England began training in 2006, at the age of 12,[7] originally under the tutelage of Steve "Psycho" Edwards at Phoenix Wrestling inCoventry.[2] He has said that his early training under Edwards was limited and provided him with only "the basics".[8] Dunne's first appearance as a wrestler was at the 2007 Holbrooks Festival in Coventry, where he first met and wrestledMark Andrews.[8] He later trained for a short time under Max Angelus and began working on other small local shows, largely in community centres around his native Birmingham. He competedunder a mask asTiger Kid until January 2010, when he lost ahair vs mask match to Helix at Riot Act Wrestling inKent. He then retired the character and mask, adopted thePete Dunne name, and began regularly performing in a tag team alongside hiskayfabe brother Damian Dunne.[9] He spent most of his early career working for as many small independent promotions as possible such as EDW Wrestling inShrewsbury, and Kamikaze Pro Wrestling in Birmingham, as well as regularly practicing with Mark Andrews and other friends, training in a re-purposed boxing ring in a community centre inCardiff during the school holidays.[8] Dunne began competing internationally and more regularly in 2011, competing for LDN Wrestling in England; Dublin Championship Wrestling in Ireland; Celtic Wrestling, Welsh Wrestling, Royal Imperial Wrestling in Wales, and PBW in Scotland.[10]
In a move to increase the number opportunities available to their group of friends, Dunne and ring announcer Jim Lee co-foundedAttack! Pro Wrestling in 2011, arranging a weekend of shows in Birmingham. On the first weekend of shows in August 2011, Dunne wrestled in a four-man tournament dubbed the Elder Stein Invitational, in which he advanced to the final before losing to Mark Andrews.[11] The promotion would later expand to run shows primarily in Cardiff andBristol, with Dunne an ever-present performer, primarily as aface, and often taking on his best friend Mark.[12] Sometime in 2014, Dunne would be one of the focuses ofBBC 3 television show "People Like Us", a show revolving around following people from the Birmingham Borough of Chelmsley Wood and its surrounding areas as they make strides to achieve their personal goals, such as weight loss, acting careers or in Dunne's case, becoming a pro wrestler. Dunne would later become one of the promotion's primaryheels after unexpectedly turning on Mark at "Mandrews Goes To America" in January 2015, a show themed as a farewell event to Andrews upon his signing withTNA Wrestling.[13][14] From mid-2015 to 2016, Dunne held the ATTACK! 24/7 Championship for an unprecedented 307 consecutive days, over which time he feuded withEddie Dennis andWild Boar simultaneously for the title.[15] He would eventually lose the belt to referee Shay Purser, which acted as the beginning of a lengthy feud with ATTACK's co-founder and ring announcer Lee.[16] Dunne's spell as a performer in ATTACK! Pro Wrestling concluded on 20 November 2016, when he lost a five-vs-fiveelimination match against a team captained by Lee, with the stipulation that the losing team captain had to leave ATTACK.[citation needed]
Dunne debuted in Progress at Chapter 13 on 18 May 2014, defeatingRobbie X.[32] Four months later, he returned to Progress, losing to Morgan Webster.[33] Dunne was absent from Progress for 19 months after this, returning at Chapter 28 in April 2016, teaming with Damian Dunne to defeatTrent SevenandTyler Bate.[34] At Chapter 29, Dunne was involved in a qualifying match forWWE'sCruiserweight Classic tournament, losing toJack Gallagher.[35] At Chapter 30, Dunne competed in the first round of the Super Strong Style 16 Tournament, but was eliminated in the first round byMark Haskins.[36] At Chapter 33, Dunne turned on longtime tag team partner andkayfabe brother Damian Dunne, aligning himself with Trent Seven asBritish Strong Style.[37] Dunne and Seven defeated The London Riots (James Davis and Rob Lynch) at Chapter 36 to win theProgress Tag Team Championship.[38]
