WWE United Kingdom Champion and former PROGRESS World Champion Pete Dunne has been issued a challenge that will pit him against one of the more underrated stars of the European independent scene.
Promoter of Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw) Christian Michael Jakobi appeared during PROGRESS Wrestling’s Super Strong Style 16 event and challenged the reigning WWE UK Champion to a bout against the wXw World United Heavyweight Champion…Ilja Dragunov.
Dragunov became the wXw Champion during the company’s 16 Carat Gold 2018 event back in March of this year, he defeated then Champion John Klinger and WWE linked star WALTER in an incredible bout that headlined day two of the tournament. This marked the return of Dragunov to the company and he received a thunderous reception from the wXw fanbase.
The date of this European super bout has not yet been confirmed however the likelihood is that it will be one of the headliners during the co-branded PROGRESS/wXw tour which takes place late August/early September.
WWE’s United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne revealed on his Instagram account that he is expecting his first child in November. You can check out the post below:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BiVL1OlhNMZ
New Camp WWE Season 2 Premiere
WWE released a new video of the second season premiere of Camp WWE. The second season will premiere Sunday. You can check out the sneak peek video from WWE Network’s Twitter below:
WWE has just announced that United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne will be teaming with his British Strong Style stablemates Tyler Bate and Trent Seven to take on the Undisputed Era as part of the upcoming United Kingdom Championship Tournament events from the historic Royal Albert Hall on June 18th/19th.
The match was set during Wrestlemania weekend; Pete Dunne looked to be winning the NXT Tag Team Championships and Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic trophy after hitting a ‘Bitter End’ on Undisputed Era’s Kyle O’Reilly before his partner Roderick Strong turned on him and aligned himself with NXT’s most dangerous alliance. Dunne then joined his British Strong Style stablemates during the next evening’s Axxess event and seemingly brought the group into WWE officially, this announcement of a BSS vs UE dream bout now confirms that.
As previously mentioned British Strong Style is a trio consisting of Dunne, Bate and Seven. The team were created in the UK’s PROGRESS promotion when Trent Seven actually attacked Tyler Bate and Dunne attacked his partner at the time Damien Dunne. Tyler Bate eventually joined the duo and they became the most dominant force in the company, holding both the PROGRESS Tag Team and World Championships until the company’s biggest ever show in Alexandra Palace: Chapter 55 – ‘Chase The Sun.’ This will be British Strong Style’s first official match together under the WWE banner and an incredible showcase for the three UK Superstars.
WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne has begun teasing a feud between the Undisputed Era and his own stable British Strong Style.
Dunne was attacked by his own tag team partner Roderick Strong during last night’s NXT Takeover: New Orleans event. Dunne had hit his signature move the ‘Bitter End’ on NXT Tag Team Champion Kyle O’Reilly and he looked set to win the titles and the coveted Dusty Rhodes Classic trophy…then Strong attacked the ‘Bruiserweight’ and officially aligning himself with the Undisputed Era stable.
Following the event Dunne sent out a tweet with a picture of himself, Tyler Bate and Trent Seven, potentially setting up a huge feud between the two teams.
Would you like to see a BSS vs Undisputed Era feud? Let us know in the comments.
The announcement of Daniel Bryan’s return to WWE in a competitive capacity has kicked the excitement of the road to WrestleMania into high gear. In previous years, the road to WrestleMania has been a mixed bag, but the late addition of Daniel Bryan to the card has all but guaranteed this year’s show will be one to remember.
The prospect of a healthy Daniel Bryan presents countless ‘dream match’ scenarios. Aside from “I can’t believe this is really happening” battles against likes of The Miz, Shinsuke Nakamura, AJ Styles and Brock Lesnar – we’re taking a look at 3
Jeff Hardy
Jeff Hardy was once touted as the next big megastar in WWE, whilst his run as WWE Champion left a lot to be desired and his personal issues caused a massive rift between himself and the company he is now seemingly back (pending any fallout from his recent legal issues). Although Hardy is technically a RAW Superstar there is definitely sense in moving him over to the Blue brand potentially alongside his ‘Broken’ brother Matt.
Hardy’s experience and penchant for the extreme could mesh well with the more technical style of Bryan, assuming that Bryan will venture more into a mat based style to appease any looming doubts from WWE’s top brass. This could be an extremely intriguing bout between two veteran performers who stood near the top of the mountain in their own ‘eras’ and could be a perfect ‘left field’ bout to give Bryan between some of these mega dream matches.
