Published 09:43 IST, March 17th 2020
WrestleMania 36 to be held in empty arena at WWE Performance Center due to Coronavirus
WWE confirmed on Monday night (Tuesday IST) that WrestleMania 36 will now take place in an empty arena at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. Read on.
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WWE WrestleMania becomes the latest event to be affected by the coronavirus outbreak in the United States. It was believed WWE chairman Vince McMahon was contemplating how to proceed with WWE's biggest pay-per-view of the year with several ideas from cancelling the event to switching the arena thrown into the hat.
However, WWE confirmed on Monday night (Tuesday IST) that WrestleMania 36 will now take place from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. It was previously set to be held at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida
WrestleMania 36 to be held at the WWE Performance Center
The @WWE has confirmed #WrestleMania will be relocated from Tampa Bay, FL to the @WWEPC in Orlando, FL. pic.twitter.com/BU49sEOV6S
— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) March 16, 2020
Last week's episode of SmackDown and this week's episode of RAW have already been moved to the WWE Performance Center as the company prepares for some drastic measure to combat the outbreak. And just like SmackDown and RAW, WrestleMania 36 will now take place in an empty arena with only a limited number of WWE staff and officials to be present at the show.
WrestleMania 36 schedule after WWE RAW show moved to WWE Performance Center due to coronavirus outbreak
'In coordination with local partners and government officials, WrestleMania and all related events in Tampa Bay will not take place," the WWE statement read. "However, WrestleMania will still stream live on Sunday, April 5 at 7 PM ET (Monday, April 6, 4:30 AM IST) on WWE Network and be available on pay-per-view. Only essential personnel will be on the closed set at WWE's training facility in Orlando, Florida to produce WrestleMania.', read WWE's statement about the relocation.
Coronavirus outbreak in US; WWE News
According to The Guardian, the confirmed cases of coronavirus in the US has already crossed 4000 with New York and Washington being the most affected states. Florida, where WrestleMania 36 was originally set to take place, has over 150 confirmed cases.
It is reported that the Tampa city officials initially gave the onus to WWE to make a call surrounding the future of WrestleMania 36. However, with the number of cases increasing rapidly, it is believed that the same officials pressured the company to cancel the event.
While WrestleMania 36 will continue as planned, the annual WrestleMania week including NXT TakeOver and WWE Hall of Fame ceremony are cancelled, per WWE's statement.
Meanwhile, fans flock to social media with some hilarious reactions to WrestleMania being held at WWE Performance Center
" Man this mf cursed wrestlemania " pic.twitter.com/w4LLwJzugV
— إلياس (@ilyassWillDraw) March 16, 2020
Fans: "Wow I can't wait until WrestleMania in Tampa, it's gonna be great!"
— 𝔽𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝔽𝕠𝕣 𝔽𝕠𝕝𝕝𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕤 ‼️ (@Fiend4Follows) March 16, 2020
Coronavirus:#Wrestlemania pic.twitter.com/tPuxaUaVb7
Roman Reigns after he beats Goldberg at #WrestleMania: pic.twitter.com/l1yDQGb948
— Շ๏๓ Շђє ק๏รєรรє๔ ๒ץ ๔є๓๏ภ שคɭєภՇเภ๏♿ (@TheTomValentino) March 16, 2020
09:43 IST, March 17th 2020