Speculation On WrestleMania Being Delayed This Year Due To Coronavirus, WWE HQ Changes Amid Pandemic

By Marc Middleton

Could we see WrestleMania 36 take place in the summer?

As we've noted, Tampa city officials are scheduled to meet this afternoon to discuss the possible cancellation or postponement of large events due to the coronavirus pandemic, and WWE's biggest show of the year will likely be discussed. It's been reported that an announcement on WrestleMania 36 changes could be coming some time today, and that the announcement may be bad news for WWE.

Advertisement

Alex McCarthy of talkSPORT noted on Twitter that we may be looking at a WrestleMania summer this year due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

"Think we're looking at a summer 'Mania...," McCarthy wrote on Twitter. He continued, "June/July is one of WWE's contingency plans I believe. With the European travel ban, number of events shutting down and even the NBA season outright suspended... I can't see how WWE can run 'Mania now."

McCarthy posted a follow-up and said things have changed drastically in the last 48 hours due to the outbreak. He revealed that Drew McIntyre was forced to fly back to the United States earlier than scheduled after spending a few days overseas doing WrestleMania 36 promotional work. This comes after President Trump announced a 30-day travel ban between Europe and the United States last night, which does not include the United Kingdom, and will run through WrestleMania 36 Week.

Advertisement

"Things have changed drastically in the past 48 hours with the coronavirus," McCarthy tweeted. "I had an interview with Drew McIntyre today but he's been flown back to the US following the travel restrictions they've just put in place. Sucks, but understandable."

It should be noted that as of right now, WrestleMania 36 is still scheduled to take place on April 5 from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. There has been no official announcement on any changes to the schedule.

On a related note, Sheamus has also been overseas doing promotional work this week. He revealed on Twitter that he also was forced to fly back to the United States due to the travel restrictions.

He wrote, "Trip cut short. Flying back Stateside... [UK flag emoji] [airplane departure emoji] [US flag emoji] #TravelBan"

Braun Strowman also took to Twitter today to weigh in on the coronavirus situation, which is changing rapidly.

"It blows my mind with what's going on in the world is the lack of consideration for others people have. Walking through the airport watching and listening to people cough and sneeze without covering there damn face with out a care in the world for others is beyond unexceptionable," Strowman wrote.

Advertisement

On a related note, PWInsider reports that as of this week, WWE started a rotation where employees from certain departments at company headquarters in Stamford, CT will be working from home so that the company can plan out logistics if they need to make a decision on having employees work outside of HQ. This process of telecommuting will likely continue over the next week or so, at least.

Stay tuned for more updates on how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the world of professional wrestling. We are expecting an announcement on WrestleMania 36 some time this afternoon.

You can see the full tweets from Strowman and Sheamus below:

Comments

Recommended