For the past couple of months, we’ve been hearing reports that WWE is working closely with some top U.K. and Irish independent wrestling promotions to bring some non-WWE programming to WWE Network. Obviously, that was exciting news, especially in the wake of the U.K. Championship Tournament, but things seem to have stalled since then.
As it turns out, maybe WWE was just waiting for some sort of major event or weekend or something. Weird, right?
On Tuesday, WWE.com put out a fairly complete match and talent listing for the Axxess sessions, and right in the headline, they acknowledged that PROGRESS and ICW talent would be competing. And possibly even defending other companies’ championships. At a WWE fan convention. During Wrestlemania weekend. We’ve been through the looking glass for a while now, but now that motherf*cker is firmly in the rearview.
Among the non-WWE talent that will be wrestling at Axxess are top U.K. wrestlers Mark Haskins and Jimmy Havoc.
OH HELLO https://t.co/XSBZGM9YbD
— PROGRESS Wrestling (@ThisIs_Progress) March 21, 2017
https://twitter.com/JimmyHavoc/status/844231183835783168
Matches announced for WWE Axxess. Super pumped! https://t.co/Evso1mB4B5
— HASKINS (@ThisIsHaskins) March 21, 2017
Here’s the full match and talent listing as announced on WWE.com:
Thursday, March 30
Matches featuring Superstars from 205 Live, including:
- Rich Swann vs. The Brian Kendrick
- TJ Perkins vs. Drew Gulak
- Plus, returning NXT Superstar Hideo Itami and many others will be in action.
Friday, March 31
Matches featuring Superstars from the U.K. Championship Tournament, PROGRESS Wrestling and ICW, including:
- WWE U.K. Champion Tyler Bate vs. Mark Haskins in a U.K. Championship Match
- PROGRESS Champion Pete Dunne vs. Mark Andrews
- Plus, PROGRESS and ICW Superstars such as Jimmy Havoc, TK Cooper, Travis Banks, Dahlia Black, Toni Storm and Jinny will compete in a WWE ring for the first time.
Saturday, April 1 (8 a.m. session)
Matches featuring Superstars from 205 Live, the U.K. Championship Tournament and PROGRESS Wrestling, including:
- Akira Tozawa vs. Ariya Daivari
- PROGRESS Champion Pete Dunne vs. Wolfgang
- WWE U.K. Champion Tyler Bate vs. Joseph Conners in a U.K. Championship Match
- And many other bouts
Saturday, April 1 (1 p.m. session)
Matches featuring NXT Superstars and former NXT Superstars, including:
- Heavy Machinery vs. The Vaudevillians
- Tino Sabbatelli & Riddick Moss vs. The Ascension
- Plus, matches featuring Liv Morgan, Daria Berenato and more Superstars.
Saturday, April 1 (6 p.m. session)
Matches featuring Superstars from NXT, 205 Live and the U.K. Championship Tournament, including:
- Akira Tozawa vs. Steve Cutler
- ICW Heavyweight Champion Trent Seven vs. Noam Dar
- TJ Perkins & Mustafa Ali vs. Tino Sabbatelli & Riddick Moss
Sunday, April 2
Matches featuring Superstars from the U.K. Championship Tournament, PROGRESS Wrestling and ICW, including:
- ICW Heavyweight Champion Trent Seven vs. Wolfgang
- WWE U.K. Champion Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne in a U.K. Championship Match
- Plus, PROGRESS and ICW Superstars such as Mark Haskins, Jimmy Havoc, TK Cooper, Travis Banks, Dahlia Black, Toni Storm and Jinny.
I guess we can all safely brace for the final, official announcement of when these promotions will bring their shows to WWE Network. And if you’re a fan of contemporary British wrestling … well, you might want to get out to those Axxess sessions next week.
