WWE is always looking for new things to do with its secondary brands (the ones that aren’t Raw and Smackdown), as well as new content for the WWE Network. On January 26 and 27, the weekend of the Royal Rumble, they’re doing something entirely new, incorporating NXT, NXT UK, and 205 Live into an interbrand tournament that will allow its winner to challenge for any of those three brands’ belts, even if its not the one from their usual brand. The first ever WWE Worlds Collide Tournament will be held at Royal Rumble Axxess in Phoenix, in the daytime hours before TakeOver Phoenix and the Royal Rumble itself get underway. The whole thing will be filmed for a WWE Network Special.
According to WWE’s official announcement, the tournament will kick off with a battle royal, with the order of elimination determining the first round match-ups and the battle royal winner getting a first-round bye. The Worlds Collide Tournament will feature five competitors from each brand, highlighting superstars who aren’t currently in the title pictures of their brands:
NXT
Adam Cole
Velveteen Dream
Dominik Dijakovic
Keith Lee
Otis DozovicNXT UK
Mark Andrews
Tyler Bate
Travis Banks
Jordan Devlin
Zack Gibson205 Live
Cedric Alexander
Humberto Carrillo
Tony Nese
Drew Gulak
TJP
There are a lot of potential fun matches here, from Keith Lee versus Tyler Bate, to Cedric Alexander versus Adam Cole, to Drew Gulak versus Velveteen Dream. Also if this leads to Otis Dozovic challenging for the Cruiserweight Championship, you won’t find me complaining.
