8 Things You Didn't Know About WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne

2. He & Tyler Bate Didn't Expect Anything From A WWE Tryout In 2016

Pete Dunne Trent Seven WWE Tryout
WWE.com

Sitting in a car on their way to Glasgow's SSE Hydro venue for a WWE tryout last November, Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate weren't expecting much outside of a fun experience. Talking to The Mirror shortly after the UK Title Tournament on the WWE Network, Dunne chuckled as he recalled Bate worrying he'd be "too small" for the company.

Pete was a bit more positive, reasoning that anything could happen and that the pair had done well to even secure a tryout in the first place. At the same time, he admitted to The Mirror that he didn't foresee WWE being interested in both, let alone signing them to appear as part of a tournament.

Dunne had joked to Bate that he could be anything he wanted to be, even if that meant becoming the world's best power lifter instead of wrestler. As they drove towards destiny though, it seemed inconceivable that both would go on to become the first ever WWE United Kingdom Champions in history.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.