WWE officially unveils United Kingdom Performance Center
WWE has officially announced its United Kingdom Performance Center.
The UK Performance Center was unveiled in London, England on Friday. WWE hyped up the facility in a press release: “With 17,000 square feet, two training rings, world-class strength and conditioning equipment, and versatile content creation infrastructure, the UK Performance Center will enable WWE to train athletes utilizing a comprehensive program, including in-ring training, physical preparedness and character development.”
This is WWE’s second Performance Center and the first international one, with the company’s United States Performance Center having opened in Orlando, Florida in 2013. WWE’s announcement noted that Paul “Triple H” Levesque said the new Performance Center is the first of what will be many outside of the U.S.
“It’s about going the world over and finding the greatest athletes and the greatest performers in any market we can,” Levesque said. “It’s an incredible undertaking, looking for the greatest athletes from around the world, bringing them to places like this that will be set up around the world to train that next generation of superstars.”
Levesque, Charlotte Flair, Finn Balor, and Pete Dunne all spoke at Friday’s press event.
More than 30 wrestlers signed to NXT UK will train at the UK Performance Center.
The announcement comes in advance of NXT UK’s first TakeOver special being held at the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool, England tomorrow (Saturday, January 12). The special will air live on the WWE Network, with the card starting at 2 p.m. Eastern time. There will also be a 30-minute pre-show on the Network at 1:30 p.m. Eastern.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.