The WWE have returned to Manchester, and put on a “house show” (non-televised event) at the newly opened Co-op Live arena. The last show they did in this city was in April of 2023 at the AO Arena, and this show looked to be even better, due to the higher capacity and the fact that the current WWE champion would be wrestling in the main event, unlike previous champion Roman Reigns who exclusively wrestled on pay-per-view. Ticketmaster’s “dynamic pricing” system initially had the cheapest tickets priced at a ridiculously exorbitant £105, but I luckily managed to snag a last-minute deal at just over £35.
The card, and my reviews of each match, break down as follows:
Jey Uso (champion) vs. Bron Breakker for the WWE Intercontinental Title
Jey Uso’s entrance was something to behold. Seeing it on TV doesn’t do it justice; it’s a whole other experience live. It seemed like everyone in the stadium was up on their feet screaming Uso’s catchphrase “yeet”. Bron Breakker came out next and received a decent reaction, with his fans barking in support while others booed.
The match started and Jey went outside the ring to give his shades to a young fan. Bron shouted at another young fan who was standing by the barricade to get in his seat, which made the fan cry. Jey then carried the fan to the ring and they did Uso’s pose together for the crowd, which was a really cool moment and I’m sure made that fan’s day. The two wrestlers then tried to get the crowd to shout along to their catchphrases, which lasted about three minutes until they finally locked up and started the fight.
There is not a lot to write about the workrate as most of the match was just hyping the crowd and getting them ready for a night of wrestling, and it’s a smart decision to put a match like that on first. Jey Uso is a pretty sloppy wrestler but had the crowd in the palm of his hand, and Breakker is a phenomenal in-ring talent who will surely be near the top of the company in a few years. There were a couple of humourous house show moments such as Breakker stumbling around for about half a minute after being superkicked in the face, and overall it was a decent opener which Jey won to retain his title. 6/10
Andrade vs. Santos Escobar
Santos Escobar came out first and riled up the crowd. Manchester United or Manchester City, he posited? Well, to him there was only answer, “Go Liverpool.” After he’d suitably annoyed the crowd, he issued an open challenge to anyone in Manchester which Andrade El Idolo answered. The match was technically impressive with some great moments like two consecutive moonsaults from the top turnbuckle and a jumping splash to the outside. Unfortunately, matches like this are harder to follow live at a distance compared to TV, where you can appreciate the finer details. My favourite moment was when the crowd chanted, “Just sold my car, to Santos Escobar” to the tune of the webuyanycar.com advert. 5/10
Nia Jax (champion) vs. Bayley for the WWE Women’s Title, in a “Manchester Street Fight”
Before the match started, the crowd serenaded Bayley with a version of “Hey Baby” until Nia Jax screamed at them to shut up, and attacked Bayley from behind to start things off. In WWE’s “street fight” rules, weapons are legal, and Jax soon pulled a chair and kendo stick from under the ring. As she swung the stick, Bayley dodged, sending it flying and nearly hitting a front-row fan. Playing to the fans, Bayley went for a table, but her showboating backfired as Jax attacked from behind, quickly shoving the table back under the ring to loud boos.
The two brawled until Bayley knocked Nia down and wedged a steel chair wedged between the turnbuckles. After a series of reversals, Bayley turned the tables, slamming Nia face-first into the chair. Bayley then set up the table in the ring, but before she could use it, Tiffany Stratton, Jax’s friend, stormed in and hit Bayley with her Money in the Bank briefcase. This allowed Nia to land a Samoan Drop and her banzai drop finisher onto a chair, securing the win.
Post-match, Stratton kept beating down on Bayley whilst Nia tied the ref up in duct tape and kicked him out of the ring. Bayley’s friend Naomi’s music played and she rushed down to the ring to make the save. The brawl ended with Naomi and Bayley executing a double powerbomb on Nia, sending her through the table in an awesome ending that left the fans happy.
Looking at previous house shows on the UK circuit, Naomi and Tiffany Stratton had been having one-on-one matches, so either they were short on time and had to reschedule or one of the two was injured and couldn’t wrestle that night. Regardless, this match was a fun brawling affair that covered Nia’s weaknesses as she’s a poor technical wrestler. Unlike their sloppy, botch-filled match on the Bad Blood PPV two weeks before, this was a solid outing. 6/10
Gunther (champion) vs. Chad Gable for the WWE World Heavyweight Title
Immediately after the previous match, Cody Rhodes came out to the ring to address the Manchester crowd and build hype for his main event later in the evening. He stated that the WWE wasn’t just here to show off WWE champions, they were here to show off TKO champions. Given TKO is the parent company of both WWE and UFC, that could only mean one thing – interim UFC heavyweight champion, Salford’s own Tom Aspinall was in the building and got a huge reaction when he made his entrance.
