With over 3,091,141 COVID-19 cases worldwide, and over 1 million in the U.S. alone, many wonder when things will get back to normal. Especially if you’re a fan of wrestling, you’re probably wondering when the WWE will resume so you can get tickets for the next event. 

In this article, come discover the future of wrestling and how it’s impacted by the coronavirus. Read on to discover when exactly you can start enjoying your games and have some peace of mind. 

Is the WWE an Essential Service?

While state officials are scrambling to ensure most of society is closed, Florida deems WWE an essential business. It’s agreed that essential business falls under law and order, healthcare, and grocery stores. 

If you head to Orange County Florida, they recently held a marquee show this month. 

Governor DeSantis ordered all to stay home April 3rd and beyond unless they’re an essential business. On April 9th, Jared Moskowitz, the director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management added media production and professional sports to its list of essential workers. 

Many are confused by this finding since health experts don’t want people gathering unless absolutely necessary. 

Wrestlemania streamed live this month to avoid gatherings, but there was still contact between the wrestlers in Tampa Bay. 

Who Stays and Who Goes?

After Wrestlemania, it’s common for some wrestlers to be let go but unfortunately, there was a long list. One of those members was WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle. 

The full list includes:

• Kurt Angle 
• Drake Maverick (James Curtin)
• Rusev (Miroslav Barnyashev)
• Luke Gallows (Drew Hankinson)
• Zack Ryder (Matthew Cardona)
• Curt Hawkins (Brian Myers)
• Karl Anderson (Chad Allegra)
• Heath Slater (Heath Miller)
• Rowan (Joseph Rudd)
• Eric Young (Jeremy Fritz)
• Mike Chioda 
• Sara Logan (Sarah Rowe)
• No Way Jose (Levis Valenzuela)
• Maria Kanellis 
• Mike Kanellis (Mike Beenett)
• Aiden English (Matthew Rehwoldt)
• EC3 (Michael Hutter)
• Epico (Orlando Colon Nieves)
• Primo (Edwin Colon)
• Lio Rush (Lionel Green)

A Positive Test

A WWE employee tested positive for COVID-19. Not part of the WWE roster, but on-screen talent. This person who tested positive wasn’t in contact with anyone from WWE after being exposed to the virus. They’ve since fully recovered and are doing well. 

To protect fans, you can enjoy WWE from the comfort of your home. They plan to record many shows in advance on closed sets to protect fans and the wrestlers. 

WWE is ensuring safety for their wrestlers by taking everyone’s temperatures before they’re allowed in the arena, and social distancing when not on stage. 

Roman Reigns pulled out of WrestleMania 36 due to fears of getting sick and hinted at health concerns. He has been immunocompromised and has been battling leukemia but is currently in remission. 

He also won’t go up against Bill Goldberg for the Universal Championship because of these health concerns. 

Currently Resuming

While the taping resumes, others aren’t so lucky to continue filming. Governor Gavin Newsom in California pressured Disney to stop UFC 249. The UFC president, Dana White, said that they agreed to step down due to their respect for ESPN and Disney. 

They had scheduled UFC 249 for April 18th on ESPN PLUS pay-per-view, which had been canceled. White said he plans on having a building set up on a private island so fights can be filmed and proceed. 

As of now, WWE was planning on doing 5 weeks’ worth of filming and then sending everyone home. They’ll be filming at their NXT Arena at Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL, and the WWWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. 5 weeks of each show will be taped along with the Main Event and 205 Live episodes. 

Then they received the call to go live. So now you can enjoy WWE weekly shows on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Meltzer stated that both WWE and AEW both violated state orders when they had more in their closed-set taping than allowed. WWE is currently doing as much as they can to avoid the spread of the virus. 

Safety Measures

Currently, the WWE Network is doing everything they can to continue offering shows. They’re also cutting expenses to make up for the lack of public shows. 

They’re currently:

• Delaying building on the company’s new headquarters
• Limiting operating expenses
• Decreasing the board member and executive compensation
• Decreasing talent expenses

Due to COVID-19 being up in the air for the future, that’s another reason they cut the workforce. 

When Will in Person Events Begin Again?

It looks like they’re currently planning the next events to resume in July in Florida and other locations. It appears that events sooner than this have been canceled due to COVID-19. You can always plan ahead and get your WWE tickets in advance. 

WWE Network Schedule

Currently, the WWE NEtwork Schedule has:

1. NXT UK April 30th at 3 pm EST/8 pm GMT

This is featuring the Hidden Gems

2. WWE NXT TV April 29th- WWE Network airing April 30th, 10 pm EST/3 am GMT

Featuring Mia Yim vs Charlotte Flair. The North American Championship features Damian Priest vs Keith Lee

3. 205 LIVE May 1st, 10 pm EST/3 AM GMT

No matches are currently announced through May 8th. 

4. WWE Money in the Bank 2020 May 10th, 7 pm EST/12 am GMT

The WWE Championship features Drew McIntyre vs Seth Rollins. The Universal Championship is Braun Strowman vs Bray Wyatt. 

Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match will be Nia Jax vs Shayna Baszler vs Asuka vs Dana Brooke, vs Lacey Evans.

The Smackdown Women’s Championship will be Tamina vs Bayley. 

The Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match will include Apollo Crews vs Rey Mysterio vs Daniel Bryan vs King Corbin vs Aleister Black. 

You can see a complete list as well. 

WWE, Covid-19, and the Future

While we will miss wrestling events in person as much as you, at least we can still enjoy the matches from the comfort of our homes for safety reasons. 

Excited about future events and want to make sure you secure your ticket? Buy WWE tickets today and don’t miss out.