Coronavirus Cancels WrestleMania Week

Should WWE cancel WrestleMania?

David Gibb: The move to the Performance Center is fine and will give people something to watch, as well as provide a paycheck for the wrestlers, but WWE could’ve built something really huge and satisfying if the powers that be had the patience to turn SummerSlam into WrestleMania and work toward that.

Chad Gelfand: This is a tough call because we don’t know how long the restrictions brought on by the coronavirus will last as it pertains to live events, so there’s no telling when the postponed show would actually take place. However, the idea of WrestleMania taking place in an empty Performance Center just seems wrong, but I understand how WWE’s hands are tied in this situation.

Matthew Smith: Absolutely. I love a good escape from reality, but the performers are people, too. They travel more than most Americans and are at a high risk to being exposed. They should be allowed to stay away and take care of their families like other sports organizations are allowing.

Juan Bautista: Yes, there’s no doubt now. The sports world is shut down, let alone everyday life for some as well.

Steven Jackson: WrestleMania cannot go ahead with the risks to people’s health. It’s a sad move, but out of everyone’s control. Good ol’ Vince needs to understand that!

John Corrigan: WrestleMania without an audience is not WrestleMania. Even though we don’t know how long these conditions will last, I vote to postpone Mania until further notice. All the matches can stay the same – just show vignettes, interviews and classic content every week to build up to the eventual showdown.

Should independent promotions cancel their WrestleMania Week events?

Gibb: Yes. This should also be an important message about relying on WrestleMania to make your year if you’re a company not named WWE.

Gelfand: So many wrestlers and promoters had a lot at stake WrestleMania Weekend, and now that large source of income is gone, and it’s outside of their control.

Smith: Everyone should.

Bautista: This is a tricky situation because these promotions have more riding on WrestleMania Week than even WWE does. Each promotion has a certain amount of money invested in this. It may be tough, but at this rate the independent promotions are going to have to cancel events.

Jackson: Again, the risks to not only fans’ health, but performers and personnel’s health cannot be downplayed.

Corrigan: Seems to be no choice at this point. WWE pulling out of Tampa was the nail in the coffin.

If you had tickets to a pro wrestling event during WrestleMania Week, would you still go?

Gibb: No, heck no. I’m barely leaving my house. I’ve got asthma!

Gelfand: No. I don’t think any of the events would still be allowed to take place and people should be self-quarantining at this time outside of going to work and necessary activities.

Smith: I got tickets to the New Orleans SmackDown show and I know it’s canceled, but I wasn’t going to travel for it, anyway. It’s just not worth the risk.

Bautista: Depending on the ticket policies or what the situation is at that point, I would probably limit how many shows I go to.

Jackson: For the sake of my personal circumstances (living with people and being around people who are classed as in the “at risk” category), no. You need to take a step back and see that although you may lose some money, what’s more important is not losing those you love the most to this terrible virus.

Corrigan: I was planning to still go to Synergy’s For The Crown on March 28 because it wouldn’t be a huge crowd and I’m already going stir crazy in the house. However, that event will most likely take place without fans in attendance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwDzKYLkUkQ

What do you think about Raw, SmackDown, Dynamite, NXT, etc. being held in front of no fans?

Gibb: It’s kind of cool. I like hearing the grunts and the sound of the mat. It feels a little like you’re watching footage of wrestling rather than wrestling.

Gelfand: It can only be done for a limited time before it would make more sense just to go into an offseason and come back strong after a month or two off.

Smith: While it’s nice to see live events going, we need to stop this. Use this as a chance to open the WWE Network to everyone, run classic PPVs, big debuts, shocking wins on WWE TV, etc. As far as AEW goes, The Elite have never had a problem getting on a screen. Just stream more content and stay safe.

Bautista: It gives us something to take our minds off of coronavirus for just a few hours.

Jackson: It’s a novelty and ingenious. It’s quite amusing and seems like something out of a video game. But I commend all the talent who are trying to make the best of a bad situation and help entertain us during these dark times.

Corrigan: Edge’s promo was cool and Triple H’s hijinks were funny, but the rest of the shows feel weird. Pro wrestling events need an audience, regardless of how small. WWE should stop doing them at the Performance Center and just run vignettes, interviews and classic content from its vast archives until the foreseeable future.

If you’re on lockdown in your house for the next month or so, what wrestling content will you probably watch?

Gibb: Clashes. All of them.

Gelfand: I’ll probably catch up on the WWE docuseries on the Network because those are some of the best pieces of content WWE produces. Also, Tough Enough because I’m oddly nostalgic for early 2000s reality shows.

Smith: Still having to work as of now, but if I’m at home, why not catch up on some docs, and maybe relive some of the Ruthless Aggression Era. The new series is solid and going down memory lane is why we watch wrestling.

Bautista: I would watch some stuff on the WWE Network, as well as old TNA and WCPW content. I would also catch up on YouTube content.

Jackson: To start with, definitely Powerslam.TV. There is so much content on the service I would like to watch that I have not had the chance to catch up on yet. I have an Honorclub subscription so definitely some more ROH Wrestling. Dark Side of the Ring of course. And finally, anything that was recommended or anything I found for free online.

Corrigan: Every WCW PPV. I’ve never seen most of them, and I’m already through February. I’ll have lots of thoughts to share when the binge ends!