Tonight’s WWE Friday Night SmackDown was live in front of a fan-less Performance Center, the first show to conduct such live event since the novel coronavirus incident forced venues across the US to shut down.
I took one look at the photo WWE posted on Twitter right before the live broadcast, and I was surprised at how awesome that looked. In one way it seemed like it was taken from a WWE 2K video game. Like some create an arena look. I was hooked. I couldn’t wait for the show to start and for what seemed like a first – I watched Friday Night SmackDown in full.
Are you ready?! #SmackDown on @FOXTV is LIVE from the @WWEPC TONIGHT at 8pm EST! pic.twitter.com/wKlC4tKGG7
— WWE (@WWE) March 13, 2020
See, the show didn’t need fancy pyro or theatrics. The show just needed a good story to tell and an entertaining program to distract from the world around us. And that is exactly what Triple H highlighted as we kick off tonight’s show.
“… Just sit back and enjoy.”
I’ll say this. As much as the show could have been perceived as a trainwreck, tonight’s airing of SmackDown was unique. It suspended random distractions. Either it’s the fans in attendance or the subpar normality of production watching at home over the years.
Whether it be Monday Night Raw, Friday Night SmackDown, or even, dare I say, NXT on Wednesday night, the dull and repetitiveness of production value sends me dazing out in other interests in daily routine, while my TV blasts wrestling on in the background.
And at other times, I wander my eyes away from the action in the ring and gaze at some crappy signs. Or maybe the argument between multiple fans eight rows back that catches my attention for what seems like forever. But too often, I am changing my perception of how I am entertained by how the crowd is reacting (or not so much). And these distractions influence behaviors in what we watch, buy in to, and what we continue to invest in.
Caption this! #SmackDownLIVE pic.twitter.com/NuRxe2frGL
— $asha Banks (@SashaBanksWWE) March 14, 2020
But … that didn’t happen tonight. At least, for one night, I placed my ass on my couch and enjoyed 2 straight hours of WWE programming.
“Don’t be sour…”
Sure, some of you might disagree. And that’s fine, but I know I can’t be the only one who felt similarly.
From Triple H’s “DX-like” antics to talent spicing things up in their promos (maybe it was just them being themselves???), to the offshoot feel in every segment, this show found a way to keep me fully interested for 2 hours … AND THERE WAS NO CROWD.
If you hadn’t watched the first fan-less Friday Night SmackDown yet, do yourself a favor and give it a shot.
Lastly, John Cena and Bray Wyatt to end the show – Damn, what a promo by both men. That right there hyped me up for their encounter at (maybe) WrestleMania 36, much more than I expected. Any more hyped, I’d be Mojo Rawley looking forward to his friend Gronk appearing on SmackDown next week.
If this is what I can look forward to this Monday night when Steve Austin makes his 3:16 appearance on RAW, then forget this weekend (because I mean, not like there are any sporting events to watch), and let’s raise some vintage hell! And that is the bottom line.
