NXT TakeOver: Chicago Reaction to Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne
At NXT TakeOver: Chicago, Tyler Bate and Pete Dunne went head-to-head for the WWE UK Championship. Who walked out a winner?
A new wrinkle was added to Saturday’s NXT TakeOver: Chicago event. This saw the WWE United Kingdom Championship defended, as Tyler Bate put it on the line against Pete Dunne. This title hadn’t been involved in a live special since the WWE UK Tournament in January.
Bate and Dunne went to battle at TakeOver, putting on a memorable performance. But, who walked out with gold?
The match started with a technical standoff between these two, along with some loud dueling chants for the young British stars. This led to some great athleticism and trickery from Bate, who showed off his skills against the Bruiserweight.
The in-ring psychology then began, with Dunne targeting the hand of Bate. It briefly got thwarted, but not for too long, as the challenger hit a release suplex onto the apron, which looked like it destroyed the champion’s back.
Both @Tyler_Bate and @PeteDunneYxB are willing to do WHATEVER it takes to walk out of #NXTTakeOver: Chicago with the @WWE #UKChampionship! pic.twitter.com/AtfnXOeuGo
— WWE (@WWE) May 21, 2017
Bate finally got going when the match went back to the center of the ring. He hit some quick, sharp uppercuts and a standing moonsault onto the back of Dunne.
The match seemed to be in doubt when Dunne had Bate in a triangle hold. That was until the latter picked up and dropped him. It gave us “this is awesome” chants, which were well-deserved.
Will a SUBMISSION draw the end of #UKChampion @Tyler_Bate's reign?! @PeteDunneYxB looks to make sure of it! #NXTTakeOver #UKChampionship pic.twitter.com/BF3oDPXvNf
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) May 21, 2017
Dunne finally got some steam back, with a forearm in mid-air and an X-plex into a powerbomb for a ridiculously closer near-fall. What a maneuver!
The fight waged on with every moment being absolutely jaw-dropping. These two could seriously fight forever with how this was going. Seriously. Even the crowd chanted this.
The ring psychology came back to bite Bate, who couldn’t pick up Dunne for Tyler Driver ’97. However, he countered a Bitter End attempt into a DDT that sent everyone wild.
Bate went for a dive over the ropes, but missed the mark. Dunne quickly capitalized in the ring with the Bitter End and became the second-ever WWE UK Champion.
What a match. An absolute instant classic and one of the best NXT TakeOver bouts of all time. It took over the Allstate Arena and rocked us all watching at home. Amazing.
Fans chimed in, as well and loved what they saw:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #UKChampionship #NXTTakeover
— Dillon Roberts (@droberts0302) May 21, 2017
My god, that was so incredible. Can't get over this match. #UKChampionship #NXTTakeOver
— Vitor (@VitorLopes30) May 21, 2017
WHAT A MATCH. #fightforever #NXTTakeover #UKChampion
— Jack J Shelton III (@4CornerPride) May 21, 2017
If I ever had inspiration to become a wrestler, @PeteDunneYxB and @Tyler_Bate are them! #NXTTakeOver #UKChampionship
— The Bearded Bjørn 🐻 (@CallumB0995) May 21, 2017
That. Was. Amazing. #NXTTakeOver
— AJ Domyk (@TheDomyknator) May 21, 2017
You’d be hard-pressed to find someone not happy with what they saw. An awesome showing from these young stars.
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How do you top that? Well, there are three matches to go. Let’s see what can happen.