WrestleMania moved to the Performance Center

[Evil Vito]

“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.”

https://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/article/wrestlemania-36-statement

[slik]

I called it!

Will be the most unique show in WWE history

[Evil Vito]

The event was never happening as scheduled.

That said, gutted for Rhea Ripley and Shayna Baszler who lost their proper WM debuts. And for someone like Drew McIntyre if this was supposed to be his moment of winning the big one in front of a WM crowd.

[GD]

Wow! This is going to be mental. :lol:

[xrodmuc316]

I wonder if WWE will put employees and developmental wrestlers in the audience, so long as they have tested negative.

I think they said they had about 250 people for the NXT episode their last Wednesday.

If the whole audience is on Vince's payroll, they can really put over Roman.

[erickman]

it might not be too bad, now they can make it shorter, I bet it will be under 4 hours. I just saw no fans Monday on wrestle talk an that show was allright.

[slik]

One thing no one has pointed out yet!

Minus a crowd we will be able to hear Goldberg heavily mouth breathe after being in the ring for 10 seconds and exhausted.

[xrodmuc316]

One thing no one has pointed out yet!

Minus a crowd we will be able to hear Goldberg heavily mouth breathe after being in the ring for 10 seconds and exhausted.

I wish they would get Mankind for a match, he used to make all those crazy grunts and screams lol

[Triple A]

I can't believe they are doing this...

[mike adamle]

I just wanna know about my refund

[Frank Drebin]

This might be worth the 10 bucks for a month of wwe network.

[Droford]

They should put up cgi green screens and generate a fake audience and fake crowd noise

[Droford]

They should also cancel MITB (it's in Baltimore:( ) and call the Next ppv In Your House

[rez]

lol. who would pay for the ppv?

[slik]

WWE could technically tape WrestleMania over a few days now - would keep all the talent socially distanced.

[Evil Vito]

Drew/Brock, Reigns/Goldberg, Taker/Styles, Wyatt/Cena, Rhea/Charlotte, Shayna/Becky, Edge/Orton and maybe Owens/Seth and Kabuki Warriors/Alexa and Nikki.

Given that the top three all feature guys not really known for working long matches anymore, that card could easily come in at under three hours.

Nothing else has been built to or even really hinted at. And there’s no point in adding anything more now. Especially not all the multi-person matches they throw in to get everyone a chance to wrestle in front of the biggest crowd of the year.

[slik]

I'd add Sasha/Bayley to that women's tag

Could also see Dbry vs Sami, Otis vs Ziggler w/ Mandy as ref added too

[Emperor Smeat]

Should have just ditched doing Mania in April and hope for the best later.

Also would have given WWE a few extra weeks to actually put in the real effort to build and flesh out Mania's card since the way things were going, this year's Mania build was very underwhelming.

[Lock Jaw]

They will do a "Wrestlemania-level card" at another time as soon as they can.

(In Saudi Arabia)

[Droford]

WWE could technically tape WrestleMania over a few days now - would keep all the talent socially distanced.

Tape it and air it for Raw and SD for the rest of April and give them time off

[Droford]

Raw after Mania crowd will be weird

[Triple A]

Watching WWE style wrestling matches for several hours in front of no crowd sounds absolutely nightmarish

[Mr. JL]

I think they should have just postponed the show.

This is going to be cringe worthy, at best.

I don't know, maybe film the show in a parking lot. At least some environment noise will help. Filming in a studio with no fans will just be brutal after a while.

[Mr. JL]

They can't just film all those matches in a no fan Performance Center. They just can't.

[Triple A]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ETSIWK8WAAAJTcG?format=jpg&name=900x900

[Mr. JL]

:lol:

[Droford]

Maybe if they spend some time making the place look like the set of Pirates of the Caribbean. Make it look like the ring is on a pirate ship

[Mr. Nerfect]

I would have postponed it. This is gonna be weird.

[Black Widow]

And I continue to laugh at the bitchified world we have become.

[Blue Demon]

https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/89858120_10156901709186135_64160927297044480_n.jpg?_nc_cat=104&_nc_sid=1480c5&_nc_ohc=7_N7B63frsYAX-4sNAn&_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.xx&oh=e30ca36f60815d68bf3fc0b9e44bc1b5&oe=5E964AD9

[Evil Vito]

This is a classic example of Vince being stubborn beyond measure. He cannot fathom WrestleMania not happening at the time it’s supposed to.

