10 Things We Learned From Attending NXT TakeOver: New York Live
9. Pete Dunne: Over As Hell
As a Brit, it's easy to overstate Pete Dunne.
'The Bruiserweight' is one of us. WWE isn't exactly awash with top-level British performers, so we feel a sense of ownership when the guy we'd torture with drawn-out "PEEEETERRRRR!" in half-empty Mancunian social clubs five years ago steps out on the big stage. Wrestling is subjective, of course, and Dunne has his detractors (a shame for them, really), but your writer often wonders if he has gone too far in praising the now-former WWE United Kingdom Champion whenever his name comes up on a list like this.
Fortunately, it looks like Dunne's appeal stretches stateside as well. Last night's pre-show video package shone a light on every single performer in action at TakeOver, and nobody got a bigger pop than Pete when his face appeared. Not Johnny Gargano, not Adam Cole, not Aleister Black, not Ricochet: nobody.
'The Bruiserweight's' entrance pop hit a similar decibel, and Brooklyn was 100% into him throughout his bout with WALTER. This is heartening. It shows that Dunne isn't just a curio that the British fans overstate, but a genuine WWE star ready for a bigger role in the company.