Fans pack the Toyota Center as the WWE returns

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Houston wrestling fans got a real treat Friday night as World Wrestling Entertainment returned to the Space City for the first time in 2016. Not even severe storms and large hail could deter the thousands in attendance.

Boasting an impressive roster and featuring a special super-bout between "The Beast Incarnate" Brock Lesnar and Sheamus, it was no surprise that the Toyota Center had very few seats left before showtime.

WWE is currently gearing up for its next Pay-Per-View event, the Royal Rumble in Orlando. This card has historically been the pre-cursor for WWE's flagship show, Wrestlemania.

"This one's gonna be the biggest one yet. We're hoping to break the attendance record we broke at Wrestlemania 3 with 93,000 people" says former Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens. This year's Wrestlemania will take place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on April 3rd.

A man who received one of the biggest ovations of the night, Ryback, had this to add about sports-entertainment's biggest spectacle, "It is the Super Bowl of the WWE, the World Series, everything combined into one. People from all over the world come into one place and we have festivities all week. We're going to once again outdo ourselves"

Tickets for Wrestlemania can be found at www.wwe.com.

For the fans unable to make the trip to Dallas, you can also watch the event live on the WWE Network.

WWE announced a return to the Toyota Center on April 5th for SmackDown.