After meeting with City of Tampa officials last Thursday WWE was given seven days to come to a final conclusion on what to do with WrestleMania 36.
The word coming from WWE HQ is that WWE has no plans whatsoever to cancel/postpone WrestleMania 36 due to the simple fact that they would lose too much money.
The City of Tampa is adamant that if WWE does not cancel or postpone on their own then Tampa officials will step in and cancel/postpone WrestleMania 36 themselves due to this event being too much of a health risk during the CoronaVirus epidemic.
Vince McMahon was in Tampa, Florida on Thursday and met with Tampa City officials. They specifically gave him detailed information on the health risks a event like WrestleMania 36 would pose. They also briefed him on the fact that a event like WrestleMania that holds 80,000 people is too much of a dangerous situation and that the spread of the CoronaVirus infection would be highly likely in crowded settings. He did not agree and Vince McMahon is firm in his decision to move foward with the event as planned. Tampa officials were not happy with the way Vince McMahon came off as he was perceived as “inconsiderate” given the current times.
At this point WWE’s decision has been made not to cancel or postpone WrestleMania 36 and WWE will wait to see if City of Tampa officials make the call to cancel or postpone.
Now this brings us to our next part. As we exclusively reported last week (read below) WWE has contingency plans in place in the event Tampa cancels WrestleMania 36. Slice Wrestling has obtained more information regarding these contingency plans and they are as follows.
• WrestleMania 36 At The WWE Performance Center: One of WWE’s back up plans is to hold WrestleMania 36 at the WWE Performance Center. This plan would include having no fans in attendance and is something WWE is already practicing with RAW, SmackDown and NXT all taking place from the Performance Center for the foreseeable future. WWE has concerns with this plan as they would lose almost $20 million in “gate” profits with little to no fans. WWE would also charge $59.99 to watch this event on PPV as a way to combat the loss of earnings.
• WrestleMania 36 relocated to another country such as the U.K. or Saudi Arabia: One of WWE’s back up plans is for WrestleMania 36 to relocate. This plan would see the entire event take place in another country with the U.K. and Saudi Arabia as leading possibilities. While this plan would be a logistical nightmare, moving WrestleMania 36 to another country that is being less restricted than the United States during the COVID-19 epidemic would give WWE the freedom to hold the event as they please with a large group of paid fans. The U.K. has dreamed of a WrestleMania for years and Saudi Arabia already holds huge events for WWE such as Crown Jewel and Super Showdown that earns WWE huge profits.
• WrestleMania 36 Rescheduled To June/July: One of WWE’s back up plans is for WrestleMania 36 to be rescheduled to June or July. This plan would see the event postponed until the summer and WrestleMania marketing campaigns, storylines and sponsorships come to a screeching halt. One of the big issues with this plan is that BOTH WWE and The City of Tampa would have to agree on a new date. The current planned reschedule dates are July, 5th / July 12th / July 19th. WWE wants to shoot for earlier in the month due to the fact that NFL training camps begin in late July and the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa would be needed for the NFL camps. Current ticket holders would likely be honored and everything would be adjusted to July. WWE and Tampa had a brief discussion on a reschedule date but nothing was confirmed due to the City’s main concern of the virus plaguing the country right now.
Another aspect in a postponement would be what to do with all the planned WrestleMania matches and storylines? some would change and some would stay the same but no word right now on any changes as WWE’s top priority is the status of WrestleMania 36.
On a more positive note if WrestleMania is postponed Wrestling fans would have one heck of a Summer in 2020. WrestleMania in July and SummerSlam in August back-to-back months.
This is where everything’s stands at the moment and WWE and the City of Tampa are in a stand off and a decision is soon to come.
Wrestling is a huge part of our lives but a very small part in the reality of today’s situation. We hope all of our readers and their families stay safe, stay clean and stay hopeful. This is all temporary ,the good times are ahead.
Stay tuned to Slice Wrestling for the latest updates.
