NXT UK TakeOver Blackpool II: 5 Ups And 3 Downs

Ups...

5. The UK Crowd

Look right, if you know then you know. British wrestling crowds are the absolute best anywhere on the planet, and the only reason The Raw After WrestleMania has such a ferocious reputation is because it's the one time of year we manage to get into a WWE show en masse. We get into the pub a few hours beforehand, sing our hearts out for the lads, and fully throw ourselves into the spectacle of it all.

WWE desperately wants Sports Entertainment to be treated like it's actually a sport? Then why not do a 'Big Four' PPV in a country that already treats it as such?

From the outset tonight those in attendance of the Empress Ballroom (a venue that, itself, should get an Up) were on fire. From the chants they came up with, to the entirely unironic support they gave the stars, they made an already quality night of pro-wrestling feel like the most important show of the year. It wasn't, of course, but for something that's supposed to be a spectacle they at least gave it a sense of one.

Sadly for those chanting "are you watching Vince McMahon??" the answer is a painfully emphatic, "no, pal".