On October 31, 2014, Tyler Bate, then 17, made his professional wrestling debut in England with Preston City Wrestling at an event called PCW Fright Night III. Despite a loss in his debut match -- a four-way contest that also included current 205 Live star Rich Swann -- it didn't take long for Bate to silence any potential doubts about experience and youth as he found immense success before the age of 20.
Since winning the WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament in January, Bate has continued to perform throughout Europe, but while the concept and execution of a WWE U.K. show remains a mystery (albeit one on the precipice of happening), the first ever WWE United Kingdom champion has been able to showcase his talents on several occasions on NXT. Wednesday's edition featured Bate's second televised U.K. title defense against 205 Live standout Jack Gallagher, and it anchored another strong edition of NXT as it continues to pick up momentum post-WrestleMania.
For a stretch of a few weeks in February, many of the performers who took part in the competition were featured on NXT TV. Bate, Pete Dunne, Mark Andrews and Trent Seven didn't disappoint as they dazzled audiences, consistently illustrating their capabilities. That series of matches included Bate's first televised title defense, against Seven, his "Moustache Mountain" tag-team partner.
They were peculiarly omitted from the equation for the month and a half that followed. Based on the quality of the performances in the tournament and throughout February, it seemed that presenting a U.K. championship match at TakeOver: Orlando would have made a lot of sense. While they were featured on several live events over the course of the week in Orlando, including a WWE Axxess title defense and as part of the NXT tapings, a spot on NXT's biggest show of the year wasn't in the cards.
As the road to TakeOver: Chicago continues, it's an opportunity to show just how dynamic these U.K. tournament competitors are -- and the Bate-Gallagher showdown that aired Wednesday once again proved how this style of wrestling can be integrated into the WWE's regular programming.
An early feeling-out process with unique reversals turned into a wide range of interesting submissions, pinfall attempts and fun sequences, including a bid at a suicide dive by Bate that was met by a Gallagher head-butt. The closing moments saw Gallagher unsuccessfully try to lock Bate in a variation of a hammerlock, but Bate escaped the predicament. Bate caught him with a rolling wheel kick followed by the Tyler Driver '97 move which led to another successful title defense.
Dunne, Andrews, Seven and Wolfgang were all ringside for the match, driving home Tom Phillips' announcement that the weekly WWE U.K. show is on the horizon. But the U.K. tournament competitors are all in a state of flux for the time being.
Until that happens, utilizing the blooming U.K. division on NXT is a shrewd move.
Drew McIntyre continues to roll
After reemerging at TakeOver: Orlando, McIntyre made his NXT in-ring debut two weeks ago, winning a stiff battle against Oney Lorcan.
The next step on his path of destruction came in the form of Andrade "Cien" Almas this week. The result was short but sweet. Hard-hitting bouts have become McIntyre's calling card, and that was never more apparent than it was in this match. The chops from both ends were vicious, and every strike was super snug.
The turning point saw Cien's cockiness get the best of him. He arrogantly slapped McIntyre, infuriating the big Scotsman and driving him to take over, which eventually led to McIntyre hitting his patented Claymore running boot for the win.
Aleister Black's maintains his dominance
Character development has been one of the most impressive pieces to the NXT puzzle, as evidenced by main roster mainstays including Bray Wyatt and Finn Balor. The latest example comes in the form of the dark and intriguing Black, whose spark is rapidly catching fire.
Kona Reeves served as Black's target this week. Despite Reeves' early attempts at some offense, Black took control and let his feet do all the talking. After a series of kicks, including a sharp roundhouse to the head, Black sat in the middle of the ring in his meditative trance. When he rose up, he used his foot to pull Reeves to his feet and nailed him with his Black Mass standing spinning heel kick and picked up the victory.
At first, I was hesitant to welcome Black's Black Mass move as a legitimate finishing maneuver. He has since changed my opinion. It's clear that Black, who has extensive kickboxing training, has no problem nailing the kick with precision to the point where it is a believable knockout shot every time. I'm all in.
Cross-Riot rivalry heats up
SAnitY's Nikki Cross and Ruby Riot have created one of the most intense rivalries in NXT, and they cranked it up another level on Wednesday night.
Cross stormed the ring without introduction and called out her rival. "Ruby. Ruby. come out and play."
Riot answered the call and mayhem ensued. They went after each other violently, forcing a pull-apart from a sizable security presence. The segment came to a close with Cross leaping off of the ring steps onto Riot and one of the security guards.
Look out below... @RubyRiotWWE is on the move! @NikkiCrossWWE #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/mXuRx3nE38
- WWE NXT (@WWENXT) April 27, 2017
They would attempt to settle the score in a match later on in the night, but as Riot made her way to the ring, Cross ambushed her and the brawl continued. As security once again tried to separate the two tenacious enemies, Riot topped Cross' earlier aerial assault when she dove off the stage onto Cross. Eventually, security was able to separate them, carrying a screaming Cross to the back, but this feud is escalating at a scorching pace.
What's on tap for next week?
- A wonderfully executed video package focused on Roderick Strong, reminiscent of a condensed WWE24 feature, ran Wednesday, highlighting his tough upbringing and road to the world of wrestling. Part 2 will air next week. It is worth a watch as up to this point we'd learned very little about the newly-minted father.
- A battle royal will take place next week to determine the number one contender for Asuka's NXT women's championship.