Wrestlemania 36 Without An Audience Is A Surreal Mess According to Fans

According to fans, WrestleMania 36 is a surreal mess without an audience. The global coronavirus pandemic has upended Hollywood productions, with numerous delays of highly-anticipated blockbusters and temporary theater closings. On the television side, shows have had their seasons disrupted. The sports world has been similarly changed, as Major League Baseball joined with the NBA and the NFL in suspending their activities. Professional wrestling, which combines the physicality and athleticism of sports with the storytelling of Hollywood, has tried to continue running its events to mixed results.

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This has been most evident with WWE. For close to a month, the company has aired episodes of Raw and Smackdown from its training facility in Orlando, Florida. Known as the Performance Center, the facility is typically used to prepare the next generation of WWE superstars. Starting in mid-March however, as social distancing guidelines have been implemented all over the world as the result of COVID-19, the likes of John Cena and Becky Lynch have continued building up to this year’s WrestleMania without the crucial presence of live audience members. WWE’s decision to move ahead with WrestleMania 36, across two nights, has been criticized on a number of fronts.

CM Punk, who has returned to WWE as a part-time contributor for WWE Backstage, has gone on the record saying that the event should have been postponed. This sentiment has been echoed by viewers and analysts alike, who feel that continuing WrestleMania without a crowd devalues its history. To make matters worse, the show has been plagued by last-minute changes. Roman Reigns asked to exit his marquee match with Goldberg for the Universal Championship because of coronavirus concerns. Another title match was altered on the fly after The Miz was pulled from participating, reportedly due to illness. All of this chaos and more has added up to one weird WrestleMania, according to fans.

Comparisons to Blumhouse’s output of horror films and the Evil Dead franchise might not seem ideal, but the first night of WrestleMania has gotten great reviews online. While many have noted the weirdness of an empty arena wrestling event, particularly for the biggest night in all of wrestling, many WWE viewers appreciated the fact that the two-night structure has allowed matches time to breathe and develop. Most bouts, such as Kevin Owens vs Seth Rollins and the triple threat ladder match for Smackdown‘s tag titles, were praised for their high-quality. The main event between AJ Styles and The Undertaker has been cited as a particular highlight, which took advantage of the night’s unusual setup. The weirdness itself has, predictably, resulted in plenty of memes and viral moments as well.

There are definitely lessons to be learned from the recent experience of running shows at the Performance Center. Interview segments and in-ring confrontations have been especially compelling, without the worry of playing to a crowd that can often be restless and disengaged. Still, given that WrestleMania already taped, and the second part will air tonight, WWE should seriously weigh the possibility of going on hiatus. The risks associated with continuing as normal, under these circumstances, are far too significant.

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