More on WWE’s Decision To Move TV Tapings To Amway Center, WWE Planning To Use Virtual Fans

UPDATE: WrestleVotes has an update on the plans for WWE to use a virtual fans at Summerslam, similar to what has been done in baseball and basketball.

According to that report, WWE’s new long term residency at the Amway Center will include a ‘new interactive experienced’. This will feature over 2500 square feet of LED boards, where fans will appear live. It will be hosted by Superstars and Legends. Applications to appear on screen will open next week.

As part of WWE’s new long term residency at the Amway Center, a new interactive experience will be introduced with over 2500 sq ft of LED boards, where fans will appear LIVE on the show, hosted by Superstars & Legends. Applications to appear on screen will open next week.

— WrestleVotes (@WrestleVotes) August 14, 2020

Original: As we previously reported, WWE is set to move their TV tapings to the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, with all TV in the future being live instead of alternating between live and taped. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter has more details on the situation, including why the decision was made.

It’s believed that people in WWE are blaming their recent ratings decline on not being live. Others have said the darkness of the Performance Center and Full Sail have hurt their shows, which is why AEW has an advantage over NXT in the ratings. The size of the Performance Center, compared to a larger venue like the Amway Center, has also been blamed. The plan is to have a bigger production crew and more ‘bells and whistles’ than they can do at the PC. WWE wants to improve their ratings, due to alarming drops (particularly with younger audiences).

This will mean more costs for the company, along with more time away from home and more travel for the talent and management. This also means more risk, including flying people in from Florida back to New York and Connecticut twice a week, when both states require a quarantine of fourteen days to do so.

NXT will still be taped every other week at Full Sail. The last taped shows for WWE’s main roster include Smackdown tonight and Monday’s RAW, which were both taped yesterday.

There were some hoping to do Summerslam in Atlantic City with a beach location, as well as fans, but that didn’t end up working out. Fans will not be allowed to be at Summerslam, or RAW and Smackdown at this time, but the hope is to change that soon. They were considering having virtual fans in attendance like baseball or basketball have done.