WWE WrestleMania 36 moved: What happens now?
On March 16th, 2020, the WWE confirmed some shocking news.
In the wake of everything that has been going on in the world, the company has
chosen to move WrestleMania 36, from its original venue of the Raymond James
Stadium in Tampa, Florida, to its own Performance Center in Orlando. On the
company’s website, the following statement can be found:
“"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."
In this precedented move, the company is responding to the advice of experts,
including both the World Health Organisation, and the Centers for ********* Control
and Prevention, who have advised that people should not gather in large groups.
Whilst the show will still go ahead, the lack of a crowd will mark this year’s
WrestleMania as the first WWE Pay Per View without a live crowd, in a moment
fans never thought would happen.
The question now is, what happens next, as the WWE, and the world, try to
prepare what could be the most unpredictable time in a generation.
With that in mind, let’s look at what WWE could have done, what impact this
change will have on the company, and what are the long-term ramifications of this
historic move.
---WHAT OPTIONS DID WWE HAVE?---
Before we look at what happens next, we need to first look at the options WWE had.
Of course, the original plan was to host WWE WrestleMania 36 on April 5th in
Orlando, and whilst this could have been a best-case scenario, it would have led to
the highest risk of i********.
Another option that had been speculated on, was postponing the biggest show of
the year, so that it could still happen, with a jam-packed, live crowd, but later on
down the line.
The main problem here is with the booking, as it would have been difficult for the
WWE to keep storylines going for months, with WrestleMania just a matter of
weeks away.
This would be especially difficult for part-time stars such as Brock Lesnar, John
Cena and Edge, all of whom have big matches scheduled for Mania, as it’d be
difficult to keep the trio’s feuds with Drew McIntyre, Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton
going for months.
As part of his new lucrative deal with WWE, Edge is reportedly booked to have
three matches a year and a handful of appearances, and having the Rated-R
Superstar build up a how that would eventually be postponed, would be a waste
of both his, and WWE’s time.
Also, it’s impossible to know just when exactly this global m******* c**** will die
down, and though it’s worrying to think about, it’s possible that ********************
could be banned for a very, very long time.
Whilst this year’s WrestleMania will have no crowd, fans at least now know for
certain when the showcase of the immortals will take place, and get ready for the
biggest show of the year that will take place from the Performance Center.
---THE EFFECT ON WWE STOCK---
The past year has been a strange time for WWE’s stock.
In April 2019, the share value reached an all time high of $100 per share, thanks in
part to the FOX deal, and the company’s relationship with Saudi Arabia.
Unfortunately, a series of unfortunate events, including falling attendance, and
the dismissal of co-Presidents Michelle Wilson and George Barrios. has caused
WWE stock to tumble, and on the day that the WWE announced their new plans
for WrestleMania, the market closed with a stock value of just $30.44.
There’s a strong case to be made that the global pandemic has been a factor in
WWE’s falling value, as in January, just as the c**** was starting off, the company
had a share value of $66.54.
Since then, as the future of the WWE’s biggest show of the year has become more
uncertain, it’s hardly surprising that WWE’s stock value has fallen too.
If WWE are lucky, the company could bounce back, as the market knows that
WrestleMania WILL take place on April 5th, but given how this global pandemic is
affecting everyone, nothing is for certain after the Pay Per View.
---HOW WILL THE WWE’S PROFITS BE AFFECTED?---
With WrestleMania not taking place in front of a live audience, this obviously is
going to affect how much money the company will make.
Historically, the grandest stage of them all has been one of WWE’s most profitable
nights, not just because of the tens of thousands of fans who pay for their tickets.
Once in, there is no shortage of merchandise, including t-shirts, belts, posters and
commemorative memorabilia to entice fans to part with their hard-earned cash
throughout the show.
And when you remember that WrestleMania is just one show out of a whole week
of WWE events, which includes Axxess, NXT: TakeOver and the Hall of Fame, then
the WWE is looking at a serious drop in earnings from last year’s show.
According to Forbes, Wrestle Mania 35 brought in a total $16.9 million, a record-
gross for the Met Life Stadium, beating the previous record holder of
WrestleMania 29 in 2013, which brought in a respectable $12.2 million, and those
numbers don’t even include merchandise, or money made at the gate from other
shows over Mania week.
Now, WWE will have to figure out a way to combat the fact that fans won’t be
spending their money at their biggest show of the year, though the Tampa Bay
Local Organizing Committee has said their relationship with WWE is stronger than ever.
In a statement by the committee, fans who bought tickets have been advised on
how to get refunds, as this year’s edition of the grandest show of the year won’t
be nearly as profitable as previous incarnations.
---WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO TAMPA, FLORIDA?---
Whilst having the WWE move their biggest show of the year to the Performance
Center is a big loss for fans who love the spectacle of WrestleMania, spare a
thought for the city of Tampa.
We all know that the grandest stage of them all is a big money-maker for the
company, but WrestleMania also is a major boost to the economy of whichever
city is selected to host the show.
According to the WWE themselves, last year’s show brought in a hefty $165
million for the New York/New Jersey area.
Not only does WrestleMania create jobs in the local vicinity, but it also means an
increase in tourism to the city, which means big things for the restaurants, hotels,
shops and other services in the city.
