Commentator Wade Barrett and other assorted NXT luminaries tweeted out pictures of the empty Capitol Wrestling Center just ahead of show time, and typically for any sort of WWE stage it looked the part.
It certainly brought the show to life in different ways (and more on those later), but the return of audience members brought about a clash with the magic audio sweeteners that didn't really resolve themselves throughout the night.
The pretend crowd sounded more pronounced than usual when mixed with the scant few in attendance, and Vic Joseph's commentary seemed either a) way louder than it needed to be or b) so loud IRL that you could hear him in the near-empty venue over the silence greeting the match.
A gentle down, this - WWE quickly tackled teething troubles with the ThunderDome and it's likely they will do the same here.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
