WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament Day Two Coverage: Bate Wins WWE UK Championship

If you thought the first night of the WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament was mediocre and decided not to tune in, you missed a wonderful two hours of wrestling action. While the tournament itself was special, the Tommy End/Neville match before the final was one of the best matches of 2017 so fa. Add in the Finn Balor promo and there was enough to put an exclamation mark on the two-day event.

Matches:

Quarterfinals:

Pete Dunne vs. Sam Gradwell: Dunne was his cocky self to start, but Gradwell was physical and got the early advantage with a Suicide Dive and a Suplex on the ramp. After a Missile Dropkick on Dunne, Gradwell has the advantage, but his already injured back from the night before was starting to act up. Although Dunne hit the Snap German Suplex, Gradwell fought back with a Michinoku Driver and then a Cross Body from the top to Dunne, who was outside the ring. Rather unceremoniously, however, Dunne pushed Gradwell off the top rope to the outside and then Scoop-Slammed him on the turnbuckle for the win. After the match, Dunne hit the Pumphandle Flatliner, AKA the Bitter End on Gradwell to make a statement.

Mark Andrews vs. Joseph Connors: Andrews hit some spots, but Connors was tough as hell and nearly won on several occasions. However, Mandrews countered a Vertical Suplex into the Stundog Millionaire, before nailing the Shooting Star Press for the win.

Trent Seven vs: Wolfgang: This was a war as Wolfgang wasn’t scared to be the high-flyer and Seven countered with strikes and a Suicide Dive of his own early to keep things even. Although Wolfgang hit the Wasteland, Seven countered later with a Dragon Suplex. After Seven countered the Wasteland again, Seven hit the Seven-Star Lariat, but Wolfgang kicked out. Seven then went for the Piledriver from the top, but Wolfgang countered and then hit the Senton Bomb on Seven’s back for the win.

Tyler Bate vs. Jordan Devlin: Bate entertained the crowd with the Airplane Spin, but Devlin was in the match thanks to quick strikes and counters. However, Devlin ran out of counters after a missed Moonsault and Bate hit him with Bang and then the Tyler Driver ’97 for the win.

Semifinals:

Mark Andrews vs. Pete Dunne: This was the best match of the tournament up until that point. Andrews was something special here as he hit a Standing 640 and a Standing Shooting Star on Dunne, but the Bruiserweight hit an X-Plex on the apron and on the ramp to give himself an advantage. Andrews hit a version of the Stunner to get back in the match, but at that point, anything could have happened. Andrews then went for the Shooting Star, but Dunne stuck out his knees and went for the Bitter End. Although Mandrews countered and nearly won with a Hurricanrana, he went for another Shooting Star, but Dunne hit the German Suplex in the corner and followed it up with another X-Plex and the Bitter End for the win.

Wolfgang vs. Tyler Bate: Wolfgang was the aggressor early and even a missed The Howling Senton Bomb didn’t stop his attack as he nearly won with a massive Spear. However, as Wolfgang went for the Wasteland, Bate hit the Tiger Driver 97 to get the surprise win. After the match, Dunne hit the ring and beat on Bate until William Regal grabbed him and brought him to the back.

Special Non-Tournament Contest: Neville vs. Tommy End: A match that could have meant nothing turned out to be something magical. Both competitors hit all of their signature maneuvers, while End’s striking ability lit the crowd on fire. Although End was dominant at times, Neville got the win with the Red Arrow.

Finals:

Pete Dunne vs. Tyler Bate: Dunne worked on Bate’s injured shoulder throughout, but Bate was tough. Fighting hard on the outside, he was never out of the match. After a Springboard Elbow and an Exploder Suplex, Bate was in the driver’s seat for the first time but Dunne hit him with a punch before  Bate nearly won with a Rollup. Bate then hit a trio of Airplane Spins, but Dunne kicked out. Dunno then locked in the Triangle Submission, but Bate countered into a Spinebuster to ignite the crowd. Bate then nailed Dunne on the outside with the Fozzberry Flop and then a 450 but couldn’t get the win. Dunno then hit the Bitter End out of nowhere, but Bate kicked out. Dunno wasted no time and locked in the Kimura, but Bate countered with a Brainbuster for a near-fall. After they traded strikes, Bate hit a pair of Wheel Kicks and went for the Tyler Driver 97 for the win.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13802 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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