WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne discusses upcoming UK Championship Tournament

Sports Bible had a chance to talk to the Bruiserweight last week, and Pete Dunne emphasized the excitement he feels regarding the UKCT. You can check out the full article here.

 


 

Below are some of the highlights of the interview.

On performing in Royal Albert Hall:

It’s really exciting. I think it’s a culmination of what we’ve done thus far – even before the WWE UK stuff came in, just building this UK scene with promotions like PROGRESS and ICW.

To do a venue which is so prestigious, it really is something special.

On teaming up with Trent Seven and Tyler Bate to reform British Strong Style:

Being able to do all this with my peers and my friends and do it on a stage as big as that is really cool.

On the opportunity the UK Championship Tournament brings to the UK talent:

A lot of new faces are going to be coming into this tournament – whether it be people I’d been hoping would get a chance to sign – and they are going to have their own moment just like we had.

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.

On being the face of the UK Division:

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 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 at the Royal Albert Hall.

The UK Division will be a part of 205 Live tonight to help hype up the UK Championship Tournament that takes place on June 18th and 19th, with the first round matches taking place at the Download Festival June 8th-10th.

As for Pete Dunne, the champion will defend his title against the winner of the tournament on June 19th. However, Dunne will join his British Strong Style teammates to take on the Undisputed Era on June 18th.

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