Update On WWE's Plans For NXT Europe

Following the shuttering of NXT UK last year, WWE announced that NXT Europe would be established in 2023, although there had been no details revealed about the company's plans for the new European brand in the past several months.

In an update, Paul "Triple H" Levesque revealed to Variety in early January there has been "a lot of progress" on the establishment of NXT Europe but he did not reveal when the brand would launch, only that he expects to have more to share in the summer. WWE will hold Money in the Bank on July 1 in London, England so any announcement could coincide with that show.

Triple H did reveal, though, that NXT Europe will focus on recruiting athletes without a prior background in pro wrestling, unlike NXT UK which was primarily comprised of talents from the United Kingdom independent wrestling scene.

"NXT UK was based mostly on independent wrestling workers, guys that worked their way up and found their way to us. We're starting the process there doing the same thing we're doing here. There isn't an NCAA collegiate level of athletics in Europe, but there's a lot of athletes that are training in a lot of places like Loughborough or whatever, for specific sports. We're beginning to engage with them now and finding the same interest level that we're finding in NCAA athletes here," Levesque said.

NXT Europe is expected to be headed up by Shawn Michaels when the brand does launch, similar to his role with NXT.