10 Live Observations From NJPW’s FIRST EVER UK Tour
9. HEAT! (Part 2)
...because the building was absolutely roasting.
Nary a seat was free inside the white hot Altrincham Ice Dome, with New Japan officially reporting the sell-out as if it were in any doubt following the most basic of head-counts. British weather unusually gifted the North West of England some record high temperatures for the travelling stars, with supporters subsequently forced to endure stifling heat that acted as the best physical replication of the immense physical acts between the ropes.
Sweat poured from wrestlers and fans alike, but memories should rightfully be romanticised should the company run even bigger venues in the future. To this day, the ECW Arena in Philadelphia is fetishised despite conditions that look less than fresh, whilst the Manhattan Center - a venue Gene Okerlund once called "a toilet" - commanded the highest-priced ticket at January's Raw 25 celebratory show.
The boiling hot ice rink probably won't rank amongst those legendary locales, but will be fondly recalled by those that experienced the frightening humidity.