Now for the rest of history there’s gonna be that one time WrestleMania was held in a fucking gym.

[Rammsteinmad]

Imagine those Wrestlemania highlights hype videos in ten years time. You'll see Michaels swinging down the arena on a zipline. Austin winning his first title. Drew McIntyre doing a sunset flip in an empty gym. As far as I'm concerned this Wrestlemania is and will be considered a write-off.

[keeper2k]

I think this is gonna legit kill VKM.

[Jordan]

Reading now they may run Mania at MSG on June 7th. If so I am going to WRESTLEMANIA BABAY.

[Evil Vito]

I have no sympathy whatsoever for Vince or other WWE executives and leadership. I feel tremendous sympathy though for those talents who lost marquee matches on the biggest show of the year. For all the indy talents and promotions running events that weekend who are going to lose a ton of money now, I fear a lot of those promotions will fold.

And most of all, for the fans. Much as we laugh about Mania being shit, Mania and Mania weekend is a bucket list item for so many fans globally. Just like everyone else who lost out on their vacation to Disney World or other places, or the people who lost out on weddings or other events they've book looking forward to for months, possibly years. Mania weekend isn't cheap, some people going have to target years in advance when they want to go and save up for ages. Yeah they'll get their tickets and airfare and hotel expenses back, but that's not the point. To lose an experience you've been looking forward to for so long is a gut punch.

[#1-norm-fan]

The ONLY appeal of WrestleMania for me anymore is the atmosphere. This is gonna expose that like a motherfucker.

It’s very fitting that Drew McIntyre in the main event will be the lowest attended WrestleMania ever though.

[#1-norm-fan]

I’m not sure if the correct move here would be to kinda phone it in and save any “moments” for a live crowd or to try to compensate for the lack of an audience by making the show as epic as possible.

[Droford]

Takeover will probably air on USA in it's normal Wednesday timeslot

[Evil Vito]

If there's any truth to the June MSG Mania rumors, they may as well officially pause storylines and run classic events on TV for the next two months.

Their hope would be to get back to regular TV in mid-May for a couple week push to Mania.

Of course, all it takes is May rolling around and the virus still running rampant. CDC extends the public ban recommendation and it's back to square one.

[Sepholio]

They should just do like a burning man style rasslemania. Find a big empty spot out in the desert and set up a damn ring and go nuts. fire breathing metal monsters everywhere and stuff. WOOOOOO

[Mr. JL]

Legit something really creative, definitely outside with some sort cool gimmick or landscape theme is the only thing that will make this salvageable.

[Droford]

If there's any truth to the June MSG Mania rumors, they may as well officially pause storylines and run classic events on TV for the next two months.

Their hope would be to get back to regular TV in mid-May for a couple week push to Mania.

Of course, all it takes is May rolling around and the virus still running rampant. CDC extends the public ban recommendation and it's back to square one.

I can't see it happening at MSG

[Sepholio]

Legit something really creative, definitely outside with some sort cool gimmick or landscape theme is the only thing that will make this salvageable.

WM live from the Hardy Compound.

[Big Vic]

ECWs Bingo halls drew larger crowds.

[slik]

The MSG rumor sounds fishy to me...wouldn't that sort of be like insurance fraud, IDK

Sounds like 'wishful thinking' instead IDK anything is possible in double double eeee

[Sepholio]

Unless they get shut down it will for sure be at the performance center. No way the postpone it with the potential shut down of all the TV tapings being a real possibility. They'll want to get this one off before that plays out.

They should run the show from that old abandoned "island" theme park Disney had in Orlando that was shut down and left to ruin years ago. Its all overgrown and post apocalyptic looking now. End of the world themed WM ftw.

[Ruien]

They just need to sell the event to Fox or something. I am willing to bet someone will pay a lot of money for Mania in an empty arena if all other sports are still off tv.

[Ruien]

I am legit turning into Smackdown on Friday because everything else is cancelled. I need something to fill this void.

[Ruien]

I am hoping they cancel the HoF this year though.

[XL]

Looking to move it to SummerSlam weekend allegedly.

[teamXtremist]

And I continue to laugh at the bitchified world we have become.

Well the us is going into shutdown like europe in a few weeks,get ready

[slik]

I am hoping they cancel the HoF this year though.

They have cancelled the HOF.