Uber and Taxi drivers, who were expecting to make some serious money thanks to
WrestleMania, won’t have that same level of customers, and transport services
like these are only going to be hit harder, as more and more people are being
encouraged to stay indoors.
Now, the city of Tampa, Florida will have to go without such a huge winfall as
they’ve lost WrestleMania, though the Tampa Bay Organising Committee
remained positive in their statement, saying:
“Our community has waited 36 years to host WrestleMania, and while we
are saddened that this unforeseen situation has led us to today’s
announcement, this is totally the right call for the safety and security of
everyone involved. A huge thank-you to all of our local leaders and our
friends at the WWE, as we collectively worked through the unprecedented
fluidity of the last few weeks. The Team Tampa Bay-WWE partnership has
never been stronger."
Despite Tampa, Florida waiting 36 years to host the showcase of the immortals,
it’s hard for the city to fight WWE and Vince McMahon on this decision, but it’s
still a major loss for the Big Guava.
---HOW WILL THE FANS BE AFFECTED?---
We’ve already mentioned that the WWE is likely to start issuing refunds, but for
many fans, this isn’t what they want.
Whilst obviously, attending a wrestling show shouldn’t be seen as more important
than someone’s health, the fact is that many fans will have spent the last year, or
even longer, saving just to go to WrestleMania, a once in a lifetime experience for many fans.
If fans who may have spent a small fortune to attend the show are annoyed at this
decision, it’s not hard to see why, and whilst the WWE, experts and the media can
tell people that what is happening is in the best interests for every one, that fact
still doesn’t make missing out on being ringside at Wrestle Mania, any easier.
---WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE FUTURE OF WWE?---
As worrying as it may be, the fact of the matter is that this recent m******* c****
may not be over anytime soon.
Whilst experts around the world are working tirelessly on a vaccine, companies
like the WWE need to be realistic about what they’re dealing with.
Though it’s small, there is a possibility that this m******* issue isn’t going away
anytime soon, and that Wrestle Mania 36 could be just the first of many Pay Per
Views, to take place without a live audience in attendance.
Hopefully, this won’t be the case, and a vaccine will be developed soon, but this is
no-doubt something that WWE will have to consider.
Something positive that may come from this ordeal, is that the WWE has
confirmed that this year’s WrestleMania will take place over two days, starting on
April 4th, and continuing the next night on April 5th.
Whilst this is another unprecedented change from the norm, the idea of a two-day
WrestleMania is something many fans have been hoping for for a while, especially
as the showcase of the immortals gets longer in length.
Last year’s show was the longest WWE Pay Per View in history, and if you include
the two-hour kick-off show, then WrestleMania clocked in at an exhausting seven
hours and 24 minutes.
With this year’s show now being split into a two-night spectacle, WrestleMania 36
could prove to be a chance for the WWE to see how the crowd feels about two
shorter shows, rather than one long one, and it’s possible that WrestleMania 36
won’t be the last two-night WrestleMania, even after the live crowd returns.
---HOW ARE THE SUPERSTARS FEELING?---
Though WWE isn’t hosting shows with a live crowd, the edict that the show must
go on remains.
According to reports, all staff who enter the Performance Center are being
m*******ly screened, and a report by Post Wrestling has claimed that staff are
being given the impression that they can opt-out of working, without anything bad
happening to their career.
Despite this very positive stance by the company, and many Superstars sharing
their support for the move on social media, there are still some who aren’t a fan
of what’s going on.
Recently, Lio Rush said he feels uncomfortable competing, giving everything that is
going on, and we doubt the former NXT Cruiserweight Champion is alone in how he feels.
In addition to this, Roman Reigns is being monitored closely, as his previous
battles with leukaemia means the Big Dog is at much greater risk of catching the
********* than other Superstars.
Of course, if anyone in the Performance Center does test positive, then there is a
high possibility that the company will have to cancel any and all events at the
Performance Center for some time, to reduce the risk of it spreading.
With this year’s show being much different from previous incarnations, there have
even been talks of matches being cut, as according to Dave Meltzer, a planned
Women’s Tag Team Title match won’t be happening on the show.
The proposed match, which was supposed to see the Kabuki Warriors defend their
titles against Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross, as well as the team of Beth Phoenix and
Natalya may not go ahead after all, but with the show now being a two-day event,
nothing is for certain.
The WWE has made it clear that the show will go on, but we can’t wonder what
the long-term ramifications will be for the Superstars, especially if the pandemic
doesn’t die down soon.
---WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE WWE?---
To describe the situation the WWE finds itself in as odd, is a gross
understatement.
Never before, has the company’s biggest show of the year been affected in this
way, and this is also an issue that is affecting every wrestling promotion, including
WWE’s chief competition AEW.
Most recently, there’s even been talks that the show will be moved once again,
and there are rumors circulating that WrestleMania will instead take place in June,
inside the World’s Most Famous Arena, Madison Square Garden.
As the wrestling world unites in their common struggle against the *********, the
next few weeks and months will be interesting to say the least, as the real-life
stories out of the ring, are proving to be far more interesting than what any
writers, in any company, could come up with.