Report: Virtual Fans Receive Directions On How They Should React In WWE ThunderDome

On Friday, WWE unveiled the WWE ThunderDome at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. The new set up has received a mixed reaction so far. Some have praised it for reviving the spectacle of a WWE event, but others have found the virtual fans slightly distracting. 

Further details were revealed about the virtual fans over the weekend as Dave Meltzer reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that spectators receive directions on how they should react, similar to a studio audience. 

Meltzer said: "So, the basic gist is the ThunderDome is WCW, those Orlando tapings… The Orlando tapings from Disney World from the mid-'90s where they would hold up signs that say 'Cheer,' 'Boo,' and all this. And what they do is there's a fan coordinator on the headset and all the people can hear him and he says like, 'Everyone put your thumb down.' So, that's why when I watch it on the screen and you're seeing like in front of the screen all these fans at the same time putting their thumb down."

Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet posted a short clip on Twitter of fans receiving directions. In the video, a producer can be heard telling spectators to clap for Drew McIntyre during his entrance at SummerSlam.