As the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic continues to lead to event cancellations and postponements around the globe, things are getting very strange and surreal in the world of professional wrestling. It’s already been announced that WWE will be moving the upcoming Wrestlemania 36 event to the WWE Performance Center, presenting it in front of a live audience. However, the company is also broadcasting its weekly TV shows from there.
That brings us to a truly bizarre moment, perhaps one of the weirdest in WWE history. On the March 16 episode of Raw, which was dubbed 3:16 day by the company, WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin appeared. Austin had been previously scheduled to appear on the show when it was set to air live in front of an arena full of fans. Without those fans, though, Austin got to have a new kind of fun.
Standing in the middle of the ring at the Performance Center, Austin went into his traditional “give me a hell yeah” shtick, which would normally elicit a massive response from the audience. However, given the current situation, the camera instead cut to a section of audience chairs that were simply empty. The look of utter confusion on his face after being met with deafening silence is classic “Stone Cold” and very entertaining. Of course, when he tries it once more and gets a response from Raw commentary team member Byron Saxton, he responds with a simple, “What?”
This is, to steal a phrase from Michael Cole, vintage Steve Austin and putting it in this new setting turns it into a truly memorable moment. Looking forward, chances are there’s going to be quite a few more moments just like it as the Performance Center becomes a hub for WWE’s operations.
You’ll be able to watch Wrestlemania 36 from the Performance Center on the WWE Network on April 5. Make sure to take a look at everything we know about the show thus far, including the announced match card. Also be sure to come back here on April 5 for full coverage of the history-making event.