At Chapter 39, by virtue of retaining their championships in a rematch against the London Riots earlier in the night, Dunne and Seven were entered in a 7-man elimination match for the vacantProgress World Championship. Dunne pinnedJimmy Havoc to become the new Progress World Champion after Tyler Bate came down to the ring and attacked Havoc, aligning himself with Seven and Dunne.[39] At Chapter 40, Dunne made his first successful defence of the championship, defeatingZack Sabre Jr.[40] On 16 December, Progress management forced Dunne and Seven to vacate the Progress Tag Team Championship after Dunne attempted to give his half of the shield to Bate. At Chapter 41, British Strong Style once again left with all of the gold in Progress after Seven and Bate defeated the LDRS Of The New School (Marty Scurll andZack Sabre Jr.) and The London Riots to win the Progress Tag Team Championships and Dunne defeatedFabian Aichner to retain the Progress World Championship.[41] Dunne lost by disqualification to Jimmy Havoc at Chapter 43, but the championship did not change hands.[42] At Chapter 44, Dunne, Seven and Bate were defeated by Havoc, Mark Haskins, and Morgan Webster in a six-man tag team match.[43] At Chapter 45, Dunne defeated Havoc in a no-disqualification match for his fourth successful defence.[44] At Chapter 46, he successfully defended the Championship against Mark Andrews.[45] Dunne defended the Championship twice inOrlando, Florida duringWrestleMania weekend, defeating Mark Haskins on 31 March[46] and ACH on 1 April.[47] At Chapter 47, Dunne, Seven and Bate put all of their championships on the line againstRingkampf (Axel Dieter Jr,Timothy Thatcher, andWalter), in a six-man tag team match, successfully retaining all of them.[48] At Chapter 48, Dunne retained the title against both Andrews and Haskins in a triple threat match. He lost the title toTravis Banks on 10 September.[49] At Chapter 60, Dunne successfully defended his WWE United Kingdom Championship against Jack Gallagher.[50]
In May 2018, Dunne entered the Super Strong Style 16, defeatingDoug Williams in the first round but losing by disqualification againstZack Gibson in the second round after hitting Gibson with a steel chair.[51] The same weekend, Christian Michael Jakobi, the CEO ofwXw, gave him a challenge against currentwXwUnified World Wrestling Champion,Ilja Dragunov, who he'd call him the "Best Independent Wrestler in Europe". At Chapter 69: Be Here Now, he accepted the challenge, and defeated Dragunov at Chapter 76 which took place atWembley Arena.
Dunne made his debut forChikara in September 2014, when he, Damian Dunne and Mark Andrews, billed collectively as "Team UK", took part in the2014 King of Trios, making it to the quarterfinals, before losing to The Devastation Corporation (Blaster McMassive, Flex Rumblecrunch and Max Smashmaster).[52] A year later, Dunne returned for the2015 King of Trios; this time he, Andrews and Morgan Webster, "Team Attack!", were eliminated in their first round match by United Nations (Juan Francisco de Coronado,Mr. Azerbaijan and The Proletariat Boar of Moldova).[53]
Dunne returned to Chikara on 1 September 2017, when he, Trent Seven, and Tyler Bate, billed collectively as "House Strong Style", entered the2017 King of Trios, defeating House Whitewolf (A-Kid, Adam Chase, and Zayas) in their first round match.[54] Over the next two days, House Strong Style defeated House Throwbacks (Dasher Hatfield,Mark Angelosetti, andSimon Grimm) in the quarterfinals,[55] House Rot (Frightmare,Hallowicked andKobald) via forfeit in the semifinals and House Sendai Girls (Cassandra Miyagi,Dash Chisako, andMeiko Satomura) in the finals to win the 2017 King of Trios.[56]
Dunne made his debut forSPW in October 2017, where he would face"The Statement" Andruew Tang, ultimately defeating him.[57] Following the match, Dunne would promise Tang a rematch.[58] In 2018, Dunne would return to face Tang, however appearing withWolfgang andMark Davis. The trio would be defeated by Andruew Tang,Kaiser Trexxus and Aiden Rex in a 3 on 3 match.[59]
