Nearly every major sports league in the United States has suspended play due to the coronavirus crisis – from the NBA to the NHL to MLS to NASCAR – but WWE elected to move Friday’s episode of SmackDown from Little Caesars Arena in Detroit to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, making for a surreal broadcast.
The Performance Center was transformed to look like a miniature WWE arena, complete with video screens, an entrance ramp, announce table and (empty) seats. In the show open, the return of WWE legend Jeff Hardy was announced, along with an appearance by John Cena. With just a few weeks until WrestleMania 36 is scheduled to take place in Tampa, WWE made every attempt to continue business as usual.
Sasha Banks and Bayley were the first WWE stars to appear, and they made an typical entrance despite the circumstances, gesturing to a non-existent audience.
WWE announced on Friday that the upcoming episode of Raw on “3/16 day,” which is scheduled to feature the return of Stone Cold Steve Austin, will also take place in the Performance Center.
WWE will undoubtedly face criticism for staging any event, even one as small as SmackDown from the Performance Center, but many fans enjoyed the diversion. https://twitter.com/JoeydellW/status/1238619114974912514
