Former NXT UK Women’s champion Kay Lee Ray has become a full-time talent for NXT. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reports that she has moved to the United States and will remain with NXT.

Ray has been training at the Performance Center since the first week of August. She made her surprise return to the brand at NXT Takeover 36 on Sunday.

“Kay Lee Ray is on the WWE NXT roster full-time going forward and will be residing in the United States. This is not meant to be a short run, and then she’s back to NXT UK,” said Johnson.

Kay Lee Ray Return to NXT

Ray made her return after NXT Women’s champion Raquel Gonzalez successfully defended her title against Dakota Kai. The former NXT UK Women’s champion stood at the entrance ramp and taunted Gonzalez. On tonight’s NXT taping, she will face Valentina Feroz.

NXT Women’s Title Picture

With Gonzalez successfully retaining her championship against Kai, it seems she needs a new challenger. Kai has wrestled on Main Event, so it would appear that she’s preparing to leave NXT. However, WWE also hasn’t officially stated that Kai is going to the main roster.

Other than Kai, Gonzalez doesn’t have a clear challenger to face next. However, with the return of Ray, she has an opportunity to be the next contender for the championship.

Toni Storm has opened up about what it’s like being the face of NXT UK’s women’s division in an interview with Pro Wrestling Sheet. She also spoke about her TakeOver: Cardiff matchup against former friend, Kay Lee Ray.

“It’s kind of a lot of pressure,” the NXT UK Women’s Champion admitted. “But it is honestly a dream come true. I wouldn’t want it any other way. I’m proud of it, I’m happy with it, and obviously all work has gotta go into it to maintain it and just push it to its next level.”

Turning her thoughts to her opponent at tonight’s NXT TakeOver: Cardiff, Storm admitted that she and Kay Lee Ray are very familiar with one another. She explained how they have wrestled all over the world at least 100 times. She believes this familiarity is what will help her get the upper hand as Ray has “taught me too much.”

“I’ve known her for a very long time,” she admitted. “Unfortunately things aren’t the way they were anymore, a lot of personal aspects have been brought into it, but at the same time… I know we’re gonna steal the show because we always have in the past. I don’t think I’ve ever had a better opponent. And we go back so long, I know it’s gonna be war. I know it’s gonna be a complete battle, but it’s gonna be fire.”

Storm takes on Kay Lee Ray at tonight’s NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff event. They will be competing for the NXT UK Women’s Championship.

WWE has announced that newly signed NXT UK Superstar Kay Lee Ray will be debuting next week. Kay Lee Ray was the first ever WoS/World of Sport Women’s Champion and appeared to be staying with the company for the long haul. KLR shockingly appeared at NXT UK’s Takeover: Blackpool event earlier this year and this caused many to question the future of the ITV reboot. Fellow WoS performer Viper was also being linked with WWE although AEW were reportedly also interested. You can read more on this story below:

• Update on Kay Lee Ray and Viper Offers from WWE/NXT UK

Kay Lee Ray is also the current Insane Championship Wrestling Women’s Champion. Ray recently defended her title against NXT Women’s Champion Toni Storm. The bout took place at the Square Go! event in somewhat of a European dream bout. Ray took the win in the match when Kasey Owens interfered and attacked both women.

KLR has also previously appeared for Pro Wrestling: EVE, TNA’s British Bootcamp and WWE’s Inaugural Mae Young Classic. Ray is one of the most well respected performers on the UK scene and this is a big boost to the NXT UK brand.

Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) has announced a huge Women’s Championship match for their Square Go! event. ICW Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray will be defending against NXT UK’s Toni Storm.

Kay Lee Ray was the first ever WoS/World of Sport Women’s Champion and appeared to be staying with the company for the long haul. KLR shockingly appeared at NXT UK’s Takeover: Blackpool event last month and this caused many to question the future of the ITV reboot. It appears as though Kay Lee Ray is heading to the NXT UK brand.

