WWE heroes wow crowds at Resorts World Arena Birmingham where first timers got a treat to remember
Growing up I remember watching WWE stars such as Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin, John Cena, The Rock Dwayne Johnson to name a few battle it out on the TV. So, heading to the Resorts World Arena, Birmingham last night (April 17) I was wondering how much wrestling had moved on since that era?
I brought my nephews along with me. For them it was a first experience of live wrestling. They have seen clips on social media and were sort of familiar with the WWE stars of today.
The arena was packed to the rafters for the sold out event - a perfect welcome to the world of Wrestling. There was such a huge age range in the arena too. From little kids, to teenagers, youngsters in their 20s and all the way through to the adults who grew up with those legendary names of the past.
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The ring was set. The lights dimmed down. We got our first competitor walk out and the room erupted as their walk-on music began. First up we saw Sami Zayn take on GUNTHER, Finn Balor, and Chad Gable.
This was a great first fight to kick the evening off with Gunther, Finn and Chad all putting up a good defence. But Sami took the win in the end.
Next up a power house female two-on-two battle between Natalya & Tegan Nox and Zoey Stark & Shayna Baszler. With lots of takedowns, big moves and clever tactics, it made for a great match.
One sour note saw Tegan sustain an injury during the fight. Despite that setback Natalya and Tegan secured the win.
At this point, I didn't think the evening would get any better but it immediately did with the introduction of Jey Uso to the ring. The crowd went absolutely nuts. His walk-out song erupted and everyone broke out into his YEET dance.
I had never seen anything quite like it. It was like I was in a real life TikTok video with everyone in attendance singing along and doing the dance. Drew gave the match his best shot but Jey took the win. After many take downs he finally landed one which made it to the three count.
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The action then stopped for a15 minute interval giving the crowd time to catch their breath. We didn't move from our seats as the kids didn't want to miss anything. They were hooked to say the least.
We then saw WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Damian Priest defeat Kofi Kingston and Ricochet defeat JD McDonagh. Not to mention Becky Lynch defeat Piper Niven. This was a small vs mighty match-up and had plenty of twists and turns.
Finally, the main event of the night; the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Cody Rhodes took on Shinsuke Nakamura.
All night the room had been going crazy as soon as they heard any of the walk-on songs fired up. But as soon as Cody's song came on the atmosphere seemed to swell to a whole other level.
Given the noise and excitement in the room could be forgiven for thinking Beyoncé or Taylor Swift had entered the arena. But for the wrestling fans, this was certainly the equivalent.
Cody and Shinsuke battled it and Cody took the win with an awesome takedown which lasted three counts. The move earned him the win and ensured he remained the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.
I just couldn't get over how people in ringside seats swarmed to the fencing along the ring walk out as soon as they heard the names of the wrestlers coming out to fight and then again to get close to the winners.
I lost count of the number of screams and OMG's I heard from youngsters and adults who had their hands touched or got a photo with their favourite wrestler. There aren't many places you can go and see this kind of live performance and get the chance to see the stars close up. There really is a magic that comes with WWE.
My nephews had a fantastic time too and were completely fixed on the action unfolding before them. They also loved getting involved with the chanting, singing and dancing. It was a first WWE experience to remember for them, and I don't think their last.