Report: A Possible Reason Why WWE is Airing Live TV Episodes During Cornavirus Pandemic

Following WrestleMania 36, WWE was reportedly planning on pre-taping weeks worth of content for Monday Night Raw, Friday Night SmackDown and NXT at the WWE Performance Center and Full Sail Live down in Orlando, Florida. However by last Friday those plans had changed, with WWE instead opting to air all three shows live on a weekly basis going forward despite the coronavirus pandemic still going on and an employee testing positive for the virus.

WWE then released a statement over the weekend defending their decision, which read, "We believe it is now more important than ever to provide people with a diversion from these hard times. 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," the statement continued.

Even though the choice has been met with plenty of criticism online, it is possible that WWE's hands are actually tied regarding the tape vs. live decision. According to Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer, WWE's television contracts with both NBC Universal (which air Raw and NXT) and FOX (which airs SmackDown) both have a limit for how many taped shows they'll allow per year, which are typically used for Raw and SmackDown's United Kingdom tours and Christmas week

"While nobody will say so publicly, the fear was that by violating the contract, it would give the networks the legal ability to withhold money or find a way to change the deals," Meltzer wrote. "With no house shows, the company, like all sports companies, is surviving largely based on television revenue, but the networks paying that are also taking in far less revenue than they projected at this point in time due to the pandemic."

Meltzer added that it's unclear at this time if Vince McMahon was directly ordered by networks to continue producing live shows, or if he is doing as a precaution to keep WWE's television deals from being affected.

This week's Monday Night Raw will take place live at the WWE Performance Center. WWE Champion Drew McIntyre and Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch are both scheduled to appear.