Odd inspiration but perhaps the "smoky bingo halls" Vince McMahon used to bang on about was what he saw when Triple H first showed him ther slightly dustier version of the ThunderDome inside the Performance Center.
The good news is, it's substantially more interesting than the PC looked for all those Raws and SmackDown. Chainlink added to the plexiglass has a certain charm, the stage and ramp looks more impressive than before and the shorter low-lit fan zoom calls are less invasive.
And what of fans that actually got in? Various reports had the number low - around 30 - and all were in isolation pods that were realistically the best thing about the whole new venture. Nothing looked more like something that could theoretically light the way for future indoor attendance - this was the company's first progressive move on such a matter in quite some time.
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
