And with the D\u00e1il closed down for the summer, where better to reconnect with the histrionics and phoney cut and thrust of public engagement than at the WWE SmackDown<\/a>? <\/p>\n Said nobody, ever. <\/p>\n Yet here we were, utterly bewildered, in Dublin<\/a>\u2019s 3Arena, gawping for almost three hours at the madcap antics of hugely famous professional wrestlers while a souped-up capacity crowd howled appreciatively at their scripted lines and choreographed moves. <\/p>\n A friend came along for moral support. He isn\u2019t into WWE either but he agreed to go. <\/p>\n \u201cI like anything camp\u201d he declared.<\/p>\n SmackDown is huge and this episode was extra special to Irish fans because it was being broadcast live on Netflix<\/a> from Dublin for the very first time. <\/p>\n Fuelling the pumped-up atmosphere was the presence of wrestling superstar John Cena<\/a> \u2013 on the farewell trail before he retires after next Sunday\u2019s \u201cClash in Paris\u201d extravaganza.<\/p>\n Last week, the cheapest ticket available for the Dublin leg of this short European tour cost \u20ac366. The Liffeyside venue, with a capacity of up to 13,000 people, was sold out. <\/p>\n Devotees willingly added to the expense at the merchandise stalls where the T-shirts (\u20ac45) were flying out along with shiny championship belts (\u20ac35) and sweatbands (\u20ac25).<\/p>\n Dedicated fans of this bizarre world are forensic in their knowledge of its rules and moves, its stars and their back stories. <\/p>\n There were broadly three types of spectator: young children and teenagers enthralled by flawed heroes and pantomime villains and their laugh-aloud cartoonish violence; the bemused mammies and daddies forking out for the fun; and the adult afficionados \u2013 the largest group on the night and mostly men \u2013 thoroughly immersed in the scene. <\/p>\n It\u2019s good, clean entertainment (foul language notwithstanding) and a special night out for the kids. The avid interest of the adult cohort is a little harder to fathom, given that the matches are part-choreographed and part-improvised and the wrestlers are part of a promotional soap opera forever running in the background.<\/p>\n The hardcore wore vintage T-shirts from wrestling slams past in the way rock fans wear old concert merch as a badge of honour. Viking beards were much in evidence. <\/p>\n We met sisters Saoirse (13) and Fiadh (10) with their parents Eva and Ross. The family travelled from the village of Tower, which is just west of Blarney in Cork. The SmackDown event was \u201ca back-to-school treat\u201d for the girls, said Ross. <\/p>\n They love their wrestling and have their own championship belts. \u201cThat\u2019s the intercontinental belt\u201d explained Saoirse. Her favourites include Dominic Mysterio and Cody Rhodes. Fiadh likes Jey Uso and Seth Rollins. <\/p>\n Do the wrestlers ever get hurt?<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe sometimes, some of them,\u201d said Fiadh. <\/p>\n Saoirse, who started in secondary school that morning, said she only likes it when an actual wrestler gets injured. Good call \u2013 the pros don\u2019t usually get hurt but they make a marvellous meal out of pretending to be in agony. <\/p>\n Cody Rhodes is the current WWE champion and reigning King of the Ring. He was a no-show. <\/p>\n This was due to an unfortunate incident earlier this month when Drew McIntyre, \u201cThe Scottish Psychopath\u201d, hit him a wallop with the title belt. McIntyre then targeted Rhodes with a signature \u201cClaymore kick” to the head while he was writhing in agony.<\/p>\n They are now officially feuding.<\/p>\n Roady Codes, or whatever, is also away filming the new Street Fighter movie. <\/p>\n There are some big Irish stars in the business. <\/p>\n Veteran Sheamus opened the action with a singles bout against Kit Wilson, who was dressed in very fetching blue and silver sparkly tights with matching blue and white sparkly opera gloves. <\/p>\n The crowd gave Sheamus a deafening welcome. <\/p>\n These lads don\u2019t just wrestle. They also talk a lot, mainly bad mouthing each other, often at considerable length. <\/p>\n Insulting rivals is called \u201cheeling\u201d. Commentators analyse this as much as the moves. Sheamus made a nice speech and said how great it was to be back in Ireland. Then he led the audience in a somewhat random chorus of \u201cOoh ah Paul McGrath\u201d. <\/p>\n He has orangey red hair and wears little green wresting trunks. They have a circular motif on the front where Conor McGregor\u2019s codpiece would be. <\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s a Claddagh ring,\u201d said our friend and lover of all things camp. \u201cThat must be sore.\u201d<\/p>\n No. We now know it to be a depiction of the Ouroboros, an emblematic serpent of ancient Egypt represented with its tail in its mouth, continually devouring itself and being reborn from itself.<\/p>\n Kit was striking some lovely poses on the ropes. <\/p>\n \u201cThis is the gayest thing I\u2019ve ever seen. And I\u2019ve been to Sitges,\u201d exclaimed our friend, referencing the Catalonian town. But it was early days and he had mostly changed his mind by the end.<\/p>\n Anyway, we thought Sheamus was done for when lovely Kit kicked him in the Ouroboros and he could hardly walk.<\/p>\n Somebody held up a poster. <\/p>\n \u201cSheamus for president!\u201d<\/p>\n The chant went up. \u201cLet\u2019s go Sheamus! Let\u2019s go Sheamus!\u201d<\/p>\n So he punched Kit in the head. <\/p>\n Another poster went up. <\/p>\n \u201cPints!\u201d <\/p>\n A flurry of pretend punches to the head. \u201cOne, two, three, four, five\u2026\u201d The crowd, well used to the drill, counted along.<\/p>\n \u201cDad, look, there\u2019s Hulk Hogan<\/a>,\u201d shouted the little boy beside us. And there he was, a man in full Hulkster attire with the long white hair and white droopy moustache over a thick black beard.<\/p>\n There was a poignant moment to remember Hulk, who died last month<\/a>. A member of the WWE Hall of Fame appeared on the big screen to say a few words. The retired star\u2019s name flashed up: The Undertaker.<\/p>\n Entertainment all the way.<\/p>\n Thing is, each time the screen cut to an image of Hulk Hogan, the crowd booed. What was going on?<\/p>\n We asked the two young lads sitting behind us to explain. One said he may have been a racist or \u201csomething like that\u201d. <\/p>\n Hulk Hogan left behind a leaked sex tape, strong charges of racism, a devotion to Donald Trump<\/a> and all sorts of other controversial stuff before he died.<\/p>\n Not that the kids knew or cared. They were in WWE heaven, merched up to the eyeballs in sweatbands and belts and baseball caps and having a ball screaming their lungs out. <\/p>\n![\"WWE](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/M5Z4SKR5ERAO5ITZXWGB24JKYU.jpg\")
WWE champion Cody Rhodes. File photograph: WWE\/Getty Images <\/p>\n