In 2017, Tyler Bate and Pete Dunne seemed like the future of WWE. Central figures of the newly-minted “NXT UK,” their intense rivalry produced amazing matches, most notably at “NXT” Takeover: Chicago. They were what could objectively be called “good wrestlers,” with solid fundamentals and a genuine connection with the “NXT” audience, whose cups overflowed with “good wrestlers” in the halcyon days of “NXT” Black & Gold. Now, six years later, Bate and Dunne are still wrestling in “NXT,” in front of a warehouse of local wrestling fans, much like they did in “NXT UK.” Bate has plateaued in “NXT” and become a shadow of his once clean-cut self, while Dunne has been a largely marginal part of the main roster, where he was made into the snarling pitbull of The Brawling Brutes, even re-named “Butch” like a dog — hardly the future main-eventer that he seemed in “NXT.”

The fact of the matter is that being a “good wrestler” is not something that really matters in WWE, and that has finally trickled down to “NXT.”  A once-notable rivalry has been reduced to a block final match that ultimately doesn’t matter that much. At the end of the day, the Global Heritage Invitational has been an excuse for wrestling junkies to get their fix of “good wrestling” while Noam Dar, Jakara Jackson, Lash Legend, and Oro Mensah try on costumes and mug for the camera.

Wrestlers like Bate, Dunne, or pretty much anyone in B Block are sacrificial lambs in the WWE. They kill time, trade holds, and get the crowd riled up, but the winner of the tournament will likely be sacrificed at the altar of Noam Dar and his so-ridiculous-they’re-good ideas.