WWE Vs. AEW: How Do The Empty Arena Shows Compare?
5. Emulation Of Atmosphere
WWE:
WWE has thus far made no effort - either because they are observant of social distancing advice or have no idea how to emulate reality because the decision-makers are all so weird. One of the two. The empty seats and constant echoes undermine everything. This isn't an escape but a reminder. The skeletal nature of the production is an accurate visual representation of how few ideas this has company has left, across all divisions, and WWE has essentially tapped out by rebroadcasting Network content. WWE in an empty arena is 95% 'WWE in an empty arena' - and is awful as that reads - and 5% of the most fleeting inspiration.
AEW:
AEW absolutely nailed it. The non-traditional architecture and outside placement of Daily's Place disassociated fans from what pro wrestling typically looks like, and the decision to have the talent act as the audience was an obvious idea executed immaculately. MJF heckled wonderful patter all night long, loudly, and behaved as MJF would behave. As a greedy sociopath, he bet on babyfaces getting their sh*t kicked in. He called Aubrey Edwards "sweetheart". He butchered Spanish in his support of the Lucha Brothers. He was the hope for humanity, which should underscore how f*cked we all are.
Meanwhile, on the babyface side - the split itself established a sense of realism - Dustin cheered on Cody, Joey Janela looked like he just enjoyed being in a weird place, SCU were their solid pro selves.
This was a masterstroke - the braying, banter and star power made for a superb diversion. Is it tenable, medium-term?
Would you get bored of listening to MJF?