On 15 December 2016, it was revealed that Dunne would be one of 16 men competing in the two-nightUnited Kingdom Championship Tournament to crown the first everWWE United Kingdom Champion on 14 and 15 January 2017. Dunne defeated Roy Johnson in the first round, advancing to the quarter finals and eventually the semi-finals where he defeated Sam Gradwell and Mark Andrews respectively to advance to the finals, where he lost to Tyler Bate.[60][61] Dunne then signed a contract with WWE, which allowed him to continue taking independent bookings with some restrictions.[62] He then became a part ofNXT, making his debut on 22 February 2017 in a winning effort against Mark Andrews; he then started to appear onNXT. On 4 April, Dunne, and others who participated in the tournament, appeared on205 Live to promote upcoming UK live shows.[63]
On 7 May, Dunne defeated Trent Seven at a live event to become the new number one contender for the United Kingdom Championship.[64] AtNXT TakeOver: Chicago on 20 May, Dunne defeated Bate to win the title for the first time,[65] which was later named Match of the Year at theNXT Year-End Awards.[66] Dunne made his main roster debut during a one-off appearance on the 6 November episode ofRaw inManchester,England, defeatingWWE Cruiserweight ChampionEnzo Amore in a non-title champion versus champion match.[67] He then kept on defending his title onNXT, first against Bate on 20 December, and then againstRoderick Strong on 14 February 2018.[68]
Dunne turned face when he and Strong subsequently teamed up, starting on 28 March for theDusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, defeatingDanny Burch andOney Lorcan in the first round andAlexander Wolfe andEric Young ofSAnitY in the semi-finals.[69] They faced theAuthors of Pain in the finals on 4 April; however, the match ended in a no contest whenKyle O'Reilly andAdam Cole ofThe Undisputed Era attacked both teams.[70] As a result, all three teams faced each other in atriple threat tag team match atNXT TakeOver: New Orleans, which acted as the final match of the tournament while The Undisputed Era'sNXT Tag Team Championship was also on the line.[71] At the event on 7 April, Strongturned on Dunne and attacked him, giving the victory to The Undisputed Era and aligning himself with the stable.[72] This began a feud between Dunne and The Undisputed Era, starting with a singles match on 2 May episode ofNXT, in which he defeated Strong by disqualification after being attacked by Cole and O'Reilly.[73]
At theUnited Kingdom Championship Tournament event on 18 June, Dunne teamed up with Tyler Bate and Trent Seven asBritish Strong Style on the first night (marking the first time they performed as their stable on WWE) to defeat The Undisputed Era,[74] and on the second night, retained his title against United Kingdom Championship Tournament winner Zack Gibson.[75] In July, theNXT UK brand was established, with the United Kingdom Championship as its top title; Dunne subsequently defended the title on both brands. On 22 August episode ofNXT (which also served as the pre-show ofNXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 4 on 18 August), Dunne once again retained his championship against Gibson; in parallel, he became the longest-reigning champion in WWE at (then) 456 days followingBrock Lesnar's loss of theWWE Universal Championship atSummerSlam on 19 August.[76][77][78]
On 29 August episode ofNXT, Dunne teamed up withNXT North American ChampionRicochet against The Undisputed Era, losing due to a miscommunication.[79] As both blamed the other for their loss, the two had a match for both titles on 19 September episode ofNXT, marking the first time a WWE United Kingdom Champion faced a NXT North American Champion. The match ended in ano contest after The Undisputed Era attacked both men.[80][81] After numerous attacks in the following weeks, Dunne eventually teamed up with Ricochet and theWar Raiders to take on Undisputed Era atNXT TakeOver: WarGames in thetitular match on 17 November, where his team would pick up the victory.[82]
Dunne making his entrance at NXT TakeOver:New York
AtNXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool on 12 January 2019, the inaugural NXT UK TakeOver event, Dunne retained his title againstJoe Coffey in the main event.[83] Two weeks later, Dunne appeared as a surprise entrant in theRoyal Rumble match at thenamesake pay-per-view on 27 January, but was eliminated byDrew McIntyre.[84] AtNXT TakeOver: New York on 5 April, Dunne lost the UK Championship to Walter, ending his record setting reign at 685 days.[85] On 14 April episode ofNXT UK (aired 22 May), Dunne lost his rematch against Walter for the United Kingdom Championship after interference by Fabian Aichner andMarcel Barthel, thus turning Walter heel. The following week, after Walter, Aichner, and Barthel named their group Imperium, Dunne joined the members of British Strong Style to brawl with Imperium in the ring.[86]