British Bulldog's daughter tweeted earlier she has been told it's likely being added to SummerSlam weekend.

[DaveWadding]

This is a classic example of Vince being stubborn beyond measure. He cannot fathom WrestleMania not happening at the time it’s supposed to.

Now for the rest of history there’s gonna be that one time WrestleMania was held in a fucking gym.

WM 11 was in a mall, soooo

[Droford]

WM 11 was in a mall, soooo

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/126324-the-quitest-wrestlemania-ever-wrestlemania-xi


The WWE missed a lot of opportunities for WrestleMania XI as it would be the quietest one since WrestleMania IV and especially VII, so do you think that WrestleMania will ever have a quiet WrestleMania again?

This one's gonna be really quiet

[slik]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">PWInsider suggested on their latest audio that they should fill the WWE Performance Center for WrestleMania with Make-A-Wish kids.... ��█♂️</p>&mdash; Steve Carrier ™️ (@steve_carrier) <a href="https://twitter.com/steve_carrier/status/1240092454193373189?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Triple A]

Who said that... probably Dave Scherer

[Supreme Olajuwon]

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/126324-the-quitest-wrestlemania-ever-wrestlemania-xi


This one's gonna be really quiet

I often forget that Bleacher Report used to be the absolute shittiest sports website out there and this article is a good reminder. This is an actual paragraph from this article:

“Why didn't HBK steal the show at WrestleMania XI it was probably because in the prime of his career they decided to let Bam Bam get the spotlight I have nothing against to Bam Bam (God rest his soul) but HBK should have went to WCW after the slap in the face by Vince by not putting him in the Main Event at WrestleMania and even if that meant put HBK vs. Taylor that would have been more entertaining for the fans.”

Also a good reminder that there are many people like this out there and sometimes we need a good pandemic to cull the herd.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

Feeling positive now. Thanks.

[slik]

Who said that... probably Dave Scherer

sounds like it was Dave Scherer

[Evil Vito]

Show now split into two nights. Saturday and Sunday.

[Droford]

I immediately thought about how Vince might pull back on having WM next year at SoFi just like he did WM 7 at the Coliseum. Might be a while before he does another big stadium show (in the US anyway)

Also I wonder if theyd consider breaking up the show over 2 nights here as a trial for doing that

Since Vince is on here stealing my ideas i want front row VIP tickets to MITB* thank you.

*or the next PPV in Baltimore

[Emperor Smeat]

Show now split into two nights. Saturday and Sunday.

Guess that solves the question of what was going to happen to the rest of the card. NJPW splitting up this year's Wrestle Kingdom resulted in both nights each being only like an hour less than usual for a WK event.

Also probably means WWE did have plans for a very lengthy show this year like previously rumored.

[Emperor Smeat]

WrestleMania 36 will take place at the Performance Center and multiple other locations. All of the locations will be closed sets with only essential personnel in attendance.

Repeat of Mania 2 but likely worse due to no fans and Vince's stubbornness.

[slik]

Keep Bray and Cena away from abandoned houses

[DaveWadding]

Keep Bray and Cena away from abandoned houses

Send them into the abandoned Hooters!

[Emperor Smeat]

According to Post Wrestling, WWE is changing up their taping schedule for RAW and SmackDown and might also include WrestleMania.

Current plan is to tape back-to-back episodes of RAW and Smackdown next week. There are also potential plans for Mania to be pre-taped as well and not be held live.

Also both Battle Royals matches have been dropped from the card according to Post Wrestling.

[slik]

Taping Mania makes sense and is the right choice.

Spoilers should be a non-issue with the bare-bones crew too.

I would encourage AEW to do the same with Dynamite.

[xrodmuc316]

I think once they finish the tapings they should shut down for 2 months. Finally provide that off-season they never had. Come June they start it back up and start building to Summerslam.

[slik]

Good call @xrodmusic316

I agree

[GD]

I second that.

[Emperor Smeat]

According to the Observer Newsletter, this year's Mania on PPV is going to be pricey and likely what WWE wanted to charge everyone had they managed to move PPVs off the Network.

Also the abrupt decision to split the show into two nights ended up causing a bit of a mess for PPV providers.

When it comes to PPV, WWE officials have told us it will be different depending on the system. The idea is that whatever price would have been charged for WrestleMania, probably between $70 and $80, in some systems will be the charge and you get both shows, while other systems will offer the shows individually and collectively, and if you order individually, you would get the one night for half of the two-night price.

