In a fiery return to the UK for the first live stadium event in more than 30 years, Roman Reigns shocked the home crowd favourite, Drew McIntyre to extend his record-breaking dominance as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion at WWE Clash at the Castle.
As the bell rang for the main event, the atmosphere generated by the 62,000 fans under the lights of the Principality Stadium in Cardiff caused some unnerving early moments for the ever-confident Reigns, with momentum building for the British star, McIntyre in front of the rare home support.
Reigns took the upper hand with relentless pressure on his challenger before McIntyre rallied with the home crowd despite the distractions from outside forces. A late attempt from Austin Theory to join the contest was dashed by special guest and British Heavyweight boxing champion, Tyson Fury, who knocked out Theory to keep the match-up intact.
McIntyre would force the count before a late moment of controversy saw Reigns’ cousin, Solo Sikoa pull the referee from the ring and allow Reigns to finish the contest in acrimonious style. The historic win sees Reigns maintain his dominant hold over the WWE universe although the inevitable fall looks to be edging closer.
Earlier in the evening, Liv Morgan retained her SmackDown Women’s Championship with an energetic display against Shayna Baszler, while Seth Rollins raised the temperature at the first live UK stadium show in more than 30 years with a chaotic victory over Riddle in Cardiff.
The Intercontinental Championship bout saw reigning titleholder, Gunther maintain his title after a heavy-hitting contest with Sheamus, with the Irish superstar keen to redeem himself and line up another shot at the title in the near future. The controversy under the lights in the Welsh capital extended into family drama, as Edge and Rey Mysterio defeated The Judgement Day, before a brutal attack from Dominik Mysterio on his father in a shocking twist following the contest.
In the high-flying Tag-Team contests, Bayley, Dakota Kai and IYO SKY emerged victorious in their match-up with Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair, and her partners, Alex Bliss and Asuka. In a late addition to the match-card, Madcap Moss and The Street Profits took down the boisterous Austin Theory and the Alpha Academy to kick off the evening inside a packed Principality Stadium.
Fans in the Middle East can relive all the drama from the year’s WWE Clash at the Castle, with highlights available live and exclusively on Shahid.
