The sports industry remains one of the most negatively affected amidst the pandemic. Once lockdowns were being implemented, many sports were forced to take a break. Fast forward a year later, there is a fast move back to normalcy. The WWE is also getting ready for it’s return to live events but, as a result of the state of the world, the promotion had one of it’s most innovative creations: The WWE ThunderDome.
When the lockdowns were put in place, WWE was fast on it’s track to WrestleMania 36. With the wrestling giant’s biggest event of the year in jeopardy, the promotion had to come up with a plan – fast. All WWE events were moved to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. All shows would be behind closed doors. Following that, performance center recruits were placed as the audience for the weekly programming. Although fans were happy to still have some weekly wrestling, there was clearly still a desire from fans who wanted to feel involved. This led to the creation of the WWE ThunderDome Era.
The WWE ThunderDome was launched in August 2020, and it served as a way for fans to attend WWE events virtually during the pandemic. This was done by means of a videoconferencing crowd system and arena staging for the Raw and Smackdown shows and pay-per views. It works by users signing up days before an event, signing in and joining at their allocated call time to be seen on a screen at the event in real time. Joining the WWE ThunderDome is free of charge and, as it is virtual, allows anyone from anywhere in the world to be a part of the experience.
The ThunderDome was hosted in three arenas in Florida starting with the Amway Center in Orlando. Following that, WWE ThunderDome moved to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. This was before eventually finding a home in Tampa at the Yeungling Center. The innovation has received appraisals and accolades including the “Virtual Fan Experience” award at the 2020 SPORTEL Awards, as well as the “Best Tech Innovation During the COVID-19 Pandemic” at the 2021 Cynopsis Sports Media Awards. A similar set-up was launched for WWE NXT in October 2020 and that was called the Capitol Wrestling Center. Now, short of it’s one year anniversary, it is all coming to an end.
Although fans are highly anticipating the WWE’s return back to live events, there is also an appreciation for what the ThunderDome provided for fans at that awkward stage. The WWE ThunderDome Era is certainly one that won’t be forgotten for a while. WWE are set to head back on the road from mid-July, starting with the July 16th edition of SmackDown emanating from Houston, Texas.
For more visit Talking Points Sports.
For tickets to the return of WWE live events, click here.
