Some of my earliest childhood memories revolve around wrestling so it was amazing to see the WWE superstars in action last night in my home city.
I was the youngest of three brothers during the golden Attitude era when Dwayne Johnson was still known as The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin downing a can of beer was without a doubt the best thing on the telly. Monday Night Raw's then-edgier brand dominated pop culture at the time, and my older brothers were the perfect target audience, so I was exposed to the wonders of professional wrestling a few years earlier than my mum would have probably liked.
However, the sheer spectacle of seeing those heroes in spandex settle their disputes in the most dramatic, extravagant and preposterous ways imaginable cast its spell on me and began a love affair that lasted throughout my younger years. I fully immersed myself in wresting fandom as I built up a ridiculous collection of WWE figures and remember depriving myself of the need for sleep to stay up to watch pay per views live.
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The fandom reached its peak when I travelled thousands of miles to Orlando, Florida with my oldest brother to watch the grandest stage of them all, Wrestlemania 24, in the flesh during an incredible trip back in 2008. My interest started to slow soon after this pinnacle and, as I got older and busier, certain hobbies had to eventually fall by the wayside and wrestling was sadly one of them.
I still maintained a fleeting interest in the main pay-per-views but I found myself thinking about wrestling less and less as old favourites I fell in love with as a kid such as Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker got older and hung up their boots.
However, I have discovered a renewed interest in the eclectic world of sports entertainment over the past year since my brothers' kids have started to get into wrestling. While it's been brilliant to see them get swept up in WWE the same way I did, it's also been refreshing to see how the world of wrestling has changed for the better since I followed it regularly.
When I was growing up, wrestling was seen as a male dominated profession as female performers were not given the same opportunities to showcase their skills or taken seriously enough to be the main draw. The WWE has now embraced a PG rating and has thankfully changed as the industry underwent a women's revolution and now superstars such as Becky Lynch and Rhea Ripley are up there with the major faces in the company.
The benefits of their increased prominence was there to see when my elated niece, Eloise, was the member of my family desperate to land tickets to see WWE Live when she found out the show was rocking up to the M&S Bank Arena. She was even more excited to find out her two favourites were actually performing on the card.
My niece is certainly not alone as a quick look around the crowd at the arena on Liverpool's waterfront was evidence of how WWE was now a show for everyone as people from all backgrounds gathered to enjoy a wonderful night of family entertainment.
The evening of eight matches was kickstarted with a fun six man tag match as Matt Riddle & Alpha Academy defeated Imperium. It was a match that provided one of those moments that could only ever take place in wrestling's squared circle as the crowd burst into rapturous applause when 23 stone Otis ripped his top off, did the worm before delivering a double elbow drop on his felled opponents.
The second match was of course Eloise's favourite as The Man, Becky Lynch, took to the ring and dispatched her opponent Zoey Stark to a huge ovation. At this point it became apparent that the favourites will likely triumph in the matches but this is a caveat that comes with the territory of being at an untelevised house show.
The WWE are in the UK ahead of the Money In The Bank pay-per-view at Wembley on Saturday and this will be when any big story shifts or title changes could happen. This removed the drama somewhat as you could accurately guess who was going to win, but it didn't mean the superstars held back on putting on a show, especially in my standout match of the evening between Cody Rhodes and Finn Balor.
The two competed in a Street Fight match, which featured daring stunts as the American Nightmare won after he executed a superplex on The Prince from the top rope through a table, which drew roars from the crowd. Despite being a wrestling fan my whole life, I have never actually been to see a show live in Liverpool and it was amazing to hear young Scouse voices getting into the show as one fan told Cody during the bout: "Smash his head in."
The Liverpool presence was felt throughout the show as announcer and self-confessed Beatles fan, Samantha Irvin, fulfilled a lifelong dream by leading the crowd with a chorus of Hey Jude. The Merseyside crowd was in strong voice all evening and they united in song to welcome World Heavyweight Champion, Seth Rollins, into the ring for the main event against Damien Priest.
The crowd repeatedly sung the hook of his catchy theme throughout the energetic encounter and the champion overcome interference from Judgement Day cronies, Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio, to retain the title and send the crowd home happy.
In his closing speech, Seth told the audience how it was "their night" and he was right as the reason for shows like this is to give people an opportunity to get up close and personal with their favourite wrestlers. The superstars were incredibly generous with their time and the setting of the M&S Bank Arena was ideal as it is large enough to stage a grand event but also intimate enough that everyone had a good view and felt part of the action.
However, my favourite moment of the evening had little to do with the wrestling as we got the chance to get a photo next to the ring during the interval. It was amazing to see Eloise's excitement as she got up close to something she had only previously seen on TV.
The wonder on her face was infectious and it reminded me of why I fell in love with wrestling in the first place. Of course, a house show in Liverpool will never have the scale of Wrestlemania - but you will never be able to beat a moment like that.
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