Neville
Neville
We have not seen the ‘King of The Cruiserweights’ for a long time…but there is no reason to expect anything other than a return to a WWE ring for the UK Superstar in the near future. This could be great way to transition Neville into the ‘Heavyweight’ division, giving him the opportunity to over-power the beloved Bryan and continue to establish his villainous persona on the main roster shows of either Smackdown or RAW.
This could be a technical masterclass from two stars who have worked across the UK, Europe and Japan and could essentially elevate Neville to the ranks of upper mid carder…somewhere he could thrive.
Pete Dunne
The WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne has a lot in common with NXT General Manager William Regal, a man who had some exceptional matches with Daniel Bryan in his career. Whilst the comparisons to Regal are well earned it is important to remember that the young UK Superstar has a huge amount of upside potential and has been crafting his ‘Bruiserweight’ persona across the United Kingdom for PROGRESS, ICW and Rev Pro et al for the past several years in his own right.
This has ‘technical masterpiece’ written all over it, a real chance to show that Dunne can ‘go’ on the biggest stages and having him compete against a star the stature of Bryan would do wonders for his career. Out of the three matches listed this would be the least likely but certainly the most important in terms of helping to build upon the creation of a new star.
Who would you like Bryan to face? Let us know in the comments.
WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne has been announced for Fight Club Pro’s upcoming Dream Tag Team Invitational events happening later on this month.
The former PROGRESS World Champion will be taking part in at least two bouts over the three day event and Fight Club Pro are bringing in two unique opponents for the young veteran. Day 2 of the DTTI will see Dunne face Lucha Underground star Rey Fenix in a bout that will pit the ‘Bruiserweight’ against one of the premier high flyers on the independent scene. Night Three of the event will see Dunne face an icon of Japanese wrestling; Meiko Satomura…
Satomura is the co-founder of the famed Sendai Girls promotion, she has performed across the globe for the likes of Gaea Japan, WCW and Chikara. Her bout against possibly the best performer in the UK in Dunne is highly anticipated and will only be seen live by the crowd in Birmingham’s NEC Arena due to the VOD streaming rules surrounding WWE UK contracted talent. If you’re in the UK you cannot miss this.
DTTI – NIGHT THREE SUNDAY 1st APRIL 2018 THE N.E.C., BIRMINGHAM
Possibly the biggest night in Fight Club: PRO history deserves the biggest singles dream match we can deliver.
UK promotion Fight Club: Pro has announced an absolutely huge match for Night 1 of their upcoming Dream Tag Team Invitational starting Friday March 20th.
WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne will be flanked by his British Strong Style compatriots Tyler Bate and Trent Seven to take on the team of Matt Riddle, Lucha Underground’s Angelico and NJPW’s Jeff Cobb.
Last year’s iteration of the DTTI saw British Strong Style take on The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega (then known as The Elite) and Fight Club will be hoping that this bout matches up to the precedent set on that night.
Tickets for the event are available to purchase via the official Fight Club: Pro site.
?DTTI 2018 – WOLVES?
Last year British Strong Style featured in one of the most talked about matches in Wrestling as they took on The Elite.
This year they return on Night One to take on possibly the most talented trio in the world. #SPLX
NXT Tag Team Champion Bobby Fish was at tonight’s NXT TV tapings but was on crutches after suffering a knee injury at a weekend live event. PWInsider reports that Fish is scheduled to undergo knee surgery later this week in Birmingham, AL.
There’s no word yet on when Fish will be back from the surgery but it was announced at tonight’s tapings that he and partner Kyle O’Reilly will put their titles on the line at “Takeover: New Orleans” during WrestleMania 34 Week.
In a change of plans, perhaps due to the injury, the finals of The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic came down to air on NXT TV instead of Takeover. Roderick Strong and WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne vs. The Authors of Pain was set to begin as the finals but Adam Cole and O’Reilly attacked both teams for the contest. NXT General Manager William Regal then announced a Triple Threat for Takeover with Dunne & Strong vs. The Authors of Pain vs. O’Reilly & Fish with the winners being crowned Dusty Classic winners and NXT Tag Team Champions.
It was also confirmed at the NXT tapings that the Ladder Match to crown the inaugural NXT North American Champion will feature EC3, Adam Cole, Lars Sullivan, Killian Dain, The Velveteen Dream & Ricochet.
Here’s what looks to be the updated card for Takeover, which takes place on Saturday, April 7th from the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. Stay tuned for more updates & clarifications on the Takeover card.
