Kevin Dunn Admits WWE’s Performance Center Shows Have Been Disappointing

To coincide with WWE‘s announcement of the new ThunderDome setup at the Amway Center, executive vice president of television production Kevin Dunn gave a rare interview on Monday morning with Sports Illustrated. During the conversation Dunn explained why WWE was making the transition out of the Performance Center, and candidly admitted that the shows from inside the PC “haven’t been what we’d like them to be.” The WWE was forced to cancel its traveling schedule and move all episodes of Raw and SmackDown to the PC back in mid-March. WrestleMania 36, Money in the Bank, Backlash and The Horror Show at Extreme Rules all followed suit in the months that followed.

“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,” Dunn said. “Moving to Amway, and unveiling the ThunderDome, the opportunities are limitless.We can now do things production-wise that we could never otherwise do. 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.

“We’re grateful and so appreciate the fans are hanging with us. It’s been tough. The shows haven’t been what we’d like them to be, and we’d be dishonest saying anything else,” he added. “We miss our fans. Our fans make our shows. Without them, it’s been really challenging. I can’t wait to see the ThunderDome full of 1,000 people, giving us the energy we need to make this as entertaining as possible. I think people watching and participating are really going to enjoy this, and it’s going to make people say, ‘Wow, WWE, it’s back.’”

WWE also released a schedule for its residency at the Amway Center in downtown Orlando:

• Friday, August 21 – Friday Night SmackDown®, Amway Center, 8 pm ET on FOX
• Saturday, August 22 – NXT TakeOver® XXX, Full Sail Live, 7 pm ET on WWE Network
• Sunday, August 23 – SummerSlam, Amway Center, 7 pm ET on WWE Network
• Monday, August 24 – Monday Night Raw®, Amway Center, 8 pm ET on USA Network
• Wednesday, August 26 – NXT®, Full Sail Live, 8 pm ET on USA Network
• Friday, August 28 – Friday Night SmackDown, Amway Center, 8 pm ET on FOX
• Sunday, August 30 – Payback®, Amway Center, 7 pm ET on WWE Network
• Monday, August 31 – Monday Night Raw, Amway Center, 8 pm ET on USA Network