WWE Reportedly Has a Backup Plan in Case COVID-19 Causes Another Shutdown
WWE has been back on the road for nearly two full weeks now. But while the company's ongoing tour [...]
WWE has been back on the road for nearly two full weeks now. But while the company's ongoing tour has Monday Night Raw, Friday Night SmackDown and house shows appearing in various cities around the country, the number of COVID-19 cases has been climbing back up. With mask mandates starting to be imposed again (the Nevada county that will host SummerSlam next month just introduced one), companies like WWE and AEW are preparing for the possibility of yet another shutdown. But if you're worried that the company will be going back to the empty ThunderDome anytime soon, don't be.
Andrew Zarian reported on the latest Mat Men Podcast that WWE has already started formulating a plan, one that will see WWE's weekly shows jumping around to a number of locations. None of the company's touring plans have needed to change as of yet.
"Everybody is concerned, it's not just AEW," Zarian said (h/t WrestlingNews.co). "WWE is very concerned as well and they do have secondary plans. They are in motion just in case. Do I anticipate another shutdown like we had seen? No, I don't anticipate that. I don't think anybody anticipates that. I think you need a game plan for sure. AEW has an easy game plan, they just go back to Daily's Place but for WWE, it's so heavy on touring and touring that they really don't have a safe bet. What I was told is that they are looking at six or seven buildings that they could possibly bounce around from if things get closed down a little bit. They would want to be able to tour but more controlled.
"This is on the WWE side, I know that everybody is concerned," he added. "All sports, any touring brand is concerned over this, it's not just an AEW thing. Everybody needs to have a discussion. Now whether or not they are in panic mode, I don't think anybody is in panic mode right now but it is something to be concerned about."
WWE's SummerSlam event is scheduled to take place at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Aug. 21. Here's what's been either announced or hinted at for the show so far:
- WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns vs. John Cena
- WWE Championship: Bobby Lashley vs. Goldberg
- Raw Women's Championship: Nikki A.S.H. vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley
- Edge vs. Seth Rollins