Since debuting in WWE in the United Kingdom Championship Tournament in 2017, Pete Dunne has taken the wrestling world by storm. He is the current and longest reigning WWE United Kingdom Champion ever at over 500 days into his reign, and has appeared all over WWE programming, including Raw, NXT, and NXT UK.
The Bruiserweight recently sat down with Metro Sports and gave an interview where he discussed the upcoming NXT UK Takeover: Blackpool event, the British wrestling scene, and who he thinks is the best in the world right now.
On the British wrestling scene:
“A lot of us have a similar story and have crossed paths on the independents before that. We’ve created a peer group out of love for professional wrestling. We all want the best for each other and the brand and we all have the same thing in mind, which is to lay a solid foundation for this and make it all work. That all fully kickstarts at TakeOver: Blackpool.”
On the importance of NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool and how far the brand has grown in the past two years:
“For me and Tyler Bate especially it’s really special, it’s where we first broke in at WWE and where we made that name for ourselves initially. Our lives changed overnight and over the past few years I haven’t had a single second to reflect on that because it’s been one thing to the next. At the show, myself and Tyler are going to take a moment to enjoy just how far we’ve really come over the last two years and how much has happened.
For the brand it’s brilliant, and it’s the perfect venue. The audience there are really lively and most importantly it’s live. That makes such a huge difference. Doing episodic TV, you get a lot of exposure, but TakeOver is a completely different animal. It’ll help this brand grow tenfold.”
On who he thinks is the best wrestlers in the world right now:
“On our brand, my standard is always Tyler. It might be obvious, but the performances he put in were unreal in Liverpool recently and he was a step above everyone else. It’s something for everyone else to chase and that’s a good thing. NXT is built on competition and the feel of the matches are competitive, but in the back it’s the same. I see Tyler pull out a great performance and it really makes me want to get in the ring.
In the whole of WWE, it’s got to be AJ Styles. He’s absolutely been killing it for so many years, and now he’s in a top spot and rightfully so. I’d love to get in the ring with him some day.”
Dunne also talked about his experiences in his first WarGames match, explaining it was unlike anything he’s ever done in his professional wrestling career. The Bruiserweight also said he would love to be in next year’s Royal Rumble, but that it’s not something he is focused on.
For the full interview from Metro Sport, click here.