News broke late last week that, despite initial reports pointing to WWE tapings weeks worth of television in the span of a few days amid the coronavirus pandemic, the company was instead opting to only tape live episodes of Monday Night Raw, NXT and Friday Night SmackDown via the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, The decision was met with ample criticism from fans who were worried about wrestlers possibly being endangered, which was only amplified after it was revealed that an non-wrestling employee had recently tested positive. To combat those criticisms, WWE released a statement to ESPN.
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“We believe it is now more important than ever to provide people with a diversion from these hard times,” the statement read. “We are producing content on a closed set with only essential personnel in attendance following appropriate guidelines while taking additional precautions to ensure the health and wellness of our performers and staff. As a brand that has been woven into the fabric of society, WWE and its Superstars bring families together and deliver a sense of hope, determination and perseverance.”
All WWE live events have been canceled through the end of April, and the Money in the Bank pay-per-view scheduled for May 10 is currently without a venue after a decision made by Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore.
Though multiple wrestlers were in quarantine ahead of WrestleMania 36‘s taping, WWE said in its previous statement that no wrestler had tested positive for the virus as of this weekend.
“A WWE employee has tested positive for COVID-19,” the statement read. “We believe this matter is low risk to WWE talent and staff, as the individual and a roommate became symptomatic in the days following exposure to two people working in acute health care on the evening of March 26, after WWE’s TV production on a closed set was already complete. The employee had no contact with anyone from WWE since being exposed to those two individuals, is doing well, and made a complete recovery.”
WWE’s schedule will kick off this week with the latest episode of Monday Night Raw from the PC.
