The Complete A-Z Of Wrestling In 2017

6. U - United Kingdom Championship

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Arguably the biggest WWE story in the first half of 2017 before it became a complete non-story in the second, the company's newest Championship has already both the most and least relevant title in the industry.

Fought over magnificently over two Blackpool nights in January, the tournament that crowned Tyler Bate king and made Pete Dunne a worldwide superstar also introduced a host of British independent standouts to presumably beef up a burgeoning localised roster as WWE planned an assault on one of the hottest markets in the world.

The months that followed reflected the event as just another false dawn, with the title already appearing to be the latest representation of another WWE all-fart-no-sh*te grandstanding ploy.

A passing interest from ITV in British Wrestling was just that, and the lack of a promised weekly WWE Network vehicle strongly implies a renewed indifference to the league. Dunne and Bate have fought over the title in glorious fashion twice in NXT, but just like the entire concept to Vince McMahon, that novelty is likely to soon wear off.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but 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 in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. 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 sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett