WWE star and current NXT commentator Wade Barrett recently spoke with Sporting News about the company’s upcoming Clash at the Castle premium live event in Cardiff, and how he himself was pushing WWE to do a major show in Europe during his time as an active competitor. Highlights from the interview are below.
Says he was pushing WWE for a long time to do a major show in London or Manchester:
I’ve got to be honest with you, I didn’t see this coming at all. In my own career, I was pushing for a long time to get an event in London or Manchester, Cardiff or Glasgow, wherever. One of these big stadium shows is really difficult to pull off. First of all, there’s different laws in different countries and logistically, getting everyone over there is tough enough. The reason I thought it would be almost impossible is because I remember as a kid watching all the premium live events in WWE at midnight in the U.K. and they would end at 3 AM. That’s just the time difference. I thought to myself, they can’t have the shows in the UK because it is going be on at a strange time in the US.
Thinks Clash at the Castle will be great:
I think the world has changed now. The world has got a lot smaller with the advent of recent technology and developments. I think it’s really exciting now that the fans over in Cardiff, Wales, and across the U.K. and Europe are going to get this opportunity to experience it firsthand without having to fly all the way over to the US. I’ve been to so many WrestleManias and, when I’m there, it seems like almost 50 percent of the fans are flying over from Europe. I think it’s great that for once they’re getting the easy ride here. There will even be plenty of U.S. fans flying over to Clash at the Castle just to visit and get the U.K. experience. I think it’s great. I hope they enjoy it. It’s going to be one hell of a show.