As reported and seen this week on Monday Night RAW and NXT, WWE has started using NXT and developmental talents as audience during its shows. The talents were seen standing behind plexiglass, maintaining distance from each other.
During the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the list of Superstars was revealed:
The list of wrestlers includes Matt Martel, Chase Parker, Daniel Vidot, Rik Bugez, Big Boa, Shotzi Blackheart, Malcolm Bivens, Kayden Carter, Marina Shafir, Jessamyn Duke, Aliyah, Simone Johnson, Rita Reis, Cal Bloom, Gurvinder Singh, Briana Brady, Zachariah Smith, Isaiah Scott, Jessi Kamea, Kacy Catanzaro, Emily Andzulis, Karen Q, Laxmi Kant Rajpoot, Sidney King, A.J. Francis, and Santana Garrett.
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WWE using wrestlers as the audience
Due to the ongoing pandemic, WWE has been forced to hold all of its shows and pay per views in empty arenas without any fans or crowd. The lack of fans has understandably affected the product and has forced the company to take some interesting and unique measures to keep things interesting.
The concept of using wrestlers as the audience was introduced by All Elite Wrestling as they have been using their roster in that manner from quite some time. While WWE and Vince McMahon initially went ahead with no audience empty arena shows at the Performance Center, this week we saw the company take this new approach of using its developmental talent as a make-shift audience.
The addition of these wrestlers had a highly positive impact on Monday Night RAW this week as it was great to hear some crowd chants and reactions during the segments and matches. As interesting as the match could be inside the ring, it is the live crowd that intensifies the drama and action.
It is to be seen when WWE and other promotions can go back to having proper crowds on their shows. Stay tuned for further news and rumors!