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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Narin Flanders

WWE Clash at the Castle: British star Butch on why it's not just fans excited for the UK mega-show

Tickets go on sale today for what is arguably a once-in-a-generation WWE stadium event and, according to one of WWE's most prominent main roster British talents, Butch, it's not just UK-based fans who are excited about it.

Cardiff mega-show Clash at the Castle will be WWE's first stadium event in the UK since Summerslam '92 at Wembley and there has been unprecedented demand for tickets to the show which will be available to buy here from noon. More than 85,000 people pre-registering to buy them by the time they went on sale - even more than Wrestlemania, the widely-acknowledged highlight of the WWE pay-per-view calendar.

Previously known as Pete Dunne during his tenure in NXT and NXT, where he was known for long, technical and brutal Bruiserweight styled matches, he recently moved to the Smackdown roster where he is currently playing it for laughs as part of Sheamus' Fight Night faction alongside the Irish wrestler and Ridge Holland.

Having wrestled the UK independent scene for many years, this high-profile homecoming is one that has him filled with anticipation. He told The Mirror: "I have a lot of ties towards Wales, as that's where my career really took off. To go from there all the way to a stadium show is going to be something really special. For years and years and years, we've been talking about a pay per view over in the UK because we know the demand and we know how good the crowds are. It's finally happening. I couldn't think of a better place than Cardiff.

"Everyone knows how amazing European crowds are. And you can times that by ten in a place that big. So it's not just with the British guys we have over here or the European guys, it goes the whole length of the roster. Everyone's so excited for it and I can see that the audience are too. So it's exciting times."

While all eyes are on the significant amounts of main roster British and European talent who, presumably, will get prominent spots on the show - including Drew McIntyre, Finn Balor, Becky Lynch, Sheamus, Doudrop, Nikki ASH and more - like many fans, Butch is keen to see some of the less well-known UK-based wrestlers on the scene to get their time in the spotlight, although it's not yet clear whether that could be in a pre-show, a separate NXT show or them being incorporated into the main show as a whole.

He said: "We have Andrews, Eddie Dennis, Wild Boar, Morgan Webster, there's this whole bunch of homegrown Welsh talent there and I would love for them to be involved somehow.

"The dream would be me and Mark Andrews, just to really come full circle after all these years, but I don't think that's going to happen. But either way, what if some of those guys could be involved? I'm just excited to see what happens.

"I think the work that people have been doing in NXT over the past couple years, it's gone under the radar a little bit. And it'd be great for them to have their moment at some kind of takeover style event and show how hard they've been working for the past couple of years and Cardiff would be the perfect place to do it while everyone's in town."

And for those British Strong Style fans keen to see him reunited with Trent Seven and Tyler Bate for the weekend? Never say never.

"I'd love to, whether it's wrestling them or teaming up with them again. I just think that as many of us British lot that can be involved in this show the better. I think that's important too.

"As much as people want to see the Romans and the Drews and they're the ones selling so many tickets and all of that but you know how loyal the British fans are and how excited they are to see homegrown talent, that's going to be a big, big selling point.

"When you start wrestling when you're travelling through Cardiff doing independent shows in a community centre in front of 100 people, you're thinking about one day being involved in something like this. And it's actually happening. So it's very exciting."

Fans keen to get tickets for WWE Clash at the Castle had a chance to buy hospitality tickets and pre-sale tickets earlier this week for the event, which takes place at the Principality Stadium on Saturday, September 3.

After the pre-sale this past Wednesday, May 18, some fans took to Twitter in frustration as the cheaper tickets sold out quickly, leaving only options costing £250 and more.

Today sees the final batch of standard tickets going live so, fans who missed out on the cheaper pre-sale tickets starting at £39.50, get one last chance to nab one.

Click here to get tickets. Sales start at 12noon but during the pre-sales customers were admitted to a virtual waiting room to queue at least half an hour before the noon launch time.

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