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Post by Fake Jesus on May 7, 2023 19:52:17 GMT -5
It still amazes me how AEW completely shat over WWE's production during this entire era. WWE looked like complete f***ing shit and every single performance center show had the same weird energy as those god awful Georgia Dungeon AEW shows with exclusive 1-man Tony Schiavone commentary or Chris Jericho screaming while Kenny Omega battles Goober the Trainee on a ring the size of a bouncy castle. Like, why did WWE never just make the wrestlers the audience? Even the thunderdome had zero oomph.
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Push R Truth
Patti Mayonnaise
Unique and Special Snowflake, and a pants-less heathen.
Perpetually Constipated
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Post by Push R Truth on May 7, 2023 19:54:56 GMT -5
I think it was the first show? The one where HHH was basically just hamming it up and being goofy. That one was amazing. We needed more of that shit.
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clc
Samurai Cop
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Post by clc on May 7, 2023 19:56:58 GMT -5
I may be in the minority, but I really liked the lockdown era. It was a time when I really needed something to look forward to, and WWE delivered.
MiTB 2020 is one of my favorite PLEs of all time. That scramble up the tower was delightful. (Still a bit salty they took the briefcase away from Otis)
Also, as an Asuka fan, the early lockdown era was the best she was treated on the main roster. They actually let her be the focus of the story and let her charisma shine through. Asuka, Kairi, Bayley, and Sasha rally carried the company through that era.
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chazraps
Wade Wilson
Better have my money when I come-a collect!
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Post by chazraps on May 7, 2023 20:14:04 GMT -5
It's a pretty scathing indictment of how indefensibly bad Vince McMahon's WWE was at the time that for over a year between 2020-2021 WWE was the one and only new weekly television programming being produced across all of television and they picked up absolutely zero viewers.
The one and only match from this entire era I'll ever have any interest in revisiting is Bayley vs Kairi Sane from Raw.
Maybe the rooftop Money in the Bank will hold some fun elements.
But f***, I hated the Thunderdome and preferred the zero crowds set up.
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Post by Who is Reno on May 7, 2023 21:47:09 GMT -5
Can't we all just get beyond Thunderdome? Your comment made me decide to give rumble '21 a rewatch and yeah this atmosphere is just so weird. I will say that since I remember nothing about WWE that year I am somewhat enjoying the women's rumble. Billy Kay and her eternal search for a partner is hilarious, Billy & Jilly ftw. This is a solid ass roster too sad they pissed so much of this talent away.
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Helen of Jasper Troy
Ozymandius
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Post by Helen of Jasper Troy on May 7, 2023 21:58:19 GMT -5
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Helen of Jasper Troy
Ozymandius
MAMMA MIA! CRUISERLICIOUS!
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Post by Helen of Jasper Troy on May 7, 2023 22:04:12 GMT -5
How can you say this era was bad when we had strippers *and* problems
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wildojinx
Wade Wilson
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Post by wildojinx on May 7, 2023 22:05:55 GMT -5
I'm surprised nobody ever tried to use one of the video screens as a weapon.
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Post by Friday Night SmackOwn on May 7, 2023 23:57:48 GMT -5
did they ever do something with the video screens for Bray like having it just show people in Fiend masks instead of the video crowd?
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Post by King Devitt and the Woke Mob on May 8, 2023 2:14:07 GMT -5
I'm a crowd person. I need a crowd for their energy, and noise, and it was just a horrible time to be a fan. Like someone else said it felt like an episode of Black Mirror. Hated it.
Looking back it's sad how close Drew was to that WM moment before the world was like, "nope".
Well most of the world, the U.S. was still like WAHHHHHHHHH! about it.
But yeah it does feel like a fever dream.
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Post by Gerard Gerard on May 8, 2023 7:32:49 GMT -5
In ways, Thunderdome really felt like VKM’s dream product in that he could maintain the illusion of a live audience while pumping in his desired reaction. Undertaker’s retirement waltz being a particularly egregious example of this.
