Why WWE Royal Rumble 2021 Probably Won't Have Fans

WWE Royal Rumble 2021 Update - Fans Won't Be Allowed Into Tropicana Field?

by Andrew Pollard
MVP Royal Rumble
WWE

With WWE having spent the past eight or nine months desperately trying to figure out ways to get fans in attendance, now comes an update on whether Vince McMahon’s sports entertainment juggernaut will be having fans at ringside for this month’s Royal Rumble PPV.

As per the ever reliable @WrestleVotes, it appears that the ThunderDome setup – and the time and man power required to disassemble and then reassemble it – means that this year's Royal Rumble PPV will take place with zero fans physically at Tropicana Field.

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When the world went to the dogs last year, there were regularly stories circulating that WWE was exploring any and all ways to get fans back into the WWE Performance Center and then later into the Amway Center.

In the end, WWE tried having developmental talents and a select few others in attendance, before then deciding on the revolutionary ThunderDome concept that sees hundreds of fans dotted across a slew of monitors.

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Given how Florida has lifted any major restrictions on public gatherings at sports events, WWE would technically be able to allow fans into Tropicana Field – much like how AEW has a small number of fans in attendance for its weekly Dynamite show – although it appears that McMahon’s promotion is looking to stick with its ThunderDome model for the foreseeable future.

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.