Well established amongst devotees of the limited WWE UK product up to this point, Mark Andrews and Joe Coffey were selected because they were such safe choices for the historic opening spot. But ultimately perhaps, a little too safe.
The match had the benefit of a red hot and extremely generous crowd and was still guilty of playing to silence on occasion, but it only took a Butlins-style holler to the crowd from either to raise the spirits in this particularly loud new corner of the WWE Universe.
Coffey’s eventual victory with an enormous discuss lariat was almost entirely as a result of brother Mark’s repeated interference as Andrews attempted to peel off another aerial assaults. A distinct lack of greatest hits from his enjoyable arsenal was the clear missing piece for the show's supposedly grand entrance.
A save from further beatings came in the form of a Flash Morgan Webster run-in before either Coffey could cream Andrews further, and though a potential tag payoff doesn't feel overtly grand, the reason for such a thing to exist was at least established later in the show.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
