WWE made history on Saturday night as 62,000 pro wrestling fans packed the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales for “Clash at the Castle.” This was the company’s first stadium show in Europe since SummerSlam 92 (from London’s Wembley Stadium) and delivered plenty of memorable moments for sure, but the official press conference that followed created plenty of headlines in its own right. Thankfully, Muscle & Fitness were in prime position as WWE champ Roman Reigns demanded acknowledgment, boxing champ Tyson Fury looked to step back in the ring, and three of the nights biggest winners told M&F what it takes to be the best at what they do.
Roman Reigns Demands Acknowledgement
To the complete and utter shock of most in attendance, Roman Reign’s maintained his hold on the WWE title picture when he pinned Scotland’s Drew McIntyre with the help of some outside assistance from the “The Tribal Chief’s” cousin, Solo Sikoa. Reigns, who is the longest tenured WWE Universal Champion of all time, and the Undisputed Champion to boot, may have left Cardiff with his 2 belts, but his pride took a major hit when the crowd turned on him, offering up soccer style chants like “who are ya?”
Speaking at the official post show press conference, Reigns was still visibly upset to have been rejected by the pro McIntyre crowd, and demanded that The Daily Mail’s reporter, Alex McCarthy give him his flowers. “I think I’d rather you do, what they wouldn’t do,” said Reigns, standing up to make his point. “Acknowledge me,” he demanded. Then, when McCarthy acknowledged the WWE champ, he turned around and exited the press conference, leaving the media to laugh nervously, while the journalist looked relieved not to have been superman punched.
During the main event clash between Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre, the WBC heavyweight boxing champion appeared at ringside, and at one point knocked out Austin Theory as he attempted to cash in his “Money in the Bank” briefcase. After McIntyre took the loss in the show’s main event, Fury stepped into the ring to cheer the Scottish Warrior up with a familiar rendition of American Pie. Fury then accompanied McIntyre to the post show press conference, already viewed by more than 1 million people across WWE’s social media platforms, where the boxer spoke of a love for WWE and a desire to wrestle there again. The “Gypsy King” also answered a question from Esquire’s William Mullally, confirming that he does intend to put the gloves on at least one more time.
“Usyk was calling me out after his last fight with Joshua, I’ve replied, I said let’s do the fight this year, wherever they want to do it,” said Fury. “I’ve been waiting for offers from countries to come forward, and all of a sudden Oleksander Usyk has stated he doesn’t want to fight anymore. He wants to fight next year, not this year, so I’m not going to wait around for anybody. I’m going to be announcing a fight next week.” If his recent tweets are anything to go by, Fury is hoping to tempt former heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua back into the limelight.
Yo @anthonyjoshua what you saying big G let’s give the fanz what they want as Usyk is bitching???
Of course, drama is par for the course in the WWE Universe. You don’t get to hang for very long in the wild world of pro wrestling without holding a sincere passion to be the best. Not only did wrestlers like Seth Rollins, Gunther, and Liv Morgan pick up wins in their respective matches at Clash at the Castle, but they also immersed themselves in Cardiff days before bell time. From autograph signings to parties organised by sponsors, all the way through to charity and community work, the gang hardly took a breath before thrilling the United Kingdom. I wanted to ask how they manage to perform at such a high level while dealing with so many outside demands, and offered up my respect after watching the most spectacular WWE show in Europe for 30 years.
“Well thank you very much for that, first of all,” said Seth Rollins. “But second of all, it’s our privilege. You know, putting in the work is our privilege, to be able to get the opportunity to come out here and to perform in front of sixty-plus-thousand people, tonight and every single week across the entire country and the globe when we go on tours and stuff like that. It’s honestly our privilege to be WWE Superstars, so the work is part of the process and you know, we can talk about how hard it is or how difficult it is and all that stuff but at the end of the day dude, we’re up here living our dreams man. This is our dream. We’ve loved this for years, most of us for our whole lives, so the fact that we get to go out there and perform, we get to do these charity events, and inspire people to chase their dreams the same way we were able to chase ours, I mean it’s hard work but there’s not a second that’s not absolutely worth every bit of it.”
WWE Smackdown Women’s Champion, Liv Morgan, who defeated Shayna Baszler at the Clash, shared Rollin’s sentiment. “I feel like this business is something that you wouldn’t be able to do unless you absolutely loved it with every single fiber of your being,” she said. “And, when you love what you do, it doesn’t necessarily feel like work, you know?”
WWE’s Intercontinental Champion, Gunther pinned Sheamus after a brutally physical contest on Saturday night. While undoubtedly feeling the effects of an intense contest, he concurred. “I agree with both,” said the big Austrian. “I think (Liv’s) point especially makes sense. I don’t know anyone that’s stayed in the business for a long time that didn’t really have a deep passion for it because if you don’t have that, then it’s not for you.”
You can watch the entire post WWE Clash at the Castle press conference by clicking here!
