10 Awesome Wrestling Matches From 2017 (That You've Already Forgotten About)

8. Tyler Bate Vs. Pete Dunne - WWE UK Tournament Final

Wyatt Styles EC
WWE.com

It wasn’t as good as their NXT TakeOver: Chicago match - but then again, what was? That classic was probably the best match WWE have promoted all year. The United Kingdom Championship Tournament finale exists now as a sort of Steve Austin Vs. Bret Hart from Survivor Series 1996: a superb match with the audacity not to shake the earth.

The natural stink surrounding WWE’s UK arm, a corpse left to rot, likely removes it from the Match of the Year conversation. It shouldn’t.

It followed a simpler path to their Chicago year-stealer; Dunne injured Bate’s left shoulder before the match, which Dunne naturally honed in on to structure the plot and allow an audience already in favour of Bate to fall for him with a paternal sympathy. There was an undercurrent of deep personal animosity to it. Sumptuous British technicality, gracefully fought in the ring, spilled over into brain-rattling brawling on the outside. Parts of it were so visceral and physical that it might as well have taken place in a rough and ready pub down the road.

Layered; dramatic; and against the grain of the tournament format, emotional; this was so charged, so awesome, that for 15 spellbinding minutes, Michael Cole’s robotic heart grew three sizes.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!