Coronavirus Updates: WrestleMania 36, WWE, AEW, Japan & Stardom, Mexico, & More Indies

WrestleMania 36 Week Ticket Sales Update, Talent Travel Issues, Paige, WrestleMania 36 Merchandise

Prior to WWE’s announcement of WrestleMania 36 being moved to their Performance Center, Dave Meltzer reported that ticket sales for WWE’s events during WrestleMania weekend in Tampa, Florida were a mixed bag. WrestleMania 36 was still a few thousand tickets shy of being a legitimate sellout of around 60,000, NXT’s TakeOver: Tampa event was close to reaching sold out status, and SmackDown’s April 3rd show had been selling decently. RAW’s April 6th show and this year’s Hall of Fame ceremony reportedly had very disappointing ticket sales sold up until that point.

Dave Meltzer also reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that there are currently some concerns within WWE regarding the status of Brock Lesnar and other talent who currently live in Canada for WrestleMania 36 due to Canada closing its borders over coronavirus health concerns. Meltzer reported that WWE officials currently believe Lesnar will be able to travel to Orlando in time for WrestleMania’s tapings.

Paige’s portion of her segment with Bayley and Sasha Banks during last night’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown reportedly was taped beforehand in California and edited into the show, according to PWInsider. Mike Johnson reported that WWE officials did have plans for Paige to fly to Orlando for this week’s tapings but decided against it in the end.

WWE is currently selling an “I Wasn’t There” t-shirt for WrestleMania 36 on their official WWE Shop.

AEW’s Current Plans for Dynamite Tapings

As noted before, AEW owner Tony Khan announced that next week’s Blood & Guts themed show has been postponed due to issues regarding the on-going coronavirus outbreak. Khan also announced that the company still has plans to run live weekly Dynamite shows for the foreseeable future.

Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that AEW officials currently have plans to hold weekly television tapings at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida with no fans until at least April 15th. AEW’s original plans were for limited fans, media, and friends and family of talent to be allowed at the tapings prior to plans being changed to only allow talent and essential crew.

Japanese Government Lifts Restrictions on Live Events in Country

The Japanese government recently eased the restriction on live wrestling events with the exception of three locations in the country. The decision was made follows a meeting between government officials and medical experts earlier in the week regarding the current situation of the coronavirus in the country.

Stardom, Dragon Gate, and DDT Pro-Wrestling all announced that they will be resuming running events with fans allowed within in the next few days. The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer reported that New Japan Pro Wrestling officials currently are hoping to resume running events starting on March 31st.

Stardom announced that this year’s Cinderella Tournament event will be taking place on March 24th in Tokyo, Japan and fans will only be allowed to attend if they pass a medical checkup at the venue. It was also announced that this event will air live for free on their official Youtube channel starting at 5:30AM EST.

Dragon Gate announced that they will be resuming running events starting on March 22nd with an empty arena show in Kobe, Japan. It was announced that this event will air live starting at 6AM EST on the Dragon Gate Network.

More Indie Events Impacted by Coronavirus

The following indie events have been canceled or impacted by the coronavirus:

• The government of Mexico recently ordered that all boxing and wrestling events to be suspended until April 20th in the country.
• The Alabama Athletic Commission announced that they will not be issuing any permits for wrestling events in the state from now until April 5th due to a recent state government ban on public gatherings over 25 people.
• Hulk Hogan’s Beach Shop reportedly has been unwilling to issue refunds to those who purchased tickets for a meet and greet event that was originally scheduled to take place at the store during WrestleMania weekend in Tampa, Florida, according to PWInsider. Mike Johnson reported that Hogan’s Beach Shop is only offering signed merchandise to those who have asked for a refund and not their money back.
• Riot City Wrestling announced that their March 22nd event in Adelaide, Australia has been cancelled due to a recent government ban on indoor gatherings of over 100 people.
• AAW Wrestling announced that their upcoming Fight For The Future tapings in Illinois have been cancelled due to a shelter-in-place order being declared by the state of Illinois.
• Freelance Wrestling announced that they have cancelled their Warehouse Wars event on March 21st due to the recent shelter-in-place order by the state of Illinois.