Due to the coronavirus outbreak, we have seen recent editions of both WWE Raw and Smackdown take place behind closed doors in the WWE Performance Center. At a time when sport is at a premium, it is great to see the show continuing, but other than an odd event, can wrestling keep up its appeal without fans in attendance ringside?
Crowd Participation
One of the biggest parts of a wrestling show is the interaction between those fighting in the ring and the people watching in the stands. This has been the case for decades, and with wrestlers given positive storylines while others are portrayed as villains, this interaction is vitally important to keep those stories going.
Without the big cheers for fan favourites and boos for those who are disliked, all we have is two participants inside the squared-circle going toe-to-toe without any storyline surrounding them. This isn’t the wrestling that we all fell in love with, and it has to be questioned how long it can last like that.
Could Wrestling Lose Fans by Continuing?
There is a chance that people could get bored, but let’s hope that doesn’t happen. Wrestling won’t have the same razzmatazz as we are used to, but it will still give us some form of entertainment to watch while ever things continue.
Whether it is weekly episodes of Raw and Smackdown or big events such as the upcoming Wrestlemania event, we want to see these on.
With a lack of other sports taking place right now, wrestling could receive a boost in viewing figures, and something else that could see a boost is wrestling betting. At https://www.maxfreebets.co.uk/ they give new players free bets to use on the fight that is upcoming, a great way to get started for sports fans who are turning to wrestling.
What may be required from those at the top of the WWE is creativity with the storylines they are writing. These may need to be specifically tailored to a setting where there are no fans to interact with.
We will also see things happening specifically for TV viewers, rather than for those in attendance, which could change some things up. One thing worth monitoring is Wrestlemania, and if it does go behind closed doors as it is currently planned to then expect the WWE to try and make it something special and unique in that setting, with big headline results.
