Five minutes of fame is all Tyler Bate needs

Never in World Wrestling Entertainment's history have they featured a title exclusively for bone-benders on our shores,

But that will change this weekend when the inaugural UK Championship belt is contested in a 16-man tournament, between Brits not yet signed to their brand.

Tyler Bate, aged just 19 and from Netherton, is the most junior of the participants for the sold-out two-night event, to be held at Blackpool's Empress Ballroom on Saturday and Sunday.

WWE released the bracketing for the competition this week, which has paired Bate with Northern Irishman Tucker in the first round.

All of the action will be broadcast live on subscription channel the WWE Network, effectively making the shows a pay-per-view event.

For Bate - who operates under his real name - it will be the first time he has performed live in front of the cameras and it's on his biggest stage yet for the industry leaders.

The American giants are the largest wrestling provider in the world, holding over 300 shows a year which are televised to around 36 million viewers in over 150 countries.

Bate, who has taken part in over 200 bouts since his debut at 15, wants to steal the show - even if the result is pre-determined for him to lose before he steps through the ropes.

He quipped: "I'm more excited than anything. I've always had the opinion if I can wrestle in front of 20 people, I can wrestle in front of 200, and then 2,000 and whatever the end number may be.

"I believe I can entertain as well as anyone. In five minutes, I can have the greatest match that anyone has ever seen, whether I win or otherwise. My age doesn't come into it.

"I've already wrestled all over England and in the United States, against some of the best in the world. I've been in there with AJ Styles (current WWE champion) before he was signed.

"That was in America and, while I was over there, I went to a 40-minute time limit draw with Chris Hero (now in WWE NXT) on another show.

"That was my second trip, I've been over there on successive September's from 2015 to work in their independent companies and I've never looked out of place.

"This time, I imagine there will be some nerves, mainly when I hit the mat for the first time and I see the WWE sign above my head, but I'll get over it.

"I'll be doing everything I can to impress and whoever becomes champion is effectively one of their guys from then on. It would be awesome to go around the UK defending their title."

Watching at ringside will be Tyler's parents Jill and John. He lives at the family home and has an older sister, Harley. He attended Netherbrook Primary School and Ormiston Forge Academy.

He started out in sports entertainment aged 14, after learning of the Alternative Wrestling World Academy in Netherton run by Kevin O'Neil.

He said: "I was lucky enough to find something local on the internet and I'd just turned 14, which was their lowest age restriction. They train at a unit in a business park.

"Mum and dad kind of thought it was a phase I was going through, but I'm a full-time wrestler now. I've been doing it every weekend, two or three times in two days, for about three years.

"I did have a job in a warehouse, I got all of my forklift driving licences there. I went to Halesowen College, too, and got a Level Two qualification in health and fitness.

"I could have stayed on and did my Level Three, but I just wanted to wrestle. I love what I do to bits and I plan on being around for a long time to come."

Bate, who cites the Undertaker and Kane as his WWE heroes, has never looked back and his highly-regarded on the circuit.

Three of his closest friends are also in the WWE UK tournament. Trent Seven, Pete Dunne and Dan Moloney joined him on the train to Blackpool, where they are staying in the Hilton Hotel.

Trent - who is Ben Webb, 35, from Wolverhampton - is his best mate and tag team partner, with the two comprising the 'Moustache Mountain' tandem.

They both came through WWE try-outs in Glasgow which came under the watchful eye of British wrestling legend William Regal, real name Darren Matthews and born in Codsall.

They could meet in the semi-finals of the competition, though. Brummies Dunne and Moloney are on the other side of the draw, so cannot meet Trent or Bate until the final.

Trent said: "Me and Tyler have never wrestled each other in singles before. If it happens, we'll shake hands and go at it like gentlemen. It would be an avalanche on Moustache Mountain!

"I've trained with Tyler for four years and he's the most talented 19-year-old in the world. He can do anything you want in that ring.

"His brain is a sponge, it just absorbs any information that you give to him. He probably could have been a UFC world champion or an astronaut if he wasn't a wrestler!"

You can watch the WWE UK Championship be decided live on the WWE Network. Subscription is £9.99, with the first month currently free.