Let the rumors begin, as WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne has been pulled from an independent event on the same day as the Royal Rumble.
Videos by FanBuzz
The reasons given were for "last minute obligations to WWE."
Cutting right to the news part, Britannia Wrestling Promotions posted the following on Facebook:
"It is with regret that we inform the BWP Faithful that Pete Dunne will no longer be attending BWP Royally Rumbled next weekend due to last minute contractual obligations to WWE. WWE have called Pete back to America ahead of their Royal Rumble event next Sunday.
However .... a suitable replacement has been booked to take Pete's place in the Triple Threat Match next weekend, his replacement being fellow WWE Superstar 'Moustache Mountain' Trent Seven!!!
Trent will also be doing the Meet & Greet from 5.30pm as well as taking part in the show later next Saturday evening.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused to our fans but as we are sure you can appreciate, this is completely beyond our, and Petes, control. Pete Dunne has assured us that he WILL be coming to Britannia Wrestling Promotions very shortly."
That certainly seems like too much of a coincidence to be about anything other than Dunne appearing in this year's Royal Rumble. However, he could very well also be appearing at the NXT TakeOver show, but that doesn't necessarily seem to be the case here.
If you are wondering how Dunne, a WWE champ, can appear on the indy-scene but hold one of the company's straps; Dunne signed a contract with WWE, which allowed him to continue taking independent bookings with some restrictions. One of those restrictions happens to be like the thing that happened here, as Dunne needs to drop bookings when the WWE comes calling.
Dunne has made appearances on WWE broadcasts before. While most of them are WWE Network related, being featured on NXT, he did make an appearance on the November 6 episode of Raw. It made sense, as it was broadcast from Manchester, England. On that edition of Raw, he defeated WWE Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore in a non-title champion versus champion match.
Is the Bruiserweight headed to the Royal Rumble?
