“The God Damn Man” Tyler Bateman took home his first Percy Pringle III Cup on Sunday and now carries Percy’s privilege, which allows him a shot at any title across the United Wrestling Network (UWN) at any time. Last year, Suede Thompson came up short when he cashed his 2018 PP3 Cup win in against MJF last year for the Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) World Championship.
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Bateman won a tag match in round one, nearly killed “D-Man” Dan Parker in round two with “Death from Above” before winning this weekend. To put it bluntly, Bateman is a big scary dude. His finisher “Death From Above” (Falling elbow smash) can be connected at any point in the match, and he doesn’t have to be in a standing position first to execute. Quick kill finishers are the most effective and can be career changers, just ask Diamond Dallas Page. Although Bateman’s career has already been a great success prior to winning the PP3 on Sunday it’s easy to see that he still has a ton left in the tank.
By way of Moore, Oklahoma, Bateman started his career winning titles in the Sooner state becoming a 4x Mid-South Wrestling Alliance (MSWA) Champion, MSWA Cruiserweight Champ, and the MSWA Oklahoma Champion. He made the move to Southern California and won his first Santino Bros Wrestling (SBW) Submission title beating Famous B and held the Gold until losing it to Tito Escondido in January 2015. Tyler would get the belt back from Tito in February of that year and carried it until May.
Bateman is an imposing presence with a look that’s dark and intimidating, but his work in the ring brings a different level of fear for opponents. He is one of the elite strikers in the game. Whether it’s a punch, forearm or elbow Bateman throws punches in bunches wearing down his opponent with a merciless physical assault. The “SMASH over Flash” practitioner brings everything he has from the sound of the opening bell…if not sooner. One thing that makes him successful is he knows what he knows and maximizes it. You won’t see him get lost on the top turnbuckle trying an ill-advised leap to certain doom. There is no doubt what Bateman’s game plan is going into a fight. He punches you in the face from the get-go and it’s the opponent’s job to survive because he won’t stop.
The key to Bateman’s offensive attack is leverage. He’s not a huge guy, but makes great use of his height and reach advantage. The 18-year combatant likes to trap his opponents in the corner and deliver vicious strikes. Bateman isn’t trying to trick you, and he makes it clear what he wants to do. Hit you with “Death from Above.” His entire offense is predicated around the elbow and Bateman likes to soften up the opponent until they no longer see the end coming. Although sometimes he makes them watch.
He won the biggest title of his career capturing the UWN Television Title a year later in May 2016 defeating James Morgan in Hollywood. While he was the UWN TV Champion he was also in the midst of his first reign as Alternative Wrestling Show (AWS) Heavyweight Champion that he collected by winning a Triple Threat against current NWA American Champion Willie Mack and the “E’Fn Machine” Brian Cage.
In October 2016 he beat Joey Kaos to win the SBW Heavyweight Championship in a reign that saw him take down Ring of Honor’s Brody King twice, Rocky Romero, and B-Boy. He eventually lost the belt to Brody King in a triple threat (along with Ruby Raze). His first run with the AWS belt was 365 days, and won his second AWS Heavyweight Championship and carried it for 420 for a grand total of 785. It’s not surprising Bateman would have extended title runs. He’s not an easy guy to beat. “Uptown” Andy Brown pinned him last year when a double head-butt at Ground Zero knocked out both competitors.
Also in 2018, Bateman attended the NJPW LA Dojo Spring Camp and had tryouts with WWE and IMPACT Wrestling. He made his debut with Pro Wrestling Guerrilla with his Violence Unlimited tag team partner Brody King against Ringkampf (WALTER/Timothy Thatcher) and The Rascalz (Zachary Wentz & Dezmond Xavier) at All Star Weekend 14, and Andy Brown at Bask for His Glory. Bateman is poised for 2019 to be a breakout year for him.
Now he has the PP3 Cup and plenty of options within the United Wrestling Network. If history repeats itself, a challenge to CZW Champ Mance Warner would be incredible, and any of the three CWFH singles Champions should Tyler so desire. He’s had two instant classics with Hollywood Heritage Champion Brown at Ground Zero recently so that possibility is enticing and UWN TV Champion Royce Isaacs would be a war. Both guys like to utilize their power and don’t hide their intentions. NWA American Champion Willie Mack rarely has a bad match and brings vicious strikes to go with the unexpected aerial game so that bout would be fantastic (clears throat *cough* Nick Aldis). Which one is he targeting? Who knows and he certainly isn’t going to let us in, but be sure the moment the tournament started he knew which belt he wanted. Champions Beware.
