'I watched one of Netflix's most popular programmes be filmed live - here is what I thought'

It’s not every day you get to see one of Netflix’s most-watched programmes being filmed live - but then there really isn’t anything like WWE.

Where else can you high-five the main characters during the show? I’m not sure Lee Jung-jae being keen on one during Gi-hun’s fight to survive Squid Game. 

Where else is it acceptable and not annoying - ok, maybe a little annoying - to shout ‘wooooo’ over and over again? It would sort of kill the mood in a tense moment of Stranger Things.

But this is WWE Monday Night Raw, one of the longest-running television shows in the world, and all of the above is not just perfectly fine but actively encouraged.

As fans file into bp pulse LIVE in anticipation of the night's action, the ‘wooooos’ ring around the arena like a Mexican wave in tribute to wrestling legend Ric Flair - they have done for decades - and are occasionally replaced by a ‘YEAH!’ or a ‘YEET!’ for current favourites LA Knight and Jey Uso.

Another time-honoured tradition for wrestling crowds since the heady days of the ‘Attitude Era’ when The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin ruled the roost is the home made sign.

In the late 90s and early 2000s (the cool kids among you remember), you couldn’t see the crowd on your television screens for all the signs supporting the heroes and decrying the villains of the day.

Tonight, it is the aforementioned Knight and Uso, as well as Rhea Ripley, CM Punk and Roman Reigns who are the subjects of these signs, cheered to the rafters by fans of all ages dressed in luchador masks - mainly for one of tonight's star attractions, Penta - and an array of t-shirts honouring their favourites.

WWE superstar under fire after making 'cheap' Ozzy Osbourne joke at bp pulse LIVE in Birmingham

And there-in lies the magic of professional wrestling (or sports entertainment, as WWE has coined it) - though there have been many changes over the years, the fans remain at the heart of what makes this special.

The way we watch these days is different - try telling teenage me sneaking down in the middle of the night to catch the Royal Rumble on Channel 4 that he would have the whole WWE library at his fingertips through the touch of a screen.

The heroes may also be different - it’s not your nan cheering on Big Daddy and hitting Giant Haystacks with her handbag any more, it’s not people pledging to say their prayers and eat their vitamins for Hulk Hogan and it’s not rebellious teenagers putting their middle fingers to the sky in support of Steve Austin.

However, nan is still there, the kids are still there and those rebellious teenagers - though some a little older - are still clinging on to their punk youth thanks to a new band of characters.

It remains family entertainment and that is why Netflix have paid a lot of money to get WWE on their streaming service, with Raw - the company's flagship show - a weekly presence on TV screens since 1993.

Now, a quick point of order for those uninitiated in the world of WWE.

Raw and its sister weekly show Smackdown - which itself debuted in 1999 - portray the latest storylines and matches each week.

You get 'promo' - trash talking - segments as well as matches, with each show plotting the journey to even bigger shows, which tend to be run on a monthly(ish) basis - the biggest of them all being WrestleMania every April.

These shows were formerly known as pay per views - because that's how you accessed them - but with the advent of streaming services have become known as premium live events, or PLEs, in WWE speak.

And this episode of Monday Night Raw from Birmingham was fully focused on this Sunday's big event across the Channel, Clash in Paris.

Right, back to Birmingham where thousands were gathered to see what Reigns had to say about his opponent this Sunday, Bronson Reed, and what would happen between the four participants of this weekend's world heavyweight championship match - Knight, Uso, Punk and champion Seth Rollins.

What you don't see on Raw are the 'dark matches' before the show - though these are often aired elsewhere on a show called, somewhat ironically, Main Event.

These not only warm the crowd up, but allow wrestlers to shake off the ring rust if they are not in action on the Raw broadcast.

We were treated to Kairi Sane taking on Lyra Valkyria as well as Joaquin Wilde against the mysterious, dastardly and very funny El Grande Americano, though the Birmingham crowd claimed to know who he really is - I won't spoil it, but if you watch WWE regularly you probably already know... or do you?

And with that time had ticked round to 8pm, the live start time for tonight's broadcast.

It's not just viewers on Netflix who get the increasingly iconic 'tudum' as a show comes on, it reverberated around the arena too. Then the cameras were live and the show under way.

The two Sams - the Blues and Villa fans who were pictured at multiple WWE events earlier this year, read about it here - were back in the front row in their team colours, and the crowd had their finger in the air for Reigns to open the show, serenading him time and again to the tune of Daddy Cool by Boney M.

Once Reigns is interrupted by his rival Bronson Reed and former manager Paul Heyman, the crowd are in full swing with some classic British chants such as "who are ya?" and another one beginning with "w" that I won't repeat here.

The pacing of the night's show was pretty good in the main - after that long promo segment to start, we got a couple of excellent matches between JD McDonagh and Dragon Lee, as well as Kofi Kingston and Penta.

And this is where you get to peak a little behind the curtain of what is going on during the broadcast - because while those at home are watching advert breaks, the live crowd is still there witnessing the action.

If we are between matches, the lights go down, a video plays on the screen and the wrestlers in the ring stay loose ready to reactivate when the cameras come back on - think The Truman Show (another reference there for those who enjoyed the 90s) in real life.

If the match is going on in the ring when the broadcast cuts to an ad break, it is a little more seamless as the wrestlers slow down the action for a moment, ready to go full throttle again.

The former can sometimes spoil the atmosphere. After a huge pop for Rhea Ripley ahead of her match with Roxanne Perez, the wait to get the action started let the air out of the building like a balloon and the wrestlers had to work really hard to get the crowd back onside. Thank goodness Ripley is a huge star - her reaction on a par with Reigns.

But by the time the main event rolled around and descended into the sort of glorious chaos only WWE can produce, everyone was back on the feet - and, after the broadcast went off the air, were sent home happy by Jey Uso.

- WWE airs live on Netflix in the UK, with Monday Night Raw and Friday Night Smackdown each week - with Clash in Paris also taking place this Sunday from 7pm.

- Limited tickets remain to remaining WWE Live shows in Manchester, Cardiff and Leeds this week via Ticketmaster.