UK
August 12, 2021 – September 9, 2021
Semifinals
NXT UK
September 16, 2021 – September 23, 2021
Final
NXT UK
October 7, 2021
         
Mark Andrews 1
Noam Dar 2
Noam Dar 2
Kenny Williams 1
Oliver Carter 1
Kenny Williams 2
Noam Dar 2
Wolfgang 1
Wolfgang 2
Sam Gradwell 1
Wolfgang 2
Teoman 1
Nathan Frazer 1
Teoman 2

Heritage Cup trophy design

Unlike other professional wrestling championships, the Heritage Cup is represented by a trophy instead of a title belt. The trophy itself is a silver cup, the front of which has a gold shield-shaped plaque that has a vertical NXT logo and below it the text "Heritage Cup". Below the cup is a physical representation of what was formerly the NXT UK logo, which is modeled after the United Kingdom's royal coat of arms, featuring a lion and a horse (instead of the traditional unicorn) on either side of the arms in gold, with a red shield at the center which has a gold vertical NXT logo. A small WWE logo is affixed at the center of the X in both NXT logos. A gold banner below this also says "Heritage Cup". This all sits atop a wooden base that is circled in gold name plaques which notate the current and previous champions.[7]

Reigns

As of May 17, 2024, there have been eight reigns between six champions. A-Kid was the inaugural champion. Noam Dar has the most reigns at three and his second reign is the longest at 341 days; however, due to tape delay, WWE officially recognizes his second reign as lasting 292 days, but still the longest. Dar also has the longest combined reign at 790 days (739 days as recognized by WWE due to tape delay). Mark Coffey has the shortest reign at 14 days (42 days as recognized by WWE due to tape delay, but still the shortest). Coffey is also the oldest champion at 32 years old, while A-Kid is the youngest at 23.

Tony D'Angelo is the current champion in his first reign. He defeated Charlie Dempsey by 2–1 on the May 14, 2024, episode of NXT in Orlando, Florida.

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Combined reigns

As of May 17, 2024.

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Notes

  1. WWE officially recognizes 292 days due to tape delay.
  2. WWE officially recognizes 42 days due to tape delay.
  3. The actual number is undeterminable as both tape dates of when he won and lost the title are unknown.
  4. The actual number is undeterminable as the tape date of when he won the title is unknown.

References

  1. Currier, Joseph (September 10, 2020). "WWE ANNOUNCES HERITAGE CUP FOR NXT UK". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  2. "NXT UK Heritage Cup Champion to be crowned in eight-man tournament". WWE. September 10, 2020. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  3. Harris, Jeffrey (September 10, 2020). "UPDATED: NXT UK Heritage Cup Tournament Will Crown New Champion". 411mania. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  4. Johnson, Mike (September 10, 2020). "NXT UK HERITAGE CUP DETAILS". PWInsider. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  5. Currier, Joseph (November 26, 2020). "WWE CROWNS FIRST NXT UK HERITAGE CUP CHAMPION". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  6. Defelice, Robert (August 18, 2022). "WWE Announces The Impending Launch Of 'NXT Europe' Final NXT UK Event To Be 'Worlds Collide' On 9/4". Fightful. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
  7. Russell, Skylar (July 7, 2022). "Spoiler: New NXT Heritage Cup Champion Crowned At 7/7 Tapings". Fightful. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  8. Defelice, Robert (August 25, 2022). "New NXT UK Heritage Cup Champion Crowned On 8/26 WWE NXT UK". Fightful. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  9. Kilbane, Lyle (April 18, 2023). "WWE Officially Change Championship's Name". TJR Wrestling. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  10. Kreikenbohm, Philip (November 26, 2020). "WWE NXT UK #120 - TV-Show @ BT Sport Studios in London, England, UK". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  11. Defelice, Robert (May 20, 2021). "New NXT UK Heritage Cup Champion Crowned On 5/20/21". Fightful. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  12. Thompson, Andrew (October 28, 2021). "NXT UK notes: Noam Dar wins Heritage Cup, Satomura vs. Jinny, NXT UK Tag Titles". Post Wrestling. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  13. Guzzo, Gisberto (June 23, 2022). "Spoiler: Title Changes Hands During 6/23 NXT UK Taping". Fightful. Retrieved June 23, 2022.

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