Also that weird night they brought Heath Slater back into the PC during his 90 days to essentially go ‘chin up, lad’ and have Drew drop him like a bag of cheese. Odd, odd time.
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MiLB Fan
Fry's dog Seymour
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Post by MiLB Fan on May 8, 2023 8:22:27 GMT -5
The Performance Center era was like a Fever Dream, The Cinematic Matches (Especially Street Profits Vs Viking Raiders, MITB and the Cena vs Wyatt match), The Eye For An Eye match, RAW Underground, Retribution, Undertaker quickly walking to the ring without a shirt and throwing everything around, 3:16 Day All that combined with no fans in complete silence, it was like watching a Fever Dream version of WWE Speaking of 3:16 Day, I was supposed to be there! At least I got to see one of WWE’s first shows when the company resumed live touring: a house show in July ‘21. It’s strange to look at that physical ticket now, when digital tickets are the norm and in many cases the only option.
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Post by theironyuppie on May 8, 2023 8:39:56 GMT -5
One of the amusing (if understandable) parts of the early empty arena shows is how awkwardly they worked in match replays to fill time. My favourite example was when Becky cut a promo about Shayna, referred to Mania the year before, showed a replay of the full match (including entrances) and only then finishing her promo.
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Post by Friday Night SmackOwn on May 8, 2023 8:57:31 GMT -5
I remember one of the first shows post-outbreak shutdown, an international feed accidentally showed what happened during commercial for a women’s tag match and it was just everyone standing and chatting before getting in position for the match to resume.
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thecrusherwi
El Dandy
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Brawl For All
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Post by thecrusherwi on May 8, 2023 11:34:13 GMT -5
I'll always appreciate WWE for trucking along and providing new content when damn near the rest of the whole world outside of news had shut down. Really provided some sense of normalcy and gave you a nice thing to look forward to beyond movie and TV reruns.
With that being said, I hated the set up and all those shows do is remind me of that crummy time and I have no desire to revisit any of it.
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Post by Citizen Snips on May 8, 2023 11:38:33 GMT -5
Aside from his final vignette with R-Truth, Rob Gronkowski’s entire WWE career took place in the Performance Center.
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Post by johncasey on May 8, 2023 12:52:36 GMT -5
Wrestlemania was in the infancy of the lockdown and they did the best job they could have done. I'm pretty sure they couldn't have wrestlers as fans because it was indoor whereas AEW were outdoors.
Being on furlough and in The UK, I tried watching Night 1 live, seeing how I had nothing to do the next day and the intro was good but it was unwatchable but that wasn't the performers fault
One of the smartest things they did for the B Shows was making them really short. Believe me anybody watching Money In The Bank celebrated that it finished 2.30 in the morning.
They didn't do well on the cinematic matches, seemed devoid of actual Wrestling whereas AEWs still focused on it.
Regarding Raw, there was a suggestion that they did an hour of new content followed by a classic edition of Raw but I'm sure they weren't allowed to do that.
They had a captive audience but couldn't find a way of obtaining fans.
Thunderdome was fine at the time but looking back at it.
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Post by YAKMAN is ICHIBAN on May 8, 2023 14:22:58 GMT -5
WALTER vs Dragunov I in the empty arena was one of the few matches that was possibly enhanced by the empty arena. Getting to hear every strike without crowd noise was something unique.
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agent817
Fry's dog Seymour
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Post by agent817 on May 9, 2023 9:31:27 GMT -5
WALTER vs Dragunov I in the empty arena was one of the few matches that was possibly enhanced by the empty arena. Getting to hear every strike without crowd noise was something unique. Yeah, that was a positive of that era. When their second match happened, crowds were back and I have to say the crowd present for that one sure dug it.
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Hypnosis
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Post by Hypnosis on May 9, 2023 11:04:01 GMT -5
I liked the Boneyard match, and the Smackdown where Triple H and everyone else went nuts was fun, but I don't have any desire to re-visit the rest of that time period.
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