10 Live Observations From Glasgow's WWE TV Tapings

10. You Never Forget Your First

A palpable sense of excitement took over the arena as the Raw credits rolled and the pyro popped Scottish eardrums for the very first time. Experiencing WWE's flagship show live really suited Glasgow's contemporary riverside SSE Hydro, and what appeared to be a sellout crowd made themselves heard to the wrestling world repeatedly during the evening.

Among many fans, perception at the moment seems to be that 50/50 booking has created a severe hole in the Man Event. The theory goes that by attempting to elevate as many people as possible, the company have inadvertently clipped the wings of nearly all the talent instead. This accusation has been especially levied at the Raw roster, ostensibly due to the show's status as the 'A' Brand and a 3 hour run-time each week that routinely flatters to decide. But through a combination of brand new surroundings for Raw, a supremely revved up crowd, and the choice of talk over action on a promo-heavy show, the WWE sky looked positively aglow with stars.

Shaped around three identikit segments, the Survivor Series 'team squabbles then they have a match' show looks the sort that would have come across terribly most weeks, but the Glasgow crowd heaped noise (and by proxy, importance) on all the verbiage to such a degree that in the arena at least, it never once felt repetitive. For balance, it's fair to say the levels dipped noticeably for the matches themselves, but putting that to one side, a hatful of folk got meaningful and well-received promo time beyond their usual allocation, and the dreaded hour 3 apathy was nowhere to be found.