As the situation surrounding the COVID-19 (coronavirus) continues to evolve, WWE is moving forward with its weekly programming, but not in the previously scheduled locations.
As with the March 13 episode of Smackdown, the company has announced that the March 16 episode of Raw will broadcast live from the WWE Performance Center. What’s more, there will be no studio audience for the show. In a tweeted statement, the company explained, “This Monday night, Raw will air live as regularly scheduled and emanate from WWE’s training facility in Orlando, Florida with only essential personnel in attendance. The event was originally scheduled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.”
Monday Night Raw Proceeds With No Live Audience
This Monday night, Raw will air live as regularly scheduled and emanate from WWE’s training facility in Orlando, Florida with only essential personnel in attendance. The event was originally scheduled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. pic.twitter.com/hjYwoQHDw6
— WWE (@WWE) March 13, 2020
There’s been no word about whether next week’s NXT or Smackdown broadcasts will also happen at the Performance Center. Meanwhile, All Elite Wrestling has announced changes to its next broadcast. Rather than the show happening in an arena in New York, Dynamite on March 18 will instead be televised live from a smaller venue in Jacksonville, Florida. The company has said a “restricted attendance policy” will be put in place, but hasn’t offered an explanation of what that means.
Meanwhile, WWE has yet to announce if the upcoming Wrestlemania 36 event, set for Tampa, Florida on April 5, will be canceled or postponed.
Thus far, the pandemic has led to many event cancellations, including the upcoming E3, as well as the current NBA season. Additionally, Disney has closed its theme parks worldwide, while several film releases have been pushed back and productions halted.