Augmented Reality Comes to Sports, Thanks to Wrestlemania

Last weekend The Rock made his return to wrestling and a "new era" for the sport was on display at WWE's Wrestlemania 40 event. The event itself was largely what fans of the sport probably expected, but the use of augmented reality technology in the broadcast stood out because of how integrated it has become. While other sports are launching small-scale pilot tests of the technology, WWE seems to be all in.

From the over-the-top introductions to wrestlers where they walk through AR generated background images to the AR lightning bolts shooting across the entire venue while fights are promoted, the interesting thing is just how sophisticated and baked into the viewing experience AR has become. This is a sport on the front lines of this technology, and so they are setting the rules for the experiences that fans of other sports will likely experience in the coming years.