WWE & AEW May Pause Due To Florida Stay-At-Home Decision
The state of Florida has placed a 30-day stay-at-home order that goes into effect Thursday at midnight, which could hamper both the WWE and AEW.
BREAKING NEWS: Top Trump Ally Ron DeSantis (Republican Governor of Florida) Finally Issues Statewide Stay-at-Home Order After Many, Many Days of Criticism, Illness, and Death Across Florida https://t.co/3bx1vAoz9H https://t.co/3bx1vAoz9H
— Seth Abramson (@?) (@SethAbramson) April 1, 2020
The WWE Performance Center, used for WrestleMania 36 and other television tapings, is located in Orlando, Florida, as is the Full Sail University used for WWE NXT events.
AEW has used sites in Florida for tapings, moving the most recent editions of Dark and Dynamite to an undisclosed location in the Southeast part of the United States earlier this week.
Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, issued the order after weeks of resistance. In recent weeks, many have seen the beaches of the state filled with spring break and other tourists despite the CDC issuing a no-gathering order.
President Donald Trump has extended the social distancing guidelines for another 30 days through April with the hope of stopping the spread of COVID-19, also known as the novel coronavirus.
WrestleMania 36 was scrapped from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida and moved to the Performance Center. Bouts were taped and the event will air over Saturday and Sunday this weekend on WWE Network.
.@RobGronkowski is ????? to be the “host with the most” at #WrestleMania! pic.twitter.com/LlhYjtgBz1
— WWE (@WWE) April 1, 2020
Florida has confirmed nearly 7,000 cases of the coronavirus and almost 90 deaths, according to the state health department.
WWE’s Current Status
If things do get shutdown and the WWE is unable to put together more footage, it is possible they just hit pause on all storylines and feuds.
According to Wrestle Votes, tapings are set for the WWE Performance Center on April 10, which would come right in the middle of the stay-at-home ordered in Florida, where the center is located.
FULL MATCH: Relive @Goldberg and @BrockLesnar‘s Universal Title brawl at #WrestleMania 33, courtesy of @WWENetwork and sponsored by @SNICKERS. https://t.co/bFKDjT251m pic.twitter.com/MYnOZXHjeZ
— WWE (@WWE) April 1, 2020
The site states that “rumors around the (Performance Center) last week were that if the state of Florida issed a stay home order, which happened (Wednesday), WWE would reconsider taking a break post Mania.
“The Raw after is shot. I’ve been told if they are pausing for a while, some footage shot won’t be aired. TBD at this point.”
Rumors around the PC last week were that if the state of FL issued a Stay Home order, which happened today, WWE would reconsider taking a break post Mania. The RAW after is shot. I’ve been told if they are pausing for a while, some footage shot won’t be aired. TBD at this point.
— WrestleVotes (@WrestleVotes) April 1, 2020
Obviously, the WWE Network is loaded with past footage, which could be used to fill the time slots for Raw and SmackDown. They could also re-air WrestleMania 36 over a handful of dates or cut-in with other past shows and matches.
Tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET: @SashaBanksWWE and @trishstratuscom square off in
WWE ????? ????? ????? ! @WWEgames #wwe2k20 pic.twitter.com/NedgFGLlQD— WWE (@WWE) April 1, 2020
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