Kofi Kingston says empty arena shows aren't hard, just different [Exclusive]
For the first time ever, WrestleMania was held in an empty arena due to the coronavirus pandemic. Much to WWE's credit, they were still able to put on one heck of a show, all things considered.
The unfortunate thing is, it doesn't appear that the empty arena shows are going away any time soon. WWE has already canceled all live events for the month of April, and events currently scheduled to take place in May are still very much up in the air.
It's taken many fans some time to adjust to the new style of product they are seeing week in and week out. Personally, I'm still adjusting. Looking at it from the other side of the coin, though, one has to imagine how difficult it must be for some of the wrestlers to perform in front of empty seats, especially when they are so used to feeding off the live audience and getting that immediate feedback from the crowd.
WrestleMania represents a significant challenge in that regard, too, with crowds of up to and beyond 60,000 typically in attendance for what is the company's biggest show of the year.
Ahead of WrestleMania, I had a chance to chat with former WWE Champion Kofi Kingston on my radio show in Cincinnati, OH. Considering their relationship with the fan base, it must be incredibly hard for he and Big E to reach that energy level we've all grown accustomed to... right? He responded:
"Well It's definitely different. I think that for us as the New Day it's probably a lot easier than it is for other people... Yes we thrive on crowd participation and everything that we do we want to involve the crowd. We want to make sure that the live audience is participating and having a great show, but a lot of the times... Myself, E and Woods, we're just in there trying to entertain each other and it just so happens that there's a crowd that can get behind it and also be entertained."
Another thing that makes it easier for the WWE veteran is working with guys like The Usos, The Miz and John Morrison. He said the episode of SmackDown, where Miz and Morrison were on commentary, made it so much easier for New Day to settle in and feel out their match with Jimmy and Jey.
"You kind of have like an internal clock of where you feel the crowd and fans would be. You know? So you feel that energy. And going up against guys like the Usos and Miz and Morrison, they're so good at what they do and so entertaining, that you can't help but like still feel that level, that energy."
The Miz and Morrison were able to retain the SmackDown Tag Team Titles at WrestleMania after Morrison defeated Kofi and Jimmy Uso in a very entertaining triple threat ladder match. We'll see what's next for all three teams this coming Friday night on SmackDown.
Disclaimer: This article was written exclusively for Sportskeeda. Follow me on Twitter.