[Evil Vito]

lol who in the fuck is going to spend that much on a pre-taped empty arena show?

[#1-norm-fan]

lol who in the fuck is going to spend that much on a pre-taped empty arena show?

TheCyNick

[screech]

Wait, have they moved WrestleMania off the Network already?

[Droford]

No

WWE ppvs have been available on cable/satellite for a while. DirecTV charged $60 for them.

The amount of people who 1) Watch WWE 2) Have DirecTV and 3) Dont have internet access can't be enough to make it worthwhile but they do

[Droford]

Of all the sports ESPN has shown over the years, professional wrestling matches from WWE haven’t really been on the list. That will change this weekend.

For three Sundays, the Disney-owned sports-media giant will air classic WrestleMania events on its flagship cable network and stream them on its mobile app. The initiative commences this Sunday at 7 p.m. eastern, when ESPN airs WrestleMania 30 from April, 2014. The colorful headlocks, figure-four leglocks and sleeper holds mark the latest example of ESPN working to fill its schedule with unorthodox content in the wake of the nation’s coronavirus crisis, which has put a stranglehold on all kinds of communal gatherings, including sports events.

[Emperor Smeat]

Mania being filmed this Wednesday and Thursday at the Performance Center according to PWI.

Unless there is a last minute change forced upon them, PWInsider.com has confirmed with multiple sources that WWE intends to tape content all the way through Wrestlemania over the next several days. The current WWE taping schedule looks to be:

Today - Friday Night Smackdown for 3/27 and 4/3

Sunday 3/22 - Taping content in some form for future WWE NXT episodes.

Monday 3/23 and Tuesday 3/24 - Monday Night Raw episodes for 3/23 and 3/30

Wednesday 3/25 and Thursday 3/26 - Wrestlemania 36 Nights One and Two

WWE is also scheduled to tape material for Wrestlemania at other "closed sets" so there may be additional taping dates beyond what is shot at the WWE Performance Center.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

If mania isn't on the network than I just wasted time signing up for free for the next 3 months thanks to that bastard Kenton Lane.

[Evil Vito]

A lot of talents reportedly unhappy and would prefer WM to just be postponed to summer or straight up cancelled rather than do it this way.

[Emperor Smeat]

Can't blame them since Mania's payday is usually the largest of the year and a big chunk of them just lost it with the removal of the Battle Royal matches.

Plus the added loss of house show and AXXESS paydays leading into Mania itself.

[Droford]

They should probably be concerned about losing Summerslam too

[Evil Vito]

I'm hearing that some health officials think that, while things can gradually re-open in the coming months and people can go back to work, guidelines on large public gatherings are still going to need to be loosened and tightened on and off for possibly 1-2 years until there is a vaccine available. Possibly staying within attendance thresholds to minimize the risk of spread.

WWE might have to get used to running smaller venues, even for the important shows.

Wonder how other leagues would cope. MLB playing an entire season in spring training venues or teams only filling the lower level of seating. NFL game attendance would look like XFL.

[Droford]

Vince needs his tech gurus working on how to put up green screens at the PC to fake crowds

[BigCrippyZ]

TheCyNick

:lol:

[rez]

Fucking postpone Wrestlemania.

It's not like there's any storylines that are good.

[rez]

I'm looking forward to Disco Inferno, Ted Turner, and Conan riding in on a buffalo for Blood and Guts

[slik]

WWE could feasibly be in the Performance Center until September 2021 if a 12-18 month ban on mass gatherings goes into effect.

[XL]

If mania isn't on the network than I just wasted time signing up for free for the next 3 months thanks to that bastard Kenton Lane.

I don’t think anyone has mentioned it not being on the network, just not “streaming live” as it won’t be live due to being prerecorded.

[Rammsteinmad]

WWE could feasibly be in the Performance Center until September 2021 if a 12-18 month ban on mass gatherings goes into effect.

Really can't imagine anyone keeping up with the product for that long if that were to happen. I can barely watch it for two minutes.

[ClockShot]

I'm curious that if it's getting filmed later in the week, will spoilers somehow make their way online?

