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During the pandemic era of WWE, the company has had to get creative. Initially broadcasting weekly shows and events from the WWE Performance Center, they then moved to the Amway Center in Florida to begin a residency in what they dubbed the WWE ThunderDome.
WWE started broadcasting from the Amway Center in August 2020. Fans were able to join the experience by applying to be a member of the virtual crowd online. WWE's residence at the Amway Center is soon to come to an end, and the company is due to move to Tropicana Field in St Petersburg, Florida this month.
The time that WWE spent in the Amway Center this year has been eventful to say the least, and here are five of the most memorable moments from that era of programming.
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#5 Bayley finally turned on Sasha Banks
Bayley and Sasha Banks dominated the spring and summer at the Performance Center. Appearing on both brands as WWE Women's Tag Team Champions, the pair were not short of rivals, most notably Asuka and Kairi Sane.
They won the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships from Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross in May of this year, and Sasha Banks was often on hand to help Bayley retain her WWE SmackDown Women's Championship.
Cracks started to show in their relationship through the summer, though. This began to escalate by the time WWE moved to the Amway Center, and the pair's ability as a team began to suffer. They then lost their tag belts to the team of Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax at Payback, leading to even more animosity between the two of them.
They finally came to blows a week later on SmackDown. They lost a rematch against Baszler and Jax, and following the contest Bayley set upon Banks with a steel chair. The blowout between the two was one of the biggest moments of the year, and had been a long time coming.
#4 Sami Zayn became the undisputed WWE Intercontinental Champion
Sami Zayn was one of the WWE superstars who decided to stay at home during the early pandemic era of programming. At the time he made the decision to take a break, the performer was a few weeks into his reign as WWE Intercontinental Champion.
Due to Zayn not being able to defend the title, WWE decided to strip him of the belt and established a tournament to decide the next holder of the Intercontinental Championship. The tournament was eventually won by AJ Styles, but he was dethroned by Jeff Hardy thirty-seven days later.
Sami Zayn then made a shock return to WWE in late August with his WWE Intercontinental Championship, claiming to be the real champion. This then lead to a three-way feud between the three stars, which was settled at Clash of Champions in a Triple Threat Ladder Match.
After a wild bout that even lead to Jeff Hardy getting cuffed to a ladder by his ear, Sami Zayn was the one who managed to scale the ladder to reach the belt and become the 'undisputed' Intercontintal Champion.
#3 The transformation of Alexa Bliss
Fans were surprised when Alexa Bliss became entangled in the rivalry between The Fiend and Braun Strowman. Bliss was first featured in the feud when she appeared as a ghostly figure calling out to Strowman during the Swamp Match at Extreme Rules in the summer.
This then carried on in the Performance Center, where Bliss and The Fiend seemed to have a strange connection. This was also driven by Strowman turning heel and attacking Bliss with a Gorilla Press.
The storyline then continued when WWE moved to the ThunderDome in the Amway Center. Over the weeks, Bliss appeared manic and was flipping between acting like her usual self and a strange, previously unseen persona that was fixated on The Fiend.
Bliss began wearing dreadlocks in her hair bunches, and pushing away her friend Nikki Cross, as well as performing the Sister Abigail during matches. The alliance between Alexa Bliss and The Fiend was well and truly cemented when she joined him after a match against Kevin Owens on SmackDown.
Since then, Alexa Bliss has been a regular fixture of the Firefly Funhouse, and accompanies the Fiend to the ring.
#2 Sasha Banks became WWE's new SmackDown Women's Champion
During an intense rivalry with her former best friend and tag team partner, Bayley, Sasha Banks set her sights on the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship. The pair came to blows after they lost a rematch for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships to Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax, and Bayley turned on Banks.
The pair traded vicious promos against one another, and often attacked one another on episodes on SmackDown. A title match was set between the two on SmackDown, which ended in disqualification.
Following this, Bayley played the classic cowardly heel, avoiding Sasha and the prospect of a title match at Hell in a Cell and only signed the contract when forced to.
The pair finally faced off at Hell in a Cell, in what was potentially the match of the night. After a bout that was comparable to their classic at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn in 2015, Sasha Banks finally lifted the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship, and was the one to end Bayley's record-breaking title reign.
Banks later managed to defend the title in a rematch, and looks set to have a lengthy title reign.
#1 Roman Reigns' return to WWE
At the start of 2020, Roman Reigns was pitched to battle it out against Goldberg for the WWE Universal Championship. However, after the pandemic hit the United States the star made the difficult decision to take a break from WWE just before WrestleMania weekend due to his immunocompromised state, following his leukemia battle a few years prior.
The match was then changed to Braun Strowman versus Goldberg, and Strowman managed to defeat the Hall of Fame inductee on the first night of WrestleMania 36. Strowman then dropped the title to The Fiend at SummerSlam following a lengthy feud throughout the spring and summer, that even involved Alexa Bliss.
Fans were shocked when Roman Reigns appeared at the event, sporting a new look, and with Paul Heyman as his advocate. The return of Roman Reigns was completely unexpected, and was possibly one of the biggest moments in WWE so far in 2020.
Reigns wasted no time in becoming WWE Universal Champion, and wowed fans with his performance alongside his cousin Jey Uso during their feud. Currently, Reigns is establishing a rivalry with former WWE Champion Kevin Owens.
