WWE NXT Superstar Added to SmackDown Roster Following New Year's Revolution

On the first WWE SmackDown of 2024 Tyler Bate made his highly anticipated debut on the WWE main roster when he was unveiled as the mystery tag team partner for Butch against Pretty Deadly. While Pretty Deadly mad fun of Butch for having nobody in his corner after Ridge Holland abandoned him and he lost the NXT North American Championship opportunity, they clearly weren't expecting his former tag team partner to align with him. The duo most recently took part in a Pub Rules match on NXT, teaming with The Brawling Brutes against Gallus.

Following the match, Bate gave a few post-match comments that hinted at him being a permanent addition. "Finally, it's been a long time coming but the big strong boi has finally arrived on SmackDown, and I am here to stay!" Bate was part of the NXT roster since 2017. He competed in NXT UK for quite awhile until that was officially put on hiatus in 2022 but is said to relaunch as NXT Europe at some point in the future. Despite just now making it to the main roster, Bate is a very accomplished talent in WWE. He remains the only triple-crown champion in NXT UK, winning the WWE NXT UK Heritage Cup Championship, WWE NXT UK Tag Team Championship, and he is a two-time NXT United Kingdom Champion.

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It appears that The Big Strong Boi really isn't going anywhere as he was quietly added to the SmackDown roster over night following his strong debut at New Year's Revolution. In early December, it was reported by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that talks of Bate making his debut to the main roster were taking place. The report also added that his size isn't really any issue for WWE. While as back in the day Vince McMahon would typically be apprehensive of bringing in a "smaller" guy, COO Paul Levesque doesn't share the same sentiment. He is far more open-minded, believing that regardless of size, anyone can be a top star within the company. That certainly rings true as the crowd were very high on Bate and Butch's chemistry in-ring.

Are you excited to see Tyler Bate officially part of the main roster? What matches are you most excited to see? Let us know in the comments!