Just attended a 'Live Event' in England....

[rge2010]

I have just attended a 'Live Event' this Friday in my hometown of Leeds, England. I have been to Raw tapings a couple of times in the past but this was the first time I have been without cameras there. I never really understood the concept of these shows. Obviously they make the WWE money but top talent, risking injury off cameras seemed a tad stupid to me. I also think that Superstars suffer from burn out and they are on the road far too many days a year.

I have to say though the Live Event in Leeds was REALLY good. I was surprised how seriously some of the superstars took the event without the cameras there, it really was a testament to their professionalism.

I have listed a few things I noticed below but I think this one needs to stand out from the crowd. BO DALLAS IS GOING TO BE A STAR.. He cut an awesome promo on the crowd! His gimmick is a bit goofy and kinda reminded me of Kurt Angles 'American Hero' gimmick from the late 90s, early 00s'. He was extremely obnoxious and he had the crowd going! His gimmick is going to antagonise! I am now a 'Bo-Liever'!


A few pointers I noticed from being in the crowd...

• Even though the show lacked star power (no Bryan, Cena, Sheamus, Batista etc) the superstars there really put in that extra effort to make the fans happy.

• Justin Roberts is great. Just so natural on the mic. I have only ever seen him announce the entrances but he really does sell the evening to you.

• Randy Orton, face or heel is WAY over. He came to the ring just as the show started and cut a good promo. I don't know if he thinks about stuff too much when the cameras are on him, as he sometimes sounds really robotic/generic but his promo Friday was a good one.

• The Shield really are stars in the makings. Ambrose and Rollins had a PPV quality match against Ryback and Curtis Axel. The crowd even chanted 'this is awesome'.

• Ryback has really improved in the ring. Him and Rollins did some really good things together. I was pleasantly surprised how well he executed and sold. I do not think this always portrays as well on TV. As for Rollins, he just glides around effortlessly. An absolute natural.

• Rusev is a beast. Lana is stunning. She will get him over as a great heel. Using Putin in his entrance videos is seen as 'cheap' by some but it worked on Friday.

• Adrian Neville is simply incredible. This guy is one of the best 'wrestlers' in WWE. He could have some 5 star matches with Bryan, Ambrose, Rollins etc. Arguably the match of the night. Bo Dallas was very good as well.

• Barrett played the face. He was superb, and I really hope he has a strong IC Run. He has so much potential.

• Zeb Colter worked the crowd well. Called us all Scottish. He deserves much better than being associated with a mid carder in Jack Swagger. I like Swagger but I cant take him seriously. Colter needs a main event player by his side.

• Big E Langston just COULD NOT get over with the crowd. They were silent for everything he did.

• Paige was obviously over. But she is brilliant to watch in the ring. She has a massive future. Props to Rosa Mendes as well. She was involved in the same tag match and interacted with the crowd the hole time she was stood on the apron.

• Orton, Roman Reigns, Barrett and old timers Big Show and RVD got the loudest cheers of the night.

WWE takes a lot of flack on these pages but their live experiences really are something else. We can all piss and moan at the product on TV but Friday they got it right with me and my son so I say well done WWE.

I am not sure how the people who attended Glasgow, Newcastle etc feel? I assume these were very similar shows.

 

[JJ15776]

For the most part, live events are MUCH more fun to attend than TV tapings or PPVs. TV and PPVs might be a bigger deal, but they're produced for TV. Live events are produced for the live crowd. There's a lot less downtime, a lot more crowd interactions, no silly backstage stuff that crowds might have trouble seeing/hearing or don't see at all, etc. It's just a much better experience all around. That's always been the case. Any wrestler will tell you they prefer live events for the same reasons. That's why they get into the business. That's what drives the business. You don't get to this level without having a passion for the business, and you don't have a passion for the business if you don't thrive on performing in front of live audiences, with or without cameras. If everything else was equal(and it's not, TV tapings bring in the money), they would all much prefer to do every show without the cameras.

Yes, there are a lot of idiot armchair bookers who think they know a lot more than they do and like to whine and moan about the WWE and act like they could do better. You have to learn how to tune them out. The reality is they have no idea what they're talking about. They've not the slightest clue what makes for a good product, and their complaints essentially boil down to the fact that the WWE isn't doing exactly what they want them to do. When it comes down to it, you can tell who's smart and who's not(in general, not just when it comes to wrestling opinions) and it's almost always the people who sound like complete and total morons(again, just in general) that are always the ones complaining about everything the WWE does. That really says it all.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

It sounds like WWE has learned from their last set of shows where they bait and switched a lot of talent on the UK leg. Putting the titles on British/Irish talent in time for the tour is very smart, as is pushing Cesaro and Rusev and Lana.

In Barrett's case this will probably be a big week for him, I can see a big win in his "backyard" or him being up into whatever they do with the World title if they do tournament matches etc... the home town crowd in the UK will be majorly hot for him and they can use it to really elevate the IC if he can say beat an Orton/Batista or even unify the mid card titles. Likewise if they can find a way to debut Neville tonight or tomorrow, all the better.


