7 Ups And 3 Downs From NXT TakeOver: New York

4. Dunne, WALTER Deliver STRONG Match

WALTER Pete Dunne NXT TakeOver New York
WWE

Given all the hype that has surrounded WALTER, he had a lot to live up to since his NXT UK debut three months ago.

And he and WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne put together a hard-hitting match that played to both men’s strengths. Dunne, nicknamed the Bruiserweight, was just that, bull-rushing ahead against the bigger WALTER, but using a lot of small joint manipulation to gain the upper hand and stay in the match.

Meanwhile, WALTER just painted Dunne’s chest with chops. He also threw some impressive suplexes and slams, and he matched Dunne’s viciousness. But it was fun to watch the undersized champion constantly go back to the well of grabbing a finger or two and bending it like crazy, trying to compensate for his lack of size by bringing WALTER down to his level.

In the end, Dunne couldn’t overcome his bigger opponent and his 685-day UK Championship reign finally ended.

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Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.