Results, Recap, Review of WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament.

This weekend marked a historic event for the WWE. It was the crowning of the first ever United Champion. The UK has such a rich history of wrestling. In terms of WWE two of the greatest matches in WWE history took place in the UK. The first match I think is Bret Hart and Davey Boy Smith at Summerslam 1992. The second match is Shawn Michaels and John Cena on Monday Night Raw in April 2006. These matches set the bar very high for a WWE U.K. product. Could these 16 men raise the bar even higher in this tournament? Before I begin with my thoughts here are the results:

-Trent Seven defeated H.C.  Dyer in a First Round Match
-Jordan Devlin defeated Danny Burch in a First Round Match
-Sam Gradwell defeated Saxon Huxley in a First Round Match
-Pete Dunne defeated Roy Johnson in a First Round Match
-Wolfgang defeated Tyson T-Bone in a First Round Match
-Joseph Connors defeated James Drake in a First Round Match
-Mark Andrews defeated Dan Moloney in a First Round Match
-Tyler Bate defeated Tucker in a First Round Match.

The opening match of the tournament featured Trent Seven and H.C. Dyer.  Dyer has a lot of athletic ability to him and can really move around the ring.  I absolutely loved Trent Seven’s first impression in WWE. He has some brutal chops and a beard that is just impressive as his in ring talent. Seven is highly respected all over the U.K. and it shows. Finn Balor has his influence on this tournament with his protégé Jordan Devlin. Devlin took on Danny Burch on the first round. Devlin and Burch were both very hard hitting. This match ended in controversy because it looked Burch kicked out before 3 but Burch got busted up bad in the back of his head. Devlin made a statement early and superkicked Burch after the match was over. I was actually surprised Burch didn’t go over considering he’s been in NXT in the past.

Hometown boy Sam Gradwell took on Saxon Huxley in match that had the crowd very vocal and against Huxley the entire time. Gradwell finished off Huxley with a beautiful diving head butt. I like Gradwell’s attitude and demeanor in the ring. The guy I was most excited to see in this tournament is Pete Dunn. Dunn has made a name for himself all over the U.K. and he definitely deserved to be in this tournament. Roy Johnson reminded of a cross between Rich Swann and R-Truth. He has a ton of charisma but it was no match for Pete Dunn’s brutality. Dunn has an extreme submission style that hurt me just watching it. I really enjoyed Pete Dunn’s first match on WWE programming .

Well if you want personality you have to look no further then Wolfgang and Tyson T-Bone. With names like that I had a feeling it might be a hard hitting contest. I really was impressed with Wolfgang’s high flying ability. I always enjoy when the big men of this business can move like a Cruiserweight. I think that makes you more of a threat when you can move like that. Tyson T-Bone has a very intriguing story but I wasn’t quite sold on him. I was glad to Wolfgang win the match and move on int the tournament. Another hometown boy James Drake took on Joseph Connors in a match that had similarities. I’ve seen storytelling and psychology on just about everything in a match but never on the ear. Connors is missing part of an ear and it was a focal point in the match. Drake dominated most of the match but Joseph Connors victory came out of nowhere.

I thought it was brilliant of WWE to get Mark Andrews in this tournament. Andrews already has exposure from being involved with TNA Impact Wrestling. Andrews opponent was 19 year old Dan Moloney who was the youngest person in the tournament. This match definitely had a contrast of styles. Moloney is more of a power house while Andrews a true high flyer. I could see Mark Andrews heading to 205 Live or NXT to get some real mainstream exposure. Andrews moved on to the second round with an impressive Shooting Star Press. The Final match of the first round was between Tucker and and Tyler Bate. Tyler Bate is another 19 year old in this tournament and he has some of the same uniqueness that Jack Gallagher has. Bate and Tucker had the best overall match of the night. It sucked to see one of them get eliminated. Tyler Bate got the victory to end the first night of competition.

Before things could go off the air Pete Dunne attacked Sam Gradwell to send a message that he was going after the UK Title. Night two of the tournament would feature the Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Finals. Before I begin with my thoughts on night two here are the results of night two:

-Pete Dunne defeated Sam Gradwell in a Quarterfinal Match
-Mark Andrews defeated Joseph Connors in a Quarterfinal Match
-Wolfgang defeated Trent Seven in a Quarterfinal Match
-Tyler Bate defeated Jordan Devlin in a Quarterfinal Match
-Pete Dunn defeated Mark Andrews in a Semifinal Match
-Tyler Bate defeated Wolfgang in a Semifinal match
-Neville defeated Tommy End
-Tyler Bate defeated Pete Dunn to win the WWE UK Championship

The opening match of the night was a continuation of how the tournament ended last night. Pete Dunne took on Sam Gradwell. Gradwell came out very full of emotion and dominated the early part of the match. I loved the story telling in this match when Dunne started focusing on the back of Gradwell. Dunne has proved himself to be the ultimate bad boy in this tournament flyer. We went from an ultimate bad boy to an ultimate high flyer. Mark Andrews took on a very intriguing Joseph Connors. Connors was trained by Robbie Brookside and Dave Taylor who were both very physical in their day. I saw a lot of their style in Connors during this match but the high flying antics of Mark Andrews proved to be too much in this match.

In another match of personalities we saw Wolfgang take on Trent Seven in a very entertaining match. Both are very agile, athletic and are very smash mouth on how they approach a match. I personally was very shocked to see Wolfgang get the win over Trent Seven. Many people including myself thought for sure Seven would be in the finals. I think Wolfgang has a great story and a great set of in-ring skills that will carry him a long ways, The final match of the quarterfinals was between Jordan Devlin and Tyler Bate. I really like Tyler Bate and what he brings to a match. Jordan Devlin and Pete Dunne established themselves as the two big heels in this tournament which made for very great storytelling. I am glad Tyler Bate moved on to the semifinals and they didn’t go with a political move and make Devlin move on.

The Semifinals started off with Pete Dunne and Mark Andrews. Pete Dunne is such an aggressive heel and I think he is someone that Triple H has his eyes on. It should be known that Dunne and Andrews had their first match together so they knew each other really well before this tournament began. The familiarity made for a great match, Pete Dunne is easily the most disliked guy in this tournament but the fans love his style. Another couple of crowd favorites were Wolfgang and Tyler Bate. There was such a contrast in styles in this match but the young Tyler Bate proved his resiliency and determination might not be able to be matched. I was shocked that Bate was able to hit the Tyler Driver on Wolfgang for the win. After the match Pete Dunne attacked Bate to try and get an advantage for the finals.

Before the finals began Neville came out to address his countrymen and how he has been forgotten. Neville had to take on a big challenge in one of the newest NXT stars Tommy End. Tommy End made a first great impression on WWE programming. I loved this impromptu match and the fact it gave Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate a break. The break and wait was finally over and we moved on to the finals. Bate and Dunne had great matches leading up to this finals match. Dunne obviously was the ultimate heel in this tournament and Bate was really loved by this crowd. I feel like the UK Tournament had more storytelling in it then the Cruiserweight Classic and the finals along with the entire tournament showed it. It’s hard to believe that the first ever UK Champion is only 19 years old, This kid has a bright future ahead as do all the other participants of this tournament. If rumors are true and WWE follows up with an Asian Championship and Latin American Championship then there are going to be some great things to come,

I am so glad I took the time to watch the tournament. It was such an educational experience learning about British Wrestling, their fans and their culture. It was also entertaining to hear Nigel McGuiness on commentary because he is such influence on how British wrestlers have been perceived in the last decade. WWE has made it’s mark in the UK and it’s a mark thats going to be felt for a very long time.