WWE began holding empty arena shows on the March 13 edition of SmackDown, which had mixed reactions from viewers and critics alike. AEW followed suit and decided to hold its first empty arena show on the March 18 edition of Dynamite. The show broadcast from Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Fl. While it was also an empty arena show, it had a substantially different atmosphere than the episodes of SmackDown and Raw that came before it.
WWE's empty arena shows are just that. The seats in the audience are completely empty and that leads to awkward silence during the program. When the latest edition of Dynamite started, it appeared like it was going to be done in a similar way. The show opened with Cody, Kenny Omega and Matt Jackson speaking in the middle of the ring with low lightning and seemingly nobody in the seats. However, before the action got started, the lights came up to reveal that numerous members of the AEW roster were serving as the audience members for the evening.
This led to a more natural-feeling wrestling show. Instead of hearing nothing during promos and matches except the announcer commentary, audible reactions could be heard throughout the night, most noticeably from Maxwell Jacob Friedman and Shawn Spears. Even though the reactions weren't that big due to the limited crowd size, they were helpful additions to big moments such as Brodie Lee's reveal as "The Exalted One" or Matt Hardy joining The Elite for Blood & Guts. Even if slight, this was a refreshing return to normal after the last couple of WWE programs. Granted, it didn't feel exactly like a normal episode of Dynamite, but it offered a new dynamic and explored new possibilities when it comes to empty arena shows. With its small crowd, the latest edition of Dynamite had a similar atmosphere to an average independent wrestling show. Since a majority of the AEW roster came from, thrived in, and, to some extent, still compete in the indies, this was a fitting tone for the broadcast.
The audience being composed of roster members also added to the show. Not only did it give those who weren't scheduled to compete TV time, but some wrestlers got directly involved in the program. Story lines were furthered due to the wrestlers being in the audience. Before their match with Jurassic Express, The Butcher and The Blade were paid by MJF at ringside to take out Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus, which they attempted to do unsuccessfully. Jake "The Snake" Roberts and his client, Lance Archer, were also in the crowd for the evening. Tony Schiavone interviewed the two and asked what Archer was doing in AEW. Roberts said that Archer was not there to talk and then proceeded to drop a promo about Cody, furthering the story between them. New rivalries were also created, like when Schiavone was interviewing Colt Cabana in the crowd. Cabana was talking about Penelope Ford after her match and saying she would be doing better in the ring if she wasn't scheming with boyfriend. Kip Sabian took offense to that and confronted Cabana, which resulted in a minor physical altercation between the two.
AEW made the most out of its empty arena show, whereas WWE didn't take full advantage of the situation. They did further some story lines in good promos, like the segment between Bray Wyatt and John on SmackDown or Edge's emotionally driven challenge to make his WrestleMania match with Randy Orton a Last Man Standing match on Raw. However, the rest of shows mainly consisted of full replays of pay-per-view matches or corny skits, whether it be Triple H's various antics on commentary or Stone Cold Steve Austin's 3:16 Day celebration. It felt like they were there purely to take up time, which is not the best way to go about putting together these shows, especially with WrestleMania getting closer every day.
With the trend of empty arena shows continuing for at least the next few weeks, WWE could learn something from AEW. They could utilize more of the roster, put them in the audience and allow for more build-up to WrestleMania with shows that feel a little more normal. This could improve the tone of the shows and make the remaining time spent in the Performance Center feel a little more normal.