Luke Marsden: Bulldog spirit is alive and well as I get to grips with WWF event

Booked way before my energy bill cost me an additional mortgage payment a month, I ventured to Cardiff to fulfil a childhood dream of watching WWF (World Wrestling Federation for those old enough to remember!).
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Wigan is steeped in wrestling culture – from the amateur clubs we have to the icon that was the British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith, to the many brawls I’ve seen outside King Street at chucking-out time, Wiganers know wrestling.

I grew up watching The Undertaker tombstone opponents and I think I may have tried to chokeslam my sister in the past!

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Hosted at the Principality Stadium (very impressive venue but typical British weather prevented the retractable roof from being open) this was WWE’s first live pay-per-view in the UK in decades.

Luke Marsden meets Georgia SmithLuke Marsden meets Georgia Smith
Luke Marsden meets Georgia Smith

I may have only recognised a handful of wrestlers, but I wanted to soak up the atmosphere.

The train journey down to Wales however was the opposite atmosphere.

If you think Northern Rail is bad, wait until you sample the delights of Transport for Wales and have to stand for nearly three hours, paying over £100 for the pleasure.

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The carriages (all two of them for hundreds of people) were rammed, and the rumours are indeed true, most wrestling fans have an estranged relationship with deodorant.

One of the highlights of the trip was getting to meet British Bulldog’s daughter Georgia Smith.

She’d brought some of her dad’s memorabilia to a pop-up shop, one of his iconic union jack outfits was dressed on a mannequin.

The most bizarre highlight was watching Tyson Fury singing American Pie to 62,000 people, having just punched a WWE superstar’s lights out.