Late Start To The WWE Cruiserweight Classic Tapings, Seating Debacle Blamed On Traffic Accident
There was a late start to the first set of WWE Cruiserweight Classic tapings tonight at Full Sail University. Our correspondent called it an attendance debacle and has referred to it as a "mess" several times.
Just before 6:30pm, when the tapings were to start, the arena was still half empty and crew members were tarping off sections of bleachers. While the event was sold out, speculation going around was that the low attendance could have been due to scalpers, plus the WWE NXT roster working a show in nearby Largo tonight.
It appears WWE officials panicked as they moved fans to fill up the front rows. They then claimed that a wreck on I-4 caused traffic issues, which caused the empty seats and delayed start time. Fans started showing up with reserved seating but other fans had already been moved into those seats, presumably due to the fear of bad attendance.
At 6:45pm, our correspondent noted that officials were now moving fans around and having to rearrange the entire reserved sections to get people in their correct seats. The "talent parade" that was to begin at 6:30pm didn't begin until 6:55pm.
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They are tapping off the non-camera side of the GA bleachers and moving people in to empty rows. Yikes. #CruiserweightClassic
— Will Henderson (@willh94) June 23, 2016
— Will Henderson (@willh94) June 23, 2016
They just announced we are delayed starting "due to an accident on I-4 that's causing traffic delays" #CWC
— Will Henderson (@willh94) June 23, 2016