Bayley becoming a GOAT and Cody Rhodes hero claim – five key takeaways from WWE Clash at the Castle
WWE Clash at the Castle: Scotland is in the record books, and there's plenty to discuss from wrestling's latest megashow.
Across two packed nights of wrestling action for Clash and Friday's SmackDown, fans were treated to a big return, a controversial finish or two, a title change and plenty more.
There was anger for Drew McIntyre after CM Punk scuppered his chances of winning the World Heavyweight Championship, but delight for Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn who did snare championship gold.
With the show done and dusted and the raucous atmosphere finally abates, here are marvelbet369.com's five key takeaways from Clash at the Castle: Scotland.
Bayley's becoming a WWE GOAT if she wasn't one already
Bayley is phenomenally popular with fans in Europe, who always give her an adoring welcome, regardless of whether she's portraying an on-screen hero or villain.
Her victory at WrestleMania in April was one universally praised as WWE giving some much needed and deserved time in the championship spotlight for one of its most revered Superstars.
READ MORE WWE
Known to be a consummate professional and diligent in trying to forward the careers of others as much as her own - such as her Damage CTRL cohort - Bayley's body of work, over the last five years or so especially, stands above the vast majority of others.
Having her defeat hometown girl Piper Niven in Glasgow was, ultimately, the right call and, as Bayley's title reign slowly starts to build and solidify, surely only good things can follow for one of WWE's top female stars ever.
WWE's patience with stories is really paying off
Under the guidance of Head of Creative, Paul 'Triple H' Levesque, WWE has vastly improved its ability to tell tales with its storylines, not least by taking their time.
Sami Zayn's Intercontinental reign, and particularly his feud with Chad Gable, might be the perfect example.
Most read in Wrestling
To a degree, it's a tale as old as time: Ego-maniac Gable has ruled the Alpha Academy with an iron fist and, soon enough, will end up alone after Otis and Maxxine Dupri eventually turn on him and say enough is enough.
We all know that's coming, and we're enjoying the ride as it builds towards that explosive conclusion - the match between Zayn and Gable at Clash at the Castle playing a huge part.
Zayn retained after Dupri failed to follow orders and hurt him, eventually ending up hurt herself. Otis opted to stick with her and carried her from danger, leaving the champ free to pounce and deal with Gable who'd been left to face the music.
Almost all of WWE's title reigns and stories are being afforded a similar amount of room to breathe, and long may it continue.
Cody Rhodes might be a hero for all
Cody Rhodes won the WWE Undisputed Championship at WrestleMania at the climax of a near two-year storyline with Roman Reigns and The Bloodline.
Fans stayed behind him every step of the way while he was thrust into the role of a Hulk Hogan or John Cena-like superhero - a real 1980s style 'good guy' that, on the face of it, seems so out of step in 2024.
More fittingly with the modern era, one or two dissenting voices vowed that, once Rhodes was claimed champion, cynical fans would soon grow tired of him.
It's a measure of Rhodes, his authenticity and WWE's booking that this just doesn't seem to have been the case. The company have staged major Premium Live Events in the likes of Lyon, Saudi Arabia and now Glasgow since his title run, plus a UK tour - and he's been adored everywhere.
Across two nights in Glasgow for SmackDown and Clash, fans sang and chanted their support to the American Nightmare who is very much bucking a trend: 'smart' fans who might feel like they should hate him, really can't.
Glasgow passes the noise test with flying colours at Clash
Following on neatly from the above point, the packed crowd in Glasgow more than played their part over the course of Friday and Saturday night.
A smaller venue and some eye-watering ticket prices had combined to make the watching contingent a little smaller than some othe recent WWE megashows, but they made themselves heard.
Granted, not all of it was clean. Much of it wasn't actually, but that was all part of the fun as the masses serenaded the likes of AJ Styles and Chad Gable with less than flattering chants.
In greeting the likes of Zayn, Rhodes, Randy Orton and of course McIntyre with a thunderous welcome, the crowd very much kept running with the baton passed to them by the likes of Lyon, France and Saudi Arabia at recent international events.
WWE Money in the Bank heads to Canada next month where more madness is likely to follow.
WWE star's win comes days after tragic family death
It was a memorable night for the Scottish stars on WWE's roster, with McIntyre and Niven both having prominent matches - but there was perhaps no more bittersweet a night than that endured by Alba Fyre.
Fyre teamed with partner Isla Dawn to win the WWE Women's Tag Team titles in a triple threat match against champs Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair, and fellow challengers Zoey Stark and Shayna Baszler.
It came just weeks after Fyre's mother was killed while visiting her daughter in the US last month, struck by a vehicle in Orlando as she crossed the street with her partner.
51-year-old Bridgeen Mitchell is said to have died at the scene despite efforts to save her, leaving her family devastated.
Read More on talkSPORT
It was heartening, then, that there was perhaps no bigger cheer across the entire night than when the crowd erupted at the sound of the three count in their favour.
Fyre and Dawn were greeted by loved ones at ringside and presented with flowers before celebrating with fans in touching scenes that really made the night.