WrestleMania 36 Will Continue Without Live Audience
In the past week, news reports of major event cancellations have been flooding in. The NBA, NHL, and MLB have all suspended their seasons due to coronavirus concerns, but WWE has yet to give in. WrestleMania 36 will still take place on April 5, although several changes to the event have been made. The crew has been greatly reduced, and the festivities have been moved from Raymond James Stadium to the WWE training facility in Orlando, Florida. The biggest kicker? No live audience will be present.
Game shows such as Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune have announced that they will employ similar tactics when it comes to filming. And yet, professional wrestling thrives off of audience reactions in a way that game shows don't. It will be fascinating to see how the games unfold without the kinetic energy that fans provide.
Said WWE in an official statement:
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.
WrestleMania 36 is the only major event that will occur during this time — NXT TakeOver, the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony, and WrestleMania Axxess have been canceled. According to ESPN, WWE’s other television shows have temporarily moved to the WWE Performance Center facility, including Raw on Mondays and SmackDown on Fridays. Both shows will be filmed without spectators as well.
WrestleMania 36 will stream April 5 at 7PM ET on WWE Network.
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