10 Biggest Stars Of Wrestling's Empty Arena Era (So Far)

Those talents flourishing where so many others are floundering.

Edge WrestleMania 36
WWE.com

To say 2020 has been a strange year would be an understatement of the highest order.

Much like the entire planet has been thrown for a loop due to the ongoing chaos that's dominating the globe, so too has the professional wrestling business. While New Japan Pro Wrestling has been put on indefinite hold, the independent scene has completely shut down, and promotions like the NWA, IMPACT Wrestling, and Ring of Honor are having to think on their feet, WWE and AEW are trying their best to push on regardless and deliver fresh, new weekly programming.

Whether WWE and AEW should even be having their wrestlers competing right now is a whole other topic for another day, and so it's fallen on the talent within these companies to make the best of a bad situation - that situation being the slightly eerie prospect of performing in a completely empty arena.

Still, while some wrestlers have floundered and flubbed their lines in this unique environment, others have flourished and stood head and shoulders above their peers. With that in mind, then, here are the ten biggest stars (so far) of what will surely become known as the Empty Arena Era.

10. Edge

Edge WrestleMania 36
WWE.com

By the time that Edge returned to our screens following his Randy Orton-induced beatdown on the post-Royal Rumble Raw, the Rated-R Superstar found himself in the empty WWE Performance Center.

Of course, Edge is a veteran performer who has mastered so many elements of the professional business. As such, that meant that this wily Hall of Famer took what was on offer and found a way to make it work in his favour.

Nobody across the industry has yet to deliver a promo anywhere close to the intensity of Adam Copeland during these most testing of times. With a legit blood feud to hang his hat on, Edge went the route of delivering his promos directly down the lens of the camera - a move that made his words more believable, a move that reiterated how his words were being directed straight to Orton, and a move that arguably made for better promos than those that would've been done in a crowded venue.

Granted, Edge would've received a huge pop when coming out to deliver a similar promo under regular circumstances. But in the hushed locale of the Performance Center, we were able to hear each and every beat that the Canadian was going for, we were able to hear every nuance in his words and every piece of vitriolic bite that was directed towards his 'Mania opponent.

We all know that Edge and Orton's Last Man Standing contest went way too long and didn't click in the way we all hoped it would, but both men were absolutely outstanding in the lead-up to this match.

In this post: 
EDGE
 
Posted On: 
Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.