10 Live Observations From Glasgow's WWE TV Tapings
A view from inside the Hydro, as WWE spend 48 hours North of the Border.
It's been over ten years since WWE started biannually running Raw and Smackdown in the UK in shows that have often made great events for UK crowds, but non-events in the bigger picture of WWE storylines.
However, in recent years, a conscious effort has been made to give these shows their due importance, and with two weeks to go before the 30th edition of the Survivor Series, Glasgow would play host to shows with significant ramifications for one of the company's fabled 'Big Four' events.
At a time when the country has become one of the world's wrestling hotbeds, The SSE Hydro on the banks of the River Clyde was the location for Scotland's first ever set of tapings. Spare tickets were thin on the ground, both rosters were stacked with nearly all the major talent, and even the McMahons themselves all made the flight over for the big occasion.
WhatCulture joined the packed crowds to catch all the happenings, and here are 10 Live Observations from the inaugural Glasgow 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.