‘Scotland loves me’ CM Punk wears Celtic top to taunt rival Drew McIntyre

WWE superstar CM Punk declared “Scotland loves me” after costing homegrown star Drew McIntyre a World Championship in Glasgow.

The US sports entertainment giant presented Clash at the Castle at the OVO Hydro on Saturday night – the first ever premium live event to be held in Scotland.

Ayr-born McIntyre faced Damian Priest in the main event for the World Heavyweight Championship.

McIntyre, the first WWE Champion from the UK, has been embroiled in a rivalry with Punk since the turn of the year and lost the match due to interference from the Chicago wrestler.

Punk attended the post-event press conference wearing a Celtic top, a taunt to rival McIntyre who is an avid Rangers fan.

Punk said: “I think Scotland loves me, I really do. Maybe the biggest guy in Scotland doesn’t like me but in general people were very happy to see me.

“I’m happy to be here.”

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McIntyre received a rapturous ovation from the 11,000-strong home crowd, played to the ring by a pipe band playing Scotland the Brave.

The event broke a WWE record – the largest gate in the company’s history for an arena show.

WWE Chief content officer and former wrestler Paul “Triple H” Levesque, said when asked about more events in Scotland on a bigger scale said: “When you show up like Scotland did tonight, are we going to come back? Hell yes.

“Is it going to be bigger? Let’s see. How big can we make it? That is the challenge.”

There was championship success for Scottish wrestlers Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre, from Glasgow and Johnstone, who won the Women’s Tag Team Championships on home soil.

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Piper Niven from Kilbirnie faced Bayley for the WWE Women’s Championship but failed to capture the title.

Over 11,000 fans attended the Hydro for Clash at the Castle, following on from an event under the same name in Cardiff in 2022, the first UK-based premium live event since 1992.

Clash at the Castle full results

Cody Rhodes (c) defeated AJ Styles in an “I Quit Match” for the Undisputed WWE Championship.

Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre defeated Jade Cargill (c) and Bianca Belair (c) and Zoey Stark and Shayna Baszler for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships.

Sami Zayn (c) defeated Chad Gable for the WWE Intercontinental Championship.

Bayley (c) defeated Piper Niven for the WWE Women’s Championship.

Damian Priest (c) defeated Drew McIntyre for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

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