WrestleMania 36 at Risk of Being Canceled by Tampa City Officials

While WWE has made it clear in recent statements that the company has no intention of canceling […]

March 11, 2020, 11:51am

While WWE has made it clear in recent statements that the company has no intention of canceling WrestleMania 36 in Tampa on April 5, that decision might be taken out of their hands. According to Ryan Bass of CBS Tampa, city officials are planning to meet with Tampa mayor Jane Castor on Thursday to discuss the cancellation/postponement of major public events, and that includes WreslteMania. Upcoming major events across the country such as SXSW, E3 and Coachella have all either been canceled or pushed back already, and sports leagues like the NBA and NHL are considering holding games inside empty arenas to avoid the spread of the virus.

Videos by ComicBook.com

As is tradition, WrestleMania week stretches far beyond the event itself. WWE has the event inside Raymond James Stadium, WrestleMania Axxess, the WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony, NXT TakeOver: Tampa Bay and an episode of both Raw and SmackDown all scheduled to take place in Tampa in early April. Add in the WrestleCon fan convention and more than a dozen independent wrestling shows taking place at the same time, and you’ve got tens of thousands of wrestling fans traveling to a city that has already seen cases of the virus break out.

.@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.
— Ryan Bass (@RyanWTSP) March 10, 2020

Both WWE and AEW have released statements regarding the virus.

“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,” WWE’s 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.”

“All AEW events are currently moving forward as scheduled,” AEW’s statement read. “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.”

Check out the official card for WrestleMania 36 (so far) below. The event will take place on April 5 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.