For over a year now, WWE has been working without a live crowd as they've run events inside the Performance Center and now the ThunderDome.
Though the ThunderDome has virtual fans, those on camera are often instructed who to cheer and boo with WWE piping in reactions as they see fit.
For Seth Rollins, whose career has been heavily influenced by live crowd reactions, he believes the ThunderDome has been helpful in a way to telling more fleshed out stories without live reactions dictating where things go.
"I still think social media still plays quite a role in how shows are written and how characters are portrayed. [The ThunderDome] has allowed us to tell our stories a little cleaner in the sense that things aren't up and down as they may normally be. Whether that's good or bad, I'm not entirely sure. I miss the fans and live interaction, but I like being able to cut a promo and getting all the way through without having to side-eye the audience. It's nice to get a thought out without being interrupted by 'CM Punk' chants," said Rollins on Ryan Satin's Out Of Character podcast.
Joking about the feud with Rey Mysterio, Rollins continued by saying, "Some stories have overstayed their welcome, but we've definitely been allowed to tell fully fleshed out stories over six or seven months that we wouldn't get through normally because a live crowd would force creative to change course. I had a blast working with the Mysterios, though things got carried away at the end. I was proud of the eye-for-an-eye match."
Rollins was the top babyface in WWE after winning the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 35, but the television crowds slowly turned on him throughout the summer and the fall.
Speaking about the influence of the TV audience at that time, Rollins said, "It got weird and very odd. I would go to live events and the response was not what you would see on TV. The crowds were two totally different crowds. At a live event, the crowd would be 100% pro-Rollins and it was a party. Then we'd come to TV and the louder half would be down my throat. It's very confusing and sometimes I think it pushes our creative process in directions that maybe we shouldn't be going, but that's how the business is these days and you gotta figure it out and adapt."
Rollins has remained a heel since November 2019, dubbing himself as The Messiah.
He is currently set to face Cesaro at WrestleMania 37. You can check out the current lineup for WrestleMania 37 by clicking here.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.
