WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament Review: Tyler Bate Wins

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 9:14 p.m. ET

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On Sunday night, WWE presented night two of their WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament. Follow along with us as we guide you through the action.

After an action packed night one, we moved on to the later rounds of the WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament, live from the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool, England.

Last night you may have seen the first round matches of the tournament. We now have quarter final match up pitting Tyler Bate vs Jordan Devlin, Trent Seven vs Wolfgang, Mark Andrews vs Joseph Conners and Pete Dunne vs Sam Gradwell. All eight men have a chance of becoming the first ever WWE United Kingdom Champion.

Right at the end of last night’s show we saw all eight men presented to the crowd by William Regal and commentator Nigel McGuiness. With them all stood on the ramp, Pete Dunne attacked his opponent in tonight’s semifinal, Sam Gradwell, giving him a brutal beatdown.

William Regal and Triple H reacted furiously to him doing that, and it was announced that they would look at Dunne’s actions and punish him for it. Only minutes before the show started it was announced on WWE social media that they had spoken to Gradwell and that he wanted no action to be taken against Dunne. The only thing that was announced was the fact that Dunne vs Gradwell would be the first match on tonight’s show. Gradwell wanted the chance to beat Dunne in the center of the ring, but will that beating by Dunne make an impact during that match?

The rest of the match-ups should be even affairs, with pre-tournament favorites Trent Seven and Tyler Bate looking impressive in their opening round victories. It was anyone’s guess who would walk out victorious, follow along with us as we work our way through the show.

Quarterfinals MatchPete Dunne vs. Sam Gradwell

Result: Pete Dunne wins by pinfall

Rating: 2.7 out of 5 stars

Dunne got the win after slamming Gradwell into the turnbuckle. Regardless of whether Dunne wins the tournament, he is the star of the whole event. Out of everyone we’ve seen he carries himself like a WWE star.

Gradwell came out with an injured back after last nights beating by Dunne. Dunne obviously concentrated on that throughout, and made even more of a name for himself with this win.

Post match Dunne spoke to Charly Caruso and told her “That’s two down, two more to go”. Dunne is hot and will be hard to beat the rest of the night.

Quarterfinals MatchMark Andrews vs. Joseph Conners

Result: Mark Andrews wins via pinfall

Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars

Andrews won after hitting the Stundog Millionaire and Shooting Star Press. The classic big strong guy vs smaller high flyer match, which had the crowd well behind Andrews. The high-flying Andrews has a big future with WWE and it was no surprise to see him get the win here.

You have to wonder if anyone in TNA is ruing the decision to let Andrews leave the company. The win for Andrews sets up our first semi-final match, Andrews will face Pete Dunne for a place in the final.

Quarterfinals MatchTrent Seven vs. Wolfgang

Result: Wolfgang wins via pinfall

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

The battle of the two big men saw Wolfgang win after a Senton from the top rope. Probably the best match of the tournament so far, with both men putting in a great showing.

The two bruisers gave as good as they got, with Wolfgang kicking out of Seven’s Seven Star Lariat before winning the match. Even with this loss, you should expect to see Seven and Wolfgang become big stars on any WWE UK programming going forward.

Quarterfinals MatchTyler Bate vs. Jordan Devlin

Result: Tyler Bate wins via pinfall

Rating: 2.7 out of 5 stars

Tyler Bate wins after the big punch and Tyler Driver 97 leaves Devlin down for the three count. Bate looks like a massive star already, at only 19 years of age he has the fans eating out of the palm of his hands. Devlin put in a solid effort, but couldn’t get the advantage like he did last night.

Bate is deceptively strong for his size, but could see a tough battle with Wolfgang in the second semifinal.

Semifinals MatchPete Dunne vs Mark Andrews

Result: Pete Dunne wins via pinfall

Rating: 3.8 out of 5 stars

Much like Andrews previous match, this was a classic speed vs power matchup. Both men had chances to win, with some extremely close near falls, before the strength and power of Dunne finally won the day.

Dunne is nicknamed the Bruiserweight and proved in this match how much of a beast he really. Andrews loses nothing with the defeat, he will be a star on WWE tv in the not too distant future.

Dunne heads to the final as the favorite, whilst Andrews has to be in with a chance of a full-time WWE contract after this, 205 Live could be a fantastic home for him.

Semifinals MatchWolfgang vs. Tyler Bate

Result: Tyler Bate wins via pinfall

Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars

After a back and forth match Bate won after a surprise Tyler Driver 97 relatively out of nowhere.

Bate has proven to be a big star in front of the fans in attendance, the charisma, and athleticism that he has shown have put him amongst the best in the world tonight. Wolfgang gave a good account of himself throughout and will do well off the back of this whole tournament.

After the match, Pete Dunne ran into attack Bate ahead of the final between the two men, he was ran off by William Regal.

Next: The Final

Neville Promo

WWE Superstar Neville came out next, telling the crowd he seems to have been forgotten yet again. The crowd is hot for the Newcastle-born man, cheering him throughout. Neville says he should have been in the tournament, but if he had then it wouldn’t have been fair on the other men involved.

Non-Tournament Exhibition MatchNeville vs. Tommy End

Result: Neville wins via pinfall

Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars

Neville wins after hitting the Red Arrow. A hard hitting match, with both men hitting some brutal looking strikes and hitting some impressive high flying maneuvers. A fantastic match and a great way to introduce Tommy End to the WWE Universe via the WWE Network.

Following the match, it was announced that Tyler Bate has suffered a separated AC joint, but has been cleared to face Pete Dunne in the final.

Prior to the final match, Finn Balor came out to a rousing ovation from the crowd in attendance. Balor says this has been an unbelievable tournament, and he is proud of the whole thing.

WWE UK Championship Tournament FinalPete Dunne vs. Tyler Bate

Result: Tyler Bate wins via pinfall

Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars

Bate won to become the first ever WWE UK Champion at only 19 years of age. This was the perfect underdog story, especially after Dunne sneak attacked him after his semifinal match.

Dunne took advantage of the injured Bate, spending almost the entire match working over the shoulder of the younger Bate. Bate managed to drive Dunne into the ring post to give himself a breather, before hitting some brutal looking strikes.

After exchanging near falls and holding the crowd in the palm of their hands, Bate managed to gut it out and hit the Tyler Driver 97. Both men told a brilliant story throughout the match, and this was the perfect way to end a fantastic tournament. You can expect to see a lot of Tyler Bate on WWE tv going forward, he is a star without even trying.

The celebration would then ensure. Finn Balor, Triple H, William Regal, and Fit Finlay all joined Bate to present him with the WWE UK Championship.

The two-day event is now in the books. What did you think of the WWE United Kingdom Tournament and Tyler Bate winning it all?

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