Dunne moved back from NXT UK to NXT in June 2019, rekindling his feud with Roderick Strong; after Strong started a feud of his own withNXT North American ChampionVelveteen Dream, Dunne got involved on the 24 July episode ofNXT, attacking Strong and indicating his desire to go after Dream's title.[87] The three faced off in atriple threat match for the title atNXT TakeOver: Toronto on 10 August, where Dream retained his title.[88][89] Dunne would then go on with a three-way feud againstDamian Priest andKillian Dain, culminating in a Triple threat match to determine the #1 contender for theNXT Championship atSurvivor Series, which he won.[90] At Survivor Series on 24 November, he was unsuccessful in his match against Cole.[91]
On 10 January 2020 episode ofNXT, the participants of the2020 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic were announced, with Dunne andMatt Riddle being announced as surprise participants; they would later take on the name of The BroserWeights, aportmanteau of Dunne's "Bruiserweight" nickname and Riddle's "Original Bro" nickname.[92] Together, they defeated Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster in the first round on 15 January,[93] Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel ofImperium in the semifinals on 22 January,[94] andGrizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson) in the finals on 29 January to win the tournament and earn a match againstBobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly ofThe Undisputed Era for theNXT Tag Team Championship atNXT TakeOver: Portland.[95][96] At the event on 16 February, Dunne and Riddle defeated Fish and O'Reilly to win the titles.[97]
After a successful title defense with Riddle against Fish and O'Reilly on 11 March episode ofNXT, Dunne became inactive due to being unable to travel to the U.S. during theCOVID-19 pandemic. In his absence, Riddle teamed-up with Timothy Thatcher as Dunne's replacement (although he wasn't considered co-champion), until 13 May episode ofNXT where Thatcher walked out during a title defense, leading Riddle to lose his and Dunne's titles to Aichner and Barthel.[98][99] After he stopped appearing onNXT due to the pandemic, Dunne remained inactive from March to October 2020; meanwhile, Riddle moved to theSmackDown brand, resuming his activities as a singles wrestler.[100][101]
On 17 September, Dunne made his return toNXT UK as aproducer.[102] Dunne eventually made a temporary return on the NXT UK brand on 15 October episode ofNXT UK, teaming up with Ilja Dragunov to defeat NXT UK Champion Walter and Alexander Wolfe of Imperium.[103]
On 28 October atHalloween Havoc, Dunne returned to NXT, attacking Kyle O'Reilly and joiningPat McAfee'sKings of NXT stable alongside Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan, turning heel in the process.[104] The Kings of NXT faced against Undisputed Era atWarGames on 6 December, where Dunne was the first competitor from Team McAfee to enter the match along with O'Reilly. Team McAfee lost the match when O'Reilly pinned Lorcan.[105] Dunne facedFinn Bálor atVengeance Day on 14 February for Bálor'sNXT Championship in a losing effort.[106] Dunne then entered a feud withKushida, whom he defeated on 7 April atStand & Deliver.[107] The Kings of NXT quietly disbanded when McAfee moved toSmackDown as a color commentator. On 27 July episode ofNXT,Ridge Holland returned from injury by attackingTommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher after Dunne and Lorcan's match against the latter, joining their alliance.[108]