[Droford]

No one would be stupid enough to spoil it since it's a limited crew and they could probably figure it out

[Evil Vito]

Yeah in the building you'd only have:

-Wrestlers working that night
-Refs
-Announcers (except Graves since he and Carmella are self-isolating)
-A few medical staff
-Vince
-Triple H
-A road agent or two
-Whatever camera/production crew are needed for onsite

And that's about it. No unbooked wrestlers milling around. The writers can work remotely if they're needed. Hell since it's taped most of the production work can be done in post-production from Stamford.

There are probably only a double digit number of people in the PC.

[Emperor Smeat]

If the spoilers are just Wrestler A defeated Wrestler B, then the spoilers wouldn't really need to come from the building itself, just whoever saw the script or worked on the show like anyone from Creative, production, or management.

Detailed stuff would be a lot easier to weed out where the leaker(s) came from.

Even AEW had their dark match tapings leaked but it was mostly just who wrestled and won.

[xrodmuc316]

I think it's not gonna just be "don't leak stuff or Vince will get mad". I think it's likely they will need to sign a non disclosure agreement, being it's Mania.

[slik]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Dana Brooke Pulled From SmackDown Women's Championship Match At WrestleMania 36 <a href="https://t.co/qFIDPjvgvU">https://t.co/qFIDPjvgvU</a></p>&mdash; Fightful Wrestling (@FightfulWrestle) <a href="https://twitter.com/FightfulWrestle/status/1242232676855103491?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 23, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Evil Vito]

Dana is sick, as is Rey Mysterio which is why he's not involved in the card either.

This is a complete shitshow.

[XL]

Aleister Black vs. Bobby Lashley?

[slik]

WWE better have WrestleMania taped by Thursday at 11pm...


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BREAKING?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BREAKING</a>: More info on Orange County stay at home order. Here: <a href="https://t.co/Y93JPZGAvG">https://t.co/Y93JPZGAvG</a> <a href="https://t.co/PrmmxjCqTZ">pic.twitter.com/PrmmxjCqTZ</a></p>&mdash; Orlando Sentinel (@orlandosentinel) <a href="https://twitter.com/orlandosentinel/status/1242560937447567360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 24, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Evil Vito]

Main event ends in a no contest after cop interference.

[Emperor Smeat]

AEW probably should strongly consider taping at least 2 weeks worth of Dynamite tomorrow since the same is likely going to happen very soon in Jacksonville.

[Emperor Smeat]

Seems Mania's card isn't going to be scaled back nor the show itself be shorter than usual even with the two night format.

Current rumor is WWE is sticking with a 16 match card for Mania and to be split evenly with 8 matches per night.

Becky vs. Baszler for the RAW Women's title is currently penciled in as the main event for Night 1.

[slik]

I think if they tape the RAW after WM as originally planned for this week, then after Mania and the following RAW we'll get eps of RAW and SD that are essentially reruns or matches from various PPVs.

I'm not sure what else they could do because I don't think this is ending anytime soon.

[Gerard]

IT'S A WRESTLEMANIA TOO BIG FOR ONE NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!11111111111111111696969

Ironically being held in the smallest venue it's ever been held in. But have to congratulate them on trying and failing miserably to put a positive spin on it. :nono::nono::nono:

[Evil Vito]

IT'S WRESTLEMANIA DAY BABYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!

[poopfromweiner dude]

Can you feel the electric

[GD]

Who gonna get dem spoilers?

[Sepholio]

lol spoilers are apparently leaking already for real. Looking into it myself r/n to see if its legit.

[Sepholio]

Some of the usual "insiders" claim they know the full results but aren't going to release them. If that's true, at least one of them will end up leaking it. Kinda feels like a set up tho.

[GD]

I wouldn't be surprised if they decide to record multiple endings to offset the leaks.

[GD]

Gonna call up my boy Ryan Clark for da scoop.

[Sepholio]

I wouldn't be surprised if they decide to record multiple endings to offset the leaks.

Exactly. Then they can maybe tell who leaked by which fake ending was given out to the public.

[Emperor Smeat]

I wouldn't be surprised if they decide to record multiple endings to offset the leaks.

Or to take into consideration Vince changing his mind at the last minute.

[slik]

Didn't they tape the RAW after Mania yesterday tho? If so, they can't change anything w/o re-filming parts of that.

[Gerard]

Looking forward more to my next shit than this incoming trainwreck of a show.

[GD]

Didn't they tape the RAW after Mania yesterday tho? If so, they can't change anything w/o re-filming parts of that.

What if they taped different segments for each outcome? Or even more plausible, the entire RAW after Mania would be a highlights show. They really need an off-season.

