WWE announces that WrestleMania will switch locations and continue without a live audience. Considered the flagship show of WWE, it is the longest-running professional wrestling event in history. First held in 1985, the show is typically presented as a spectacle and has been frequently compared to the Super Bowl. In accordance with its importance, WrestleMania typically serves as a season finale for WWE. Storylines culminate and reset, with new feuds and new characters being introduced in the weeks and months after the event’s conclusion. This year was planned to be no different, as several significant matches have already been announced for Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, but the realities of the coronavirus has forced a change of plans. Matches such as Drew McIntyre vs Brock Lesnar, and John Cena facing off against The Fiend, will now happen without any audience members in attendance.
WWE announced in a statement that all Tampa Bay events related to WrestleMania will not take place. Instead, WrestleMania will stream live from the closed set at WWE’s training facility in Orlando, Florida. Only essential personnel will be present to produce the event. The date of WrestleMania has not been changed and will still air on April 5.
WWE has been relatively slow in announcing the expected shifts to their flagship event, compared to how other major institutions have announced going on hiatus, but the company has been working on alternatives and contingency plans. The most recent episodes of Raw and Smackdown have aired from the training facility in Orlando, known as the Performance Center, without a live audience. This is expected to be the norm going forward.
The decision to move forward with WrestleMania from the Performance Center, and without a live audience, is historic. Much more than simply a simple pay-per-view, WrestleMania represents a celebration of professional wrestling which unfolds over the course of a week. It is preceded by Axxess, where fans from all over the world converge to meet their favorite wrestlers and make memories. The Hall of Fame, which honors legends of the industry, usually takes place before WrestleMania as well. The independent wrestling scene, which typically receives a boost from WrestleMania, has halted and many independent performers are currently without jobs. It’s just one of the ways that the coronavirus has disrupted daily life for so many.
