For those who tuned into NXTUK TakeOver Cardiff on Saturday, you witnessed something truly special.
Yes the whole card was amazing, but Tyler Bate was legendary. His performance against Walter was emotional to say the very least. While we have always known Tyler is great, his performance on Saturday has shown how much he has grown over the past few years.
While I am hopeful most wrestling fans reading this are familiar with Tyler’s career, I thought now would be a good time to look back. He may only be 22 years old, but Tyler has been involved in some classic matches. He’s has been all over the world, so it is easy to miss a match or even forget one happened; this article will have five matches that Tyler has been a part of that have been overlooked. After Saturday I think we could all use a reminder of truly how far Tyler has come.
I’m not going to put these five in order because Tyler just has so many great matches and these just deserve to be out there again.
5. WWE United Kingdom Title – Tyler Bate vs Trent Seven (WWE NXT)
In February 2017, Tyler Bate defended his UK title against his tag team partner Trent Seven. It was a special treat for the crowd at Full Sail University, as this was the first time Moustache Mountain had faced off against each other in WWE. I think a lot of people slept on this match, but it was just a perfect story.
This was Tyler’s first defense after winning the inaugural UK Tournament. Trent Seven was the perfect opponent as they have so much history together. While Tyler was very young and possibly nervous going into this first defense, Trent had a chip on his shoulder after being eliminated rather quickly from the UK tournament. Both men had things to prove going into this match and they did not disappoint. It
was a hard-hitting match, just because they are tag team partners didn’t mean they were going to hold back.
With it being one of the first times the NXT crowd really got to see these two live, they put their all into the match. Even though Trent hit his finishing move, Tyler came out victorious through his sheer strength. Tyler got to show the NXT crowd exactly why he was the UK Champion and why this was just the beginning. If you have never watched this match, go on the WWE Network and find it. It is one match I have told so many people to check out because it is just brilliant.
4. Zack Sabre Jr vs Tyler Bate (Kamikaze Pro)
Zack Sabre Jr is known around the world as one of the greatest wrestlers in the world, wrestling all over, but this was the first time he had faced off with Tyler Bate. Tyler had recently put on a stellar match with Mark Haskins for Kamikaze Pro, but facing ZSJ would be a true test.
If you go back and watch this match you can feel the excitement about it, two of the best wrestlers in the world finally facing off. This would be ZSJ’s Kamikaze Pro debut and what a match to have! Zack and Tyler both have similar styles and early on in the match exchanged reversal after reversal. It was a no-frills kinda match, textbook, but beautiful. These are the kinds of matches that aren’t always appreciated but definitely deserve to be.
At one point during the match, Zack and Tyler take turns sitting down in the middle of the ring taking kicks in a game of one-upmanship. Of course, Zack did this to get the upper hand, but Tyler held his own.
Watching Tyler go toe to toe with the Technical Wizard, you knew special things were in store for him. Also, if ZSJ endorses you after the match I think you’re in pretty good shape.
3. B Cool, Angel Cruz, and “Tyler Breeze” vs British Strong Style (OTT Wrestling)
I was going to keep this list strictly singles matches, but I am adding this because it shows Tyler’s comedic side and it’s just a match I believe everyone should see. Tyler basically wrestled for both teams, as Angel Cruz got him confused with Tyler Breeze.
OTT does an excellent job of calling back things, like Angel Cruz’s hatred for Trent Seven which was started in a Youtube video back in March 2017. This six-man tag happened just a few months after that video in June. Trent and Pete made their entrance but were missing Tyler during their Triple H part of the entrance (as evident by the crowds chant of “Where’s your Tyler gone”). The entrances were
amazing, outrageous, and bizarre all in one.
Basically, this was a match for Tyler’s friendship, with Tyler doing most of the work. Two entrances, two teams is a lot for one to handle really, but Tyler really got to show just how good he is during this one. While this match was a lot of fun, there were threats of murder, Pete throwing fans around, and making fun of the boss Vince McMahon because why not throw all of that in one match?
Angel Cruz was very confused throughout this match as B Cool started to fight Tyler, but Tyler made his choice when he tagged in Trent Seven. Angel was so upset at Tyler he resorted to grabbing an axe, and Tyler had to stop him from killing Trent. Tyler really played both sides well, being tagged in by both teams. This is a match if you need a smile, go to youtube and put this on. Watching Tyler basically be two
people is phenomenal.
2. David Starr vs Tyler Bate (wXw)
This was for the wXw Shotgun title, where David kind of goaded Tyler into the match. They had both been in wXw for around a year at the time and had been roommates, yet this was their first one on one match in wXw.
The beginning of this match was all Starr, Tyler seemed a tad overwhelmed, but he eventually got to looking like Tyler Bate. I put this match on the list because this was a tough match for Tyler. Starr and Tyler really went at it, at times I think Starr rattled Tyler a bit where he didn’t quite recover. Even in defeat this Tyler match shows us his heart. He took so many hard hitting moves, but kept trying to power through, much like his match with Walter.
1. 2 Out Of 3 Falls – Tyler Bate vs Travis Banks (Fight Club Pro)
I really enjoy going back to watch older Fight Club Pro shows, not only seeing the growth of the company, but the wrestlers who have helped build it. This 2 out of 3 falls match was on a rather stacked Project Mayhem card.
This match began with a rather nice back and forth, but soon turned more aggressive. Tyler and Travis went chop for chop and slap for slap. Both men not backing down, just taking some of the most hard hitting chops I’ve heard. The crowd
was super into it this match from the very beginning.
Tyler scored the first pin fall with a suplex and did want to end the match with a quick second pin fall, but that didn’t work out according to plan. After a stretch of offense by Travis, and many pin fall attempts, he hits Tyler with Slice of Heaven to gain the second pin.
This is a match with two of FCP’s greats that I don’t hear talked about much. Both Tyler and Travis looked like stars. It was a really entertaining contest, that had the crowded mixed on who they wanted to win. Tyler did end up scoring the third pin to win, with a piledriver.
As you can tell this is just a small sampling of Tyler Bate’s career. He has a very old school, but versatile style that just seems to be getting better as his career grows. There are so many Tyler matches out there from companies like Progress, ATTACK, and more, so seek them out! If you go back and watch any of these matches, tell me what your favourite was out of this bunch!
Also, tell me your favourite Tyler match because there are just so many to choose from. The scary yet super exciting thing, is he is just 22 years old. The amount of matches he has ahead of him is insane. He has already hit legendary status, so the sky is truly the limit for Tyler and I for one can’t wait to see what is next.
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You can find the author of this article on Twitter @paigeyb88. Thanks for reading!