WWE ThunderDome makes its debut tomorrow on Friday Night SmackDown, but Pro Wrestling Sheet got a taste of what it will look like during a test preview for the virtual audience.
Here are some notes from the preview that was done as a test to get the kinks out before tomorrow’s big debut on FOX:
- The sneak peak showed three separate matches (Jake Atlas vs. Tehuti Miles, Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter vs. Jessi Kamea and Indi Hartwell and Ridge Holland vs. Mansoor)
- The competitors all had entry-level graphics, effects and music for main roster Superstars as a test for the crew involved in the production.
- The entrance stage is jam packed with lights up front
- LED boards in the crowd for the virtual audience also form a giant Titantron wall at entrances that is used to enhance the appearance of things. There is also pyro that comes from certain parts of the club, such as smoke for Braun Strowman.
- In one part of the forecast, enhanced 3D effects also seemed to be used at entrances.
- The LED boards for the virtual audience are in rows. There are A LOT of fans that can be seen on all screens. One cool thing to note is that the boards of the front row are slightly lowered so that only part of the sides of the viewers can be seen, just as it would look in real life on TV.
- The drone shots that show the entire audience look fantastic and give the matches a great feel again, as opposed to a quiet empty room at the Performance Center.
- The closer shot from the ring of the hard cam shows a good number of people and it was ridden by several fans as the matches went on.
- The feed was a bit choppy at times, but it was emphasized that this was still just a test.
- Setting yourself on one of the screens during the show makes you feel like you would feel in the crowd on TV, but live in the moment since you watched the game on a computer screen. Strange twist on things because of the circumstances, but fun nonetheless.
- The roof over the ring combined with the gigantic lighting rig that extends into the crowd gives entrances a WrestleMania-like atmosphere due to all the extra elements used to enhance the experience.
- As for the sound, it seems that the sounds of the crowd were still in audio and not really loud from the audience, but this was still just a test.
Check out the photos below for a better idea of what the ThunderDome setup looks like.
