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

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.

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.

“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.

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.

https://twitter.com/BraunStrowman/status/1238103815255179265

https://twitter.com/WWESheamus/status/1238077614515986433

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Denies Friday’s SmackDown Is Being Moved To Performance Center Due To Coronavirus, The Latest On The Virus, Pro Wrestling

WWE issued a statement denying that Friday’s SmackDown has been moved from the Little Caesar’s Arena in Detroit, Michigan to the WWE Performance Center due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

It was reported on Wednesday night, that Friday’s WWE TV tapings were being nixed due to the coronavirus pandemic. In an update, WWE issued a statement late tonight and denied that SmackDown in Detroit was being cancelled. They did say that they are putting contingency plans in place for upcoming shows.

The following statement was issued to ESPN:

“WWE has not cancelled Friday Night SmackDown in Detroit, however, based on the current situation, we are putting contingency plans in place in the event that upcoming WWE shows are cancelled by government officials, civil authorities and/or local venues.”

Stay tuned for updates on the situation. You can click here for news on President Trump’s 30-day travel ban that will impact WrestleMania 36 visitors, and click here for news on a potential major WrestleMania 36 coronavirus announcement that could come on Thursday afternoon. You can also click here to see what Sheamus and Sasha Banks had to say about the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Below is information about the Coronavirus pandemic and the status of pro wrestling and MMA shows across the world from Wrestling Observer Radio

Exalted One To Be Revealed On Next Week’s AEW Dynamite

The Dark Order’s Exalted One will be revealed on next week’s AEW Dynamite, which takes place from the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York.

Over the past several weeks speculation has led to numerous possible names for the group’s leader: Christopher Daniels, Matt Hardy, Lance Archer, Raven, and Luke Harper/Brodie Lee (also a Rochester native). We’ll find out next week who is the head of the stable.

Lance Archer Arrives In AEW As Client Of Jake “The Snake” Roberts

Lance Archer made his AEW debut Wednesday night as the client of Jake “The Snake” Roberts.

It all went down during the opening match on Dynamite when Archer and Roberts walked out as Cody wrestled against Ortiz.

The duo then sat in the front row and watched on as the two wrestlers went at it in the ring. Archer teased jumping over the railing at one point in the match, but Jake stopped him from doing it and they instead left before the match was over.

The former WWE, Impact and NJPW wrestler’s signing was announced by All Elite Wrestling last month.

Watch his entrance on Dynamite below.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

AEW Dynamite Preview 3/11/20

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite will air live from the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah.

* Ortiz (with Santana) vs. Cody (with Arn Anderson)

* Death Triangle (PAC, Pentagon Jr., and Fenix) vs. Private Party and Joey Janela

* Jurassic Express vs. MJF, The Butcher, and The Blade (with Wardlow and The Bunny)

* Blood and Guts Match rules announcement

* AEW Tag Team Champion Hangman Page and a mystery partner vs. Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara (Non-Title Match)

WWE NXT Preview 3/11/20

Tonight’s WWE NXT will be a special edition, airing on the USA Network from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.

Tonight’s show is airing from the Performance Center due to Full Sail University using the Full Sail Live venue (the NXT Arena) for an event that is related to their annual Hall of Fame Week. Triple H recently stated that they knew about the Full Sail event for a long time. There’s no word yet on what the set up will be for tonight’s show inside the Performance Center, but it will be interesting to see. WWE billed tonight’s event as a Fan Appreciation Night and put up a limited number of free tickets after the February 26 episode at Full Sail, but they were gone in less than 10 seconds.

  • Keith Lee defends the NXT North American Championship against Cameron Grimes
  • The BroserWeights defend the NXT Tag Team Titles against Undisputed ERA
  • How will Adam Cole react to The Velveteen Dream’s actions?
  • What does Johnny Gargano have planned for Tommaso Ciampa?

Matt Hardy Says Today Is The Day It Ends & Begins, Matt On Jeff Hardy’s Return To WWE SmackDown

The speculation on Matt Hardy’s post-WWE future continues.

Hardy took to Twitter today and said today is the day, for something.

“Today is the day it ends. Today is the day it begins,” he wrote.

There’s still no word yet on if Matt will end up with AEW or some other promotion now that he’s a free agent from WWE, but we may have a better idea after he releases part 2 of the “Free The Delete” series finale later this afternoon. There’s already speculation on his latest tweet being related to a possible debut on tonight’s AEW Dynamite episode.

https://twitter.com/MATTHARDYBRAND/status/1237733799485677569

 

https://twitter.com/MATTHARDYBRAND/status/1237409952748224513

Below are Matt’s comments on brother Jeff Hardy’s return to SmackDown on FOX this Friday, along with a teaser and outtake from today’s episode, and promotional tweets on some of Matt’s upcoming post-WWE appearances, including his “Broken Tailgate Party” at WrestleCon during WrestleMania 36 Weekend:

https://twitter.com/MATTHARDYBRAND/status/1237248265889943553

https://twitter.com/RebyHardy/status/1237558670679920640

https://twitter.com/wrestlecon/status/1237500286953979905

https://twitter.com/fswvegas/status/1236722854554550272

https://twitter.com/PPSCLV/status/1237176031154278400

 

 

Source: Wrestling Inc.

