Butch Teases Return Of His WWE NXT Gimmick

Butch. Pete Dunne. The Bruiserweight. Whatever you want to call him, it is hard to deny the versatility the "WWE SmackDown" star has shown throughout his WWE career. And though he's managed to engage fans as the aggressive, rambunctious Butch character on Friday nights, a new social media post from the former "NXT UK" Champion hints that we might see traits of his previous gimmick show up on the main roster soon.

Over the weekend, Butch posted a picture from his time in "NXT" as the "Bruiserweight" Pete Dunne character. The photo shows his current teammate, Ridge Holland, setting up Oney Lorcan for a slam as Dunne simultaneously kicks him. The team of Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch — two men now departed from WWE — were attacked by Dunne and Holland on the September 7, 2021 edition of WWE NXT, shortly after losing their "NXT" Tag Team Championships to MSK.

Holland and Dunne remain a duo on "SmackDown" under the tutelage of Sheamus. Collectively, they are recognized as "The Brawling Brutes," three men with the joint perspective that every night is a perfect night to brawl. They had been regularly featured on the blue brand, but were absent on this past Friday's episode, possibly setting the stage for Butch to bring back the vicious "Bruiserweight" character that held the "NXT UK" Title for 685 days. As for Sheamus and Holland, it will be interesting to see if they also receive character tweaks now that Paul "Triple H" Levesque has taken over as head of creative — his mark has already been felt on characters like IYO SKY, Karrion Kross, Scarlett, Dakota Kai, and others.