WWE legend Triple H shocked fans when he made a surprise appearance at a wrestling event in Cardiff.

He appeared at a Bonfire Night event to praise the work of UK based company Insane Championship Wrestling to chants of "this is awesome" from the crowd.

"I was expecting a good show but wasn't expecting Triple H to show up at all," 25-year-old Rhys Thomas, who was in the audience, tells Newsbeat.

"That was a massive surprise."

Triple H was introduced to the ring by Mark Dallas, the founder of the ICW, after he first brought rising British WWE star Pete Dunne out for the crowd.

"The fans thought he was joking," says Rhys.

"Triple H's music hit, he walked out from the curtain and the roof blew off the place. It was unbelievable."

Triple H, who has been part of the WWE since 1995, praised the role smaller organisations like ICW have in the wrestling industry.

"The truth is, this is where our business starts," Triple H told the crowd.

"That's where you see it grow, that's where you see it start and that's where you see it boil up. I appreciate you guys supporting it."

Triple H was in Cardiff as part of a WWE event which was taking place on the same day at a larger venue in the city.

His WWE commitments prevented him from meeting with fans after the ICW event, but for people like Rhys, seeing him in the ring was more than enough.

"He is wrestling these days," Rhys says.

"He is the head of the biggest wrestling company in the world."

And as a fan of smaller companies such as the ICW, Rhys says it's important for rising talent that people like Triple H take notice of their work.

"Without the grass roots organisations, there is no WWE," he says.

"Triple H has really embraced that and he's really reached out trying to help these smaller companies."

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