WWE ‘ThunderDome’ Won’t Fix The Company’s Creative Issues

WWE has announced a new “interactive experience” for its TV programs, Raw and SmackDown, and its pay-per-views, one that will serve as a faux fix for its underlying creative issues.

The company revealed in a statement on WWE.com that it would be utilizing a new concept called “ThunderDome,” which it called a “state-of-the-art” concept, beginning with this week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown: “WWE ThunderDome, featuring a state-of-the-art set, video boards, pyrotechnics, lasers, cutting-edge graphics and drone cameras, will take WWE fans’ viewing experience to an unprecedented level starting this Friday, Aug. 21 on FOX, kicking off SummerSlam Weekend.”

After news broke last week that WWE would be moving out of the Performance Center, the company also confirmed that ThunderDome’s new home will be the nearby Amway Center, writing, “With the debut of WWE ThunderDome, WWE will take residency at Amway Center in Orlando and virtually bring fans into the arena via live video on massive LED boards.” WWE’s decision to move its event tapings out of the Performance Center and into the Amway Center is a direct result of WWE wanting to create a better atmosphere for its shows, which the company almost certainly will do with all the bells and whistles that will come accompanied with the ThunderDome.

But that’s all this move is, right? One giant blob of bells and whistles.

Let’s preface this by saying that WWE’s “Performance Center Era” has undoubtedly hampered the quality of its shows. Viewership for both Raw and SmackDown has plunged to record lows since WWE began hosting both shows from the PC back in mid-March, and there’s little doubt that the monotonous, if not downright boring, atmosphere established inside the PC has played some role in the downfall of WWE’s ratings. But as AEW—which has done a considerably better job of maintaining its audience during the Covid-19 pandemic—has proven, the circumstances resulting from the pandemic don’t have to doom a pro wrestling company to failure or even disappointment.

Although WWE—which is making a fairly minimal financial investment with its to move to the Amway Center—is hyping the “WrestleMania-level productive value” inside the ThunderDome, the lightning-quick downward trajectory of WWE’s viewership stems not from a lack of sizzle or spectacle but mainly from one thing: A lack of quality.

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The real issues that have plagued WWE over the past six months have nothing to do with giant video boards, fireworks or lasers—and everything to do with the lackluster overall quality of its product. During the Performance Center Era of shows, WWE has had its bright spots, for sure, like the advancement of Sonya Deville, the greatness of Bayley and Sasha Banks, an impressive run for Drew McIntyre and the resurgence of Randy Orton. But by and large, the company has had more swings and misses since March, like the Extreme Rules pay-per-view that critics have labeled arguably WWE’s worst PPV ever, the disastrous RETRIBUTION angle or the trying-way-too-hard Raw Underground, which didn’t help Raw’s third hour viewership in week two and even former WWE stars have criticized for its inauthentic nature.

The list of failed storylines WWE has done over the past several months would read about a mile long and also includes the booking of the Raw Women’s title at Extreme Rules and beyond, Montez Ford’s “poisoning,” the continued misuse of talented midcard stars like Mustafa Ali, the entire feud between Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt, the Sheamus vs. Jeff Hardy rivalry that was widely criticized (even Hardy himself said it made him “extremely uncomfortable”), the plight of stars like Aleister Black and Shayna Baszler, the comedic booking of The Miz and John Morrison or the inability to capitalize on fan support of Naomi. WWE did respond to its creative and viewership woes by relieving Paul Heyman of his duties as Raw Executive Director back in June, but if anything, that move only exacerbated the true issues that have hampered WWE.

Heyman was a well-known supporter of WWE’s up-and-coming talents, and now that he’s out as Raw’s creative head, the red brand’s issues with its up-and-down booking have only gotten worse, with more of a focus on the stars of yesteryear (Shawn Michaels, MVP, Orton, Ric Flair, etc.) and less eyes on stars like Ali, Black and Baszler. Those problems have extended to SmackDown as well, where the focal points of the blue brand are still the same stars who’ve long cemented themselves as top talents: Strowman, Wyatt, AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy and Alexa Bliss, among others. Focusing on proven talents isn’t always a bad thing when the booking is on point, but—and no surprise here—that has rarely been the case, outside of rare exceptions like Deville vs. Mandy Rose.

Despite Heyman’s removal as Raw Executive Director and Bruce Prichard taking the reigns of WWE’s creative process alongside Vince McMahon, WWE’s solution to its plummeting viewership hasn’t been to put a concerted effort into taking the necessary steps to improve that process. Instead, it’s more of the same: Throwing outlandish storylines (RETRIBUTION and Raw Underground, for example) at the wall to see what sticks and then splashing some colors and bright lights over Raw and SmackDown to mask the shows’ real issues.

Here’s the thing: You can give a car a shiny new coat of paint, but if its engine doesn’t work, what good does that do?

That same logic can certainly apply here. Yes, WWE should be revamping its TV product by moving out of the Performance Center and altering the production elements of Raw, SmackDown and pay-per-views to make them more appealing. But the harsh reality is that, much like Raw Underground or RETRIBUTION initially create a buzz that quickly fades away, the same will ultimately prove to be true of the new, over-the-top ThunderDome concept if it doesn’t come accompanied with what WWE really needs: Better booking.

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