WWE: Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate Once Again Shine In Match of the Week

Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate’s third WWE battle for the United Kingdom Championship on NXT takes home match of the week honors.

On January of this year, Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate squared off in the finals of the inaugural United Kingdom Championship Tournament. Over the course of 15 scintillating minutes, the duo put on a classic which capped off a two-day ordeal that saw 16 of Great Britain’s brightest stars get the a chance to shine in a WWE ring. On this night it was the then 19 year-old Bate who got the job done as we put away his counterpart with his patented “Tyler Driver 97” double under-hook sit-out powerbomb.

Although this was the first time Bate and Dunne squared off in the WWE, they were hardly strangers to each other. Bate, from Netherton, England and Dunne from Birmingham, England were born only about 100 miles away from each other. And having been only four years apart in age, these adversaries essentially grew up together on the British wrestling scene. Before that night in January, Bate and Dunne had squared off in a litany of different types of matches but as far as singles competition, they had clashed eight times with Dunne winning six.

So considering the somewhat large upset that Bate pulled off in winning the UK tournament and title going through Dunne, it appeared that it would only be a matter of time before “The Bruiserweight” got his rematch. And that night came on May 20th at NXT TakeOver: Chicago as the two young Brits went at it again in what many considered the best WWE match of 2017. This time around it was Dunne picking up the victory while etching his name into UK Title lore.

Bate waited an excruciating six months to finally get his official rematch and it took place on November 29th at Full Sail University. However, the match was finally televised this last Wednesday on NXT and the WWE universe finally got to see the third installment of this already historic trilogy. Now, was match three as good as match two from TakeOver? In a word, no. But it was very close.

There were a few differences in the match from Wednesday night as opposed to the first two. For one, this match went much longer. Where as the first two bouts both went about 15 minutes each, this one went closer to 23 and because of that the mat wrestling and grinding nature were much more apparent. Dunne was absolutely surgical on Bate’s left hand and arm, at times legitimately looking like he permanently damaged his opponents digits. But Bate matched him at every turn using his unique style of power and acrobatics that kept Dunne honest for the duration of this war

Another difference from Wednesday night was how the match played out in and out of the ring. Where as their first two clashes stayed almost completely between the ropes, in match three, the duo took it outside as well. Dunne’s suplex off the stairs to the outside was a brilliant touch, while Bate’s exploder suplex back into the ring once again showcased the 20 year-old’s ridiculous brute strength.

One part that has to be mentioned, as painful as it is for this writer to say, was the lack of enthusiasm from the Full Sail University crowd. For an audience that is normally ready to jump out of their seats, the fans were fairly docile considering the nature of such a match between two of the brightest young wrestlers on the planet. Did it detract from the match, though? Yes, it did. NXT’s normal hot crowd is part of what makes the product so great and it adds an extra dimension to the action inside of the ring. Without it, it’s just an amazing wrestling match. With it, it’s a classic.

credit: wwe.com

But let’s not take anything away from Dunne and Bate. This was close to on par with their TakeOver match as it gets. It had it all. Ring psychology, joint stretching submissions, aerial prowess, power moves, and brutal strikes, a hallmark of each of their previous matches.

The thuds and slaps of each man’s chops, kicks, and punches were so vicious you could almost feel them as the viewer. At one point Bate and Dunne stood toe to toe in the middle of the ring trading relentless punches while Maura Ranallo excitedly referred to them as “Rock Em’ Sock Em’ Robots!”.  In the end it was Dunne taking the lead in their WWE series 2-1 as it took two “Bitter Ends” to close the the book on “Bate The Great”.

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When the 2017 calendar year ends, all three of Bate and Dunne’s matches will have to be considered in the top 10 for the year. Wednesday’s battle probably ranks second of the three and for Dunne and Bate who are 24 and 20, respectively, don’t expect for this rivalry to end any time soon. Easily the match of the week and one of the very best of the year, hats go off to these two young, talented Brits.