Interestingly, Toni Storm is of course the NXT UK Women’s Champion, having defeated Rhea Ripley at the aforementioned Takeover event. ICW has long been associated with WWE, with the company being supposedly ‘greenlit’ for NXT UK Superstars to perform. Storm is one of the biggest stars in the NXT UK brand, having won the second ever Mae Young Classic. Kay Lee Ray is also one of the top female talents in the UK/European scene, so this is somewhat of a dream bout.

The NXT UK contract changes were seemingly brought into effect on January 1st of this year. One of the biggest changes was that NXT UK talents could only face other NXT UK talents on independent cards. With Kay Lee Ray now signing with NXT UK this match was good to go.

https://twitter.com/InsaneChampWres/status/1092181904978251776

NXT UK’s first ever Takeover event is currently in full swing. During the event WoS/World of Sport Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray was shown on camera. The commentary team confirmed that the Scottish star would be coming to NXT UK.

Hey, #WWEMYC competitors @Kay_Lee_Ray & @Jazzy_Gabert! ?? #NXTUKTakeOver #NXTUK pic.twitter.com/9vFzrJmUbb

— WWE (@WWE) January 12, 2019

We reported earlier this week that ICW star and WoS Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray was on WWE’s radar. The WON confirmed that Ray had been offered a contract with WWE/NXT but did not confirm if the deal was likely to go ahead at the time. KLR also appeared in the original Mae Young Classic.

It now appears as though the deal is done and that she will be heading to NXT UK. Where this leaves WoS will be interesting, the brand did struggle with their initial run on ITV and the ongoing tour has reportedly not been selling well. We cannot confirm at this time if there will be a second series of the television show.

When Trent Seven, Tyler Bate and Pete Dunne appeared on television this week to announce the new NXT UK Performance Center they did so on ITV…the home of WoS.

There has been a whirlwind of activity recently as it pertains to contract signings across the wrestling world. With All Elite Wrestling officially getting started the likes of ROH, WWE, IMPACT et al are looking to lock down current and future talent.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter three World of Sport/WoS stars are being/have been offered contracts to join WWE/and or AEW. ICW Superstar Viper was allegedly offered deals by both AEW and WWE as her WoS deal is expiring soon, she is likely to join the NXT brand. Viper/Piper Niven does have some experience in a WWE ring, having performed in the inaugural Mae Young Classic.

Bea Priestley was also apparently offered a deal by WWE. The UK based star was also part of the 10 part WoS run earlier in 2018. Her future is apparently not as set in stone as Viper’s, her and partner Will Ospreay are reportedly considering moving to Japan (according to the Observer).

ICW star and WoS Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray is also on WWE’s radar. The WON has confirmed that Ray has been offered a contract with WWE/NXT but did not confirm if the deal is likely to go ahead. KLR also appeared in the original Mae Young Classic.

The WoS/World of Sport promotion will be heading out on tour in early 2019. The ITV show will be taking the stars of Saturday Nights across the UK starting January 18th.

WoS/World of Sport has now announced a huge Triple Threat match for their upcoming 2019 tour. Kay Lee Ray, Viper and Bea Priestley will be colliding in a three way bout on Saturday February 2nd at the Northampton Derngate. All three were top featured stars of the original series and will look to keep up their momentum. Kay Lee Ray is the current reigning WoS Women’s Champion, she won the belt on the August 4th edition of the ITV show.

Here’s the full schedule for the tour:

• Friday, January 18 – Southampton O2 Guildhall
• Saturday, January 19 – Newport Centre
• Sunday, January 20 – Bournemouth International Centre
• Friday, January 25 – Stoke Victoria Hall
• Saturday, January 26 – Blackpool Tower Ballroom
• Sunday, January 27 – Aberdeen AECC
• Friday, February 01 – Scarborough Spa Grand Hall
• Saturday, February 02 – Northampton Derngate
• Sunday, February 03 – London York Hall

With dates across Southern England, Wales and Scotland the company appears to be hitting as much of Mainland UK as they can. Several names have now been announced for the tour including the following:

