It’s not often that WWE lets fans into their preshow tests. You can often find bootleg footage of rare glimpses at match practices broadcast by accident or fans arriving too early and seeing something they shouldn’t. Today, WWE invited many of its fans to see such a practice, and I was among them. As part of the launch of WWE’s ThunderDome concept, WWE invited members of the press and a subset of fans to join in on a practice broadcast. Those in the dome got a first-hand view of what WWE TV may look like for the foreseeable future. Was it the revolution that Kevin Dunn promised? Probably not. Is it better than more months at the Performance Center? Almost certainly.
#WWEThunderDome pic.twitter.com/Q4TMB17tX4
— Ryan Satin (@ryansatin) August 20, 2020
The initial test began after an hour of WWE looping a montage of celebrities interacting with WWE Superstars set to My House. I mention this only to express that it would have been nice to at least have two videos at the ready and that I can never listen to this song again. The first shots fans saw did not include the crowd, as masked production assistants came out to the entrances of AJ Styles and Sheamus. This did provide a sample of the full arena entrance videos, which are the coolest part of the entire experience in my opinion. It doesn’t seem like they’re taking advantage of the opportunity in the early going, but simply having the whole ringside area pulse with a wrestler’s visuals really add to the presentation.
There were also several bits of in-ring pyro and lots of CG graphics throughout the night, as it seems like WWE is desperate to provide more of the production values that have been lost all throughout the global pandemic. For the entrances alone, the ThunderDome concept is worth all the hassle, as it will make WWE feel like the big show it’s supposed to be. Once the match starts, the whole thing goes sideways.
First look at the new WWE Thunderdome
Thoughts?
(via @BGBgroup) pic.twitter.com/UOKGO0iL8o
— B/R Wrestling (@BRWrestling) August 20, 2020
Once the wrestlers locked up, the audience switched on, and it kind of just looks like a massive Zoom call gone crazy. Squares featuring the full webcam capture of invited fans filled the arena, and the same face often filled many different seats in the same camera shot. There were also a lot of black squares throughout the presentations as fans constantly shifted in and out of view.
At one point, the camera zoomed in on a shot of a single fan clapping. It was an attempt to get those signature fan reaction shots that were all over the shows before the pandemic, but the blurry pixelated face only brought a hardy laugh to this viewer rather than any sort of human connection. That seemed to be a growing problem throughout this test, as fans were overwhelmed by what they were seeing and unable to pay attention to Jake Atlas rallying in a submission hold.
WWE ThunderDome, everyone pic.twitter.com/4cs6MxvrhL
— Ryan Satin (@ryansatin) August 20, 2020
For the matches, WWE had NXT wrestlers come out to WWE wrestler entrances, likely in order to test tomorrow’s graphics. This only further added to the disconnect, and it likely hurt any chance WWE had to test the audio portion of the experience. For the most part, the only noise in the arena was piped in cheers or boos, and I heard nothing that seemed to come from an at-home setup. This will likely change with matches that have story build around them and as viewers grow accustomed to the setup, but it should make for an interesting SummerSlam, to say the least.
After a handful of matches, the test ended without warning, booting me from my spot in WWE’s grand experiment. It’s too early to tell if this will be a disaster or a revelation, but it’s likely going to take a good few weeks to work out the kinks. That will likely make this weekend’s shows must-see TV for many fans, but not for the right reasons. The technology does work, but the many awkward camera angles and fans waving to no one, in particular, is a surreal sight to behold, and that’s coming from the home. One can only imagine what the wrestlers are going through having to perform in The Architech’s lair from The Matrix.
WWE’s ThunderDome experience will officially premiere this Friday on SmackDown.
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