NXT Title Match
Aleister Black vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas
NXT Women’s Title Match
Shayna Baszler vs. Ember Moon
NXT Tag Team Title Match, Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Finals
Roderick Strong & WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne vs. The Authors of Pain vs. The Undisputed Era
Ladder Match to Crown the First-Ever NXT North American Champion
Ricochet vs. Ethan Carter III vs. Killian Dain vs. Lars Sullivan vs. Adam Cole vs. The Velveteen Dream
PROGRESS has announced that WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne will be making a very special one-off Independent appearance on WrestleMania weekend as part of their April 6th show at the Pontchartrain Convention Center in New Orleans.
Whilst the announcement is in no way confirmation of a WrestleMania spot for the ‘Bruiserweight’ it is likely that he will be at the very least appearing on the weekend’s NXT show…this also indicates that the “special relationship” between PROGRESS and WWE is very much in fruition, there were rumblings of a Video on Demand agreement between the two parties that would see PROGRESS appear on the WWE Network, however these have not yet been substantiated.
Due to the weather conditions currently plaguing travel across the UK and Ireland OTT Wrestling have had to unfortunately cancel an event that would’ve seen WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne challenge for the company’s ‘Gender Neutral’ title. Dunne had been confirmed as the next challenger to the OTT Wrestling Gender Neutral Championship when he was set to face current Champion ‘Session Moth’ Martina on March 3rd from The Arena in Suir Road, Dublin.
OTT first introduced the Gender Neutral title back in 2017, ‘Session Moth’ Martina was crowned the first ever Champion at OTT’s Being The Elite event and has successfully defended her title twice in multiple person matches against the likes of Adam Maxted, Charlie Sterling, Angel Cruz and Chuck Taylor.
Whether or not the match will be rescheduled has not yet been confirmed.
We have tried everything in our power to bring you this event with safety as the number one priority, Unfortunately due to extreme weather conditions we must cancel this event, all eventbrite purchases will be refunded in the coming days. Apologies, #SafetyFirst#OTTpic.twitter.com/nk9oWd0woK
Popular PROGRESS star and member of the South Pacific Power Trip stable TK Cooper has demanded a shot at Pete Dunne and his WWE United Kingdom title.
Cooper took part in this past Sunday’s ‘Thunderb*stard’ match and “eliminated” Dunne, in actuality Pete Dunne was disqualified from the match but none the less Cooper did cause Dunne’s elimination from the bout.
Whether PROGRESS decide to offer TK a shot at the WWE United Kingdom title remains to be seen, he has asked for a match at the company’s next event ‘Chapter 65’ and although he is not contracted to WWE he did perform for the company at last year’s WrestleMania Axxess event, so he is certainly on the WWE’s radar. The likelihood of a non-WWE contracted performer getting a shot at the UK title has risen exponentially, with Zack Gibson and BT Gunn both having matches for the title in FutureShock and ICW respectively, so there is more than a good chance that TK will get his wish and a future bout with the ‘Bruiserweight’ Pete Dunne.
Called my shot. Eliminated Pete.
I’ll take my WWE UK title shot on the next chapter, please.
PROGRESS has announced the latest participant in the upcoming Super Strong Style 16 tournament. Lucha Underground star Angelico will be making his debut in the 2018 iteration of the tournament. Angelico will be joining the already announced WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne and Keith Lee on May 5th-7th.
The company has also revealed the latest name to be added to the WrestleMania weekend show in New Orleans…PROGRESS Women’s title hopeful Jinny will be making her way over to the United States and she joins these names already confirmed:
Travis Banks
Will Ospreay
Toni Storm
Mark Haskins
Jimmy Havoc
‘Flash’ Morgan Webster
WALTER
Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson and James Drake)
PROGRESS has announced the competitors for their annual ‘Thunderb*stard’ match at Chapter 64. The bout is a seven man elimination contest to determine the number 1 contender to the PROGRESS Wrestling World Championship, which is currently held by the ‘Kiwi Buzzsaw’ Travis Banks.
This year’s iteration of the match is arguably the most star studded in company history, as members of the WWE UK and 205 Live rosters will competing alongside the PROGRESS homegrown stars to see who will be the next number 1 contender.
WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne, Trent Seven, Tyler Bate, Mark Andrews, Chris Brookes, TK Cooper and ‘Flash’ Morgan Webster will collide on Sunday February 25th at the Electric Ballroom in Camden and it will be available to view On Demand shortly after.
So #Chapter64 is called #ThunderbastardsAreGo which means we have our patented THUNDERBASTARD match: New entrant every 2 minutes; elimination by pin, submission or DQ. Last man standing wins himself a title shot. MANDREWS / BROOKES / COOPER / FLASH / DUNNE / SEVEN / BATE! pic.twitter.com/YsFFF9DpyZ
NXT tonight was taped during the brand’s stay at Center Stage in Atlanta. The show will feature two championship matches and the return of top contender.
