Series 3 Watch Stuck in "Erase all data and reset to factory" loop start screen

My Apple series 3 watch keeps opening to a "Erase all content and settings? This will reset the device to factory defaults screen every time it turns on. I've followed the steps from older threads on this issue with no success.

I've unpaired and pressed the reset approval button on the watch, it's gone through the reset and then just returns to the same "erase all content..." screen.

I've tried pressing both crown and side button, hard boot, then when Apple logo starts pressing only the side button, but it won't show the "Erase all settings" screen.

Now I can't re-pair the watch and it doesn't show up in "find my" anymore to reset via iCloud either.

The only other thing I can get is the red ! to come up during reboot by pressing the crown during boot cycle. But it won't go to the next steps after I follow the steps found on support.apple.com/watch/restore.