I have been to a lot of UK shows since 1997 and they are generally a lot of fun for the memories. I remember seeing Owen and Shamrock teaming against the Outlaws and Ken botching his hot tag leap over the ramp and face planting - the year later it was NAO v LOD and my favourite moment of Roaddog's ever... Hawk grabs the mic mid match and tells Dogg he sucks, to which he takes the mic and tells "Only for money..." I got to see Perfect in his 2002 renaissance before the plane ride from hell. I got to see forgotten talents like Brakus, Percy Watson, Shawn Stasiak and while a taping is always more special for seeing historical moments the general live shows just felt more fun...

That being said, tonights RAW is gonna be a show I WISH I was at...

 

[Jay]

Glasgow event was amazing too!
Reigns and orton steel cage main event!
All performers were great with the crowd.
Orton is top quality too, pandering to all the ladies who obv have a thing for him.
Every superstar who was there put in huge effort to keep us on our toes and enjoy the show. Which they did stupendously.
My little boy had the time of his life, high 5ing Mark Henry and big show, and getting to squeeze reigns bicep! His wee face was lit up all night, and the following few days!

Thank you wwe!

 

[Fire Marshall Bill]

BO DALLAS IS GOING TO BE A STAR.

This is not something I could've ever guessed someone would say after his brief main roster run awhile back. Just awful.

I don't watch NXT though, so I haven't seen his new gimmick.

 

[salopstick]

Rge2010

My little boy aged 7 went last night as his uncle had a spare ticket for Birmingham. He loved it.

He saw the opposite show to you (your show was in Cardiff last night)

Cena v bray
Ceasro v ziggler
Sheamus v ADR
Zayn v Bo Dallas
4mb v les matodores
A divas match
Usos v Wyatt family

I've never been but to see his little face last night

 

[AJ1981]

I've been attending WWF/WWE live events is the UK for around 20 years. When I first started going you would often have travel to London to see them but I've been lucky that over the last 10 years or so that a show has been 30 minutes drive away. I've always preferred house shows to TV tapings as I've always felt they offered better value for money. You get people complaining the matches aren't amazing but the aim is to entertain the fans and get the wrestlers home safely with no injuries.
My favourite part of these shows has always been when the guys break character or goof around. On one occasion an overexcited (or possibly slightly inebriated) Ric Flair grabbed the mic before a tag match an announced before a crowd of around 8,000 (most of them children) that "if any young women aged 18 to 30 fancy a bonk, I'm staying at the Marriott Hotel on the top floor", he would then go onto let HBK pull his trunks down and expose his bum during the match (a common thing Naitch did at house shows). I remember another time it was Kane's birthday and Lillian Garcia sang "Happy Birthday" to him singing "happy birthday dear Glen...er Kane". The faces had brought a cake out for him but The Coach interrupted and he took all the faces finishers and Kane shoved the cake in his face. The only thing that annoys me at these shows is when people bring signs, there's nothing worse than getting to your seat and someone in front of you opens up a massive sign. There's no point its not on TV. But apart from that I think these shows are great fun

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

For someone who has made the (considerable) effort to attend the last 8 Wrestlemanias (and 4/8 post-WM Raws) despite living in London, I don't see enough UK shows. Part of it is to do with my job, shift work. Part of it is that I hate the O2 Arena. But I digress...

Firstly, I like WWE's rotation policy of the last few years: London hosts the tv tapings in Spring, Northern cities host them in the Autumn (Fall). It means London doesn't get a monopoly, and makes 'proper' WWE more accessible to more people. I've actually been to Raw tapings in London (twice, at the O2 in 2012 and Wembley Arena in 2006) and Liverpool (2011), and it's nice to note regional differences in the crowds as well.

I've also been to a UK-only ppv, Insurrexion 2001, where not a lot happened - they rarely did on those cards - so I prefer the Raw and Smackdown taping schedules as UK fans DO actually get to see things happen rather than watch a glorified house show nowadays.

On that, house shows are a mixed bag, I guess it depends on certain factors, but it's pot luck. I've been to two official 'live events', both Smackdown-brand, one in Belfast in 2007, one in London in 2008. The Belfast card was brilliant - all but one match was very entertaining, and the main event, Edge v Batista for the World Title, very memorable with some good spots later seen on tv. The London event 11 months later, though, was the worst wrestling card I've ever attended. Almost every match followed an identical pattern, and the main event was a dire Triple H v Kozlov title match. The entire roster phones it in and I pledged not to buy a ticket for another house show.

Reading positive reports about this week though, especially Leeds as they won't be hosting Raw in November (I'm surprised as the First Direct Arena is brand new and supposedly state-of-the-art) yet I'd like to visit that venue, so I may well rethink my boycott.

Finally, I'm very glad WWE is booking Bad News Barrett like they booked heel Bret Hart - as a face in his home country. They seen to finally get, if you give the crowd what they want, you will make money. Just a shame it took the launch if the WWE Network to make them realise that.

 

[alex_green]

I've just actually finished watching Raw live from Monday (yes it's taking me all week to watch it) And just noticed a familiar face dressed in an all pink suit within the the rosebuds from the Exotic Express of Adam Rose.

Non other than the British Comedian Lee Evans!!

Don't know if anyone else noticed it??

Just an observation that's all.