WWE News: Pete Dunne on who he'd like to face in WWE, superstars he would like to see in the UK Tournament, and representing the UK Division

What’s the story?

During a recent interview with SPORTbible, WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne opened up about a host of topics including his current role in the WWE UK Division, superstars whom he’d like to face in the WWE, and several other top UK stars he’d like to see in the WWE.

In case you didn’t know…

Current WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne has performed under the WWE banner since 2016 when he initially competed in the first ever WWE UK Championship tournament. Dunne is mostly known for his work with top Independent promotions such as Chikara, ICW, and PROGRESS Wrestling—where he is a former PROGRESS World Champion and a one-time PROGRESS Tag Team Champion as well.

Dunne, who is also currently a member of the British Strong Style faction, initially defeated his fellow stablemate Tyler Bate at NXT TakeOver: Chicago I to capture the WWE UK Championship.

The heart of the matter

While conversing with SPORTbible, Pete Dunne opened up on a myriad of topics and below are a few highlights from the interview: (H/T: Wrestling Inc)

WWE superstars whom he’d like to face in the ring:

Within the first few months of Pete Dunne’s tenure with the WWE, the former PROGRESS World Champion has already competed in some high profiled matches in the company against the likes of Tyler Bate, Roderick Strong, Mark Andrews, and even Adam Cole.

Dunne, who is also currently engaged in an on-going feud with Adam Cole’s Undisputed Era, noted that at some point down the line, he’d absolutely love to share the ring with the likes of Seth Rollins, Daniel Bryan, and Kevin Owens. However, as of right now, Dunne’s main priority is to focus on the success of the WWE UK Division.

"There's so many people I'd love to work with like Seth Rollins and Daniel Bryan coming back now - there's a huge list of people but honestly right now my priority is making this UK show a success. If we can be the first sort of territory being established, almost being the guinea pig and making it work, it will do absolute wonders for the wrestling scene in general. That's my responsibility and focus for now and then down the line I'd love the chance to work with people Rollins, Bryan, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn."

On new faces whom he’d like to see in the upcoming WWE UK Tournament:

According to Pete Dunne, he seemingly believes that Pro Wrestling fans should rather spare some time for the top Indy promotions such as PROGRESS Wrestling, ICW and several other places where they’ll get to witness the depth of talent themselves.

Dunne claimed that guys like Zack Gibson, Flash Morgan Webster, Chris Brookes, and current PROGRESS Wrestling Champion Travis Banks have been killing it all over the country three, four or five times a week and certainly should be given an opportunity to prove their worth in this year’s WWE UK Tournament.

"I urge people to go and watch PROGRESS, ICW and places like that and they'll see the depth of talent themselves. There's a few people like Zack Gibson, Flash Morgan Webster, Chris Brookes (CCK) and Travis Banks - all these guys are based in the UK that are killing it all over the country three, four or five times a week. It would be great seeing some of them get a shot on this one. And if not, it's good to see how it's developing - how you can start off on the smaller shows, get yourself on places like PROGRESS and this stuff [WWE] seems achievable now. There's a clear pathway that wasn't there seven years ago."

Feeling the responsibility to represent the UK brand:

Dunne stated that he obviously feels very proud of himself and the immense amount of success he has achieved so far and being in a position to get the most exposure and being on NXT is definitely a responsibility, however, regardless of that, Dunne believes that he doesn’t feel any sort of pressure at all and is instead looking to represent the UK Division in a proper manner.

"I obviously feel proud of what I've done and the fact I've brought it this far. Being in a position to get the most exposure and being on NXT and stuff, it is a responsibility - I don't feel pressure as such but there is that responsibility there to make sure I'm not just representing myself right, but the UK brand in general. But there's still that collective effort. It was the same when Tyler was holding the title - the same mentality that we want to kill it and put on the best shows possible. We want to make it hard for NXT shows to match it, that was the outlook in Blackpool and hopefully that'll be the same again at the Royal Albert Hall."

What’s next?

Pete Dunne is currently slated to team up with his fellow BSS members Tyler Bate and Trent Seven during the second WWE UK Tournament, as they get set to go toe-to-toe with The Undisputed Era for the very first time.

The WWE UK Tournament will take place on June 18 and 19 at London's Royal Albert Hall.

Author’s Take

Pete Dunne is definitely one of my favorite wrestlers in the entire world today and personally, I totally agree with the list of names Dunne thinks should be a part of this year’s UK Tourney.