WWE Raw got things started with a venomous battle between Cody Rhodes and John Cena, and then WWE has a welcome surprise to unveil shortly after. That’s because an injured Superstar who has been out for nearly a year is back in action, and that Superstar is the big strong boi himself Tyler Bate. Even better was the fact that WWE re-teamed Bate with Pete Dunne in the New Catch Republic, though everything wasn’t exactly positive about the return.
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Bate and Dunne brought their tag team back in a match against The New Day, and it was great seeing Bate back in the ring. Unfortunately, the return was a bit spoiled by the fact that the New Catch Republic took a loss in their return as a Tag Team, so while it was great to have them back in the ring, it’s disappointing to see them already having to take a loss, even if it is to the new number one contenders. This was signaled by a stare-down between New Day and the War Raiders after the match.
Bate has been sidelined for around 9 months dealing with a torn pec, and during that time Dunne has continued to make appearances in singles matches, even jumping into the feud between Ludwig Kaiser and Penta for a bit. Now though it appears both superstars will be featured primarily as a Tag Team, and hopefully they can start stacking some wins together.
During Bate’s time away the War Raiders have risen to the top of WWE Raw’s Tag Team Division, and a few other teams have also made their way to Raw, including the aforementioned New Day as well as A-Town Down and The LWO. If New Catch Republic hopes to move up the ladder, they will have to work their way through those teams to earn a shot at the War Raiders.
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The New Day seems to be a prime pick to dethrone the War Raiders, given that they are heat magnets at the moment thanks to their treatment of Big E, and that would only intensify if they were to win Championship gold. If you are going to have heel Champs, then you need face challengers, so this could be a prime opportunity for the New Catch Republic to have a welcome showcase.
What do you hope to see next from Bate now that he’s back in the ring? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things wrestling with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!
