#2 – Don’t Pretend There’s A Crowd There!
This one should be obvious, but it isn’t. Wrestlers don’t need to work the crowd, they don’t need to pretend that there’s even a crowd there for this WrestleMania. To me, that’ll make it 100x worse. Go out there and do your thing, but have it make sense for the environment.
#2a – Don’t Focus On The Fact That There’s No Crowd!
This goes with #2, so it’s #2a. Look, we all know there’s no crowd for WrestleMania 36. In most forms of sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment, there’s not even a show. But unless you’re making it part of the story of your match, don’t even focus on it. We know the seats are empty (why are there even seats at all?), don’t remind us.
#3 – Use Unique Match Environments
On this week’s edition of The #Miranda Show, Miranda Morales pointed out that the Halftime Heat Empty Arena Match between The Rock and Mankind is a match she still treasures to this day. And it deserves to be treasured!
But it was one match—not an entire card of matches, spread over two nights! It’s going to get old, and as I pointed out on that same podcast: it’s already getting old! I can’t imagine how excited we’ll be for 16 empty arena matches come April 4th and 5th.
So what’s WWE to do? Put matches in unique environments! It’s been widely reported that the matches will emanate from multiple locations, citing other “closed sets,” but let’s make them fun and unique.
Here are some examples:
- Shayna Baszler is being pushed on Raw as a “cage fighter?” Let her fight Becky Lynch in a cage! Similar to the Lion’s Den (pictured above), we can give them a unique place to work.
- Edge vs. Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing Match? Sounds like the perfect set-up for an empty warehouse with plenty of plunder lying around.
- John Cena is back and is fighting Bray Wyatt, right? Let’s put them IN THE FIREFLY FUNHOUSE! Let’s really make the most of this thing.
- It was just announced that The Street Profits are defending the Raw Tag Team Championship against United States Champion Andrade and Hector Garza. Why not put them in an empty club?
- Put Smackdown Tag Team Champions The Miz and John Morrison on a TV set, and kick their match off with another edition of The Dirt Sheet. Then have the fight on the set!
- Daniel Bryan will likely end up challenging Sami Zayn for the Intercontinental Championship. I vote we throw them in a dojo, or MMA inspired training center. Head to Undisputed Tucson and give them some free pub for when they reopen!
You know, it’s sad that Jinder Mahal hasn’t returned yet. Because I would really be down to see him fight someone in an ACTUAL Punjabi Prison…
