8 Ups & 1 Down From WWE's UK Championship Tournament Finals (Night 2)

3. Storytelling 101

The UK Championship Tournament didn't quite produce a match on the level of the Cruiserweight Classic's best matches (TJ Perkins vs. Kota Ibushi, Ibushi vs. Cedric Alexander), but it came very close. What separates it from the CWC, however, is the storytelling. WWE built investment in the tournament's major players gradually and effectively, and both nights were full of little call-backs and nods to the future.

Much of this came in the matches themselves. During Tyler Bate vs. Jordan Devlin, Devlin ordered the referee to check the back of Bate's head for blood after nailing the same kick that had bust Danny Burch open the night before. Sam Gradwell sold the injuries Pete Dunne had inflicted on the previews show like a pro, and in Bate vs. Wolfgang, the ICW Champion continued the theme

Wolfgang had hurt his knee on a missed Moonsault and broken his nose while fighting Trent Seven earlier, and the announces sold it throughout. In the end, he was too beaten-up to cope with the sprightly Bate, who put him away in just over six minutes.

Bate barely had time to celebrate reaching the final, however. Pete Dunne rushed out from the back and destroyed Bate's shoulder before eventually being shoved to the backstage area by William Regal, representing a nice continuation of the previous night's confrontation. This left a big question mark on Bate's status heading into the championship match, and if this event proves anything, it's that great storytelling is still very much alive and well in WWE.