WWE COVID-19 Update: Latest on Drew McIntyre, Other Positive Tests

WWE Champion Drew McIntyre continues to recover at home after testing positive for COVID-19, and this week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter has some updates on how he found out and the lack of symptoms he had. McIntyre will be wrestling 54 year old Bill Goldberg at the Royal Rumble in two weeks, so his recovery is at the front of everyone's mind as WWE prepares for one of their three biggest PPV events of the year.

Pior to testing positive, McIntyre was part of WWE Raw's legends night where he interacted with Goldberg, as well as Hulk Hogan, Jimmy Hart, and others. According to the Observer, McIntyre tested negative a few days after that show which has led them to believe he was not infected at the time.

The report also notes that McIntyre was only experiencing very minimal symptoms when he received his positive test. McIntyre is reportedly unaware how he was infected as he rarely leaves his house and has played things extra safe during the pandemic.

There are reportedly at least four WWE performers, including McIntyre, that have recently tested positive for COVID-19. The report notes that another was a SmackDown talent who had a fairly minimal television role and was pulled from the January 8th SmackDown after testing positive the previous day. Another positive case was someone who missed action "for a while" but is now back, and a fourth was reportedly an NXT star who missed a few weeks of television due to the positive test.

The Observer went on to note that WWE has reportedly relaxed their rule in recent weeks of keeping their brands separate from each other due to infection risks. Following numerous positive cases around the time of Raw Underground being discontinued, reports came out that all three brands (Raw, NXT, and SmackDown) were being kept separate from each other as much as possible to avoid an outbreak. NXT, in particular, was being kept away from the main roster talents.