Drew McIntyre expressed his satisfaction with the success of the Clash At The Castle event in the UK and discussed his efforts to convince WWE management to host a show in the UK for years during a recent interview with Under The Ring. McIntyre had been pushing for a UK-hosted WWE event, confident in the passionate fanbase’s support and the financial potential it offered for the company.
McIntyre revealed that he had been consistently urging management to consider a stadium show in the UK, knowing the fervor of the UK fans and their willingness to turn up for a performance that was uniquely theirs. Initially, logistics were cited as a challenge, but when WWE started doing super shows in locations like Australia, McIntyre felt it was time to reevaluate the idea. He saw the success of international shows and believed the UK deserved a similar event.
Finally, McIntyre’s efforts paid off, and he was thrilled to be part of the significant stadium show, Clash At The Castle, in the main event. The response from the UK fans was overwhelming, and McIntyre appreciated the opportunity to hear the passionate crowd in attendance.
“Man, it feels good to be right. I don’t like to say I told you so but…. I had been harassing management for many, many years. When it came to the stadium show in the U.K, I’ve always known the passion for the UK fans, I knew that they would show up if they were getting something that was theirs and I know financially how good it would be for the company. Obviously that’s not my [place], it isn’t for me to say, ‘We should just do this’ because I don’t understand the logistics and that was the excuse I got initially. But when it got to the point where we were doing super shows in places like Australia, suddenly things like logistics and time difference raised my eyebrow. I said, ‘Okay, we really should be looking at this.’ Eventually, I heard rumblings of the conversation of [the UK] maybe getting a stadium show and eventually, I was able to get involved and speak to the government. It was so cool to finally get a significant stadium show at Clash At The Castle, and also to be in the main event and to hear the fans.”
Speaking about the significance of international success for the wrestling industry, McIntyre emphasized how WWE’s popularity had surged across the world. With shows selling out in various countries, including Puerto Rico and the UK, he stressed that WWE’s global fanbase was thriving. McIntyre believes this international success sends a message to US fans to step up their support, or WWE might consider taking more shows to other parts of the world. The goal is to have passionate fans filling every venue they visit, not just outside of the US.
“Then to see every show afterwards, seeing the TV [tapings] selling out left and right and just in general, the product across the world, WWE is so hot right now selling out all over the place. You get big shows in places like Puerto Rico and the UK, to see how passionate the fans are, hopefully shows the US fans [that they] better up their game or we may start taking our shows elsewhere across the world. We want to hear that kind of noise in every single building we go to, not just somewhere outside the US.”
Overall, McIntyre’s relentless pursuit of a UK-hosted WWE event proved fruitful, and the success of Clash At The Castle showcased the fervent support of the UK fanbase.
How important do you think it is for WWE to host more international shows like Clash At The Castle to cater to their passionate global fanbase? Leave a comment.