Kurt Angle makes shock appearance at WWE Live, Arena Birmingham - review
From adversity came light - from illness came one of WWE Live's best Birmingham moments in memory.
With superstar Roman Reigns laid up with a viral infection, World Wrestling Entertainment turned to one of its greatest performers of all time to send the fans home happy, and boy did they succeed.
The Olympic gold medalist and WWE hall of famer Kurt Angle shocked the Second City by teaming up with Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins to triumph in the main event of the night.
The whole tour had been built around the reunion of the legendary stable The Shield, so when Reigns fell ill, WWE were left in a quandary and came out fighting, giving their fans a moment they would never forget.
Angle had not wrestled a WWE Live show in 11 years and just once on television since returning to the company back in the spring, but he did not miss a step as he German suplexed, Ankle locked and Angle slammed his way to victory with the other two-thirds of The Shield, Ambrose and Rollins, against Samoa Joe and tag team champions Cesaro and Sheamus.
That match alone would have been worth the ticket price, but there was plenty of other stellar action on the card.
Home favourite Pete Dunne defended his UK Championship against another Birmingham boy Dan Maloney and looked every inch the star he is tipped to be in the future.
There was great women's action featuring the likes of Asuka, Sasha Banks, champion Alexa Bliss and Bayley (complete with wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube men for her entrance).
The night opened with an excellent match between Finn Balor and Bray Wyatt while the legendary Kane clashed with fellow behemoth Braun Strowman, leading to bent chairs and broken tables.
Another legend of the squared circle, Matt Hardy, took on The Miz for the Intercontinental Championship, and even the other less-heralded matches on the card featured superb action from a locker room bursting with talent from top to bottom.
WWE have set the benchmark for what they can achieve with a live show - hopefully they can match that when they return to Birmingham in May 2018.