[Lock Jaw]

Or they just taped every possible generic cookie-cutter situation they could, and don't even know which parts will be part of Mania, which ones will be RAW/Smackdown, etc....

[slik]

Could see people paying for the Network for Mania and then the following RAW/SD episodes just be replays of WrestleMania.

[Emperor Smeat]

That would be a sure fire way to piss off their paying customers on the Network if they pulled that stunt.

The ratings pop they'd get for tv wouldn't be worth that kind of damage in the long run. Also the ratings probably just going to quickly tumble back down after a week or so.

[Emperor Smeat]

Someone claiming to be a WWE employee allegedly has been spoiling the results from Mania.

Only problem is none of the rumored unannounced matches were listed in the spoilers and the main events for both nights contradict what has been recently reported for plans.

Assuming the results are real even as a really lucky random guess, then 2 matches would have a really terrible end result and potentially another 1-2 matches as well depending on your view.

[XL]

Can’t see it in the Network schedule; when does the show start?

[drave]

next weekend, i think?

[ClockShot]

I'm surprised spoilers haven't made it to the 'net yet.

Vince either hand picked loyalists to be at the PC or they're scared to leak them since the suspect pool is small if Vince wants to play Sherlock Holmes.

[Splaya]

Or they just know how much of a train wreck it is going to be haha

[Gerard]

How are they going to end with the traditional pyro display? Just blow up the performance center?

[XL]

next weekend, i think?

:lol: Fuck sake. Losing track of time over here.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

How are they going to end with the traditional pyro display? Just blow up the performance center?

:lol:

[Sepholio]

How are they going to end with the traditional pyro display? Just blow up the performance center?

YES. YES. YES.

[Emperor Smeat]

Seems a lot of PPV providers fixed their prices after being called out for having it all over the place or being way too high for this year's Mania.

Probably could have avoided this whole situation had WWE bothered to inform them ahead of time of this year's show being a two night event.

A lot of the cable companies are getting their acts together on the WrestleMania pricing after having no idea how to handle it. Verizon has changed it to $29.99 per night. DirecTV is listing it as $34.95 per night sold separately. Comcast has changed to $34.95 per night as well.

[Emperor Smeat]

Also according to WWE Network News, both nights of Mania will have a one hour pre-show and around a 3 hour, 15 minute run time for the main card.

So about 8 and a half hours in total.

These nights will definitely be shorter than WrestleMania 35 Sunday was. The runtime for each Night of WrestleMania 36 (via WWE Network News) is 3 hours and 15 minutes long, lasting from 7-10:15 p.m. Eastern. Each show will also have a one-hour Kickoff event.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Lmao $60-$70 for an 8 hour, pre taped empty arena show being held in a training facility with several matches on the card changed due to the current circumstances. Who the fuck would pay that?

[Droford]

How are they going to end with the traditional pyro display? Just blow up the performance center?

https://i.imgur.com/iPcrW6Y.gif

[Sepholio]

Why would you when the network is free r/n LMAO

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Why would you when the network is free r/n LMAO

No idea. I wonder what kind of financial losses wwe is looking at. Of course they'll survive, but still curious to know.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I think they are taking this hit on purpose, guys. They know it is going to be a shitty quarter, so they are going to get people to sign up as a fake show of goodwill towards people's need for entertainment, and to hopefully retain some of those subscribers down the line.

If they charged out the ass for the Network this month (or just regular price), some people might get it, but the quarter is going to look fucking abysmal anyway, so what will it mean? At least this way they have a chance to get some people to say "Why not?" and look like nice guys, and trust that their investors are going to understand there is a fucking worldwide pandemic going on, so they cut them a tiny bit of slack.

WWE is also selling content for ESPN and shit, aren't they? It would have been a smart move to sell their WrestleManias and put them on TV at some point so that people can go down memory road and get a bit of a taste for the product. But I imagine that ESPN are throwing a bit of coin at them that way. Given what WWE charges for its content, they're very likely to be making more off that than they would charging full price for the Network anyway.

Their streaming service is not their priority. Right now, generating TV content is, and eventually landing on a larger streaming service to make them more accessible for a world that is moving in that direction.

[Droford]

DirecTV still advertises WM as LIVE too

[slik]

WrestleMania might be it for me with WWE, until at least live crowds return, possibly longer, IDK.

