...but this wasn't any other night. And Pete Dunne is the f*cking best.
From his sneer behind the back of NXT UK General Manager Johnny Saint to chucking his jacket in Noam Dar’s face during the ceremonial raising of the UK Championship - and just about every little detail he added to make his main event match mean the most - the ‘Bruiserweight’ as usual reflected exactly why he’s been the chosen one to lead the league since dethroning Tyler Bate at 2017's TakeOver: Chicago.
His crisp strikes, and painful-looking litany of slams and throws ensured the match maintained an electric pace alongside the ‘Scottish Supernova’s aerial assaults. Attempting to be a pr*ck heel against a pr*ck tweener, Dar repeatedly taking Dunne’s legs out effectively reduced the Champion’s momentum until the two took the floor via a brutal apron Fisherman’s Suplex by Noam.
The spot facilitated a tantalising nine-count rush back into the ring as the pair entered the home straight with a series of slick, switching submissions. Dar’s thirst for a tap-out was almost quenched in an absolutely electric tease, but Dunne’s cruel abuse of his opponent's fingers finally bore fruits when a brutal final stomp left Dar prone for a Bitter End.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for 10 years. Alongside the production of daily written, audio and video content covering WWE and AEW, he also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years.
As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot on the UK's wrestling podcast charts with over 10,000 episodes and 70,000,000 total downloads. He also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House!, Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast, and has guested on long-running Sunderland AFC podcast Wise Men Say.
With WhatCulture, he has provided in-person coverage of some of the biggest pay-per-views and Premium Live Events in wrestling history, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, All In & Double Or Nothing in destinations such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. He has also been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana, 411Mania and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling.
Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in music and culture magazines The Crack, Pilot as well as Sunderland AFC's premiere fanzine A Love Supreme. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it every other Saturday at the Stadium Of Light, and at Cribs gigs nationwide.
