Paul “Triple H” Levesque was in London, England today to announce the opening of the WWE United Kingdom Performance Center, the first expansion of the company’s wrestling school/training facility since the original Performance Center opened in Orlando in 2013.
WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels, head trainer Matt Bloom, Finn Balor, Charlotte Flair, WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne and many of the NXT UK talents were on hand for the announcement, which Triple H explained is a part of WWE’s “global localization” strategy, and will be the “first of many” Performance Centers outside the United States.
While WWE is on the verge of facing its stiffest competition stateside in two decades, their focus has been on expanding their sphere of influence to the rest of the world and recruiting talent before they become big names on their own. WWE has been partnering with various independent wrestling organizations, from the US’s EVOLVE to the UK’s PROGRESS, to basically create a 21st century version of the territory system where all territories exist to eventually feed into the WWE machine. Today’s announcement of the United Kingdom Performance Center is the first step in that.
WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne said at the announcement, “Every time we step in this ring, we are proud to represent this brand. With this amazing facility, we have a chance to train together and develop together, and that only increases the feeling of being part of a winning team.”
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