• Will Ospreay
• WoS Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray
• WoS Champion Rampage
• Robbie X
• Crater
• Nathan Cruz
• Joe Hendry
• Justin Sysum
• Adam ‘Flex’ Maxted
• Grado
• Viper

Three of the best in the WOS Wrestling women's division will collide in Northampton!
@Kay_Lee_Ray vs @missviper91 vs @BeaPriestley is coming to the Derngate Theatre on Saturday February 2.
Don't miss seeing this thrilling three-way battle LIVE!
Tickets: https://t.co/eZiVYHSvqj pic.twitter.com/6iiAgdtzK8

— WOS Wrestling (@WOSWrestling) November 20, 2018

Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) has announced a huge Women’s Championship match for their Fear & Loathing XI event. Women’s Champion Viper will be facing challenger Kay Lee Ray. Both stars are considered to be amongst the World’s best and have been a featured part of the weekly WoS programme on ITV/STV.

This will be another hotly contested bout between the two former Mae Young Classic competitors. The bout could easily steal the show and is one not to be missed.

Insane Championship Wrestling has also announced that British Strong Style will be heading to ‘Fear & Loathing XII.’ This will be first time that the BSS stable has appeared as a unit in ICW. Trent Seven is a former ICW World Champion. More interesting is that Pete Dunne actually defended his WWE United Kingdom Championship in the company previously. British Strong Style are arguably the most popular stars from the thriving UK scene. All three are featured heavily on the WWE UK brands and NXT television.

Fear & Loathing XII will be taking place on December 2nd at the SSE Hydro. If you’re an ICW fan you know that the ‘Loathing event is ICW’s biggest in the calendar year and last year’s iteration featured Rey Mysterio, Kevin Nash and Rob Van Dam amongst the homegrown talent.

Tickets are available to purchase via Ticketmaster now.

https://twitter.com/InsaneChampWres/status/1044300551792599041

ITV will be broadcasting the 4th episode of WoS wrestling tomorrow at 5pm GMT. Two of the matches for the programme have been announced and it appears as though WoS are looking to stack the deck for episode 4 with a top UK showcase match and a showing for the inaugural WoS Women’s Champion.

Will Ospreay will be returning to the show for the first time since episode 1. The ‘Aerial Assassin’ will be taking on one of the most respected stars in UK independent wrestling: Martin Kirby. Kirby is currently embroiled in a feud with IMPACT/DEFIANT star Joe Hendry and it is likely that he will get involved in some way Saturday night.

WoS Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray will also be in action. The ICW star became the first ever Women’s Champion in World of Sport history when she defeated Viper and Bea Priestley in episode 2. Ray’s opponent has not yet been revealed.

NGW stars Nathan Cruz and Adam ‘Flex’ Maxted have also confirmed that they will be continuing their run in the Tag Team Championship tournament. The ‘bromance’ team, BT Gunn & Stevie Boy and Alpha Bad (Iestyn Rees and Kip Sabian) are also still in the running.

You can check out our report on the ratings for Episode 3 here, including information on the potential chance of a renewal for the iconic British wrestling brand.

Pro Wrestling: EVE will be holding their ‘Riot Grrrls’ event this Saturday from the Resistance Gallery in London, England. One of the marquee bouts of the night will see the newly crowned World of Sport/WoS Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray face Viper.

This match will be a qualifier for the upcoming SHE-1 tournament, last year’s SHE-1 saw Charlie Morgan earn an EVE Title shot at the Wrestle Queendom event earlier this year, she went on to win the Championship after defeating Sammi Jayne in the main event of the evening.

Fans of WoS will notice that this is essentially a rematch from this past Saturday’s show, Kay Lee Ray became the first ever Women’s champion after defeating Viper in a Triple Threat match which included Bea Priestley. KLR and Viper are both world renowned performers having appeared in Japan’s Stardom promotion, ICW and the inaugural Mae Young Classic for WWE.

