WWE ThunderDome Move To Tropicana Field Taking Longer Than Expected

Because who'd have thought filling a baseball stadium with tiny screens would be problematic...

by Andrew Pollard
WWE Thunderdome
WWE

Ahead of WWE’s impending move from Orlando’s Amway Center to Tampa’s Tropicana Field, it looks as if it’s going to be quite the chore to get the company’s ThunderDome setup set up at WWE’s next temporary home.

Previously, WWE’s deal to house all of its main roster programming from the Amway Center was due to expire after this past Monday’s Raw, but Fightful Select reports that this deal has now been extended until Monday, December 7 in order to give WWE more time to finalise the move to Tropicana Field.

Once the December 7 Raw is done, WWE will immediately begin the process of tearing down the ThunderDome setup ahead of formally moving to Tropicana Field for the foreseeable future.

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WWE will officially have access to Tropicana Field from this coming Saturday through until December 10 for setup purposes. All being well, the first show to emanate from Tropicana Field – itself the home of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team – will be the December 11 edition of SmackDown.

Given the sheer size of Tropicana Field, WWE is expecting it to take twice as long to set up the ThunderDome display at the venue when compared to the logistics of setting up the ThunderDome at the Amway Center.

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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 day job, 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. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.