WWE UK brand gets an authority figure - is a TV show far behind?

British wrestling legend Johnny Saint was named General Manager of the WWE United Kingdom brand yesterday (June 7). As was pointed out in the WWE.com article announcing Saint as GM ahead of the kickoff of the latest UK Championship tournament this weekend at Download Festival, the 76 year old spent six months working as a coach at the company’s Orlando, Florida Performance Center last year.

A fixture of World of Sport era of British wrestling, the Billy Robinson-trained Saint began wrestling in the 1950s and continued to compete for more than five decades. He joins fellow WWE brand GMs Kurt Angle, Paige, William Regal and Drake Maverick.

Aside from continuing the company’s long-standing love of British authority figures, the appointment makes you wonder if some bigger news about the UK brand isn’t around the corner from WWE. More talents have reportedly been signing “UK only” deals, where they’ll join the company but not report to Florida like other Developmental signees. Without some move toward a regular live or television schedule, that would only increase the number of wrestlers WWE is paying to pretty much not work on television for other companies. Triple H and his team have tried to keep the UK roster busy on NXT and 205 Live, but it only amounts a handful of appearances. The United Kingdom Championship Tournament shows taping on June 18 - 19 and airing on WWE Network the following week might not only give those Superstars something to do. They might be a way to launch a more regular presence for what would become The ‘E’s fifth brand.

Hopefully we’ll be seeing Johnny Saint trying to rein in Pete Dunne on a regular basis soon.