Opinion: If you have never seen these two stars perform in an EVE ring and you live near London then this is an opportunity that you cannot miss. Pro Wrestling: EVE is one of the big reasons that Women’s wrestling has seen a resurgence not just in the UK but globally. If you can’t make the show then check out EVE’s On Demand service for all of the action.

https://twitter.com/ProWrestlingEVE/status/1025870804288978944

WoS has announced that they will be crowning the first ever Women’s Champion in World of Sport history this Saturday.

Three of the UK’s top independent Women’s performers will be colliding on mainstream British television for the brand new Championship. ICW and Mae Young Classic competitors Viper, Kay Lee Ray and Stardom performer Bea Priestley will face off on August 4th.

WoS will be available to view on ITV every Saturday night at 5pm throughout the Summer and all the way through to October. This Saturday will also feature a Ladder Match and the continuation of the Tag Team Championship tournament which will feature UK legend Doug Williams as well as Nathan Cruz and Adam ‘Flex’ Maxted.

SEScoops recently spoke to Viper and you can check out the full interview here.

https://twitter.com/missviper91/status/1024347515842424832

Pro Wrestling: EVE has announced the first match for their upcoming ‘Slayers in Spandex’ event which takes place on Saturday July 14th from the Resistance Gallery in Bethnal Green, London.

Mae Young Classic competitor and one of the finest performers on the UK circuit Kay Lee Ray will be facing up and coming star Killer Kelly. Kelly has been one of the standout performers from Westside Xtreme Wrestling’s (wXw) Women’s division for the past few years having put on clinics with the likes of Veda Scott, Melanie Gray and WWE linked Toni Storm.

Pro Wrestling: EVE is the premier all female promotion in Europe and they have been blazing a trail giving Women’s wrestling a platform on the World stage. The company has seen mainstream media attention in the United Kingdom with the likes of the BBC, The Independent, Kerrang and Metro featuring the brand in their publications to millions of readers. You can find EVE’s growing On Demand service here.

Tickets for the show are available to purchase now via EVE’s Official Website.

https://twitter.com/ProWrestlingEVE/status/1006913689621065734

All Women’s UK promotion Pro Wrestling: EVE has announced the main event for their upcoming event ‘Kick ‘Em In The Stereotypes’ which takes place Saturday February 10th from the Resistance Gallery in Bethnal Green, London.

Mae Young Classic competitor Kay Lee Ray will be teaming with one of the most dangerous women in UK wrestling Millie McKenzie to take on SHE-1 winner Charlie Morgan and the PROGRESS Women’s Champion and longtime rumored potential WWE signee Toni Storm.

Storm and McKenzie had a phenomenal match at EVE’s last event ‘Not Made To Be Subtle’ and now they look to continue their rivalry as the company builds to their ‘Wrestle Queendom’ event in May.

Ohhhhhh hiiiiiiiiiii ? pic.twitter.com/FkUzxsvFfk

— Millie Mckenzie (@MMckenzieWWE) January 17, 2018

PROGRESS has announced the first two matches for their Chapter 50 event ‘I Give it Six Months.’

First up is a bout for the PROGRESS Tag Team Championships between current title holders British Strong Style (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) and rising stars on the British scene #CCK. This will be #CCK’s official debut in PROGRESS and looks set to be a barnburner of a match.

Also confirmed is Toni Storm’s first defence of her PROGRESS Women’s Championship. Toni won the gold back at the Super Strong Style 16 event against Jinny and Laura Di Matteo. Her opponent Kay Lee Ray is one of the top performers in the ICW Women’s division so this match has the potential to be a show stealer.

#MatchNewsMonday: CONFIRMED – #BritishStrongStyle vs #CCK for the tag team titles at #Chapter50! pic.twitter.com/tiwtPjonz2

— PROGRESS Wrestling (@ThisIs_Progress) June 5, 2017

#Chapter50: @tonistorm_ defends her Women's Title vs No.1 Contender @Kay_Lee_Ray! #IGiveItSixMonths #ThisIsProgress pic.twitter.com/yY2fJbzKdP

— PROGRESS Wrestling (@ThisIs_Progress) June 6, 2017