XFL Television Ratings Hit New Low

XFL television ratings hit a new low in Week 5.

Both Sunday games dropped below one million viewers for the first time, despite the late game airing on ESPN as opposed to the weaker ESPN 2 the prior week. The first game on Sunday airing on FS1 between the St. Louis BattleHawks and DC Defenders averaged 767,000 viewers, the smallest audience for an XFL game yet. The ESPN game on Sunday evening between the Tampa Bay Vipers and the Los Angeles Wildcats averaged 833,000 viewers.

Total attendance for the weekend was the lowest so far this season with 64,246 fans, down 8.5% from last week.

The first game on ABC on Saturday fared much better, as the audience was only down 1% from the week prior to 1.547 million viewers. However, the following game on FOX, which faced competition from NCAA basketball, was down 17% to 1.497 million viewers.

The four games averaged 1.16 million viewers, down 16% from Week 4.

Below are details ratings and attendance numbers for the first five weeks, courtesy of Showbuzz Daily:

Week 1 (Feb 8 & 9):
Sat. Game 1 – ABC, Seattle at DC (17,163 fans): 3.302 million viewers, 1.1 (18-49)
Sat. Game 2 – FOX, L.A. at Houston (17,815): 3.29 million, 1.1
Sun. Game 1 – ABC, Tampa Bay at New York (17,634): 3.39 million, 1.0
Sun. Game 2 – FOX, St. Louis at Dallas (17,206): 2.5 million, 0.93
Total Attendance: 69,818
Average: 3.12 million viewers

Week 2 (Feb 15 & 16):
Sat. Game 1 – ABC, New York at D.C. (15,031): 2.146 million, 0.6 (18-49)
Sat. Game 2 – FOX, Tampa Bay at Seattle (29,172): 2.324 million, 0.6
Sun. Game 1 – ESPN, Dallas at L.A. (14,979): 2.397 million, 0.6
Sun. Game 2 – FS1, St. Louis at Houston (17,103): 1.359 million viewers, 0.51
Total Attendance: 76,285 (+9.3%)
Average: 2.06 million viewers (-35.9%)

Week 3 (Feb 23 & 24):
Sat. Game 1 – ABC, Houston at Tampa Bay (18,117): 1.914 million (-10.8%), 0.6 (no change)
Sat. Game 2 – FOX, Dallas at Seattle (22,060): 2.051 million (-11.8%), 0.5 (-16.7%)
Sun. Game 1 – ESPN, New York at St. Louis (29,554): 1.473 million (-38.54%), 0.47 (-21.7%)
Sun. Game 2 – FS1, D.C. at L.A. (12,211): 1.004 million (-26.12%), 0.37 (-27.5%)
Total Attendance: 81,942 (+7.4%)
Average: 1.61 million viewers (-21.8%)

Week 4 (Feb 29 & Mar 1):
Sat. Game 1 – ABC, L.A. at New York (12,116): 1.558 million (-24%), 0.4 (-33%)
Sat. Game 2 – FOX, Seattle at St. Louis (27,527): 1.802 million (-5.85%), 0.5 (no change)
Sun. Game 1 – FS1, Houston at Dallas (18,332): 1.113 million (+10.86%), 0.38 (-19%)
Sun. Game 2 – ESPN 2, D.C. at Tampa Bay (12,249): 1.030 million (2.59%), 0.34 (-8.1%)
Total Attendance: 70,224 (-14%)
Average: 1.38 million viewers (-14%)

Week 5 (Mar 7 & 8):
Sat. Game 1 – ABC, Seattle at Houston (19,773): 1.547 million (-0.7%)
Sat. Game 2 – FOX, New York at Dallas (15,950): 1.497 million (-17%)
Sun. Game 1 – FS1, St. Louis at D.C. (16,342): 767,000 (-31%)
Sun. Game 2 – ESPN, Tampa Bay at L.A. (12,181): 833,000 (-19%)
Total Attendance: 64,246 (-8.5%)
Average: 1.16 million viewers (-16%)

 

 

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Tampa Officials To Discuss Canceling Or Postponing Major Events On Thursday

The City of Tampa and Tampa Mayor Jane Castor will be meeting on Thursday to discuss canceling or postponing major events due to the coronavirus. CBS Tampa’s Ryan Bass tweeted the news tonight.

His full tweet was, “@CityofTampa and @JaneCastor will meet on Thursday to discuss canceling or postponing “major” events due to #Coronavirus. This weekend’s River O’Green fest isn’t likely to be canceled.”

WrestleMania 36 will most definitely be one of the events to be discussed on Thursday. As noted the event is scheduled to be in Tampa on April 5 at the Raymond James Stadium.

Due to the virus, several large popular events like Coachella and South by Southwest have been canceled or postponed.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Nia Jax WWE Return Update

Nia Jax is reportedly expected to return to WWE at any point now, according to PWInsider.

She’s been medically cleared for in-ring action, it’s simply up to WWE to work her back into a storyline.

Jax underwent double knee surgery last April, and in December, got back to training at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando.

Her last match on WWE TV was at WrestleMania 35 where The IIconics won the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship in a Fatal 4-Way Match against Bayley & Sasha Banks, Beth Phoenix & Natalya, and Tamina & Jax.

Source: Wrestling Inc.