WWE made it back to India after 14 years, and was organized at the Indira Gandhi Indoor stadium on the 15th and 16th January 2016. Luckily, I was in Delhi to witness my childhood dream - to watch a live match.
As a nineties kid I had grown up watching wrestling, much to the dislike of my parents. This rebellious nature made me spend over Rs. 3200 to make it to the event on Saturday.
I reached 2 hrs in advance, only to find out crazy restrictions of no bags, charger and ear phones – the three most essential part of my lifestyle. A few security checks later I was in.
The show kicked off with the WWE COO and part-time superstar Triple H with his classic “ARE YOU READY?” John Cena then apologized for his absence. The Ice was broken with the two legends and future Hall of Famers Big Show and Kane fighting it out. The match ended with Kane winning. The match, however, ended on a fun note with the referee trying to pin the Big Show.
Match 2 started as face-off between American Alpha (from NXT) and a local super star Kishan Raftar during the first half. It later ended as a tag team action after the interference of the other American Alpha and Kishan’s partner, Jeet Rama. The Indian duo took the tag team victory with the whole crowd chanting “Bharath Mata ki Jai”. The crowd was vocal to say the least.
Match 3 was a Divas action with the gorgeous Champion Charlotte defending and defeating Summer Rae. Match 4 was Ryback Vs Bray Wyatt with loud entries. This match had a guest time keeper from Red FM. Ryback clinched the win. Match 5 was Tyler Breeze Vs Darren Young from the Prime Time Players and the match was shorter than their entry. Tyler ranted on the mic ‘I don’t want to leave India as a loser’. Then came Titus, the other half of PTP and crushed him quickly enough. This made the already deafening crowd chant ‘Looser’ till he left the arena.
After the intermission, we resumed with ‘3 Man Tag Team’ action with the New Day against The Usos and Dolph Ziggler. The crowd went crazy with the standard ‘New Day Rocks/Sucks’, ‘Uhoo sooo’ and ‘Let’s go Ziggler’ chants. The Usos and Ziggler picked up the win and celebrated with the crowd.
The main event came last. It was the
After the show was over, an elderly gentleman approached me and asked,” Is the event over? What about the prize distribution ceremony?” That made my evening.
All in all I had moments to cherish and a ticket to frame. Hopefully WWE returns sooner this time. I can’t wait another 14 years.
(The author is Sanjay Ravikumar, a WWE Enthusiast from Chennai)