Sports
What Happens If WWE WrestleMania 36 Is Canceled or Postponed?
0 of 4Credit: WWE.comThe entire world is being affected by the coronavirus pandemic, and uncertainty as to what’s next is a prevailing thought. When it comes to sports in the United States, the past few days have seen the NBA and NHL suspend their seasons, the NCAA cancel both the men’s and women’s tournaments and…
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Credit: WWE.com
The entire world is being affected by the coronavirus pandemic, and uncertainty as to what's next is a prevailing thought. When it comes to sports in the United States, the past few days have seen the NBA and NHL suspend their seasons, the NCAA cancel both the men's and women's tournaments and MLB postpone Opening Day.
What remains unclear is WWE‘s plan. The biggest wrestling promotion in the world is preparing for WrestleMania 36 on April 5, but with an international travel ban against 26 European countries and rules about public gatherings being implemented in various states, WWE may be forced to postpone or cancel the event.
According to CNN on Friday, more than 132,000 cases of the COVID-19 virus have been reported worldwide, with over 5,000 deaths.
WWE announced on Thursday that Friday's SmackDown will be moved from Detroit to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando with “only essential personnel in attendance.”
On Thursday, WWE also sent out a statement addressing the possibility of WrestleMania 36 being postponed or canceled. Here is what WWE had to say:
“While we remain committed to hosting WrestleMania at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday, April 5, we are putting contingency plans in place in the event that it is canceled by government officials, civil authorities and/or local venues. The health and safety of our fans, performers and employees are our top priorities and we are monitoring the situation closely with our partners and government officials in Tampa Bay.”
If WWE decides to postpone or cancel WrestleMania for the first time ever, there are a lot of questions to address.
For information about the pandemic and precautions to take, please see guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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WrestleMania 36 is set to take place April 5. Even if WWE waited until one week before the event to make a decision, that only gives it 16 days from Friday.
Canceling the event altogether seems unlikely. The name recognition of WrestleMania is enough reason for WWE to push it to a later date if needed so it gets as much coverage from the media as possible.
This rules out moving the pay-per-view to the Performance Center, like it decided to do with Friday's SmackDown. A different, smaller venue could be possible, but this would lead to severely reduced revenue for both WWE and the local economy.
With the uncertainty that could remain before a decision is made, it's possible WWE postpones the event indefinitely rather than setting a specific date.
Let's say WWE is forced to wait three months before it can set a new date. That would put WrestleMania in the summer, which means SummerSlam could find itself being overshadowed when it usually stands out as the second-biggest event of the year.
Regardless of what happens, the safety of the general public is more important than staged fighting in front of a live crowd.
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A viral pandemic makes it understandable for people and companies to err on the side of caution. Many fans would not even consider putting their family in harm's way for a wrestling event.
If WWE cancels or postpones WrestleMania 36, every person who purchased a travel package through the company or set up their own travel arrangements will likely require a refund, which may not be as easy as it sounds.
While this is much less important than someone's health, fans will also lose out on what could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Some people have to save up for the entire year or longer to afford to attend an event like WrestleMania, so losing out on that opportunity would be a disappointment, if an understandable one.
Even WWE fans who were planning on watching from home will be impacted if the event is canceled. ‘Mania is WWE's Super Bowl. We wait all year for this event, and canceling it, even for a good reason like public safety, is a situation no one has seen before.
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The buildup for WrestleMania begins months before the show. WWE usually has several matches planned well before the PPV takes place and makes small changes based on injuries and fan response leading to the event.
If ‘Mania is postponed, it means WWE has to make a lot of decisions regarding current storylines, especially when it comes to the part-time stars who only work a handful of matches each year.
Goldberg vs. Roman Reigns probably won't be the kind of bout WWE puts on at the Performance Center. It will only happen in front of a huge crowd, and it may be months before that becomes possible again.
The same goes for Bray Wyatt vs. John Cena. The 16-time world champion has a busy schedule outside of WWE, and he might already have commitments that would prevent him from participating at a rescheduled WrestleMania.
Even Brock Lesnar vs. Drew McIntyre is unlikely to happen until WWE can put on shows in stadiums again.
The other bouts aren't as big of a problem.
The Undertaker vs. AJ Styles is not official yet. WWE can always pause that storyline until it figures out what it will do with the PPV, so that is not much of an issue.
Becky Lynch vs. Shayna Baszler and Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley can happen anywhere, so WWE can keep advancing storylines around the NXT and Raw women's titles. Management can simply make new women's matches if ‘Mania is moved to a future date.
The company may address some of this on SmackDown this week. Paige, Jeff Hardy and Cena are all being advertised to appear, but WWE may have to adjust whatever it originally had planned for them.
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This should not be factored into the decision over whether or not to hold WrestleMania this year. Public safety should be paramount, regardless of the financial impact, but any changes to the schedule would likely be at least somewhat disappointing for stakeholders.
The show generates a lot of money for WWE, but the event also gives a huge boost to the local economy of whatever city is hosting that year. According to WWE, last year's PPV brought in $165 million for the local economy in the New Jersey and New York areas.
Not only does ‘Mania create jobs, but it leads to increased spending by visitors from outside the region at restaurants, hotels and everything in between. Uber and taxi drivers, buses and trains that would all usually be in high demand will lose all of those potential passengers.
Tampa, Florida, is set to host WrestleMania 36 if the event still takes place, but international travel bans, public concern and limits on the size of public gatherings would severely reduce any potential revenue for the local economy.
As for WWE, WrestleMania 35 generated $16.9 million in Metlife Stadium last year. That does not count the money WWE made from merchandise, Axess events, NXT TakeOver and the episodes of Raw and SmackDown that bookended the weekend.
‘Mania has turned into an entire week of events and has become more like a convention than a traditional sporting event. Fans travel from every corner of the earth to attend.
This is the single most important time of the year for the company, especially when it comes to mainstream media coverage. Every show from Good Morning America to SportsCenter will be talking about the pay-per-view. That translates to incalculable dollars in free advertising.
This also comes during a time when WWE's stock price has taken a dive. On April 23, WWE's stock was valued at $99.25. As of the end of the day on Thursday, the price was trading at $32.38 after dropping $6.45 that day. Imagine what would happen if WrestleMania was canceled or postponed.
Of course, all of this is only the tip of the iceberg. WWE Superstars would also be financially impacted because they usually get a large bonus based on ‘Mania's performance. If WWE doesn't make money from the event, the wrestlers certainly won't.
If the company is able to move the event to a future date, it could recover a lot of lost revenue, but there is little chance it would make the same amount of money it would have before the coronavirus pandemic.
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