On Wednesday’s edition of WWE NXT UK, a vignette aired hyping the debut of a new tag team to the NXT UK brand called The Hunt. The hard-hitting primal duo comprises of “The Primate” Jay Melrose and “The Wild Boar” Mike Hitchman, who have competed in singles action prior in NXT UK but are being repackaged as the latest tag team in the strengthening NXT UK tag team division. They’re slated to re-debut on the March 20, 2019 episode.
SOON…#NXTUK @WILDBOARhitch @The_Primate_ pic.twitter.com/M8YN8dfOBT
— NXT UK (@NXTUK) March 6, 2019
THE WILD BOAR
The 29-year old Welshman known as Wild Boar was trained by two other Welsh indie veterans in Jason Cross and Mike Bird, debuting with Wales’ Celtic Wrestling in 2009. By 2012, he was working for upstart Welsh promotion ATTACK! Pro Wrestling, as well as working elsewhere in the UK with the likes of PROGRESS, Fight Club: PRO, Revolution Pro (RevPro) and Scotland’s Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW). In 2016, he and Bird became a tandem known as The Marauders, who terrorized the UK indies and winning the ICW Tag Team Championships. Last year he formed an unlikely alliance with the Modfather Flash Morgan Webster in The 198, who compete for PROGRESS and other UK indies. But perhaps no one has truly shared the same savage philosophy of Wild Boar like The Primate, and we could on the verge of seeing Wild Boar hit his peak.
THE PRIMATE
There may not be a better comeback story in NXT like Jay Melrose’s. A student of Defiant World Champion Rampage Brown, the 34-year old only got into pro wrestling six years ago. Within two years, he gained national exposure with WhatCulture Pro Wrestling (now Defiant Wrestling) as Primate, whose rough and tumble style and willingness to bleed for his wins gained him a cult following. A 2x Defiant Hardcore Champion and Defiant Tag Team Champion alongside Jimmy Havoc, his star was on the rise when tragedy struck in March of last year. A severely broken jaw forced Primate into early retirement after doctor’s informed him that any severe blow to his head could result in his now weakened jaw shattering. He retired to become Defiant’s new General Manager and a wrestling trainer. But last November, he miraculously got cleared to return to the ring and he did so with a vengeance. First returning to Defiant, before joining the NXT UK shortly after his return. His NXT UK debut was actually in a tag match with Wild Boar (both under their real names) in a loss to the future NXT UK Tag Team Champions Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) in December. Now officially packaged as a tag team, more fans than ever will finally get a glimpse of what The Primate can do.
