All Elite Wrestling released a statement on Tuesday regarding the recent coronavirus outbreak, indicating that the promotion’s live events will continue as planned at this time. The statement reads, “All AEW events are currently moving forward as scheduled. Of course, the safety and well-being of AEW fans, partners and talent is always our top priority, so we will continue to closely monitor the rapidly evolving situation related to COVID-19 and be guided by government officials, health organizations and venue management. AEW will update ticket purchasers if there are any changes to the event schedule, and we encourage everyone in the AEW family to be good to themselves — and each other — by taking preventative actions as recommended by the CDC and WHO.”
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AEW has almost every episode of Dynamite between now and the Double or Nothing pay-per-view (May 23 in Las Vegas), with stops in Salt Lake City, Rochester, Newark, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Boston, Philadelphia, Houston, New Orleans and Albuquerque.
Below is the lineup for this week’s Dynamite:
- Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara vs. Hangman Page and TBA
- Death Triangle (PAC, Pentagon Jr., Rey Fenix) vs. Joe Janela and Private Party
- MJF, The Butcher and The Blade vs. Jurassic Express
WWE released its own statement on the matter last week.
“The health and safety of our fans, performers and employees are our top priorities and we are monitoring the situation closely with our partners and government officials in Tampa Bay,” the statement read. “We remain committed to hosting WrestleMania at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday, April 5, and like other entertainment properties in the U.S., there are currently no plans to cancel or postpone our upcoming events.”
Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer reported on Monday that both promotions are considering hosting events inside empty arenas to avoid the spread of the virus.
“If WrestleMania is canceled, or held in an empty stadium or something like that, everything will be,” Meltzer said on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio. “WrestleMania will be the last one. You know it’s trouble when we start hearing about NBA and NHL and baseball games being held in empty stadiums. Every team in Major League Baseball, every team in the NBA and every team in the NHL is already preparing for that possibility. It’s not like this is an outlandish, crazy thing. This is being talked about in every league, and it’s being talked about in WWE and AEW because it has to be. You’d be absolutely negligent to not start formulating plans. Whether you have to use them… we’re pretty close. This is not a good situation at all.”
