WWE Rebranded THIS Wrestler On SmackDown

Triple H corrected what was widely considered a Vince McMahon mistake on WWE SmackDown.

Tyler Bate Pete Dunne Bruiserweight
WWE.com

Alas, Butch is no more! WWE returned Pete Dunne to his old 'Bruiserweight' branding on Friday's episode of SmackDown - this was the culmination of Tyler Bate's efforts to refocus his old friend, and move Pete away from The Brawling Brutes faction.

In truth, Dunne had been dressing like his old self for a while, but the performance still felt like a noticeable shift back towards his NXT days anyway. It's widely accepted that Vince McMahon changing Dunne to Butch was a creative mistake, but it's now one Triple H has put right.

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Fingers crossed this all leads to a sustained tag-team run for Pete and Tyler, then Dunne can spin out onto his own as the 'Bruiserweight' and do good things as a singles star. He certainly has all the tools, and the response from that live crowd on SmackDown was 100% positive.

Together, Dunne and Bate toppled Pretty Deadly in a short-but-fun tag effort. Post-match, Pete had his old snarl back as Bate celebrated around him. The whole segment felt like one giant step in the right direction for Dunne and his WWE career.

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Long may it last.

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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.