In the wake of news that WWE will be hosting its first UK stadium show in 30 years, the Cardiff event has set a record that beats even WrestleMania!
Back in September, Alex McCarthy of talkSPORT broke the news that WWE was planning a major return to the UK with the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales the front runner to host the event.
Formerly known as the Millennium Stadium, the venue was renamed in 2016 for sponsorship reasons, and is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it’s the home of the Wales national rugby union team and has also held the Wales national team’s football games on occasion.
WWE confirmed the news on April 12th, announcing a show for September 3rd, which is a Saturday. The announcement came in the form of a press release, which was also distributed in Welsh via WWE.com.
“WWE today announced that the first major WWE stadium event to be held in the United Kingdom in more than 30 years will emanate from Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, on Saturday, September 3, 2022.
Located in the heart of Cardiff, the capital of Wales – a cultural and sports destination with a world class record in hosting events – the Principality Stadium is a state-of-the-art, multi-faceted event destination and home to the Wales national rugby union team.”
Now, Alex McCarthy has taken to social media once again to reveal an incredible record set by the event.
“WWE tell me more than 59,000 people pre-registered for tickets for WWE’s UK PPV in Cardiff in the first 24 hours. This marks a new company record for any event – even WrestleMania! The UK is gonna go off.”
WWE tell me more than 59,000 people pre-registered for tickets for WWE’s UK PPV in Cardiff in the first 24 hours.
This marks a new company record for any event – even WrestleMania! The UK is gonna go off 🎉
— Alex McCarthy (@AlexM_talkSPORT) April 13, 2022
John Porco, Senior Vice President, Live Events, said the show will be on a par with SummerSlam 1992 – which took place in London 30 years ago.
“The weekend will be filled with a variety of WWE experiences that we believe will leave a lasting memory, on par with SummerSlam at Wembley Stadium in 1992.”
The main event of SummerSlam 1992 saw Englishman The British Bulldog capture the WWF Intercontinental Championship from brother-in-law Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart in a classic encounter.
The last time the company held any sort of pay-per-view event in the UK was in June 2003 at the Telewest Arena in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. On that occasion, ten thousand fans packed the arena to witness a main event that saw Triple H defeat Kevin Nash to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.
Fans can find information about buying tickets to this long-awaited event here.