SummerSlam Headed To Orlando

[Doom]

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

This year's WWE SummerSlam is now likely headed to the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida.

Multiple sources have confirmed that location is the one currently on the schedule which includes all talent which had to book travel into Orlando. Internally, the Amway Arena has been said to be the planned location.

It is expected that when the decision is finalized, an announcement will be made.

As previously reported, WWE was looking at a Northeast location to bring the August 23rd show to with Atlantic City, NJ, as the prime target.

The plan was made to get SummerSlam, traditionally one of their biggest shows of the year, out of the WWE Performance Center. At this point, there will not be tickets sold for the show and the any audience members will remain WWE contracted talent.

For that weekend, WWE has already booked the go-home edition of SmackDown to air live from the Performance Center with NXT TakeOver XXX also airing live the next night from the Performance Center.

It's great to see WWE finally moving away from the Performance Center to have the PPV in Orlando.

 

[Chris]

What happened to the beach/boat come on Vince

 

[Vegeta]

BAIT AND SWITCH!!


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[Cwalker]

I love how the show is in 9 days and they have no idea where they’re holding it lol

 

[Chris]

I love how the show is in 9 days and they have no idea where they’re holding it lol

Not like they gotta worry about fans buying tickets they can change it day off

 

[Carter]

Thought it was being held in Orlando, but not at the PC?? freakin hell vince.

 

[Sabretooth]

Well it’s not a bad idea since the Amway center is super close to the performance center. I actually saw Raw at the Amway center in January 2019. Twas a good show. Mr John Cena made an appearance

 

[Vegeta]

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[Carter]

Hope they have a virtual crowd as reported like in baseball, that would be sweet.

 

[Mitch Buchannon]

It's great to see WWE finally moving away from the Performance Center to have the PPV in Orlando.

I love how you unironically said this


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[Buffy]

Like that would make a difference.

 

[Messiah]

Glad they're moving away from the PC. That's stale as fuck.

 

[Keith]

They've basically chosen one of the worse hit States in America. That's pure WWE gold right there.

 

[Jimmy King]

WWE Turning Orlando’s Amway Center into ‘WWE ThunderDome’

Sunday’s “SummerSlam”—and the rest of the company’s shows for the foreseeable future—will take place at the building WWE is now calling the “WWE ThunderDome.”

www.si.com

WWE has made it official: This Sunday’s SummerSlam is taking place at the Amway Center in Orlando.

WWE will also take residency in the Amway Center for the foreseeable future, holding Raw, SmackDown, and pay-per-views in the building, which will be rechristened the WWE ThunderDome.

Kevin Dunn, WWE’s executive vice president of television production, confirmed the news to Sports Illustrated.

“When people think of WWE, most think of the spectacle that we are, but it was just impossible to put on a spectacle in the Performance Center,” said Dunn. “Moving to Amway, and unveiling the ThunderDome, the opportunities are limitless.”

The new setting will be unveiled this Friday on SmackDown, complete with pyrotechnics, drone cameras, and video boards.

“We can now do things production-wise that we could never otherwise do,” said Dunn. “We’re flying drones in the arena, we are putting a roof inside the Amway Center, and we’ll be able to project content onto the roof. So when a big star like Drew McIntyre comes down to the ring, the whole arena will turn into his content with lasers, pyro, smoke, projections on the top of the building and on the floor. It will be a big, beautiful entrance, better than WrestleMania.”

WWE programming has missed the energy provided by a live crowd, and the shows at the Amway Center will feature virtual fans via live video on LED boards. WWE has partnered with the Famous Group to enhance its in-arena atmosphere, an element that has struggled amidst empty arena shows during the pandemic. Beginning during Raw, people may register for their virtual seat at www.WWEThunderDome.com.

“Like the NBA, we’re doing virtual fans, but we’re also creating an arena-type atmosphere,” said Dunn. “We won’t have a flat board, we’ll have rows and rows and rows of fans. We’ll have almost 1,000 LED boards, and it will recreate the arena experience you’re used to seeing with WWE. The atmosphere will be night and day from the Performance Center. This is going to let us have a WrestleMania-level production value, and that’s what our audience expects from us. We are also going to put arena audio into the broadcast, similar to baseball, but our audio will be mixed with the virtual fans. So when fans start chants, we’ll hear them.

“We start on Friday on SmackDown, and it will be a learning experience. We have two days of testing, and we’re going to practice like hell, then we’re off to the races. We may have fans for certain entrances, standing up and cheering for the typical babyfaces. But someone like Bray Wyatt, who is so character-driven, the entire Amway Arena will be one big Fiend-dom. That’s our opportunity to be different from sports, where we can present these larger-than-life characters uniquely. This will be great for people watching at home across the globe, as well as the ones participating.”

The venue will be a closed set, and Dunn confirmed that WWE will continue to mandate COVID-19 testing, social distancing, and wearing a mask when off-camera.

“We’re going to have a very tight set that is focused on safety for our performers,” said Dunn. “Everyone is going to be tested all the time. It’s really important that our performers feel safe.”

There is still no plan in place to bring fans into the venue, which is why Dunn stated there is the potential to remain at the Amway through the end of the year.

“It’s open-ended,” said Dunn. “Obviously, we want to get back in the live event business. We rely so much on our fans. The Amway people have been fantastic to work with, and we look forward to staying as long as it takes.”

After 38 years of television work in WWE, this is an entirely new experience for Dunn and his production team.

“If you asked me a year ago, I’d have said we’ve done everything,” said Dunn. “But this is going to be an interactive experience, and it’s something like I’ve never produced before. Producing the show is the best part of my job, and this is going to be a historic challenge for our team to pull off. We’re excited to pull it off.”

Strikingly similar to pro sports, WWE’s shows have not been the same without crowds. Dunn is optimistic that the ThunderDome experience will add a significant, consistent jolt of electricity to the WWE product.

“We’re grateful and so appreciate the fans are hanging with us,” said Dunn. “It’s been tough. The shows haven’t been what we’d like them to be, and we’d be dishonest saying anything else. We miss our fans. Our fans make our shows. Without them, it’s been really challenging. I can’t wait to see the ThunderDome full of 1,000 people, giving us the energy we need to make this as entertaining as possible. I think people watching and participating are really going to enjoy this, and it’s going to make people say, ‘Wow, WWE, it’s back.’”

I guess someone watched Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome recently.

This is cool news though, for real. I’m interested in seeing how this turns out.

 

[Chris]

This just feels like stealing from WCW at this point, they just didn't need a pandemic to bring out their creativity