Triple H must bring the man he once called the future of the industry back to WWE RAW

At 28 years old, Tyler Bate is one of the youngest superstars on WWE's main roster. However, despite being one of the most talented wrestlers in the company, he has barely been featured on WWE TV over the past several years. Yes, you read that correctly; the past few YEARS!

It would surprise the average fan to know, and take them quite a while to truly comprehend, that Tyler Bate won his first championship in WWE almost nine years ago. And it wasn't just any title or any victory; Bate became the inaugural WWE UK Champion. At 19 years old, Triple H entrusted him with the responsibility of helping carry his pet project: NXT UK.

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Tyler Bate's run in NXT and NXT UK

Over the next few years, Bate would have multiple NXT MOTYs and "five-star" matches, and win the NXT Tag Team Championship multiple times alongside his mentor, Trent Seven, and also win the NXT UK Heritage Cup. The RAW Superstar even won the NXT UK Championship a second time before he lost the title to the then-NXT Champion, Bron Breakker, in a title unification match.

Over the next few months, with Shawn Michaels at NXT's helm and Triple H taking over the creative aspect of main roster programming (and this is a correlation, not necessarily an implied causation), Bate's role on the developmental brand became less prominent as the product took a different turn, and he was sporadically seen on the show, and never in a major story or spot.

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Tyler Bate has yet to be featured as a singles star

When he debuted on the main roster in January 2024 as a mystery partner for his friend and fellow NXT UK foundation member Pete Dunne, both men seemed primed for a gradual push and perhaps eventual superstardom, much like many NXT sensations have been before and after them.

However, despite their in-ring prowess, the two stars have failed to connect as an underdog babyface duo with the WWE Universe.

Bate got injured during the summer last year, leading to Pete Dunne going on a short singles run, during which the former Butch turned heel. On the March 31, 2025, edition of RAW in London, the two reunited as a team. He competed in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal on the go-home episode of SmackDown ahead of WrestleMania 41. However, The Iron Master hasn't been featured on weekly programming since then.

With Bate's recent affirmation that he is indeed not injured, he is someone who needs to steadily build back up by The Game and Co. as the quintessential underdog babyface on RAW, this time as a singles star.

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Why Tyler Bate needs a full-fledged singles run on WWE RAW

RAW's tag team division is fledgling and in desperate need of new and competitive teams. However, New Catch Republic may not be able to resuscitate the division, and wasting two great singles' stars on an already struggling tag team division would be a complete waste of time and talent.

If anything, with SmackDown also in need of top-tier talent with upper-card potential, having a great utility player in Dunne, effective both as a babyface or a heel, move to the blue brand would make for electric in-ring action weekly and a chance for both men to get over on their own, organically, and based on their in-ring acumen.

WWE may be ripe with main event stars who enjoy massive popularity among fans, but most of them are around or over 40. The age of a main event talent in the global juggernaut right now, for context, is as much as when Steve Austin retired or when The Rock returned to feud with John Cena.

Sooner or later, WWE's young talent will have to step up, and with the experience that stars such as Tyler Bate, Ilja Dragunov, Pete Dunne, etc. already have, all they need is an opportunity. The future can only be as bright as the opportunities afforded to them, and with Bate a clear "Triple H guy," Paul Levesque must pull the trigger soon.