It’s official: WrestleMania 36 will not take place in Tampa as scheduled, and has instead been moved to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando with only “essential personnel.”
WWE’s official statement is as follows:
“In coordination with local partners and government officials, WrestleMania and all related events in Tampa Bay will not take place. However, WrestleMania will still stream live on Sunday, April 5 at 7 pm ET on WWE Network and be available on pay-per-view. Only essential personnel will be on the closed set at WWE’s training facility in Orlando, Florida to produce WrestleMania.”
With Friday Night Smackdown being moved to the Performance Center with no fans in attendance and Monday Night Raw following suit, it was only a matter of time before the cancellation or postponement of WrestleMania in Tampa became an inevitability. It’s an unprecedented situation for everyone involved, and we’ll try to keep you updated on any further changes to the card or event itself.
The April 5 show is already scheduled to feature John Cena vs. The Fiend, Drew McIntyre challenging Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship, a Universal Championship match between Bill Goldberg and Roman Reigns, Becky Lynch vs. Shayna Baszler for the Raw Women’s Championship, and the first-ever NXT Women’s Championship match at a WrestleMania.
As for NXT TakeOver Tampa Bay and the Hall of Fame ceremony, current reports have those events being canceled:
WWE tells me the Hall of Fame and NXT Takeover will both not take place as previously scheduled
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) March 16, 2020
