The WWE ThunderDome will be moving to its third location — the University of South Florida’s Yuengling Center — after their residency at Tampa’s Tropicana Field ends on April 2. That following week’s lineup of programming will either be pre-taped episodes from “The Trop” or at Raymond James Stadium for WrestleMania 37, but WWE will go back to operating exclusively in front of virtual fans after that. The arena’s official website now states that’s the residency inside the building will last until Aug. 3, and specifically states that live fans will not be permitted to attend episodes of Raw, SmackDown or pay-per-views.
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“WWE takes great pride in providing our fans and network partners with cutting-edge production and one of the most interactive atmospheres in all of television every single week,” WWE executive producer Kevin Dunn stated in the website’s press release. “We look forward to the next iteration of the WWE ThunderDome at Yuengling Center as we continue to take the fan experience to a whole new level.”
As for when WWE can get back to touring in front of live crowds, WWE Chief Financial Officer Kristina Salen stated during an investors’ conference call back in February that WWE doesn’t plan on having those events again until the second half of 2021.
The one exception to all of this is WrestleMania 37, which will reportedly have 25,000 fans in attendance on each night. You can see the full cards for both nights below:
Night One
- WWE Championship: Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre
- SmackDown Women’s Championship: Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair
- Raw Tag Team Championships: The New Day vs. AJ Styles & Omos
- Bad Bunny vs. The Miz
- Braun Strowman vs. Shane McMahon
- Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins
Night Two
- WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns vs. Edge vs. Daniel Bryan
- Raw Women’s Championship: Asuka vs. Rhea Ripley
- Intercontinental Championship: Big E vs. Apollo Crews
- The Fiend vs. Randy Orton
- Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn
The end of that Yuengling Center residency does land right around SummerSlam, so WWE could theoretically kick off its return to normalcy with its second biggest annual pay-per-view. Do you think that’s what will happen? Let us know in the comments below!
