Sportskeeda WWE Awards 2017: Match of the Year

#2 Tyler Bate vs Pete Dunne - UK Championship Match at NXT Takeover: Chicago

Here come the Brits.

After the success of the WWE UK Championship tournament earlier this year, British wrestling seemed to be on top of the world. The WWE had finally embraced the buzz and excitement that has been gripping the UK scene for the past few years, acknowledging that their third biggest market is finally worthy of their attention.

Yet, with the scheduled WWE Network special show still facing delays, fans were in danger of forgetting all about the hard work put in by all of the tournament participants. What they needed was a reminder, and this is exactly what they got when NXT decided to take over Chicago.

NXT has become the de facto home of the WWE UK Championship in this interim period. Previous champion Tyler Bate defended the title against Jack Gallagher on a weekly edition of the Wednesday night show before facing the Cruiserweight Pete Dunne in May this year.

There's a very good reason why, in the immediate aftermath of the match, 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin tweeted his approval, along with thousands of his fellow viewers. This was, quite simply, the perfect demonstration of British wrestling done on the biggest of stages. Bate and Dunne are special talents who personify what it means to be a product of the UK scene, but still able to appeal to a global audience.

Not only this, but they are both more than capable of mixing different styles together, catering to a variety of fan bases all at once. Whatever the eventual fate of the UK Championship network show, the quality of this match means that fans will be demanding much more of it in the future.

This was also a coming-of-age moment for Pete Dunne, a man who many tipped to be the eventual winner of the tournament itself. With Triple H high on the young talent from Birmingham, the future appears to be very bright indeed, and this classic was the perfect launching pad.