WWE has officially confirmed huge plans to reintroduce fans as part of a state of the art experience for all shows.
Starting with Friday Night SmackDown on August 22, the company is promising to give its audience a whole new way to enjoy their televised events with the ThunderDome.
WWE is moving from the Performance Center to the Amway Center – still in Orlando, Florida – and there are massive changes in place as the promotion gets settled into its new home for Raw, SmackDown and pay-per-views.
With a fresh, state-of-the-art set, video boards, pyrotechnics, lasers, cutting-edge graphics and drone cameras, it sounds like these events will look like nothing we’ve seen before.
Kevin Dunn – WWE’s Executive Vice President, Television Production – commented: ‘WWE has a long history of producing the greatest live spectacles in sports and entertainment, yet nothing compares to what we are creating with WWE ThunderDome.
‘This structure will enable us to deliver an immersive atmosphere and generate more excitement amongst the millions of fans watching our programming around the world.’
The debut of ThunderDome – coming this week to kick of SummerSlam weekend – will coincide with WWE’s move away from its training facility, where it has held shows since March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The technology – which comes from The Famous Group – will see a virtual return for fans via live video on big LED boards.
Starting tonight, fans can register for their virtual seat to be part of upcoming shows via www.WWEThunderDome.com or at WWE’s Facebook, Instagram or Twitter pages.
Brian Flinn – WWE’s Chief Marketing & Communications Officer – added: ‘As WWE takes residency at the world-class Amway Center, we have reimagined our live event experience for today’s environment.
‘In partnership with The Famous Group, we will virtually bring our fans back into the show and recreate the interactive in-arena atmosphere that has been a staple of WWE events for decades.’
The company has also confirmed the Amway residency will be produced ‘on a closed set with only essential personnel in attendance’.
‘WWE will continue to administer its health and safety protocols for talent, crew and employees in conjunction with each production, including PCR testing for COVID-19, social distancing and wearing masks,’ they added.
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