WWE Live, Genting Arena, Birmingham - review

A certain soon-to-be new president of the United States has appeared on WWE programming several times but there was no mention of him here, aside from a few 'Donald Trump' chants from the thousands in attendance.

Instead, another man who had been running for office across the Atlantic just hours earlier opened the show to one of the biggest cheers of the night.

Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) legend Rhyno - a self-proclaimed 'politician by day, wrestler by night' - may have lost out in the race to be elected to Michigan legislature, but he was certainly one of the most popular acts on show.

With their unique brand of sports-based entertainment, a WWE Live show feels like a stunt-based panto as the wrestlers on display teased the introduction of Rhyno until the chants for the hero reached a fever pitch and he tore into the ring to win the match in a blaze of glory.

It was a successful tactic saved for other tag bouts in the night featuring other legends such as Randy Orton and the masked Kane, while Dolph Ziggler and The Miz produced the hardcore action, with the latter going through a table in a battle for the Intercontinental title.

Although there is little to no storyline development from what you see on TV on Smackdown Live, the flip side of that is you get to enjoy more matches during the three-hour show rather than sit through too many talking segments.

When the microphones did come out - most notably in the main event between AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose - it was to bring a real feel of that TV drama to the stage as Daniel Bryan intervened and swept everyone away in a sea of 'Yes!' chants.

Styles, probably the best wrestler in the world today, and Ambrose proceeded to tear the house down and send everyone back out into the cold night with warmth in their soul.

And such is WWE's excellent relationship with the British fans, it will only be six months until they are back to do it all over again.

By Derek Bish