IT’S 7pm at the Motorpoint. The lights dim and the anticipation builds. The music begins, and Sarah Schreiber roars into the mic, “Nottingham, are you ready?”
The Road to the Royal Rumble has ‘crashed down’ in the East Midlands to entertain a sell out crowd.
For the first time since March 2025, WWE has returned to the Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham for an action packed three hours with the biggest stars in global professional wrestling.
Such stars as both men’s world champions, CM Punk and Drew McIntyre, as well as fan favourite Cody Rhodes, and two of the pioneers of modern women’s wrestling, Bayley and Becky Lynch.
Tickets for the event were £170 for a mid range seat in the high steeped stands at the Motorpoint, fans however didn’t seem to mind the somewhat steep price tag of the tickets.
There were queues to meet the arriving stars at 2pm, and queues for the main event starting to stretch over 150 metres before the doors had even opened, a full hour and a half before the matches were scheduled to start.
“Nottingham, and Nottinghamshire in general has a massive wrestling following, so it’s no surprise really.”
Paul Macartney
“The queues were a bit mad, but the event itself was really good to watch.” said Callum Riley, a fan who had travelled from Durham to the event.
Events like these help the city of Nottingham.
With the event being one of only four during the Road to the Royal Rumble to take place in Great Britain, and the only arena in between Newcastle and London to have the privilege in England, this brings a lot of people and eyes to the city.
It is estimated that annually the arena generates over £1 billion for the local economy with areas such as hotels, local food spots and shops all benefiting from an influx of people for large international events such as WWE Live.
“It’s really good that cities other than London and Manchester get to see WWE Live.” said Paul Macartney, owner and performer for local promotion DN Wrestling based in Retford.
“Nottingham, and Nottinghamshire in general has a massive wrestling following, so it’s no surprise really.” he added.
The event appeared a huge success, with superstar Cody Rhodes addressing the crowd half way through the show, claiming to ‘need an intermission after that noise’.
