Fan excitement as Irish wrestlers return home for streaming first

Anticipation is mounting among the thousands of wrestling fans set to pack Belfast's SSE Arena on Monday evening for a landmark event.

Back on home soil, Becky Lynch has promised to show why some regard her as "the greatest female wrestler of all time" when she steps into the ring to defend her women's title, with the showdown streamed live on Netflix.

Lynch, from County Limerick, won't be the only Irish star in the spotlight. Wicklow's Finn Bálor is set to appear, taking on CM Punk in a bid for the heavyweight championship.

But anyone hoping to witness the Monday Night Raw scripted entertainment spectacle in person may need deep pockets, as steep ticket prices for the high‑profile show have left some fans disappointed.

WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) is the world's largest and best-known wrestling company.

In 2024 it signed a deal with Netflix to allow pro-wrestling's most popular weekly show, WWE Raw, to be exclusively streamed from January 2025.

The programme had been previously shown on broadcast TV around the world for 31 years.

Since its launch in 1993, WWE Raw has aired more than 1,700 episodes, which are usually broadcast live, and is a must-watch for fans looking to keep up with the latest wrestling storylines.

Although WWE shows have been staged in Belfast before, next week's Road to Royal Rumble Tour "premium live event" has driven prices higher than what fans are used to paying, with Ticketmaster listing full price tickets for as much as £664.95.

Musician Bethany Crooks told BBC News NI that she is "really looking forward" to attending the show with her brother and father.

"I think it's going to be good. I'm really hoping that Rhea Ripley will be there though she's my favourite," she said.

She said she grew up around wrestling because her older brother was always a fan, and her twin brother went to an all‑boys school where everyone followed it.

"I was into it, then not into it, because I was a teenage girl, but over lockdown my twin and I would just sit in, drinking a beer and watching old Royal Rumble, that got me really back into it."

The 29-year-old has attended a few WWE shows in the past, but this will be her first experience of a live recording.

"I think the whole atmosphere is what makes the shows so exciting, everyone is there to have a good time and it's really palpable."

She said her family, who are from Belfast, were unable to afford the tickets at first, but managed to secure cheaper seats in the run‑up to the show.

"I think the cheapest ones [we saw] were around £414, and that's just astronomical, so they reduced them in price last week, and we got them for £110 each," she explained.

"It's still a lot of money, but it's not compared to some of them, which were like £600... Is it really worth it to go to the SSE?"

WWE fan Rich McCloy from Bushmills, who paid more than £500 for two tickets using a popular 'pay-in-three' method, said he's pleased about his seats, noting that the venue is "quite a small arena" and that he'll be sitting in the same spot where he usually watches ice hockey.

"I do think the tickets are too expensive," he admitted. "Especially if you have a family... you're going to be talking over a grand, it's not really affordable."

After the weekly hit show moved to Netflix, the 34-year-old said he "really got into it again", having first enjoyed the live shows more than 15 years ago.

Last September, McCloy and his partner attended a WWE Smackdown event in Orlando, Florida, where tickets were available for around £150, but in a much larger venue.

"We are just thinking, would Belfast be big enough to host something like this? And thankfully the answer was yes, it was... I thought it was about time to be honest."

Allister Cubitt, aged 46 from Ballymoney, will also be attending the event with his best friend Natasha.

He said he has "been going every year" since 2002, when WWE staged their first show in Belfast, and is used to paying approximately £80 for front row seats.

"The prices we wanted this time, they didn't have," he said. "I get it's live TV, but those prices are shocking."

Having been a fan since 1992, Cubbit said he is still "thoroughly looking forward to it", but he wishes they were sat closer to the action.

"I do think it will be reduced again for the next tour, it's just because it's one of their flagship shows," he speculated.

And while plenty of fans are happy to pay for expensive seats, steep prices have pushed the event out of reach for others.

"Lifelong" wrestling fan Steve Irwin from Ballymena told BBC News NI that he has been priced out of the show, describing the ticket fees as a "joke".

Irwin, his wife and children have previously attended wrestling events, but he thinks the owners of WWE are "inflating the tickets due to it being a TV taping".

"It's disappointing," he told BBC News NI.

"There are tickets available, however they are extortionate at £300 each. I have yet to see any reduced pricing on Ticketmaster."

BBC News NI has approached WWE and Ticketmaster for comment regarding fan complaints over ticket costs.

Fans in attendance will see their favourite WWE Superstars, just weeks ahead of the annual WrestleMania event.

Irish wrestlers Lynch and Bálor are set to be joined by other high-profile names like Rhea Ripley, Jey Uso, Gunther, Bronson Reed and YouTuber-turned-wrestler Logan Paul.

In a shock move, Lynch lost the Women's Intercontinental Championship to Maxxine Dupri last November, ending her 164-day reign and setting up a continued feud.

She reclaimed the title last week, which gives Dupri an automatic rematch in Belfast, and Lynch said she is ready to "take those lemons and turn them into lemonade".

"In my homeland of Belfast, Ireland, I'm going to prove once and for all why I am the greatest female wrestler of all time. It's not just me saying it, other people say it, everybody says it," Lynch boasted in a promotional video.

"Maxine, I hope you've enjoyed your time in the spotlight, because next week it ends, and you're going to have to say goodbye to the big time."

Also feeling optimistic about his performance, Bálor has said there will soon be a new Irish world heavyweight champion.

But his opponent, CJ Punk, seemed unconvinced, telling audiences last week he would "like to take the time now to apologise to the fans in Belfast when they have to watch me put their countryman to sleep".

Monday Night Raw will stream live worldwide on Netflix at 20:00 GMT on Monday, broadcasting directly from Belfast's SSE Arena.