WWE Commentators Michael Cole And Nigel McGuinness Preview United Kingdom Championship Tournament

It's an exciting time for all those connected with British wrestling at the moment, as WWE hosts a two day 16-man tournament to crown the first ever United Kingdom Championship live on the WWE Network.

The wrestling scene over here has been on fire for a while now and WWE presenting something like this is testament to the work that has been going on in between the ropes in the UK and Ireland.

In the build-up to the tournament, which will emanate from the historic Empress Ballroom in Blackpool, we had the privilege of sitting down with the commentators for the tournament: The voice of WWE Michael Cole, and Nigel McGuiness, one of the finest wrestling exports from Britain.

Cole, is the lead commentator for the all the big WWE pay-per-views. But he admits there is something special and unique about calling such a tournament in this mould and cannot wait to tell the stories of 16 of the very best wrestlers from the UK and Ireland, marking the connection WWE has with the United Kingdom with a title that will potentially be defended on these shores.

Speaking exclusively to TheSPORTbible, he said:

"I've been doing this for 20 years, we do Raw every week, we do Smackdown every week and we do pay-per-views and they are so exciting and that's obviously our bread and butter but to be able to come over here and actually tell the stories of 16 guys that most people in the world don't know, except a select few here in the United Kingdom, it's fun. Nigel [McGuinness] and I have had to do a lot of homework, watch a lot of tape, do a lot of interviews with these guys and find out what their stories are and how we're going to best present them to the people that are watching around the world on the WWE Network. It's going to be a great opportunity for us.

"To be able to call whoever wins this the first ever WWE United Kingdom Champion, it's going to be special because there's only going to be one guy that's the first ever - it's never been done before. We've had a European Champion in WWE but to have someone represent the United Kingdom for the first time as a WWE Champion and hopefully defend this championship in the United Kingdom on local programming that will be seen on the WWE Network, which is our goal down the road, it's going to be special and not only for us but for the United Kingdom fans. They have been tremendous supporters of ours since the late 1980's and we love coming here - [they are] the most vocal and boisterous crowds and we hope they are going to be loud in Blackpool this weekend."

McGuiness is one of the very best wrestlers to emerge from Britain, winning the ROH Pure Championship and the ROH World Championship as well as taking part in show-stealing matches all over the world.

He unfortunately never wrestled for WWE but will make his commentary debut with the company in this tournament.

The 40-year old calls the opportunity "A dream come true".

"It's huge. It's a dream come true but often times within sports entertainment, it was always about America - the best guys were in America and we had to get to America. Now, this is the first sort of opportunity, certainly on a global stage, for British guys to stake our claim and be as good as anyone else in the world. That's why it's so exciting for us to sit there and I guarantee there's going to be a couple of moments where your hairs will just stand on your neck and you go 'This is special'. So to be able to call it is very special and it's a dream come true."

McGuinness is easily recognised as one of the greatest wrestlers who never turned out for WWE, although he has mixed it up with a host of the current stars such as WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens, Cesaro Seth Rollins and Smackdown General Manager Daniel Bryan.

When asked if commentating on such for WWE in such a unique tournament is the next best thing, he says that given his age and the toll taken on his body, it's even better.

"You may not believe me when I say this, certainly given the fact that for so many years I bemoaned the fact that I never got to wrestle for WWE, I truly feel that at my age, given everything else if I've had in my career, this is the best job for me actually because I have a bit of experience as an announcer and I can do it on this stage with Michael [Cole] and some of the best guys in the job but I'm very aware of the physicality of what it takes to be a world-class sports entertainer and it's for the young. I want to be healthy until I'm 65-years old and the truth of the matter is you get in, you work hard, you make your money and you move on to other things and so I'm glad to have the opportunity to move on to other things."

Michael Cole has been in the wrestling industry for 20 years and has seen so much change in the landscape of professional wrestling. The WWE Network allows so much freedom and the ability to try new things such as the Cruiserweight Classic, which was a massive success and now WWE are following on from that with the WWE United Kingdom Championship tournament.

WWE's lead commentator Cole says the evolution of the business is "amazing".

"When I started out in 1997 there was Monday Night Raw. We had our smaller weekend shows - Livewire and Superstars or whatever the case may be but we had Monday Night Raw and it was Monday Nitro for WCW - that was it for us, at least not in the states at that level. Smackdown came around in 1999 and [the] landscape started changing a little bit, Nitro went out of business and it was the WWE and it's been the WWE. Now over the past few years, with the evolution of NXT becoming a third brand for us - which is a different product in many ways as it's about a more pure wrestling product as opposed to entertainment, the Cruiserweight Classic has now opened up an entire new brand for our guys under 205 pounds and now here in the UK it's an unique opportunity to make history here and we talk about the WWE Network, me and Nigel use it as a resource tool.

"There's over 7,000 hours of content, every pay-per-view, every ECW show, every Monday Night Raw, every Monday Nitro - I'll go back and listen to the greats - Bobby [Heenan] and Gorilla [Monsoon], JR [Jim Ross] and King [Jerry Lawler], Vince [McMahon and Jesse [Ventura] and try to pick a little bit from each guys.

"It's amazing how things have changed and for everyone here in the United Kingdom, what a huge opportunity to really open the envelope now. Who knows where this leads - it's amazing to me."

The two have been conducting extensive research into every competitor in the tournament and though it's an incredibly difficult to pick the eventual winner, a few names did spring to mind when the duo were asked for their predictions for the tournament.

McGuinness said:

"Pete Dunne I'd say is the number one pick, he's the number one favourite but I would say that Danny Burch has a good chance of going deep in the tournament. Mark Andrews as well, he's definitely the top flyer we've got in the tournament and I think he's got a good opportunity."

Cole agreed with his new broadcast partner, but had a few picks of his own.

"I'm with Nigel and all the guys he said. I think that's the beauty of this tournament, anybody has got a chance in this thing - you go out there and impress, who knows what's going to happen? But I think there's six guys that are going to stand out and have a really good chance of winning this. My dark horse, I've said it from the first day we talked about it, is Joseph Conners. I like his style, he's impressed in everything I've seen him do but I think if I had to place bets, it would be on Trent Seven. I just think he has everything, he's the full package. But Dunne's pretty darn good too, I'm just glad I'm not betting as I'll probably lose something. I think those three guys: Dunne, Seven and Conners are going to be big players in this tournament."

Keep your eyes peeled for some more Nigel McGuiness and Michael Cole WWE content in the coming days...

Topics: WWE, Michael Cole, Nigel McGuinness, WWE UK Championship