11 Things WWE Got Right With UK Championship Tournament

1. The Youngest Singles Champion In WWE History

Dunne came up short in the final, defeated by the breakout star of the whole tournament and a man who has yet to complete his 20th lap around the sun. Tyler Bate is a prodigy, make no bones about it, and from the first round onwards it was clear that the kid from Dudley had been anointed by the throngs in Blackpool as their chosen hero.

Bate was one of the most talked about competitors going into the tournament, but even with a decent amount of press behind him he surpassed expectations. The 19-year-old was at home in front of the cameras from the get-go, consistently garnering the loudest crowd reactions throughout the entire tournament. His poise and charisma may well be his most impressive attributes; Bate gave off an aura that many veterans of the game will envy.

The pacing of Bate's matches was equally impressive. He had the crowd in the palm of his hand throughout his first three matches despite showing less than half of his repertoire, meaning that when the big guns came out in the final the love from the audience couldn't be more palpable. The young man sold his injured soldier wonderfully throughout, his desperation spots as thrilling as they were foreboding.

In becoming the WWE United Kingdom Champion, Bate breaks Paige's record for being the youngest singles champion in company history. Whilst Rene Dupree's first tag team championship win still stands as the youngest title reign of any kind in WWE, the chances are that history will remember Bate's win long after Dupree has become a footnote in wrestling trivia.

Tyler Bate was a worthy winner of what will be remembered as a landmark tournament for WWE and the UK wrestling scene. The fears that many had coming in may yet be realised, but for now wrestling fans can bask in the glow of two days of excellent competition and elite storytelling.