When Will WWE Have Crowds Again?

The WWE is looking at a return to live crowds in July. Here’s everything we know about when WWE will have crowds again.

Introduction

As the world continues to grapple with the Covid-19 pandemic, professional wrestling promotion WWE has been forced to adjust. The company has continued to produce live programming, but without a live audience. This has been a difficult adjustment for WWE, as the excitement and energy of a live crowd is a big part of what makes professional wrestling so special.

WWE has been gradually easing back into having a live audience, starting with allowing a small number of fans to attend the WrestleMania 37 pay-per-view event in April 2021. The company plans to allow more fans to attend its upcoming pay-per-views and live events, but it remains to be seen when WWE will return to having full crowds at its shows.

Only time will tell when WWE will be able to have full crowds again, but the company is clearly eager to get back to business as usual. Until then, WWE will continue to produce entertaining live programming for its fans around the world.

WWE’s Current Situation

With the current state of the world, WWE has had to get creative with their events. WWE has been holding events without any fans in attendance, which has been a big change for the company. While WWE has been able to still put on good shows, the lack of fans have been felt. WWE is hoping that they will be able to have fans back soon, but when will that be?

WWE’s Financial Struggles

WWE is a publicly traded company, and as such, is required to release quarterly earnings reports. In early May, WWE released their Q1 2020 report, and the results were not good. WWE reported a revenue decline of 18% compared to the same quarter in 2019, and they also reported an operating loss of $8 million. This was a significant decline from their operating income of $19 million in Q1 2019.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on WWE’s business. The company had to cancel several live events due to the pandemic, which resulted in lost revenue. In addition, WWE had to produce all of their television programming from their Performance Center in Orlando, Florida without a live audience. The lack of a live audience resulted in a decline in television ratings for both Raw and SmackDown.

WWE has also been impacted by the closure of several major businesses that are important partners. For example, movie theaters have been closed for several months due to the pandemic, which has hurt WWE’s partnership with Paramount Pictures. Paramount Pictures distributes WWE Films’ movies globally, and the lack of new releases has hurt WWE’s bottom line.

Due to these financial struggles, WWE has had to make some major cuts. In April, WWE announced that they were cutting over 60 employees from their staff. In addition, WWE has ceased production on several of their programs, including 205 Live and Main Event. It is also rumored that WWE will be cutting ties with dozens of wrestlers when their contracts expire in the coming months.

Only time will tell if WWE can recover from these financial struggles. The company is hoping that live event revenues will increase once the COVID-19 pandemic is over and businesses start to reopen. Until then, WWE will continue to rely on television ratings and merchandise sales to keep them afloat financially.

WWE’s Lack of Crowds

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, WWE has been unable to have crowds at their events. This has led to a decline in WWE’s ratings and viewership. WWE Chairman Vince McMahon has said that they are working on plans to bring back crowds, but did not give a timetable for when this would happen.

When Will WWE Have Crowds Again?

WWE has been running shows without crowds since the COVID-19 pandemic started. This has been a tough adjustment for the wrestlers and fans alike. WWE has been trying to find ways to bring the fans back into the equation, but it has been difficult. Let’s take a look at when WWE might be able to have crowds again.

When Will WWE Be Able to Afford Crowds Again?

WWE fans have been asking when will WWE be able to afford to put on shows with a live audience in attendance again. The answer, unfortunately, is not anytime soon.

As of right now, WWE is losing money each and every week. In fact, according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE lost $30 million in just the month of April alone.

To put that in perspective, that is more than what WWE made in all of 2016!

So, as you can see, WWE is in a bit of a financial bind at the moment and it does not look like things are going to improve anytime soon. Unfortunately, this means that fans will likely have to wait a while before WWE can afford to put on shows with a live audience again.

When Will WWE Be Willing to Risk Crowds Again?

With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to affect live events, WWE has been forced to once again change its plans. After holding WrestleMania 36 in front of no fans and then staging empty-arena shows for a few weeks, WWE began allowing a small number of fans to attend its tapings at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. That lasted for a few weeks before the company had to stop again due to the rise in cases in Florida.

Now, WWE has shifted its tapings to the ThunderDome at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. The ThunderDome is a controlled environment that allows fans to virtually attend WWE events and be seen on the big screen inside the arena. It’s a decent solution for now, but it’s not ideal.

WWE wants fans back in arenas, but it doesn’t want to risk the health and safety of its performers or staff. So when will WWE be willing to risk crowds again?

Most likely, WWE will wait until there is a vaccine for COVID-19 before allowing crowds back into arenas. That could be as early as late 2020 or early 2021, but it’s more likely that it will be mid-to-late 2021 before we see crowds back at WWE events.

Conclusion

At this time, it is still unknown when WWE will have crowds again. The company has not announced any plans to allow fans back into their shows, and with the current state of the pandemic, it is unlikely that they will do so anytime soon. WWE has been able to lucky with their tapings thus far and have not had any major issues, but that could all change if they allow crowds back into their events. Only time will tell when WWE will have crowds again, but for now, fans will have to continue to watch from home.