Plans for NXT's new television set up had been revealed and they pay homage to the very roots of WWE.
On the media call with Paul Levesque this past Wednesday, the former WWE champion revealed that the set up for tonight's NXT TakeOver 31 will have a unique set up that has never been seen before. Triple H is now expanded on that in a new interview with Sports Illustrated.
The WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida has been remodeled to feature a television set that will be named the Capitol Wrestling Center, named after Capitol Wrestling, the original name for the WWE territory. The setup will allow for not only virtual fans like the WWE ThunderDome, but will have real fans in attendance allowing for a capacity of up to 100 people that will all be in their own individually grouped plexiglass pods with social distancing enforced.
“There will be a contingent of fans in attendance, some of which will be talent, others will be friends and family and some will be fans,” said Levesque. “We will take every safety precaution that there is. All of this was signed off by our medical staff. Everybody that walks in the building will be PCR tested, take a questionnaire and be medically screened. There will be plexiglass pods with fans that are in groups, and the groups will vary in size. Everyone will wear masks, and each group will never be near anyone else.”
“We’re taking every single precaution we can, which needs to be done safely, and it’s important to us because fans are the lifeblood of what we do,” said Levesque. “The real core of this is the fans in those seats reacting to what we do. That gives us our energy and our drive. They dictate the story, and having them there makes all the difference in the world.”
News of WWE wanting some form of a live audience in attendance for this event first broke on our premium service, Fightful Select.
WWE will going back to the "crowd" method for NXT Takeover this weekend. We've heard from several talent and those close to talent that have said that requests were made to bring "friends and family" for the crowd environment on Sunday's NXT Takeover 31. Talent were asked on Friday afternoon to recommend names. Many of those names received emails Friday noting that they could bring three people with them.
Nobody under 16 is permitted without a guardian, face coverings will be required and social distancing policies will be in effect. Those attending are also required to submit a rapid COVID-19 test, temperature check, and sign a waiver upon arrival.
Triple H also said that tonight's event does not signal the end of their partnership with Full Sail University but rather a change in direction to fit modern necessity.
“We are not severing our relationship with Full Sail,” Levesque said. “I’m very proud of all we’ve done there. This move is the right decision for us from a tech standpoint, but I look forward to returning there soon and the partnership remains strong.”
Fightful will have live coverage of NXT TakeOver tonight beginning at 6:30 p.m. Eastern.
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