NXT TakeOver London was thunderous from start to finish, with the local fans roaring with full-throat in appreciation for WWE's unofficial third brand. Adam Pacitti and I were both in attendance and our vocal chords are now utterly shredded from chanting, singing, cheering and booing. From the arrival of the Vaudevillains (dressed as Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Who, which is amazing) to the closing dark match and promo with Sami Zayn, the night felt electric and I consider myself genuinely lucky to have witnessed it live. Speaking of being thankful, HUGE props to the crowd of WhatCulture fans who found us before the show to watch Adam Pacitti singing 'Ass Man' and 'Sexy Boy' in his forfeit concet. Your perfect 10 chants were appreciated, if utterly undeserved. Incredibly uplifting to see you guys there, and big thanks for coming up and saying hi. The usual WTF moments and Things You Might Have Missed articles will be on the site soon (probably by the time this is posted), but I wanted to add my own thoughts, and share what I learned last night from being in the SSE Arena, some of which you might not have got from watching at home.
10. The British Are Passionate (And Not PG)
Well, here's one that was screamingly obvious. Over the years, the British have developed the (not always unearned) reputation for being cold and reserved, shunning grand displays of passion or exuberance. Last night, all of that was proven to be so much horsepucky with the sheer tonnage of noise that was reverberating around the SSE Arena. From inside the venue, it seemed as if there were two or three competing chants at all times, and almost no free second passing without someone screaming something. Not only were the chants relentless and loud, but there were a great many that might have given the sound editors great difficulty in trying to maintain WWE's PG rating. Some of these saltier chants included: "F*** you, Corbin. clap clap clap-clap-clap" "You're s**t and you know you are" - directed once again at Baron Corbin, The People's Champion. "F*** her up, Bayley, f*** her up" "The referee's a w**ker" "You fat bastard" - aimed at Samoa Joe. And a few choices ones aimed at Tye Dillinger, which we'll get to a bit later. For all of the mannered stereotypes of British people, stiff upper lip and whatnot, never forget that the UK is the birthplace of punk rock and, with that and our football culture, we are the crowned Kings of the en-masse expletive.
