Pro Wrestling Sheet‘s Ryan Satin reports on Wednesday that multiple WWE employees who have been inside the WWE Performance Center over the past week have tested positive for COVID-19. While he did not give names, he did specify that the list includes wrestlers.
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“While it’s unclear when they were tested exactly, or how many of them were for wrestlers, sources tell us at least three people who had been at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando received positive test results this week,” Satin wrote. “Our sources say more testing will now be done by WWE’s medical team before this week’s TV production to make sure the virus has not spread amongst talent/behind the scenes workers.”
On June 15 WWE announced that a Performance Center trainee had tested positive. As a result the following day’s television tapings were canceled and every person who was inside the PC on June 9 (the last day the trainee was in the building) was tested. Tapings resumed the following day.
“A WWE employee has tested positive for COVID-19,” WWE’s statement on the matter at the time 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.”
Since mid-March, WWE has been running all of its tapings for episodes of Raw, SmackDown and pay-per-view events from inside the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. Several weeks later a report dropped stating that an on-screen personality (though not a wrestler) had tested positive for COVID-19 though had made a full recovery. Several wrestlers — most notably Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn — have been off television for months as they opted to stay home during the pandemic. Kevin Owens followed suit after last week’s positive test.
“I’m great, I’ve always been great,” Owens explained on Wednesday morning’s installment of The Bump. “Due to the circumstances that happened over the last week with the positive coronavirus test that happened in the company, I thought it was wiser for me to stay with my family on that day. I told the people in charge my decision and they didn’t even flinch. They were like, ‘Yeah, okay.’ There was no pushback because, I don’t think they pushback on anybody, but also they know once I make my mind up on something, that’s just the way it’s going to be. And they are respectful of my decision. I’m glad I took it because it was the best thing to do for my family.”