The alliance was short lived when Holland was called up toSmackDown, and Lorcan and Burch were released as part of mass layoffs. A now solo Dunne started feuding with the debutingTony D'Angelo, and subsequently turned face to join team Black and Gold, already consisting of Ciampa, Gargano and Knight forWarGames on 5 December, losing to Team 2.0, consisting of D'Angelo,Bron Breakker,Carmelo Hayes, andGrayson Waller.[109] On 21 December episode ofNXT, Dunne defeated D'Angelo but was brutally attacked by D'Angelo with a crowbar afterwards.[110] On 11 January 2022 episode ofNXT, Dunne lost to D'Angelo in a Crowbar on a Pole match.[111] On 15 February atVengeance Day, Dunne defeated D'Angelo in a weaponized steel cage match to end their feud.[112] On 1 March episode ofNXT, Dunne faced Carmelo Hayes for theNXT North American Championship in a losing effort, which turned out to be his final appearance for the brand.[113]
Butch (right) with his stablemate Sheamus (middle) and Ridge Holland (left)
On 11 March episode ofSmackDown, Dunne made his official main roster debut under the new ring nameButch, aligning himself with Ridge Holland andSheamus in their feud againstThe New Day, establishing himself as a heel.[114] On 8 April episode ofSmackDown, Butch competed in his first match on the brand, where he was defeated byXavier Woods.[115] On 16 September episode ofSmackDown, Butch and Holland won a fatal four-way tag team match to become the #1 contenders for theUndisputed WWE Tag Team Championship.[116] The following week, they faced the championsThe Usos for the titles in a losing effort after interference from Imperium.[117] They had another opportunity atCrown Jewel on 5 November but lost again.[118]Butch would later enter a feud withThe Bloodline with help from his stable mates,Kevin Owens and Drew McIntyre. This would culminate atSurvivor Series: WarGames on 26 November in a WarGames match which they lost.[119]
On the 9 June 2023 episode ofSmackDown, Butch defeatedBaron Corbin to qualify for the men'sMoney in the Bank ladder match.;[120] however,Damian Priest would win the match at thenamesake event. The Brawling Brutes all competed in a 25-manbattle royal atSummerSlam, but none of them were successful in winning. Sheamus would be removed from television in late-August due to a shoulder injury, leaving him and Holland on their own.[121] Later in the year, Butch would be invited to the NXT Global Heritage Invitational on WWE's developmental brand,NXT. He would be put in Group A alongsideTyler Bate,Axiom, andCharlie Dempsey. Butch would top the group and face the winner of Group B,Joe Coffey. Butch would win the match against Coffey to be the number one contender to faceNoam Dar for theNXT Heritage Cup atNXT No Mercy. However, Butch would be unsuccessful in winning the Heritage Cup. On the 17 November episode ofSmackDown, visible dissension appeared between Holland and Butch after a loss to theStreet Profits. One week later, Holland walked out on Butch during a tag team match againstPretty Deadly, resulting in a loss in what would be their final match as a team.
On the March 31, 2025 edition of Raw, New Catch Republic made their tag team return.[130] On the July 28, 2025 episode ofRaw, Dunne portrayed the third version of the masked character El Grande Americano along withEl Grande Americano and Tyler Bate collectively known as Los Americanos. In the same month, it was reported that Dunne had begun working as a producer for WWE's sister promotionLucha Libre AAA Worldwide.[131] On the September 29 episode of Raw, he was given the new nameRayo Americano while Bate was given the nameBravo Americano.[132][133][134]
Dunne is nicknamed "The Bruiserweight" in reference to both hisweight class and wrestling style, which mostly consists of brawling, stiff strikes, submission grappling, andbending of his opponents' fingers. His finishing maneuver is apumphandle reverse STO called theBitter End which was originally calledDrop Dead.[135] He then transitioned into a more manic and aggressive style when he adopted the Butch character on the main roster.
Alongside fellow wrestlersMark Andrews andEddie Dennis, England co-founded Defend Indy Wrestling, a clothing line forindependent wrestling fans. Inspired by the "Defend Pop Punk" message made popular by Americanpop punk bandMan Overboard, the trio created the brand in 2011 to produce clothes and other merchandise.[136]
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