Report: WWE To Tape Several RAW, SmackDown Episodes In Advance, Possibly WrestleMania

With the immediate future all too uncertain due to the coronavirus pandemic, WWE is reportedly taking steps to ensure they have multiple weeks of television ready to air. According to a report from POST Wrestling, WWE will be taping multiple episodes of both RAW and SmackDown over the next few days with talent in town for this week's RAW and SmackDown. The move makes sense logistically, as there could be a moment in time where WWE is simply not allowed by law to assemble their talent for tapings, depending on how the pandemic goes over the next few weeks in the United States.

The plan as of now is for SmackDown to take place live on Friday night this week, with the March 27th and April 3rd editions then being taped in the next few days. The March 23rd and March 30th editions of RAW would also be taped in advance at some point in the next several days. This would cover every episode of WWE television heading into WrestleMania 36.

There's also been rumors that WrestleMania itself could also be taped in advance due to the uncertainty of the next couple of weeks. That report is not yet confirmed, but if it were to happen, the rumors have been WrestleMania would be taped at some point in the next one week.

The plans for WrestleMania have changed considerably over the last couple of days. WWE announced on Monday that WrestleMania would no longer be occurring at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. Instead, the biggest show of the year has been moved to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando.

Word then came that not only would WrestleMania occur at the Performance Center, it would become a two-night event. The show will now occur on Saturday, April 4th and Sunday, April 5th. The Saturday night show will reportedly be headlined by Brock Lesnar defending the WWE Championship against Drew McIntyre, and the Sunday night finale will be headlined by Bill Goldberg defending the WWE Universal Championship against Roman Reigns.

There has also been reports that WWE could be taping WrestleMania in several closed set locations and not entirely at the Performance Center.

Regardless, there is a ton of uncertainty around WWE right now and we'll have to wait and see how everything shakes out in what is typically the most important and exciting time of the year for the company.