WWE Superstar Butch was once a huge part of Triple H’s NXT UK brand, but the pair’s first meeting left a lot to be desired.
Butch joined WWE as Pete Dunne in 2017 as part of the United Kingdom Championship tournament
Despite losing to Tyler Bate in the finals, Butch would win the title in May 2017, and would hold the title for 685 days.
First Meetings
Like its American counterpart, NXT UK saw a lot of involvement by Triple H, who was a key part of the brand being formed in 2017.
Speaking on the latest episode of Out of Character, Butch recalled doing a dark match before signing with WWE and how he had to fight hard (literally) to get the Game’s attention.
“I definitely met him very, very briefly. Me and Tyler [Bate] did a dark match before the show to test the cameras in Glasgow where we had our tryout. Regal picked us up to go and wrestle. I remember he was on his phone or whatever.
“We’re in there and we were just taking it as a job interview, right? So we were out there just putting our best foot forward, putting on the best match we possibly could. Then I remember halfway through, he puts his phone down and just starts watching. I remember him standing there and watching the whole thing.”
Speaking to The Game
While Butch was focused on the match, the idea of speaking for the first time with Triple H was an opportunity he realized he would not be getting again soon.
In the interview, Butch said that despite Triple H’s involvement in NXT UK, he didn’t speak much with the Hall of Famer.
“He was actually talking to Chris Jericho. We stood by the rail, really awkwardly. We thought ‘We’ve got to get five minutes with him if we can.’ Then eventually, Jericho turned around and asked us if we’re okay, what we needed. We said, ‘Oh, we just wanted to make sure everything you saw was okay. If there’s anything we could do differently to improve and get your thoughts.’ Triple H basically just said ‘No, that was great.’”
While the interaction between Butch and Triple H was short, Jericho was far more open.
“Jericho said, ‘Just give me five minutes I’ll come talk to you.’ We had a good chat with him and he had some really kind words to say and stuff. That was the only brief encounter I had with Triple H.”
After working in NXT UK, Butch was moved to NXT, where he held the NXT Tag Team Titles.
Upon arriving on SmackDown earlier this year, the Brit was given the Butch name, and he and Ridge Holland will challenge for Undisputed WWE Tag Champions The Usos at Crown Jewel.