WWE WrestleMania 36 to GO AHEAD behind closed doors as Edge challenges Randy Orton to Last Man Standing match
WRESTLEMANIA 36 will go ahead next month, but no fans will be allowed in as the event is moved from Tampa to the WWE’s Performance Center.
The switch was announced tonight as the company decided to act amid the coronavirus crisis.
Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest news & updates
A statement said: “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.”
Earlier today, Seth Rollins insisted WWE superstars were just as in the dark over the event’s status as fans.
The Monday Night Messiah took a break from training today to take part in a fan Q&A on his Instagram page – and naturally the under threat extravaganza was one of the hot topics.
WWE has cancelled its upcoming SmackDown and Raw episodes and moved them to their Performance Center in Orlando to be filmed behind closed doors.
And the former Universal Champion was adamant he and his fellow wrestling stars had no idea whether the Showcase of the Immortals was going ahead.
Rollins said: “I don’t know, don’t ask me questions. I don’t know! I’m not in charge of that, I go where they tell me.
“This Monday I’ll be in Orlando at the PC, doing Raw in front of nobody, just like SmackDown was on Friday – probably just how NXT will be on Wednesday, alright?
LATEST WWE NEWS
“About WrestleMania, nobody knows. It’s all up in the air, so just wait for further announcements on WWE’s social pages or whatever.”
His comments followed Hillsborough County Commissioner Les Miller admitting he may have to “pull the plug” on WrestleMania 36 – due to take place on April 5 – if WWE doesn’t make the tough decision on its own.
He said: “I’m hoping that Vince McMahon and WrestleMania and WWE make the call themselves but a week from now, if they’ve not done that and we’re still in the situation we’re in, we’ll probably have to pull the plug on that.”
But following the announcement, Edge opened WWE Raw and challenged Randy Orton to a Last Man Standing match.
The provisional card for WrestleMania is as follows:
WWE Title Match
Drew McIntyre vs. Brock Lesnar (c)
WWE Universal Title Match
Roman Reigns vs. WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg (c)
WWE NXT Women’s Title Match
Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley (c)
RAW Women’s Title Match
Shayna Baszler vs. Becky Lynch (c)
Last Man Standing Match
Edge vs. Randy Orton
John Cena vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt
The Undertaker vs. AJ Styles