NXT Preview
NXT Women’s Championship Ember Moon (c) vs. Shayna Baszler
At Takeover: Philadelphia, it seems Moon had met her match. Baszler dominated the match by focussing on the injured arm of her opponent. Moon was able to counter a submission attempt into a successful pin attempt, however, retaining her title in the process.
Baszler told NXT reporters that Moon was scared to face her again. This resulted in Moon calling out Baszler and this match being scheduled for tonight.
WWE United Kingdom Championship Pete Dunne (c) vs. Roderick Strong
Strong beat former UK champion, Tyler Bate, in order to earn this match here. He will be attempting to be the first American to win the UK championship, something Dunne will be heavily motivated to stop him from doing.
Aleister Black Returns
We haven’t seen the Dutch striker since he defeated Adam Cole in an Extreme Rules match at Takeover: Philadelphia.
Black has now been victorious over Cole two matches in a row, scored two big victories on the last two Takeover shows, and remains undefeated in NXT.
We should find out what is next for Black tonight.
WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne has been confirmed as the next challenger to the OTT Wrestling Gender Neutral Championship when he faces current Champion ‘Session Moth’ Martina on March 3rd from The Arena in Suir Road, Dublin.
OTT first introduced the Gender Neutral title (the first of its kind) back in 2017, ‘Session Moth’ Martina was crowned the first ever Champion at OTT’s Being The Elite event and has successfully defended her title twice in multiple person matches against the likes of Adam Maxted, Charlie Sterling, Angel Cruz and Chuck Taylor.
Martina is one of the most unique stars in the UK/Ireland and she has been demanding a match with the WWE Superstar ever since we was crowned GN Champion, this bout is set to turn a few heads in the UK scene and push the Championship even further into the spotlight.
UK promotion Fight Club: Pro has announced that WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne will be taking on former UFC fighter and now world renowned independent star Matt Riddle as part of their Tribute to Francois Trebec show on Friday February 23rd.
Contrary to FCP’s original announcement this will be the second time that the two have faced, the ‘Bruiserweight’ and ‘King of Bros’ had a match as part of IPW:UK’s Extreme Measures event back in 2017.
Tickets for the show are available to purchase now and if you are in the UK then you do not want to miss this.
A TRIBUTE TO FRANCOIS TREBEC MATCH ONE – DUNNE vs. RIDDLE
What better way to start off our February announcements than with a match that has never happened anywhere before. The current WWE UK Champion takes on the former UFC fighter. #TRIBUTE
PROGRESS has announced that WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne will be part of their upcoming Super Strong Style 16 tournament. The event takes place May 5th, 6th and 7th and will emanate from Alexandra Palace in London, England.
Super Strong Style 16 is widely regarded as the premiere tournament in British wrestling, it is also the time of year that PROGRESS opt to use ‘import’ talent from PWG, EVOLVE and several other promotions from across the world. Former winners of the prestigious tournament include Travis Banks, NXT’s Aleister Black and NJPW’s Will Ospreay.
Tickets for the three day event can be purchased via SeeTickets.com now. SEScoops will be there live at the event and we will be bringing you exclusive coverage so stay tuned.
On a night which had Paul Heyman introduce NXT TakerOver: Philadelphia, Pete Dunne called out Brock Lesnar, as well as everyone else in WWE.
Since winning the WWE UK Championship, Pete Dunne has been a dominant force in professional wrestling. Samoa Joe described him as an ambassador for British wrestling, and someone that has made a significant impact which resonates throughout many.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WukMTB6SOeo
Dunne expanded saying that the UK Title is his world – whatever, or whoever is next, he plans to remain UK Champion.
When asked about what 2018 holds for him, Dunne explained that he’s going to “continue to put the UK on the map” and that the UK division will represent the best sports entertainment in the world.
On being asked about who he would like to face, Pete Dunne just said “anyone and everyone” before also dropping Brock Lesnar’s name as a worthy opponent.
Check out the full video below:
Opinion:
I can easily see Pete Dunne on NXT, RAW, SmackDown Live, it’s just a matter of time. One of the questions will be: What happens with the UK title when Pete Dunne moves onto bigger things? Is it incorporated onto NXT? Or does it remain a separate division that exists but doesn’t…? Big things are ahead for Dunne, but the structure and fine details haven’t been revealed as of yet.
With WWE’s Royal Rumble event taking place this Sunday it is safe to assume that there will be appearances from superstars outside of the Smackdown Live and RAW rosters in both the men’s and women’s Rumble matches.
