7 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE UK Championship Tournament (Night 1)

5. Jordan Devlin Embraces The Hate

On a technical level, Jordan Devlin vs. Danny Burch wasn't great, and there were moments where the action felt tiresome and laborious. The finish caught everyone off-guard and may even have been a botch, but it somehow ended up working for both men.

Burch got more over in this match than he did during his entire NXT run a few weeks ago, and Devlin's mid-match heel turn was a masterstroke. The Irishman was clearly being set up as one of the tournament's big fan favourites, particularly with all the Finn Balor "protege" talk, but he just wasn't connecting with the crowd. Instead of persisting with a failing plan, Devlin took a nasty turn halfway through, becoming increasingly aggressive with Burch, and mouthing-off at the crowd whenever he could.

The finish saw a bleeding Burch seemingly pop his shoulder off the mat just as the referee completed his three-count, and the match was called in Devlin's favour. Afterwards, Devlin rejected his defeated opponent's handshake, levelled him with a Superkick, and cut a promo celebrating his "clear and decisive win" at the top of the ramp.

Full credit to WWE, Devlin, and Burch for making the best of a bad situation and turning things around. Devlin now heads into his second round match with Tyler Bate as one of the biggest villains in the tournament, which adds an extra layer of intrigue to everything he does going forward.