WWE launches UK Championship belt and 16-man Brit tournament - competitors confirmed

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has unveiled a brand new championship belt, to be worn by the future United Kingdom Champion. The title will be contested in a 16-man tournament in Blackpool from 14-15 January, which will air exclusively on the WWE Network.

The announcement came today (15 December) at a press conference held at the O2 Arena. Company executive and WWE mainstay Paul 'Triple H' Levesque debuted the black, red and gold title and revealed that the debut tournament will feature "some of the best talent the UK has to offer".

The "two-day throwdown" is set to take place at Blackpool's Empress Ballroom, with tickets now on sale at Live Nation. For those watching on WWE's online streaming service, the action will be called by Raw regular Michael Cole and the current NXT General Manager, Blackpool's very own William Regal (real name Darren Matthews).

British wrestling icon and Ring of Honor legend Nigel McGuinness (real name Steven Haworth) will join the WWE pair, providing play-by-play commentary at the tournament.

Levesque confirmed that both British and Irish wrestlers will be competing for the belt, with the last man standing taking home the gold. Former WWE Universal Champion Finn Balor also attended the event in London, stating the tournament "is going to bridge the gap between independent wrestling and WWE".

PWInsider later confirmed the wrestlers set to fight for the mantle of the first WWE UK Champion, listed below (includes two alternates):