Both men talked in the ring until world champion Gunther came out, and complimented both other men on being fighting champions. He then alluded to his upcoming match with Cody at the Crown Jewel PPV in November, by stating that the better man would win. Aspinall egged them on to fight in Manchester, but before each champion could consider it, Chad Gable appeared. He reminded everyone that he had done something that no one else in the arena had – competed in the Olympic games. He then challenged Gunther for his world title, reminding the audience that he wrestles “FOR AMERICA!”, drawing some extremely loud boos.
The match was amazing. Both wrestlers are two of the greatest to ever lace a pair of boots and have incredible chemistry with each other. It took a mat-based technical approach that never got boring due to the crispness and the fluidity of the strikes and holds, and the reversal sequences were extremely well done and exciting. Gunther ended up retaining his title with a sleeper hold followed by a great powerbomb. As I mentioned, technical wrestling is difficult to follow when watching from far away in an arena, but it’s a testament to how good both men are that I was thoroughly entertained throughout this contest. 8/10
#DIY & Randy Orton vs. The Bloodline in a six man tag team match
If you’ve ever seen Randy Orton hit an RKO, you have watched this match. Orton got an insanely positive reaction when he came out, with fans singing along to his theme song and cheering when he hit his pose on each turnbuckle. Then the match happened, and everyone just cheered for Randy until he came in and hit the RKO to win. The five other younger wrestlers in this match didn’t really get any shine, and it’s a shame because they have some of the most potential on the roster. Randy has nothing left to prove in the WWE so he should be taking losses to make other wrestlers look strong, especially a new heel faction where two of the members are tag team champions.
Also, Randy decided to high-five and take pictures with every fan at ringside after the match was over. That’s great for those fans, but they made the baffling decision to continuously loop his theme song until he’d finished and gone to the back. It played THREE TIMES IN A ROW before he left, in addition to the twice it played during his entrance to the ring! The next time I see him on TV I’m going to instinctively hit the mute button otherwise I fear I’ll have a traumatic flashback. 4/10
LA Knight (champion) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for the WWE United States Title
This was the match I was most looking forward to. Shinsuke Nakamura, one of my favourite wrestlers of all time, has not appeared on TV since April of this year, being used as fodder untelevised house shows. Seeing him wrestle in person was one of the main reasons I even bought a ticket. And then the match happened and… I was majorly let down.
Both wrestlers seemed like they were struggling out there, Shinsuke especially. While LA Knight tried to inject some energy into the affair, Nakamura’s ringwork and his selling felt noticeably sluggish, especially his horrendous selling of Knight’s punches to the face. The match felt like it was stuck in first gear. The crowd, initially buzzing, grew quiet, with only scattered “Na-ka-mu-ra” and “L-A-Knight-Yeah” chants breaking the silence. It’s a shame Nakamura seems to be on autopilot recently, and I can only hope he has a resurgence soon and gets the sendoff he deserves. Watching an idol fade in the ring is no good. 4/10
Cody Rhodes (champion) vs. Solo Sikoa for the WWE Undisputed Title in a steel cage
Like every main event should be, this was the best match of the night. These two had already fought each other in a great steel cage match on an episode of SmackDown the month before, and they knocked it out of the park again here. Cody Rhodes just keeps proving why he’s the world champion and the face of the company – every single person in that arena wanted him to beat the dastardly Solo and retain his belt.
It was a perfectly paced match that put Solo over as an unstoppable monster, and when Cody hit his Cross Rhodes finisher and Solo kicked out, everyone was wondering what Cody would need to do to finally put his opponent down. The tide turned when the Bloodline interfered to try and help Solo escape and win, but #DIY ran down just in time to even the odds. In the moment of the night, Rhodes hit an amazing Cody Cutter from near the top of the cage, followed by a second Cross Rhodes to earn a well-deserved victory.
This had all the elements – an unrelenting babyface who’ll stop at nothing to win, a monster heel who seems unbeatable until they aren’t, a false finish, a spot that wowed the crowd, and two performers who are complete professionals and executed everything perfectly. What it lacked in originality it more than made up for in crisp execution and crowd investment. The sort of match that would’ve had crowds cheering four decades ago, and hasn’t lost its lustre since. 9/10
I would give the event a 7/10 overall. It was fun, but I would’ve been disappointed if I paid anything above about £50 due to the lack of high points besides the world title matches. WWE’s recent financial success is driving up live show prices, especially in the UK where they tour less regularly, making it harder for fans to attend without breaking the bank. Given that the company is reportedly planning to host the Elimination Chamber 2025 PPV in either Birmingham or Manchester, and given the cheapest tickets for this year’s Clash at the Castle PPV in Scotland were selling at around £300, it looks like the average WWE fan is going to have to either save up for a while or sit it out at home. As a big fan of the company and wrestling as a whole, I’m glad I went along but I won’t be rushing to come back any time soon.