The show, even if they had live crowds would still be abysmal at this point- it just even more so minus crowds. I think they should take a break, just air classic matches and ppvs and give all the talent time off, let WM be the 'season finale'.

[drave]

WrestleMania might be it for me with WWE, until at least live crowds return, possibly longer, IDK.

The show, even if they had live crowds would still be abysmal at this point- it just even more so minus crowds. I think they should take a break, just air classic matches and ppvs and give all the talent time off, let WM be the 'season finale'.




Its been very bad for a very long time. I hope that AEW doing decent forces their hand to be better. I've started watching it and find it to be far and away more entertaining, just from an entertainment aspect alone. The in-ring stuff can also be amazing, depending on who is in there. Big fan of the Lucha Bros. (Fenix and Pentagon Jr. I think?), Omega, Moxley, and even Jericho's persona. Jericho just seems to "get it" man. Cody is still growing on me, but looks TONS better than he did any other time I saw him on TV



At one point, the best thing WWE had going was something with Lana, Lashley and Rusev? Really?! Get the fuck outta here with that. Glad I didn't stick around to see that shit.

[Evil Vito]

I was planning on only giving WWE $10 this year (for the Rumble, which I'll always have a soft spot for). If the road to WM left me sufficiently intrigued I'd stick around through Mania. But it didn't. I wouldn't have paid $10 for this show even if the world hadn't gone to hell.

As it is I'm watching old stuff on the Network with the free three months they gave away and that'll be that.

I kinda doubt crowds will even be back in three months. Sports and live events like this are well at the bottom of the priority list of things to come back once public events can happen again. Wrestling companies are going to need to cope with this for a long time.

[slik]

Imagine traveling back in time and telling fans who thought Undertaker retired at Mania 33 that in 2020 he would be in a feud with AJ Styles over Michelle McCool's finisher.

[drave]

Is that how they spun this? Good fucking god.............

[#1-norm-fan]

Imagine traveling back in time and telling fans who thought Undertaker retired at Mania 33 that in 2020 he would be in a feud with AJ Styles over Michelle McCool's finisher.

Lol I still think about how fucking awful that ending was in hindsight. If it symbolized his retirement, it would have been fine. Instead, a WrestleMania ended with Taker dramatically leaving his clothes in the middle of the ring for no reason. The creative clusterfuck that is WWE writing is like nothing the world has ever seen.

[slik]

Is that how they spun this? Good fucking god.............

yeah, AJ is jealous of Michelle

It was a good Taker promo, I will say that. He was in full 'Biker Taker' mode.

[Evil Vito]

Lol I still think about how fucking awful that ending was in hindsight. If it symbolized his retirement, it would have been fine. Instead, a WrestleMania ended with Taker dramatically leaving his clothes in the middle of the ring for no reason. The creative clusterfuck that is WWE writing is like nothing the world has ever seen.

tbf Taker probably thought he was done too, he didn't appear for a year before he got offered to work an unscheduled 2 minute match with Cena to ostensibly end his career with a win in the city he lost the Streak

and then the Saudis backed a truck full of money up to his house

[Splaya]

Saudi's rule Vince. Good chance they have some form of dirt on him now

[XL]

Can somebody clarify; the 1-on-1 ladder match between Morrison and An Uso is for the tag belts?

[Evil Vito]

I would assume so. And since it was meant to be a 6-person match that means that in addition to The Miz being sent home, the New Day are among the talents that decided to bow out.

[#1-norm-fan]

tbf Taker probably thought he was done too, he didn't appear for a year before he got offered to work an unscheduled 2 minute match with Cena to ostensibly end his career with a win in the city he lost the Streak

and then the Saudis backed a truck full of money up to his house

Oh, I’m not knocking Taker for any of that. He’s just doing his job. I’m knocking WWE for not having any fucking idea what the very basic, 3-year-old’s idea of “storytelling” is.

[Mr. Nerfect]

The big question is which Uso will it be? I’m going Jimmy.

[Fignuts]

https://i.imgur.com/0RvKRPd.png

[drave]

That'd make it all worth it TBH.

[XL]

They’re having a match in a <s>Grave</s>Boneyard. They better not get intro music.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

They absolutely will. At least Taker will

[Mr. Nerfect]

I had this bizarre curiosity for Styles vs. Taker, because Styles is just tremendous. Now I think it is going to be a nightmare.

[Droford]

The big question is which Uso will it be? I’m going Jimmy.

