WWE in Cardiff: Wrestling stars arrive ahead of historic clash

WWE SmackDown women's champion Liv Morgan met ChildLine staff ahead of Saturday's event

Wrestling stars have arrived in Cardiff ahead of the WWE's first UK stadium show in more than 30 years.

Saturday's Clash in the Castle event at Cardiff's Principality Stadium is set to attract about 70,000 fans.

Scottish WWE star Drew McIntyre has said he is excited to perform in front of UK fans - "the best in the world".

The wrestling organisation has announced it will fund all 12 UK Childline centres on the day of the show at a cost of £30,000.

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McIntyre said he had been learning key Welsh phrases in a language class in the grounds of Cardiff Castle before Saturday's show.

This is the first major WWE show in the UK since SummerSlam at Wembley Stadium in 1992, and McIntyre said he was excited.

"You've got the fireworks, the pyrotechnics, I come out in a kilt, my five-foot sword shoots fire and when I get out there it looks amazing," he added.

"The biggest thing is our WWE universe, our fans are so loud and so wild and so passionate, but the ones in the UK are the best in the world.

"I'm not just saying that because I'm from here. They're genuinely the loudest."

WWE SmackDown women's champion Liv Morgan visited a ChildLine centre in Cardiff ahead of Saturday's show

WWE SmackDown women's champion Liv Morgan met staff at the NSPCC Childline centre in Cardiff earlier.

She said was "in awe" of the staff and volunteers at the centre who speak to thousands of children every year.

Volunteer Annabel Achrak has been working with Childline for a year and a half after becoming a volunteer during lockdown.

She told Morgan that at first she felt very nervous about talking to the children and young people who contact Childline, but once she began the online conversation the nerves faded away and the training took over.

Morgan said she was "in awe" of the volunteers at the centre

"Once you press the 'go' button and begin talking, everything else slips away. The children and young people we speak to really need our support," said Ms Achrak.

"The children and young people we speak to really need our support. There's still a stigma about being open about their feelings, but they shouldn't be shy about how they feel.

"It's so special here."

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