WWE aren’t anticipating a return to it’s “regular” live fan experience events until the second half of 2021 they confirmed this week.
It’s purely speculative at this point – what with the pandemic still at large across most of the globe – but WWE Chief Financial Officer Kristina Salen confirmed on WWE’s investors conference call this week that the that WWE are envisioning welcoming fans back to live events in the second half of 2021 – which would be around the SummerSlam period of the calendar.
For the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic began, WWE are set to have ticket-paying fans live in attendance for WrestleMania 37 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on April 10-11. However, this appears a one-off by WWE, confirming that they will not be going back to their regular touring schedule following Mania.
WWE are still utilising their ThunderDome, a fan immersive experience which has seen thousands of WWE fans appear on screens in a ‘crowd-like’ setup around the ring. This setup for Raw, SmackDown and PPV’s is current inside Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, but WWE will have to move locations once the 2021 MLB season gets underway for the Tampa Bay Rays (April 2021).
March 9th 2020 was the last time WWE have had live fans in attendance at the RAW after the Elimination Chamber PPV – aside from small pockets for NXT shows. Nearly a year has passed since we’ve enjoyed live crowd reactions, atmosphere’s levelling up for high-spots and the obligatory chants we all know and love coming from the live WWE Universe. WWE have had to adjust as best it can in the last year, finding new inventive ways of delivering the same action to it’s fans.
WrestleMania will be a huge moment for WWE, live crowds are hard to replicate and difficult to ignore. The WWE Universe will be heard again at the Grandest Stage of them All, but that will only be a taster of what hopefully we can enjoy regularly in the second half of 2021.