WWE News: UK Champion competes in Houston before SmackDown Live

Triple H (Left) has high hopes from young UK Champion Pete Dunne (Right)
Triple H (left) has high hopes for the future of young UK Champion Pete Dunne (right)

What's the story?

Reigning WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne alongside Mark Andrews competed against Tyler Bate and Trent Seven in Houston this past Tuesday night.

The WWE's weekend of sports-entertainment in Houston, Texas that commenced with NXT Takeover: WarGames and finished with 205 Live tapings interestingly also featured the aforementioned UK champion.

In case you didn't know…

The WWE recently introduced its United Kingdom Championship a few months ago, featuring performers who compete under the WWE umbrella as well as the indies.

Several up-and-coming performers in the industry including highly-regarded prospects such as Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate compete in the UK division, working extensively for the WWE.

The heart of the matter

WWE's Executive Vice President of Talent, Live Events and Creative Paul 'Triple H' Levesque has time and again discussed the promotion's intention to build a new wave of top superstars in the WWE from the United Kingdom.

Reiterating the same belief, the WWE had a showdown of its UK Superstars, as Dunne and Mark Andrews faced off in a dark tag-team match against Bate and Trent Seven before the SmackDown Live tapings this past Tuesday night.

The team of Dunne and Andrews emerged victorious during the encounter, which was well received by fans in attendance at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

What's next?

At present, Dunne holds the WWE UK Championship. With the WWE hierarchy reportedly thinking very highly of him, fans can expect the 24-year-old to be more prominently featured on the company's programming in the future.

Author's take

Dunne is without a doubt the next big thing in the sport of professional wrestling. Given how young he is, it truly is baffling as to how much veteran skill and composure he exhibits inside the squared circle. The WWE Universe ought to keep an eye on this lad, as he could very well be a bonafide main-event talent over the next couple of years and beyond.