WWE ThunderDome Review: A Cool But Forgettable Experience

I had the opportunity to be one of the few thousand fans included in the inaugural WWE ThunderDome show this past Friday for WWE SmackDown. Being a huge WWE fan, Elimination Chamber back in February was the last time I was able to attend a show in person. I had tickets for WrestleMania, Money In The Bank, SummerSlam, and multiple RAW’s in between that all got refunded in some way or the other. When I saw the virtual ThunderDome fan experience, I wanted to be one of the first to get my place in the arena. I kept a close eye on WWE’s Facebook page and saw them post that the registration was open just two minutes after it opened. I was happy to find out that I had secured a spot on the show.

The experience started at 7:00pm EST on Friday. I joined the stream exactly at my call time and was immediately met with a message that the show was full. Just 20 seconds into the call time, I knew there was no way it was full already. So I exited out of the stream and re-clicked my link. Keep in mind that WWE made it adamant that the link would only work one time. This is simply a lie, as I successfully used the link multiple times throughout the night. The second time I clicked the link at around 7:01pm, I was met with a screen that I made it into the stream. After listening to some elevator like music for 10 minutes, it was finally show time.

To truly get the real fan experience, fans in the virtual arena get to watch 205 Live on Friday’s before SmackDown, and Main Event on Monday’s before RAW. So at around 7:15pm, an unfamiliar voice came on to remind us of some important rules. First, the three things that would immediately get you kicked out of the stream. These things were bringing someone else into your screen, repositioning your screen too often, and acting erotically on camera. We were encouraged to shake our hands and make motions that would show excitement for those watching on TV.

The 205 Live intro video package began showing on the screen and we were seconds away from finally getting into the ThunderDome. I wasn’t sure what to expect as far as watching the show. Would WWE make it so that we were watching the show as if we were in an actual seat in the arena, or would we get an identical view to those watching on TV at home? Unfortunately, it was the latter. We had the exact same view that those of you watching on TV had, except we had lag. I don’t mean little bits of lag, I mean severe lag. Still photos every 3 seconds with choppy continuous audio, making the 205 Live matches almost unbearable to watch.

Some immediate things that popped into my head were that WWE specifically mentioned that you had to be 18 years old to be included in the broadcast. However, front and center behind the ring was a little girl, clearly not 18 years old. Beside her was a teddy bear stuffed animal. On top of them? The same guy in 5 continuous blocks side by side. This virtual experience was not off to a good start. We sat through 205 Live and returned to the ‘waiting room’ where the same guy came onto read the same rules. It was as if he thought we were an entirely new audience. The only thing he did differently was say that if anyone included in the stream was a Nielsen TV Ratings household member, they should go turn their people meter on and make sure FOX is turned on.

He mentioned that they were doing what they could to improve the video quality and said it should be better for SmackDown. So SmackDown got underway and admittedly it was much better video quality although nothing close to perfect. During commercial breaks, we saw what would typically be shown on the jumbo tron at an arena. So advertisements about WWE Network shows, shop items, and other promotional content.

The first cool encounter came when Nikki Cross grabbed the hot mic to tell everyone watching to give her a thumbs up. She started chuckling and said that all of the superstars were energized and excited to have virtual fans. Later on we got The Miz & John Morrison to give us an exclusive one minute Dirt Sheet episode in which they claimed Stone Cold was with them (It was JoMo acting like Steve Austin). Lacey Evans made a cameo appearance where she called out specific members in the virtual audience who were wearing her shirt or not sitting up straight. Lastly, Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura made appearances to continuously say THUNDERDOME in a deep drawn out voice.

One fan interestingly noted that he saw himself on the virtual stream but was not participating. He said he was a member of the test stream the day prior but was not participating in the SmackDown show. Take a look at that below.

Hmmmm, I definitely just spotted myself in the #WWEThunderDome during #SmackDown. Thing is, I'm not on today's feed and the footage is me during yesterday's sneak peak. pic.twitter.com/tWdzJx7Czp

— Jim Velasco (@TheJimmyV) August 22, 2020

For as many people as they claimed to have been on the show, it was a bit odd that they had to repeat the same person multiple times or use faces from a previous event. I’m not sure what I really expected out of this event but I still feel like it under-delivered. I questioned after the show if it was really worth it to be included in the stream. Too often I found myself distracted during the show trying to scan through the screens to find myself. It didn’t feel different enough, or special enough, to be something that brings me back on a repetitive basis. After being included one or two times, fans will likely get tired of the experience unless they were able to spot themselves on TV.

I was actually kicked out of the stream at 8:15pm. Just 75 minutes into the stream, I was told that my time had expired. After attempting to click the link two more times, it let me back into the show again. I witnessed two others get kicked out also as one fan had an AEW shirt on and one fan brought two friends into the camera.

The video stream quality needs work. A different camera angle for those tuning in virtually would be a nice change. Even though WWE is doing little things like having superstars grab the hot mic and address the virtual crowd, it didn’t seem like enough. I am currently registered to attend both SummerSlam and RAW this week, but I’m not sure I want to at this point. The people that benefit from this concept the most are those that are watching on TV, not those that get invited into the ThunderDome. Were you in the ThunderDome? What did you think about your experience? Comment below and let us know.