Dudley teenager Tyler Bate named WWE UK champion
A teenager from Dudley has become the first ever UK champion for the biggest sports entertainment company in the world.
Professional wrestler Tyler Bate, 19, was crowned WWE UK champion at The Empress Ballroom, Blackpool, on Sunday night.
Played out live on the WWE Network - which has nearly two million subscribers - Bate was presented with the new belt by wrestling legend Triple H at the end of a gruelling weekend.
Bate, from Netherton - wrestles for Wolverhampton wrestling promotion Fight Club Pro - took in four matches, including the final against Fight Club Pro colleague Pete Dunne, from Chelmsley Wood.
Two other wrestlers from the same promotion - Wolverhampton's Trent Seven and Birmingham's Dan Moloney - were also involved in the tournament.
But it was Bate who proved to be the most popular good guy of the 16-man tournament, with the sold-out crowd chanting his name throughout, while Dunne played the perfect bad guy.
And both have been tipped for big things by 14-time world champion Triple H - who headlined last year's Wrestlemania in front of more than 100,000 people.
He tweeted: "At 19 years old, who doesn't think @Tyler_Bate is the future of this industry? Congratulations!"
And on Dunne, he simply added: "Wow."
