Wrestling Fans Stop Watching Empty Arena Shows

No live crowd = reduced ratings?

By Gareth Morgan /

WWE.com

With wrestling rates down significantly this week across all promotions, questions are being raised as to whether fans are being kept engaged by matches being played out in front of empty arenas.

Advertisement

After what appeared to be an initial intrigue boost in ratings for the first couple of SmackDown, Raw, NXT and Dynamite episodes to be taped in an empty arena, it looks as though the novelty of this brave new experiment has quickly worn off.

Will this continual decrease in ratings force WWE and AEW to rethink whether or not it's wise to continue airing their struggling products during this uncertain time?

Advertisement

Dave Meltzer on the Wrestling Observer Radio show last night suggested that it may become inevitable for all wrestling promotions to start airing clip shows in the coming weeks.

In other wrestling news, Forbes' Blake Oestriecher has confirmed on Twitter that multiple endings have been shot for a few of WrestleMania 36's marquee match-ups, meaning that potential spoilers may - thankfully - be harder to come by in the lead up to the two-night extravaganza.

Advertisement

Join Gareth and Iain as they discuss these topics along with How BROKEN Matt Hardy 'Teleported' On AEW Dynamite, Who Made It Into Current Star's WWE Mount Rushmore and Why Cody Rhodes Won't Be Facing Lance Archer This Week in the link below.