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The last time I attended WWE in Dublin, things were pretty grim. It was 2018 (I think), and the upper section of the 3 Arena was closed off. The crowd was made up of a mixture of families, hoping John Cena would be there (despite not being advertised) and young adults that were indifferent to what was happening in front of them. It was a WWE product that felt ice cold.
Contrast that to today where The Quays leading towards the 3 Arena were lined with wrestling fans waiting to get into a sold out 3 Arena. It was a sea of WWE merch, not for stars of the past (Ireland can somewhat be stuck in the attitude era bubble), but for the current WWE stars. Jey Uso, LA Knight, The Bloodline and Cody Rhodes. There was a line for the merch stand literally around the entire building, something I have never seen in many years of attending WWE shows in this venue. It speaks for the surge in popularity WWE has had in the last couple of years, and will most likely get much bigger when WWE hits Netflix here in January.
The crowd was made up of a mix of families with kids, who were obsessed with Cody Rhodes, and young adults, who were equally as invested in the current stars and storylines, The Bloodline in particular was incredibly over on the night.
Naomi def. Tiffany Stratton
This was a lively opener. Naomi was kitted out in the Irish tri-colour. Credit to her for making the effort with her gear. Tiffany got a huge reaction, and it is clear that the crowd see her as a massive star. Full credit to her for managing to eventually turn the crowd on her by the end of a very good match.
Tama Tonga & Tonga Loa (with Jacob Fatu) def. The Street Profits
A huge reaction for The Bloodline here, and massive OTC chants (as hokey as the OTC phrase is) from the crowd, who were clearly extremely invested in the hottest story in pro wrestling. Jacob Fatu, despite only being at ringside, still managed to steal the show. A completely captivating wrestler with an amazing presence, and someone that the crowd see as a huge star. This was a very good match, with Loa getting the pin after hitting the move he called Ape Shit in New Japan.
Michin & B-Fab def. Chelsea Green & Piper Niven
The crowd were very into Chelsea Green and her antics. She is a fantastic live act that does everything she can to make sure you’ll remember her after the show. Piper Niven also looked great here and is someone that WWE should be doing a lot more with. We rarely see B-Fab wrestle, and she was mixed here. Some nice moments of improvement and some others where she was swinging forearms with enough space between her and her opponent to park a bus in. But opportunities to wrestle on these live events are the only way she will get better. Michin pinned Chelsea after hitting a Styles Clash.
WWE US Championship: LA Knight def. Carmelo Hayes & Andrade
It goes without saying that LA Knight was insanely over. This rematch from Crown Jewell was the match of the show, and almost as good as the one they had in Saudi. They wrestled at a fast pace, with lots of creative spots and Andrade in particular putting a strong shift in. This felt like more than you normally get from your typical house show match. Knight pinned Melo after the BFT.
DIY def. Pretty Deadly
Pretty Deadly did what can only be described as a comedy skit before the match before they were interrupted by DIY. This was a solid match with your basic tag team formula, but nothing particularly memorable. DIY won with the Meet in the Middle.
WWE Womens Championship: Nia Jax def. Bayley
The crowd serenaded Bayley with the usual songs she gets in Europe, and she was having a great time with it. Nia Jax was great with her crowd interactions too, something you rarely see in WWE’s TV environment. The match was decent, with Jax getting a very decisive win with her Banzai Drop finish.
WWE Championship - Dublin Street Fight: Cody Rhodes def. Solo Sikoa
Cody Rhodes may be the most over WWE wrestler I can ever remember at a show in Dublin. The reaction he got was insane, and you really need to experience it in person to understand just how much Cody means to this new WWE audience. He is what John Cena was to the last generation, except it isn’t just the kids that love him, EVERYONE does. This “street fight” wasn’t much to talk about. But worth noting is how much this audience seen Solo as a star. He got a massive heel reaction, again the Dublin crowd are massively invested in The Bloodline story. This was a very basic match with a couple of kendo stick shots and a powerbomb through a table, a table that got a pop on par with 1998 Steve Austin when it was pulled out from under the ring. I expected some Bloodline run ins, but there was none. Cody won with Cross Rhodes. Cody spent time after the show handing out pieces of the table and taking pictures with everyone at ringside.
This was a very enjoyable show and easily the best WWE show in Dublin that I have attended in many years.
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