Thunderdome, which became a part of the WWE before SummerSlam 2020, is no longer going to be a part of the wrestling and entertainment franchise, after the news that the WWE will not renew its contract with the Amway Center upon its expiry on 31st October 2020.
WWE wrestlers have reportedly been told to prepare to travel from November onwards, and not to make plans for personal trips. The initial deal with the Amway Center began in August 2020, as the WWE looked for a venue to host its regular events and PPVs in light of the current pandemic. WWE worked with the Famous Group to create the Thunderdome arena, with the visual, audio, lighting and pyro effects proving to be a huge hit with the virtual fans. The deal was for $450,000, while that amount could be increased if the WWE manages to renegotiate and extend its contract with the Amway Center. However, that looks a distant prospect at present, as news is that the WWE superstars have been given an advance window of three weeks during which they can take time off from the company, but will have to return once the next venue for the WWE is confirmed.
As Winz casino has reported, WWE has always been one of the most popular segments for online betting fans, and the lack of wrestling action hits those operators hard as well since there are fewer markets to offer to sports betting fans, which obviously reduces the bets made. Thus, it has not been surprising to see that many betting operators have been offering odds on esports and other alternatives to live sports during the pandemic, with only the recent return of sporting events across the world providing some relief to betting operators. The WWE’s events and PPVs have also been very popular ever since they returned to TV screens, and this is likely to remain the case for the foreseeable future, as fans are not going to be allowed back into stadiums and arenas to watch live sports for a considerable amount of time in the future.
It is also interesting to hear that WWE has been exploring the possibility of hosting small outdoor events after the expiry of its contract with the Amway Center. While this will completely depend on local health authorities and whether they grant permission for the same, it is unlikely to have the same attraction that the Thunderdome did for fans. Having hosted the regular Raw and SmackDown shows at the arena, along with two pay-per-view events, it can be said without a doubt that the Thunderdome was a huge hit with fans, even if they couldn’t attend these events in person. The technological effects used, along with the visual and lighting effects, made the wrestling bouts seem even larger than life than they usually do on WWE and thus made it possible for the company to remain popular as an entertainment option during the lockdown and beyond. With live fans still being a distant dream, the WWE will have to ensure that it provides an immaculate experience for fans online, and the Thunderdome branding and setup was one of the best ways to give a top-class experience online. It seems unlikely that the current deal with the Amway Center will be extended, and so the WWE will need to look for an alternative venue quickly, but it will also have to be one where the state-of-the-art facilities of the Amway Center can be replicated so that the franchise can try and replicate the Thunderdome experience to some extent for their virtual fans.