Months ago WWE moved all of their TV tapings to the Performance Center in Orlando, and it was recently reported that the company came to an agreement with the Amway Center.
Today WWE confirmed via SI that the Amway Center will be rechristened ThunderDome, and Raw, SmackDown and pay-per-views will be taking place from the venue for the foreseeable future.
“When people think of WWE, most think of the spectacle that we are, but it was just impossible to put on a spectacle in the Performance Center. Moving to Amway, and unveiling the ThunderDome, the opportunities are limitless,” said WWE’s executive vice president of television production Kevin Dunn.
It’s also been confirmed that this Friday’s episode of SmackDown will take place from ThunderDome, and the company has big plans for entrances moving forward.
“We can now do things production-wise that we could never otherwise do,” said Dunn. “We’re flying drones in the arena, we are putting a roof inside the Amway Center, and we’ll be able to project content onto the roof. So when a big star like Drew McIntyre comes down to the ring, the whole arena will turn into his content with lasers, pyro, smoke, projections on the top of the building and on the floor. It will be a big, beautiful entrance, better than WrestleMania.”
WWE also plans to have live fans appear on the show via LED boards, and fans who want to register can do so by clicking here.
There are currently no plans for WWE to bring fans into the venue, but Kevin Dunn noted that the deal with the Amway Center is open ended, so there’s potential for it to run through the end of 2020.
