WWE Keeping UK Talents Busy With "Skull Sessions" During COVID-19 Pandemic, Tapings Happening Soon?
WWE NXT Superstars are keeping busy while the brand has been put on hold during the coronavirus pandemic.
WWE has been facilitating online acting seminars for the NXT UK Superstars as of late, according to Gary Cassidy of Sportskeeda. The acting seminars give the NXT UK Superstar a chance to work on their promo skills.
Besides the acting seminars, WWE has also tried to keep the NXT UK talents busy by having them do media interviews. The company has also hosted their own online seminars, known as "Skull Sessions" for the talents, which were described as match analysis sessions via video call.
The "Skull Sessions" have been hosted by names like NXT General Manager William Regal (Director of Talent Development & Head of Global Recruiting), Coach Robbie Brookside, Coach James Mason, and Coach Johnny Moss, among others.
These sessions allow the talents to watch back their matches and dissect them with the trainers as a way to sharpen up their in-ring skills ahead of the brand returning to regular action. Several of the NXT UK talents have taken it upon themselves to train in their home gyms to keep fit, as well as studying old tapes and matches on their own.
While NXT UK is unable to run shows right now due to the coronavirus pandemic, it was noted that there is a plan in place to resume programming as soon as it's safe to do so, even if it will have to be on a closed set. Word is that a lot of the wrestlers are "chomping at the bit" and desperate to get back in the ring. There is no word yet on when or where those tapings will take place, or if they will be before the July tapings in Glasgow. The UK is currently locked down due to COVID-19, but some restrictions were lifted this week and that may lead to the next set of NXT UK TV tapings, possibly from the WWE UK Performance Center in London.
The NXT UK brand was essentially put on pause by the coronavirus pandemic. NXT UK has had several recent TV tapings nixed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, which is why the weekly WWE Network show has featured various "Best Of" themed shows. The NXT UK "Takeover: Dublin" event was pushed back from April 26 to October 25, and the brand still has a set of TV tapings scheduled for July 24 and July 25 in Glasgow, Scotland.
NXT UK Superstar Tucker currently works as a competitor and a trainer for Titanic Wrestling in Belfast. Kirk Cooper of Titanic confirmed on Twitter that they are also running "Skull Sessions" with Tucker and other talents.
He wrote in the tweet seen below, "We've started doing Skull Session with @Tucker_UKCT at @TitanicWrestlin this past week and it's an excellent way to learn while we can't bump. Definitely scratching the itch."
Stay tuned for updates on the NXT UK brand and WWE resuming operations overseas.
We've started doing Skull Session with @Tucker_UKCT at @TitanicWrestlin this past week and it's an excellent way to learn while we can't bump. Definitely scratching the itch.
— Kirk Cooper 👓🗞️👊 Headline Maker (@KirkCooperHM) May 18, 2020