WWE comes back better than before

The world leaders in sports entertainment were back in town as part of their ongoing tour of the UK, which also included live recordings of the WWE’s flagship Raw and Smackdown shows.

And this year’s Nottingham show was bigger and better than before, with a stronger card of superstars and improved participation with the audience making the night a much more memorable experience for all.

The last time I went to see the WWE in Nottingham, the card was puncuated with too many non-event matches made up on relatively unknown wrestlers such as Zak Ryder and even former referee Brad Maddox, who was beaten in seconds by Curtis Axel.

It made the night feel like being at a pre-season football friendly or watching a match in the early stages of the JPT. Something just didn’t work.

But, on this occasion, the WWE offered the paying public much better value for their ticket money as they wheeled out a variety of big-name supserstars such as

Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, Alberto del Rio, Ryback, Curtis Axel, the delightful A.J. Lee and the true face of the WWE John Cena.

The show got off to a solid start with the popular Prime Time Players defeating Unico and Camacho in the opening match.

And the momentum of the show flowed nicely throughout with the three hours of high-flying stunts and athleticism simply flew by.

Ryback and Alberto del Rio’s both played the bad guy superbly well, with Ryback ripping up home made signgs of young kids at ringside standing out in the memory.

Another pleasing aspect was how the show mirrored the storylines of Raw and Smackdown, a perfect examply being when CM Punk was jumped by The Wyatt family, before being rescued in dramatic fashion by Daniel Bryan.

Yet, as good a night as it was, I couldn’t help feel that the WWE could do more to help the family audience they target their shows at by reducing the rip-off prices of the merchandise they work so hard to push.

The WWE is a great night out, but not for the bank balance of parents.