Welsh pair Flash Morgan Webster and Mark Andrews win WWE titles
- Published
Wrestling tag team Flash Morgan Webster and Mark Andrews have become the WWE's first Welsh champions.
The 27-year old pair won the titles in their hometown of Cardiff in front of a sold-out crowd at the Motorpoint Arena at the NXT UK TakeOver event on Saturday.
The duo known as 'The South Wales Subculture' - were competing for the NXT UK Tag Team Championship against two other tag teams in a triple-threat match.
"We are the first Welsh champions in WWE history and honestly it hasn't quite hit us yet, I keep waking up and pinching myself to make sure it wasn't a dream," Andrews told BBC Radio Wales.
"It was a surreal night, Saturday was the best night of our careers. To hear that crowd roaring and cheering, there is nothing like it, I am getting goosebumps just thinking about it."
A night to remember
High-flyers Andrews and Webster defeated the teams of Zack Gibson and James Drake and Mark Coffey and Woolfgang to win the match and delight the partisan crowd.
"The crowd were amazing, if you watch it back the camera is shaking because the crowd was so loud," Andrews said.
"5000 people in Cardiff and millions watching around the world on the WWE network.
"It was one thing for us to be able to do it in front of our home fans, but for everyone around the world to get to see how crazy the Welsh fans are and how incredibly supportive they were for our match; it was a whole other level of amazing really.
"Now we want to defend these championships all over the country and around the world to show that this is the best form of entertainment, bar none."
Football tag line boosts tag team
Webster and Andrews drew inspiration from Wales' performance in the 2016 European Championships, where the nation's footballers defied the odds to first qualify and then reach the semi-finals.
"I've been using 'Together Stronger', which I've stolen from the Euros," said Webster.
"Wales were lucky to get through into the Euros. I believe the reason Wales were able to do so well is because of the strong, passionate crowd supporting them."
Webster hopes Saturday's win helps to put Wales on the wrestling map.
"We've all been somewhere and been asked 'where are you from?' and sometimes people don't know exactly where Wales is," he said. "So the fact the WWE Network is broadcast in 180 different countries and we were able to fly the flag for this very proud small nation, it means the absolute world to us."
Street's legacy showing way ahead
Adrian Street left behind his father's Welsh mining roots to become one of wrestling's most recognisable figures
Adrian Street, who wrestled before WWE became mainstream and has inspired many 'heel' wrestlers, was an inspirational figure for Webster - real name Gavin Watkins - who hails from the same town as him in Brynmawr.
Thought Webster and Andrews work as 'babyfaces' and usually fight against the bad guys, Webster says Street serves as an inspiration.
"Having him as someone who came from that valley, who went against the grain, broke out to conquer wrestling in his own way, it really helped me forge my own pathway ," he said.
Having seen his father work down the mines for 51 years, Street instead opted to become a professional wrestler.
Street, now 78, had a 57-year career in professional wrestling and was known for his exotic image, flamboyant attire and arrogant character.
He wrestled in a number of countries across the world and had taken on WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler.
He was also in attendance to watch Webster and Andrews take the gold and NXT senior producer and on-screen talent Triple H - WWE Executive Vice President of Talent Paul Levesque - said Street "had the time of his life," at the event.
Tegan Nox returning from injury
With Welsh champions in the WWE, it looks like exciting times ahead for the wrestling scene in Wales and on the NXT brand in WWE.
Alongside Eddie Dennis and Wild Boar [Michael Hitchman] is Tegan Nox [Steffanie Rhiannon Newell], the only Welsh female in the WWE. The 24-year-old recently returned to the ring following a ligament injury.
Before joining the American company, Nox was trained by Andrews and Webster. The Bargoed native has since featured a number of times on WWE programming, having made her debut in the Mae Young Classic in 2017.
Andrews said: "She is a standout competitor in pro wrestling. We helped train here but she quickly rose to the top of the scene.
"I'm incredibly excited to see her back in the ring and show them what she's made of.
"She will be one of the biggest stars in the world in the next few years."