Tyler Bate makes WWE SmackDown debut as Butch's mystery partner

Tyler Bate made his SmackDown debut on Friday night, reuniting with Butch for a tag team match. The story going into SmackDown's New Year's Revolution episode was that Butch (the former Pete Dunne) needed to find a mystery partner for his match against Pretty Deadly. It led to British Strong Style reuniting as Butch & Bate defeated Elton Prince & Kit Wilson. The finish of the match was Bate and Butch giving Wilson a double Tyler Driver '97. Bate pinned Wilson to get the victory. Bate & Butch have been linked together throughout their careers as both stablemates and opponents. In 2017, Bate defeated Butch to become the inaugural NXT United Kingdom Champion. Butch won the title from Bate later that year in a classic match at NXT TakeOver: Chicago. Bate moved to the NXT roster after NXT UK closed its doors in 2022. Dave Meltzer reported last month that there had "at least been talk" of the 26-year-old Bate being called up to the WWE main roster. At NXT Deadline in December, Bate was part of the men'