5 big changes we've seen with WWE's empty arena shows at the Performance Center

The coronavirus pandemic has affected virtually everyone around the world and WWE has had to take a big hit in overall revenue, ticket sales, and WrestleMania. Despite this, there have been quite a few changes that we've seen.

WWE decided to shift its shows to the Performance Center in Orlando - a building that has turned out to be one of their best investments in over 40 years. There was a lot of reluctance and skepticism, with many arguing that WrestleMania should be postponed and WWE should hold off on taping shows.

It might come into effect rather sooner than later as rumors have emerged of WWE possibly being forbidden from having another taping as per the government law. Despite what happens, there's no doubt that March will prove to be a historic month for WWE.

---

#5 WWE's adaptability

The pandemic that we're living through has led to all major sports organizations canceling their respective leagues and tournaments or postponing them. WWE has an incredible track record with RAW and SmackDown, with their flagship show running over 27 years straight without a break. It's rare to see soap operas run that long, let alone a show that runs 52 weeks in a year.

WWE has had to face many situations of adversity before, but this was unlike no other. They were forced to shift all their major shows to the WWE Performance Center in front of an empty arena.

One would think that WWE television would lack the same effect without an audience and while that is true to some extent, there's no denying that the circumstances have proved WWE's overall adaptability to different kinds of situations. This may serve to help them in the long-run.

#4 A 2-day taped WrestleMania 36

In the live episodes of RAW and SmackDown in the Performance Center, it was noticed that the commentators had subtly stopped using the word "live" for WrestleMania 36. It was after this when PWInsider reported that WWE will be taping WrestleMania.

For only the second time in 36 years, WWE announced that WrestleMania would be two nights and the catchline was "Too big for one night". However, the actual reason behind the decision to hold a 2-day taped WrestleMania was to ensure that they could get the show over with and avoid facing any potential hassle around early April, especially given the unpredictability of the spread of the pandemic.

Moreover, another reason behind WWE's decision to host a 2-day WrestleMania was to reportedly follow the social distancing protocol. The shows were taped in two different venues with two different crews and it was a better option logistically.

Either way, a taped WrestleMania is hard to imagine and even the company wouldn't have predicted that they would be forced into this situation.

#3 A big overhaul in the WrestleMania card

With the coronavirus pandemic spreading the way it has, WWE has had to keep the health of the talent as the utmost priority. Roman Reigns, who was scheduled to face Goldberg for the Universal Championship, had to pull out of WrestleMania 36 relatively late due to health concerns.

He reportedly wasn't feeling too well during the live tapings and given his history with leukemia, he belongs to the category of people more vulnerable to the coronavirus. It was reported that WWE had given the talent an option to withdraw from the card and it was revealed that Dana Brooke was quarantined and so was Rey Mysterio - both of whom were supposed to be in title matches.

Andrade was then replaced by Austin Theory at the last minute and it seemed to go down south for them. The SmackDown Tag Team Championships match saw Miz allegedly pull out and from what we hear, the titles were defended in a non-tag team match. This is just an outright bizarre situation with many changes.

#2 The Undertaker's new gimmick

The Undertaker has been The Deadman for most of his career, minus a small gap between 2000 to late 2003 where he was 'The American Badass' and then 'Big Evil'. The Deadman is his most iconic gimmick and it was a huge success when he returned, but despite his longevity, everything has a shelf-life.

The Undertaker was booked to face AJ Styles at WrestleMania 36 and the 2-time WWE Champion 'exposed' him and his alleged dependence on his wife Michelle McCool - who had never been revealed as his wife on-screen before that.

In the first episode of RAW in the Performance Center, The Undertaker came out with a complete appearance change and it indicated a change in gimmick. All reports have indicated that it was a change wanted from WWE and The Undertaker and after 7 years, there's finally a sense of excitement about what The Undertaker could do.

While The Undertaker's matches aren't as highly-anticipated anymore, it has raised a lot of interest in what direction his character could go in.

#1 The evolution of promos?

This is one of the biggest takeaways from WWE's empty arena shows in the Performance Center. While crowds make wrestling as great as it is, this is a different time and WWE has been forced to adapt accordingly.

However, what we didn't expect is for the quality of promos to shoot through the roof. We've generally considered this current roster the best from an in-ring standpoint, but it's clear that previous generations have had far better promo work.

The promos cut by superstars such as The Undertaker, Randy Orton, Edge, Kevin Owens, etc. were all fantastic in their own right and felt fresh without hearing the crowd chant "What?" after every line.

We believe that these Performance Center shows have made WWE realize that there's a certain style of cutting promos that could work and we could be seeing a major transition in the way promos are cut and taught to trainees. It could result in an incredible product overall.