WWE: Ranking The Top 20 Matches of 2017

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credit: wwe.com

17. Pete Dunne vs Mark Andrews – United Kingdom Championship Tournament Semifinals

At the start of 2017, the United Kingdom Championship Tournament took place in Blackpool, England and introduced 16 fresh, British faces to the WWE universe. Over the course of the next two days, these men put on numerous, hard-fought battles that yielded new superstars to keep on the radar. Due to their performances, guys like Trent Seven, Wolfgang, and Danny Burch continued to work dates for the WWE throughout 2017. However, two of the men that stood out from the crowd were semi-finalists Pete Dunne and Mark Andrews.

The high-flying Andrews was a somewhat already well known commodity on the states if you were a fan of TNA as “White Lightning” worked for the fledgling company for a few years beginning in 2014. Dunne, on the other hand, was more well known to hardcore wrestling fans who follow the independent scene as “The Bruiserweight” had won titles in Chikara, Progress Wrestling, Revolution Pro Wrestling, and Westside Extreme Wrestling. And with both men being right around the same age while growing up on the British wrestling circuit, they were no strangers to each other, having gone to battle in some shape or form more than 40 matches before this night in January.

You could tell that the duo knew each other well and seemed to ooze natural chemistry as Dunne, the brawler, wore down Andrews who still managed to work in his arsenal of high-flying maneuvers. The match only lasted around 11 minutes, but that didn’t stop these two Brits from tearing into each other and working the Blackpool crowd into frenzy. In the end it was Dunne’s power that carried the night as he picked up the victory and moved on to the finals to face the other standout from this tournament, Tyler Bate. But as good as the ensuing trilogy between Bate and Dunne was, a lot needs to be said about Andrews who should one day become a key member of the WWE’s 205 division.