Wrestling magazines call for swift return as Clash at the Castle praised as ‘best’ show with ‘electric’ crowd

WWE’s Clash at the Castle in Cardiff has been praised for having one of the “best” shows and crowds for a pay-per-view event in years, with the professional wrestling promotion urged to return as soon as possible.

The event took place at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, the first WWE’s first major stadium show in the UK since SummerSlam 1992 at Wembley Stadium in England.

The event on September 3 was held with financial support from Welsh Government, as part of its Major Events Strategy to attract visitors to Wales, with Deputy Minister for Sports Dawn Bowden saying in the Senedd that it would be “a massive boost to our economy.”

Wrestling Observer praised the show as “one of the best of the year” saying that it’s “going to be hard to top a show with this many great matches that was helped by one of the best crowds WWE has had in a while in Cardiff, Wales”.

The Sportster added that “the fans certainly delivered on the night. The atmosphere was electric from start to finish, with the fans not letting up at any point”.

“It gave a big fight feel to every single match, and that is something that the company needs to capitalize on now moving forward.

“It would be great to see this happen every year from now on, whether it’s in Cardiff or different locations, simply because the fan base are there to see it.”

Fansided added that Clash at the Castle “had electric energy you could feel from wherever you watched and also provided some noteworthy moments down the card”.

“There’s no question that shows in the UK should happen annually.”

The only criticism reserved for the show was that it did not allow a win for either the Irish Celtic Warrior Sheamus, or the Scottish Drew McIntyre, with some pointing back to the last WWE event in the UK 30 years ago, Summer Slam 1992, which saw the British Bulldog win.

In that vein, it was very much a second-order event that did not progress any major plot points, they said.

“That match, which was correctly praised by commentary as the greatest match in SummerSlam history, featured a clean finish and a native son winning,” Sports Illustrated said. “Those two elements were ignored in the Clash at the Castle main event.”