Pete Dunne And Tyler Bate Leave PROGRESS

***CONTAINS PROGRESS CHAPTER 82 SPOILERS***

 

The confusing and ever-changing state of the UK independent scene continues apace with the news that PROGRESS regulars Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate have departed the promotion.

The NXT UK duo headlined PROGRESS’ Chapter 82: Unboxing Live! last night at the Electric Ballroom against each other, with NXT UK champion Dunne scoring the win.

Following the show, Dunne revealed on Twitter that the appearance was his last on the British indy scene, writing:

Finished my time on the British independent scene tonight. Closing out a week that saw me in New York, Germany, Spain and London. 13 years that I wouldn’t change for anything, on to the next chapter 👌 pic.twitter.com/ATDcN1fUVA

— ‘The Bruiserweight’ Pete Dunne (@PeteDunneYxB) December 30, 2018

PROGRESS co-promoter Jim Smallman also took to social media to thank the pair for their hard work in the promotion over the years:

Thank you @PeteDunneYxB
Thank you @Tyler_Bate

For everything you’ve done in @ThisIs_Progress and for British wrestling in general.

The sky is the limit for you both.
Scary how talented you both are.

(I will not miss being flicked with towels and having coats thrown at me)

— Jim Smallman – ジム・スモールマン (@jimsmallman) December 30, 2018

The news follows the report in November that NXT UK contracts were changing and new restrictions would impact where talent could work.  PROGRESS were understood to be largely exempt from this, with talent still allowed to work on the shows in matches that were not featured on their streaming service.

There were further signs at Chapter 82 that the PROGRESS roster has been impacted by the impending changes. Atypically for a PROGRESS show, there were fewer NXT UK talents involved than usual. While Trent Seven (the current Atlas champion), Travis Banks, Jinny, Eddie Dennis and Marcel Barthel were on the show, the likes of WALTER, Zack Gibson, James Drake, Mark Andrews, Flash Morgan Webster, Jordan Devlin and Toni Storm were not.

It was also notable that Will Ospreay wrestled on the card (and captured the promotion’s tag titles) and UK veteran Jody Fleisch made his debut, as the PROGRESS roster begins to evolve beyond NXT UK.

Of further interest was new Impact regular Jordynne Grace capturing the group’s women’s title from NXT UK star Jinny.

Bate and Dunne are not the only ones leaving the UK scene. Several other NXT UK stars have embarked upon “farewell” tours of sorts over the past several weeks, finishing up their bookings before the new restrictions come into effect in the new year.

You can keep track of what the NXT UK talent have been up to away from the brand via our tracker.

• pete dunne
• Tyler Bate
• PROGRESS
• NXT UK

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