Despite council meetings to decide on its fate and the Governor of Florida’s recommendation to ban all mass gatherings in the state until the global pandemic of COVID-19 is under control, the current plan from WWE is to put on WrestleMania 36 at Raymond James Stadium as planned.
The most recent development, however, comes from Hillsborough County commissioner Les Miller, who says he’ll “probably” have to cancel the April 5 show if WWE doesn’t make the decision itself. Via ESPN:
“I’m hoping that Vince McMahon and WrestleMania and WWE make the call themselves, but a week from now, if they’ve not done that and we’re still in the situation we’re in, we’ll probably have to pull the plug on that,” Miller said Thursday, according to Fox 13.
Miller’s remarks came on the same day Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said that cities and counties should cancel mass gatherings over the next 30 days to limit the spread of the coronavirus. If WrestleMania 36 is not canceled, organizers will be asked to take screening measures to prevent infected people from entering.
When asked Friday about Miller’s comment, a WWE spokesperson referred to a statement that was released Thursday.
In case you missed that statement:
“While we remain committed to hosting WrestleMania at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday, April 5, we are putting contingency plans in place in the event that it is cancelled by government officials, civil authorities and/or local venues. The health and safety of our fans, performers and employees are our top priorities and we are monitoring the situation closely with our partners and government officials in Tampa Bay.”
We’ll keep you updated on what actually happens in Tampa, but with Smackdown airing from an empty WWE Performance Center this week and Monday Night Raw scheduled to follow suit, it looks like stalling on a decision and waiting to see of the coronavirus epidemic takes care of itself may not be viable for much longer.