Aside from NXT, the WWE UK division had three of the most likely candidates to make a surprise appearance this Sunday; WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate and Trent Seven. The three men are collectively known as British Strong Style on the independent scene and are the three most recognised stars on the United Kingdom brand.
It looks as though Trent Seven will definitely NOT be making his way to the 30 man match this Sunday, he has been booked by PROGRESS at their Chapter 62 event ‘Fear No More, Come To Dust’ in a three way match against Chris Brookes and Zack Sabre Jr.
Interestingly, WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne and former champion Tyler Bate, two of PROGRESS’ biggest stars, are not booked for Chapter 62 …
– Dr. Phil, who has made several appearances on Monday Night RAW over the years, made a special congratulatory video for tonight’s RAW 25 episode. Phil also said he loves offering help to all WWE’s current Superstars, and his couch is always open to them – particularly Enzo Amore and Nia Jax:
– Vince McMahon took to Twitter to comment on tonight’s episode of RAW 25. Here’s what he had to say:
WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne and IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay collided as part of IPW:UK’s ‘Magnificent Zeven’ event that took place last night.
This was the first time that a WWE Champion had faced an IWGP Champion in a match since Hulk Hogan faced Antonio Inoki at New Japan’s IWGP Championship League in 1983.
Both men have taken to Twitter to comment on their historic bout that has been an absolutely massive success for IPW:UK, a company that has slowly been building their credibility as one of the best the UK has to offer since being taken over by the Fight Nation owners in 2017.
Check out the WWE UK and IWGP Junior champ’s reactions below:
IWGP Jr. champion vs WWE UK champion happened tonight in Milton Keynes in a venue with a max capacity of 170 people. What a bizarre time to be a wrestling fan pic.twitter.com/mQfuUhWuqV
— ‘The Bruiserweight’ Pete Dunne (@PeteDunneYxB) January 17, 2018
WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne will be defending his title against a Non-WWE contracted performer in February…
‘Liverpool’s Number 1’ Zack Gibson will be getting a shot at the coveted title at FutureShock Wrestling’s FutureShock Underground 25 event on February 17th. This is not the first time that Dunne has defended against a star outside of the WWE UK umbrella, he defended against BT Gunn in a 4-way match at an ICW event last year.
For those who don’t know Zack Gibson, he is one of the UK’s top stars and is featured on PROGRESS, Rev Pro and now 5 Star Wrestling.
As per the amendment email from WWE.
On February 17th at Underground 25 The Bruiserweight Pete Dunne will face Liverpool's Number One Zack Gibson…
It appears that Tetsuya Naito’s attack on Chris Jericho at the New Year’s Dash event following Wrestle Kingdom 12 last week could’ve beeen to set up a match between the pair.
Per a report from Wrestling Observer Radio, the current plan is to have Jericho vs. Naito go down at the New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) USA: Strong Style Evolvedshow on March 25th from Long Beach, California at the Walter Pyramid.
The Walter Pyramid seats approximately 5,000 fans and hosted the 2-night 2017 G1 Special event that saw Kenny Omega be crowned the first-ever IWGP United States Champion. Ticket information and match card will be announced soon at NJPW1972.com.
Watch Wrestle Kingdom 12 & New Year’s Dash At NJPWWorld.com
Pete Dunne will be defending his WWE United Kingdom Championship on Sunday January 14th against fellow WWE UK superstar Joseph Conners.
The pair will face off as part of PROGRESS Wrestling’s 61st Chapter event ‘Don’t Touch Me…Don’t…Don’t Touch Me’ inside Birmingham’s O2 Academy. The match was originally scheduled to take place at Chapter 59 but was postponed due to the severe winter weather conditions, forcing Dunne to remain in Dublin, Ireland where he performed for OTT Wrestling the night before.
This highly anticipated bout could well be one of the last that the ‘Bruiserweight’ has in a PROGRESS ring, his incredible rise to stardom through the WWE UK division will likely see him make an appearance in this year’s Royal Rumble event and quite possibly see him perform at Wrestlemania in April.
Two of the UK’s best performers will collide on January 17th when IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay takes on the WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne.
The match will be taking place at IPW:UK’s ‘Magnificent Zeven’ event which will see seven men compete for the company’s Z-Force Championship.
Jimmy Havoc, Mark Haskins, Cara Noir, Kip Sabian, Chief Deputy Dunne and Chris Ridgeway have also been announced for this must see event from Milton Keynes’ Unit 9 and tickets can be found here.
