WWE SmackDown Live

Manchester Arena

THREE and a half hours of non-stop wrestling action slammed into Manchester Arena on Tuesday night.

Wrestling fans, young (and older), were in for a real treat as Superstars from WWE SmackDown Live came to the venue for a night of drama in the ring.

Hot on the heels of WWE Raw, which the arena hosted on Monday evening, Jinder Mahal attempted to defend his WWE Championship against AJ Styles in the evening's huge main event.

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But the man mountain was defeated by popular wrestler AJ, much to the delight and whoops of the crowd.

Randy Orton (pictured below) and Rusev competed in a high-stakes contest, with a spot on the SmackDown Men’s Survivor Series team on the line for The Bulgarian Brute – which he eventually lost.

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Becky Lynch (pictured below) defeated James Ellsworth in a battle of the sexes. Things have rightly moved on since the ‘90s when I would watch wrestling and the girls – such as Sensational Sherri and Elizabeth – main function seemed to be appearing on the arms of the fellas.

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There was also tag team action, entertaining confrontations from the likes of The New Day and a host of extra matches featuring 205 Live – WWE’s cruiserweight division.

The brand’s visit from the US is a real treat for fans who are used to seeing their favourite WWE Superstars on the small screen - my 10-year-old’s cousin’s delighted reaction to the show was testament to this.  

As with all events of this nature, the tickets do not come cheap but this show gave more for your money than most. It started at 7pm and finished just before 10.30pm, with no interval – I’ll bet there were some sleepy schoolchildren across Greater Manchester on Wednesday morning!

Even some of the merchandise was (shock horror) reasonably priced, with a range of official T-shirts costing £10, along with some pricier ones.

The next big night on the WWE calendar is pay-per-view event Survivor Series, taking place on Sunday, November 19, which fans can enjoy knowing Manchester, England, played its part.