10 Secrets Nobody Has Told You About WWE Yet
2. More Stadiums = More Tarp
WWE's post-pandemic shift to more stadium shows has been genuinely impressive and, years from now, will serve as a strong visual signifier of how business boomed under the steam of Roman Reigns as a multi-year Champion, Triple H taking creative charge after Vince McMahon resigned in disgrace, and The Judgment Day being simultaneously the dumbest and coolest stable in mainstream television wrestling.
But we don't really talk about the tarp.
If there's one company making as much money as WWE during these shows, it's whomever threads together all that material covering the sides the camera never catches, or the seats the company can't sell.
There'd be zero shame in it if the company weren't such preposterous carny liars around attendance figures. SummerSlam 2021, Clash At The Castle and WrestleMania 38 are all prominent examples of colosseums with noticeably covered corners, while a planned Money In The Bank 2022 stadium show was downgraded to a nearby arena to save some blushes.
Big numbers are big numbers, and the collected 150,000+ in attendance at all three aforementioned shows are worth toasting. Needlessly inflating them encourages fans to highlight the obvious insecurity - something the company covers far less effectively than a few thousand empty seats.