Bob Uso

[Emperor Smeat]

Seems not all of Mania was taped last week based on a recent interview Triple H had with PWI.

Mike Johnson of PWInsider chatted with Paul “Triple H” Levesque ...

Elsewhere in the interview, Levesque implied that there could be portions of WrestleMania that might be live.

“We can do our stuff in a different manner. We can script out differently, we can shoot things out of order, we can do things in sequence, we can do totally differently to put together a product and still make something entertaining for our fans and that’s what you’re going to see [at] WrestleMania. The ability to blow it out into two days, to make it bigger in some ways, to do some of it live, some of it not live, still incorporate Gronk as a host, do matches that we wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to do. The Firefly Funhouse, The Undertaker’s Boneyard match and do them in different locations and different styles and different feels. It’s an opportunity to do something and hopefully give fans that escape. That’s our goal is really just give them that escape and give them some entertainment, take their mind off all of it.”


Also Triple H revealed in a different interview with TV Guide that if this year's two-night event ends up being successful, WWE might consider doing this setup from now on for Mania.

TV Guide released their interview with Paul “Triple H” Levesque. Levesque said that situations such as now that has led to WrestleMania being two days and using off-site locations for matches has led to WWE considering using those same ideas in the future.

“This moment in time is changing everything, and I think there are opportunities that we will see and explore now that will become the new norm. So all of those things, whether it’s multiple nights, whether it’s off-site shoots or different things like that, I think those will all be opportunities that we can explore in the future and we’ll see. If they’re successful here, they might be successful in the future as well.”

[Droford]

The offsite thing might be ok for normal ppvs (and they've done it before) but using it at a stadium wrestlemania when people paid high price for tickets it's a stupid idea.

[Emperor Smeat]

According to Meltzer, seems WWE still hasn't made an official decision regarding which matches will be on either night and the main events as of Thursday.

The most unique WrestleMania in history airs over two nights in front of no fans at the WWE Performance Center, a show that was actually taped on 3/25 and 3/26.

At press time, which matches are on what show have not been determined and while Becky Lynch vs. Shayna Baszler and Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins have had interviews talking about being on the first night, we’re told after everything was to be edited, all the decisions would be made.

I’m not sure what the purpose of doing the show now is. They are giving up $15 million to $17 million when it comes to ticket sales and merchandise sales. Because of the time frame, the increase in network subscriptions, the biggest value of the show, won’t be there at anywhere near the level of past years. So they are giving up the WrestleMania bump which means year-over-year network numbers will be even worse than projected.

[Emperor Smeat]

Turns out the reason for the lack of any spoilers for this year's Mania tapings is due to WWE threatening to immediately fire anyone who leaked anything about the upcoming show.

Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated has taken a deep dive behind the scenes of the first-ever pre-recorded WrestleMania, and through his journey learned that any WWE employee who might leak information would be subject to termination. Also, the report notes that the agents at hand include Adam Pearce, Road Dogg, and Shawn Michaels.

Aside from them, the only people who could have potentially spoiled the event were Michael Cole, members of the production team, or any of the members of the collective brain trust including Paul Heyman, Bruce Prichard, Kevin Dunn, or Vince McMahon himself.

Apart from revealing that the spoiling of WrestleMania would have been deemed a fireable offense, Justin also provided new information on the relationship between WWE and ESPN, revealing at prior to leave the coronavirus outbreak, there were discussions for WWE to air WrestleMania on the ESPN+ service similar to the way the UFC presents their events.

Even with that threat, PWI's Mike Johnson ended up revealing today that he was told of some spoilers from the event but couldn't report on it due to him not getting a second person to confirm it.

Q - If Wrestlemania is all taped, why havent spoilers leaked?

A - WWE filmed on a closed set in waves, so talents and producers involved in match #1 weren't even in the building for match #2, etc. WWE also used a much smaller production crew than usual and had no guests. There are certain things that I have heard about the show, but given that I haven't been able to double source some of them via the usual means, I've been very cautious to report them. Things we have been able to source via two or more sources we can trust, we have reported.

[ClockShot]

Yeah. If anything, the only thing that would have stayed the same throughout the tapings would have been like the ring and camera crews. Everyone else would have gotten rotated out.

Pretty much as I suspect. Spoilers would have gotten out, but the suspect pool is so small that Vince or whoever could have zeroed in on you quick.