Edge Defends WWE's Decision to Continue With WrestleMania 36 During Coronavirus Pandemic

From the 2020 Olympic Games to the NCAA Men's College Basketball Tournament to Coachella, major events across the world have been canceled, rescheduled and/or postponed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. And yet WWE, despite jumping through multiple massive hoops, has remained steadfast in making sure that WrestleMania 36 still happens on the first weekend of April. The show was officially moved from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa back on March 16, and as of now it will take place on April 4 and 5 at the WWE Performance Center (along with a few closed set locations) in front of no fans. According to numerous reports, the show will be pretaped later this week.

The decision to keep moving forward with the show has received its fair share of criticism. However WWE Hall of Famer Edge spoke up in defense of the promotion's decision in a new interview with DigitalSpy.

"This year more than any year we are all in the midst of something we have never experienced before, the world really needs outlets," he said.

"Whether that is books, whether that is movies, whatever it is, just to be able to try and forget and laugh and have fun and remember what it is to be human," Edge said. That's why we're doing this. There's one reason. That's the reason. As long we can try and be as responsible and as safe as we can, why wouldn't we try and do this for everyone?

"As a performer, that's what we want to do. If we can do that and if people watch and can have fun for a few hours then our mission is accomplished," he added. "It's a privilege, it's an honor, it's also a responsibility — and it's one that I know all of us don't take lightly. There's a reason the show is going on. Those are the reasons why."

On this week's Raw Randy Orton officially accepted Edge's challenge for a Last Man Standing match at the show.

Here's the latest WrestleMania 36 card:

• WWE Championship: Brock Lesnar vs. Drew McIntyre
• WWE Universal Championship: Goldberg vs. Roman Reigns
• Edge vs. Randy Orton [Last Man Standing]
• John Cena vs. "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt
• NXT Women's Championship: Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair
• Raw Women's Championship: Becky Lynch vs. Shayna Baszler
• Raw Tag Team Championships: The Street Profits vs. Andrade & Angel Garza
• SmackDown Women's Championship: Bayley vs. Lacey Evans vs. Tamina vs. Naomi vs. Sasha Banks
• SmackDown Tag Team Championships: The Miz & John Morrison vs. The New Day or The Usos
• The Undertaker vs. AJ Styles (Boneyard Match)
• Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins
• Aleister Black vs. Bobby Lashley
• Elias vs. King Corbin