As WWE has turned to no-fans shows and the status of this year’s WrestleMania is in question, other wrestling companies in North America have suspended events altogether in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
As some areas go on lockdown, the spread of COVID-19 has caused Impact Wrestling to postpone its March 28 event, Lockdown, in Ontario, and its March 29 Breakdown event in Michigan. Impact has yet to make an announcement about the fate of their events in April, including its TNA throwback WrestleMania weekend event, There’s No Place Like Home. Here’s how Impact presented the situation on its website:
We continue to monitor the situation actively and are reviewing the recommendations from the appropriate government agencies and local communities, particularly as they relate to There’s No Place Like Home scheduled for April 3 and Rebellion scheduled for April 19.
Other promotions are taking similar measures. In a statement from David Lagana, the NWA announced it is “suspending normal operations until June as far as any live performances,” including the Crocket Cup PPV on April 19 and the NWA Powerrr tapings scheduled for the following days. Lagana added that “we will continue to produce content in the interim and thank fans in advance for their continued support.”
Major League Wrestling (MLW) has “suspended promoting live events for 45 days, effective immediately, as the league continues to assess the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic” and has rescheduled their April 18 event in Chicago for June 12. Ring of Honor canceled its anniversary show and Past vs. Present events this month but has yet to announce any changes to events in April, including its WrestleMania weekend Supercard of Honor show.
The lucha libre world is now beginning to feel the impact of the coronavirus pandemic as well, with event bans put into effect in some areas of Mexico. The largest company affected so far is CMLL, which has suspended shows for the time being.
Meanwhile, All Elite Wrestling continues to respond to event bans by saying it will relocate episodes of Dynamite and return to the planned location later in the year. The first three episodes of Dynamite for April (in Milwaukee, St. Louis, and Boston) have been relocated.
AEW has yet to announce where it will broadcast from on these dates, and it’s very possible that without a clear home base building like the Performance Center in which to hold shows, they’re still figuring that out. But we do know that these episodes of AEW Dynamic will, like upcoming episodes of WWE TV shows have no fans in attendance; the company says that Dynamite “will be produced at closed set locations with essential personnel only” until further notice.
