What’s the story?
It has been confirmed that the WWE United Kingdom Championship will be defended on March 31 at PROGRESS Wrestling’s PROGRESS: Orlando event.
The match has been made official by none other than NXT General Manager William Regal, and it will see current WWE UK Champion Tyler Bate defend the Championship against WWE UK Championship tournament semi-finalist Mark Andrews.
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In case you didn’t know...
The British wrestling scene has gone from strength to strength in the last couple of years, and as a result of that rise, the WWE felt the need to get involved in a serious way. The WWE United Kingdom Championship tournament was thus announced and held in Blackpool over two days in January.
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19-year-old Tyler Bate managed to outlast 15 other performers to take home the Championship, defeating pre-tournament favourite Pete Dunne in the final. Bate has since defended the Championship on just the one occasion, defeating his Moustache Mountain and British Strong Style partner Trent Seven on an episode of NXT back in February.
The heart of the matter
WrestleMania week has evolved from a purely WWE-centric event into an enormous celebration of all things professional wrestling. A whole host of promotions have organised shows in the Orlando area for WrestleMania weekend itself, and PROGRESS wrestling is no different.
The announcement that Bate will take on former TNA star Mark Andrews with a WWE sanctioned belt on the line must be considered a major coup for the British company.
Andrews has been given the opportunity, after Bate cost him a chance to win the PROGRESS World Championship, interfering at the promotion’s 5th Anniversary show to give his BSS-colleague Dunne the victory. These liberties have not been ignored by GM Regal, and now Bate must put his most coveted prize on the line during the busiest weekend of the year.
The show takes place on Friday, March 31, at WrestleMania Axxess in the Orlando Live Events Centre.
What’s next?
On a weekend of incredible professional wrestling, PROGRESS may well be able to lay claim to having one of the most stacked cards on offer. The show will be headlined by a PROGRESS World Championship match between champion Pete Dunne and former champion Mark Haskins, whilst elsewhere Matt Riddle will battle Trent Seven, Zack Sabre Jr. will go up against Jimmy Havoc and much more.
Author’s take
PROGRESS is arguably the most impressive of all the British wrestling promotions right now, managing to mix wrestling and story without sacrificing one for the other. The Orlando show represents their first North American jaunt and getting a WWE UK Championship match on the card, bodes extremely well for the future of the promotion.
Even without that, the show itself should be a joy.
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