WWE UK Championship Tournament: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

Hi, I’m Justin Watry. You may remember me from such classic columns as March 2012’s “WWE WrestleMania 28: Sheamus Should Defeat Daniel Bryan in Less Than a Minute” and October 2015’s “WWE NXT: Bobby Roode, You’re Next.”

Backstory

This will be my WWE UK Championship tournament review. As usual, it will follow the good, bad, and ugly format.

The Good

Different – Look, different is not always better. TNA Impact Wrestling has been ‘different’ for over a decade, and it is in the dumps via garbage programming. Different can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. However, when you get it right, you know it. This tournament was DIFFERENT! Compared to what we get on a weekly basis from RAW and Smackdown LIVE, I loved the feel, the setting, the commentators’ style, the live crowd, and the entire presentation. Like the Cruiserweight Classic, it may not work on a regular rotation but for one weekend, this was WWE hitting a home run across the pond with a DIFFERENT product.

Wrestling on Night 2 – We will get to the first show in a little bit. Once the tourney hit the home stretch though, it was like everybody picked up the intensity and decided it was time to actually wrestle. Full blown, balls to the wall, no limitations. Very fun in-ring matches from the quarter finals on…

Authority Figure(s) – This is how it should be done. William Regal is nearly perfect in NXT. I do not think I have ever complained about his spot on the Wednesday WWE Network show. He comes in, makes an announcement, and goes away. When the boss is needed, he is there. When he is NOT needed (about 99% of the time), the wrestlers do whatever they want. That is how wrestling was before the late 1990’s and how it could be again. Just because ONE feud worked between two of the all-time great performers does not mean that should be duplicated forever. Regal and even Triple H understand that. This was evident during the Cruiserweight tourney and again showed here.

Finn Balor – Good to have him back. Since August, he has been my Royal Rumble winner. We’ll see. Either way, I expect him to be Universal Champion come WrestleMania 33 in Orlando.

Neville vs. Tommy End – Fine little special attraction bout for the audience. No issues here. Enjoyable way to break up the tourney before the finals. In a tourney filled with guys I did not know, it was a fresh change of pace to see wrestlers I DID know, haha.

Pick and choose – This was another thing the Cruiserweight Classic did so well. WWE made an effort with both the winners and the losers. Wolfgang was a prime example. Of course, he would lose in the first round. Nope. He won. Well, of course, he’s lose in the second round to Trent Seven. Nope. He won. It was nice to follow his journey, even if it was apparent the finals were not in his future. Mark Andrews was another. Finally bolted from TNA the second his contract was up and got a nice run in the tourney. Fans took to him and rallied for victories. The winner will get his moment in the sun at the conclusion…but there are still plenty of other stars to showcase. Two thumbs up on the effort.

The ending – Yeah, it was predictable the under dog would overcome the odds. Yeah, it was obvious the injured man would fight through the pain and win. Yeah, it was obvious the student would best his teacher. Yeah, it was obvious the face would beat the heel to be the first ever UK Champion. My response – so what? Wrestling is and always will be better following the KISS Method. Keep it simple stupid. This tournament used a tried and true idea, and it worked to a great reaction. Build up a mean, arrogant heel, and have him take out the completion. Then get behind a young face who the fans love and hype up the final showdown. So easy then to sit back and let them do their thing in the ring. So easy. Tyler Bate was certainly not my pick to win it all. Nor was Pete Dunne. In the end though, I dare anybody to tell me they were not the two stars of the tournament and shined the most. Congrats to Tyler.

The Bad

Wrestling on Night 1 – I do not mean to insult anybody, but it felt like everybody was holding back here. The guys just stuck to the basic moves and did not really let loose until the second night. I know these guys are capable of so much more. I get it; they were saving themselves for the home stretch. I’m well aware it was a grueling weekend for the wrestlers. Still, night one was not all too exciting. Sorry.

Thrown together – Maybe it was just me? This entire tournament felt rushed and throw together. Reportedly, Triple H even hinted as such because of some other wrestling show airing in the UK a few weeks ago. I don’t follow the independent scene enough to know, but all you had to do was watch the WWE Network preview to see this. Throw together, rushed, and not very organized is the best way to describe it. Heck, I even forgot about it until I see a tweet early Saturday. My mind was entirely on the NFL Playoffs (Go Pack Go!). Ultimately, I suppose it didn’t matter because everything came together nicely.

The Ugly

Headbutts – Whether it is in the stand up position or from the top rope, can we officially ban the headbutt? No more. Don’t care it if it is in the UK, Japan, United States, or on Mars – stop it.

Summary: A few minor hiccups along the way but nothing catastrophic. Great tournament from WWE. If the company wants to revolve this into more, then go for it. Just be forewarned that 205 Live is a far cry from the Cruiserweight Classic. Tread lightly…

My Mini-Announcement

I am going to WrestleMania 33 in Orlando, Florida. Still not sure on all the details. Still undecided on how long I want to be in the city for all the events. Still working my way through all the junk. What is set is that I will be there for the Sunday extravaganza. If anybody has any advice, tips, wants to meet up, hang out, whatever – let me know now. To ALL readers, email me during the next few months for anything WM33/Orlando related. Until then, let’s hear it for Tyler Bate one more time…

Cheap Plugs

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