Apple Watch Not Pairing without Update - CANNOT/WILL NOT UPDATE

Apple Watch is unpaired from an old phone that does not work and I have been trying to pair it with a new one. When pairing the watch it requires me to update it, when I do it says that it cannot update due to no internet connection. I have a good internet connection, and have tried two different locations. I have tried resetting the watch, the phone, etc. I have tried using only wifi with cellular turned off on my phone. The phone is up-to-date running IOS 17.5.1. It will not let me get past this step, and is rendering the watch useless... someone please tell me there is an easy fix here!!