WWE Wrestlemania Raw Revenge tour leaves you wanting more

Just like the illustrious famous soaps, WWE also offers gripping storylines and characters which have fans watching in their droves.

I have been a fan of the WWE for many years, watching the battles between Brett Hart, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker and many more avidly during my younger years.

In recent years I have spent most Friday and Saturday nights with my wife Fiona watching Raw and Smackdown as the greatest sporting soap opera in the world unfolds on our screens.

So when the chance came to see the world-leaders in sports entertainment showing off their acrobatic skills in Nottingham I jumped at the chance.

WWE, which is broadcoast in more than 140 countries around the globe, visited the Capital FM Arena as part of their annual WWE Wrestlemania Revenge Raw tour of Britain and Ireland.

The eagerly-anticipated show featured a number of the company’s biggest names such as ‘Show Off’ Dolph Ziggler, Daniel Bryan, Kane, Ryback and John Cena.

During the three hour long performance, the superstars took part in a variety of matches with the tag team belts being put ‘on the line’ along with the WWE title as crowd favourite John Cena battled Ryback in a table match to retain the coveted gold belt.

And while the action certainly kept the sold-out audience entertained and glued to the ring action, I couldn’t help being reminded of a pre-season football friendly or a taster menu at a restaurant as the WWE failed to hits the highs of their televised shows.

Perhaps expecting something similar to the televised shows when the WWE is on tour is a touch unrealistic on my part.

But, for me, the problem with taking the WWE out of it’s natural North American enviroment is that it, without doubt, loses a large dose of its glitz, glamour, drama and appeal, In short it loses all the things that make the WWE the WWE.

Like with a pre-season football match, the atmosphere was somewhat muted as a family and largely unfamliar audience struggled to get into the contests in the same way that the American afficianados do.

The ring entrances of some of the wrestlers, with Kane in particular, were also much more toned down than normal- a bit of a let down coming on the back of one of the most memorable Wrestlemania’s ever just three weeks before.

Too often the event deviated away from it’s traditional televised Raw and Smackdown styles, with 6ft 7in powerlifters being reduced to pantomime villans rather than professional athletes and the team of Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow ending the night covered in John Cena’s birthday cake.

But, that said, it was impossible not to be impressed by the sheer power, athleticism and fitness levels of the superstars, with each drop kick, choke slam and clothelines being hugely appreciated by the crowd.

Like any good pre-season football match, WWE Wrestlemania Revenge Raw really whets the appetite.

It leaves you anticpating and dreaming of what it must be like to watch a pay-per-view event in America with thousands of screaming fans and a night of intense drama. It leaves you wanting to come back for more.