WWE WrestleMania 37: Roman Reigns, Daniel Bryan embrace fans returning after thriving in ThunderDome era

Bryan told CBS Sports that Reigns has approached matches in ways in which he had never imagined

At WrestleMania 37, WWE will welcome fans back to a live main-roster event for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic with 25,000 fans attending the two-day event at Tampa's Raymond James Stadium. In the main event of Night 1 on Sunday, Roman Reigns will defend the universal championship against 2021 Royal Rumble winner Edge and Daniel Bryan. While all three men have had improbable journeys to the main event, they've also had to navigate being top stars during the most unique era in professional wrestling history. At the onset of the pandemic, WWE moved all shows, including WrestleMania 36, to their Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. They would eventually transition operations to the ThunderDome, an elaborate set-up that brought back the standard entrances and elaborate pyrotechnic displays with fans attending virtually on video boards surrounding the ring. The ThunderDome was first housed inside the Amway Center in Orlando before moving to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. For Bryan, there was a unique thrill -- one with a very limited appeal in the locker room -- to the early period of wrestling in the empty WWE Performance Center at the start of the pandemic.