Tyler Bate was already a sensation in the United Kingdom and on the independent scene before he made WWE fans’ eyebrows jump right off their foreheads when he won the WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament last January. Since that time, he enjoyed a four-month reign as U.K. champ, had the 2017 NXT Match of the Year, and has seen his ranks of fans swell dramatically.
As of late, however, Bate has been on a serious losing streak. He’s lost a series of title rematches against current champion Pete Dunne, but just last week he lost an opening round match in the WWE Cruiserweight Championship Tournament on 205 Live and the next night he lost the chance at yet another U.K. title shot. If you don’t read NXT taping spoilers, I won’t spoil anything and will instead just tug my collar slightly.
And yes, he’s aware of his current losing streak and how it looks.
https://twitter.com/Tyler_Bate/status/958881927238430720
But there might be a reason for all this tough luck. On a recent episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer reported that the bloom is off the rose for Bate as far as WWE brass is concerned, and the reason is pretty head-scratching.
“Tyler Bate, I think he lost like four matches this week. He went 0-4. He went from being the big superstar for the U.K. for the future, and he has fallen out of favor.
“The reason he lost the title to Pete Dunne … there was a situation where [WWE] had a tour, and they – at the last minute – wanted to book him on … it was a main roster tour, I think. This was a long time ago, but this was right before they put Pete Dunne over him. And [Bate] had other plans, and so …
“They called him late, and he had other plans, and that’s what happened. Pro wrestling is very different from MMA. He was kind of like T.J. Dillashaw being called [to fight on short notice]. T.J. Dillashaw said, ‘My son was just born; I haven’t trained at all. I’m not doing this.’ [UFC doesn’t] hold it against you. I’m sure they’re not happy, but the fans don’t hold it against you.
“But in wrestling, it’s like … it’s a different world.”
Take this report with a grain of salt, of course, but if it’s true, that’s definitely unfortunate. Regardless of whether Bate has backstage heat, the guy is somehow still just 20 years old, and has an extremely long and assumedly prosperous career ahead of him.
(TYLER BATE IS STILL ONLY 20. DEAR GOD IN HEAVEN.)
