The WWE came to Cardiff this weekend for what promised to be one of the most spectacular nights of wrestling entertainment the UK had seen in more than 30 years with Scotland's Drew McIntyre facing off with champion Roman Reigns for the undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
The Clash at the Castle event was held at the Principality stadium in front of a crowd of 62,000 fans on Saturday evening, many of whom had travelled from right across the UK and Europe, packing out the city's bars and restaurants.
On the streets the atmosphere was comparable to that of a Welsh rugby game as I arrived in the city with thousands of fans lining the streets – perhaps hoping to catch a glimpse of their favourite WWE superstar at one of the meet and greet events hosted near the castle.
Through a sea of lucha masks and face paint I made my way to the stadium to see if the world's top wrestling organisation, the WWE, lived up to the massive hype it had generated in Cardiff in the build-up to the event. As I headed in to Cardiff city centre one thing that became clear was just how big the show was going to be. While I have attended smaller WWE events at Cardiff's Motorpoint Arena in the past this was clearly different with thousands of people now pouring into the city to enjoy the day of festivities with giant queues for merchandise shops and people holding wrestling belts on every street corner.
This electric atmosphere on the streets carried on in to the venue where there was a light-hearted but eager feeling among the crowds. As we took to our seats in the stadium, now transformed to feature a giant castle hanging from its closed roof, the crowd began to chant and the night was under way.
There was a sense that we were about to witness something significant in the WWE universe and while I'm only a casual wrestling fan the show definitely lived up to all of my expectations, providing a night of action-packed stunts and entertainment. To open the card we saw a six-man tag team match with Madcap Moss and the Street Profits teaming up to face off against Alpha Academy. This got the crowd warmed up nicely as we headed in to a a six-woman tag-team match between Bianca Belair, Alexa Bliss, and Asuka against Bayley, Dakota Kai, and Iyo Sky.
With celebrities in attendance such as Tyson Fury, Bret Hart, and even Wales' own Adrian Street the atmosphere in the crowd continued to build. One of the biggest cheers of the night came for Irish-man Sheamus in his gruelling matchup with Gunther for the intercontinental championship. While it was eventually Gunther who came away with the win it was clear how much of a fan favourite Sheamus is to fans in the UK and he earned a standing ovation after the match was over. Other notable match-ups came in the form of Liv Morgan vs Shayna Baszler, Seth Rollins vs Matt Riddle, and a tag team match with Rey Mysterio and Edge taking on The Judgment Day.
It was the main event however that stole the show with the 62,000 fans reaching fever pitch as the Scottish heavyweight Drew McIntyre attempted to take the title from current champion Roman Reigns. It was a brutal contest that took a number of twists an turns throughout the course of the bout – not least with an entrance from boxing world champion Tyson Fury.
In the end though after much back and forth between the pair it was Roman Reigns who held on to his title, submitting McIntyre to the dismay of the deafening crowd. Fans were given some form of consolation as Fury once again entered the ring to rouse the defeated McIntyre by singing his own version of Don McLean's American Pie.
Overall the Clash at the Castle event was very enjoyable as well as being suitable for people of all ages. Aside from the fast pace and wild stunts on display one of the most stand-out features of the evening for me was the production value to the show – from the amazing visuals of the castle hanging from the roof to the fireworks and pyrotechnics.
Even though it has been 30 years since the promotion last put on a major show like this in the UK after a night where the Cardiff fans almost blew off the roof of the stadium you can bet they won't leave it as long before coming back again. I would definitely return to watch another show in the future.
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