What’s the story?
WWE UK Champion Tyler Bate made a surprise appearance in San Antonio this weekend, working a match for next week's NXT television tapings prior to a big NXT TakeOver live special on the WWE Network.
In case you didn’t know...
At only 19 years old, Tyler Bate became only the second star in history to win an official WWE Championship at such a young age, following in the footsteps of former tag team champion Rene Dupree.
He became the inaugural UK Champion after winning a 16-man tournament earlier this month, working four matches in just two days with hard fought victories over Tucker, Jordan Devlin, Wolfgang and Pete Dunne.
Bate has been wrestling since 2012 and has already made an impact in several of the biggest independent wrestling promotions in the UK.
He is currently one-half of the Progress Wrestling tag team champions, alongside veteran Trent Seven, and has made appearances for Chikara, WhatCulture Pro Wrestling, ICW, RevPro, New Japan, Preston City, CZW and more in his short career.
The heart of the story
19-year-old British wrestling sensation Tyler Bate made his debut with the WWE NXT brand this Saturday in San Antonio, prior to the NXT TakeOver event.
Bate is the current reigning and inaugural WWE UK Champion, a title he won in a gruelling two-day affair earlier this month. Bate took on developmental star Oney Lorcan, also known to independent fans as Biff Busick, on NXT.
Bate brought the UK title with him for the match, which will air this Wednesday on the WWE Network.
He wasn't the only UK star who came along for this weekend's TV tapings, as Scotland native Wolfgang – who Tyler eliminated in the semi-final round of the UK Championship Tournament – also worked a dark match prior to TakeOver.
What's next?
At this point, it's unclear if Bate or Wolfgang will remain regulars on NXT television going forward, or if this was a one-off appearance for the UK stars.
More importantly, there’s no indication yet on what the future holds for other tournament competitors such as Pete Dunne, Trent Seven and Jordan Devlin.
Sportskeeda’s Take
Hopefully, this leads to more opportunities for Bate, Wolfgang and others from the UK Championship Tournament. It'll be interesting to see the dynamic on the UK independent scene as more and more stars make appearances for WWE going forward.
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