[Emperor Smeat]

The Sheets:

Originally Posted by PWI Tampa, Florida Mayor Jane Castor was interviewed this afternoon by Drew Garabo on 102.5 The Bone FM in Tampa, Florida about the city's response to the coronavirus and how they would be handling large scale public events in the city, including next month's Wrestlemania 36 week. Castor was immediately asked about Wrestlemania 36 and whether the events that week will still take place. Castor said they are still assessing the situation. They hoped to still hold it but they are still assessing. They have a commission working on it and will be having a meeting tomorrow at 12 PM Noon to determine what they will do regarding the status of not just Wrestlemania, but all other large scale events in the city. Castor said they anticipated they would have coronavirus cases in Tampa. The virus in most cases is like a mild case of the flu. The issue is the ease of the transmission. It's not if, but when it hit their city. They want people to have accurate information and to take steps to protect themselves and they'll be able to prevent the spread of the virus across Tampa and the country ... On balancing the health and well being vs. the economic windfall of Wrestlemania, Castor said the health and well being is important but she also has to look at the economic impact for those who need the paychecks that come with the economic positives of having a major event. It's a responsibility she takes seriously. When asked who's final decision it would be, Castor said WWE can 'weigh in' but they locally would have the final call. That's why they are having the meeting tomorrow, so they can make the best informed decision and be on top of the latest information from the CDC and the State of Florida.

Originally Posted by PWI We've been asked how WWE is preparing for the coronavirus in terms of their office staffing. We have been told by multiple sources that work for the company that as of this week, WWE started a rotation where certain departments will be working from home/telecommuting so that WWE can plan out logistics if they need to pull the trigger on having the company's employees work outside of their Stamford, CT headquarters. The process will likely continue over at least the next week or so. A number of film studios and major corporations are enacting similar measures. In regard to a rumor making the round, there is ZERO truth to a story claiming Wrestlemania would be bumped up to Madison Square Garden on 3/22.

Originally Posted by Fightful Jerry Lawler thinks the show will go on. Appearing on Cerrito Live, Jerry Lawler was asked about the coronavirus and whether the disease will impact WrestleMania 36. "I don't think it's going to affect WrestleMania at all. I'm not trying to downplay it but when you listen to what has happened in the past, it's almost like a cycle. These kind of things happen every now and again; there's nothing you can do about it except react to it as best we can. I remember all these kinds of influenza and viruses that we've had. Just the regular flu comes around every year and kills a bunch of people. You can get vaccinated and do you what you can; everyone tries to be as healthy as possible. It's just a fact of life. Remember there was the Bird Flu, the Hong Kong Flu, Swine Flu, SARS. All of these things happen every few years and this is another one of those things that we'll get through. That's the way life is." He finished by saying, "WrestleMania could go on and it could be a total pay-per-view [empty arena] if worst came to worst."

Originally Posted by WrestlingInc It's looking more like the coronavirus will end up having a significant impact on WrestleMania 36 Week in Tampa, Florida. Tampa area reporter Jon Alba noted on Twitter today that there could be an update on the status of WrestleMania 36 within the next 24 hours, which may not be good for WWE. "I do believe we will hear an update on the status of #WrestleMania within 24 hours or so. And I would suspect things aren't trending in a positive direction. #WWE," Alba tweeted. Furthermore, @Wrestlevotes also indicated today that things aren't looking good ... "I asked a few sources about Mania & the Corona situation. Some had no info to relay. One said: 'if it can go on as planned, it will' Safe to say WWE just doesn't know yet. All very fluid. All TBD," they wrote earlier this afternoon. "Update: It's not looking good now," @Wrestlevotes wrote in a follow-up tweet this evening. They continued, "Guys, I want it to still happen too. Trust me. But it's not looking good at the moment. I would think they look to reschedule rather than cancel but time will tell." As noted earlier today at this link, the City of Tampa Twitter account and the Visit Tampa Bay Twitter account told fans that WrestleMania 36 is currently scheduled to go on as planned. The World Health Organization announced today that the coronavirus outbreak is now a pandemic.

Originally Posted by PWI The 3/10 episode of WWE Backstage on FS1, featuring Mark Henry appearing, brought in 35,000 overnight viewers. If we receive an updated, final number, we will update.

Originally Posted by Observer John Cena's next appearance on WWE television is taking place this Friday. WWE has announced that Cena will appear on SmackDown this Friday night. The show is taking place at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan

Originally Posted by Observer Matt Hardy is heading to Northeast Wrestling for his first announced post-WWE match. Northeast Wrestling announced today that Hardy will be in action at their Wrestlefest XXIV show later this month: "Matt Hardy returns to Northeast Wrestling for his 1st match since becoming the most sought after Free Agent in Wrestling. Northeast Wrestling LIVE! in Waterbury, Connecticut on Friday, March 27th. He will also be a part of the preshow Meet and Greet. Get your tickets now at northeastwrestling.com" Hardy's opponent for the show has yet to be revealed.

Originally Posted by Observer KENTA and Tomohiro Ishii are the first two NJPW wrestlers confirmed for this year's ROH-NJPW War of the Worlds tour. ROH announced today that KENTA and Ishii are set for all four shows on the War of the Worlds tour. The dates and locations for it are: Wednesday, May 6: Buffalo RiverWorks, Buffalo, New York Thursday, May 7: Ted Reeve Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Saturday, May 9: Wings Event Center, Kalamazoo, Michigan Sunday, May 10: The Odeum Expo Center, Villa Park, Illinois

Originally Posted by Observer NJPW has revealed when tickets are going on sale for their return to Madison Square Garden. A ticket pre-sale for NJPW Wrestle Dynasty will begin at 10 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, April 8. Registration is now open for the pre-sale mailing list. NJPW wrote that codes will be emailed near the pre-sale date. Tickets will then go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Eastern on Friday, April 10 ... Wrestle Dynasty is taking place at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, August 22, which is the same night as NXT TakeOver: Boston and the night before this year's SummerSlam.

Originally Posted by PWI Ring of Honor issued the following statement: ROH UPDATE ON COVID-19 Ring of Honor, home of the “Best Wrestling on the Planet,” will be proceeding as planned with all current events and activities. ROH is mounting its 18th Anniversary (Friday, March 13th) and Past vs Present (Saturday, March 14th) shows this weekend in Las Vegas at Sam’s Town Live Casino. The safety and health of our fans, talents and staff are always of top priority and we are actively following information regarding COVID-19, known as Coronavirus. We are closely monitoring all information being made known by the government, the CDC and WHO to the public - as the situation continues to develop. ROH cares by being proactive in taking the utmost safety precautions as recommended for all live events and recommends that all fans take their own personal safety precautions as well. Additionally, fans are urged to contact help@rohwrestling.com if they have any concerns about their health or safety at an upcoming event -- and ROH will work with them to provide solutions. As the situation continues to be monitored, any necessary changes to the event schedule and/or resolutions will be provided expeditiously.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling The Collective and Game Changer Wrestling put out a statement on Twitter which read that all of their scheduled events for WrestleMania weekend will continue on as planned regardless of the decision that is made tomorrow concerning WrestleMania.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling WWE’s Angel Garza drew coverage from TMZ after he was kissed by a fan in attendance at Monday Night RAW in Washington DC. After Garza’s segment and match, he responded to a tweet which read that the Coronavirus is everywhere and what he allowed was not safe. Garza responded to the tweet and noted that the Coronavirus does not exist and everything is in people’s minds.

Originally Posted by Post Wrestling Sports Illustrated chatted with Bret Hart to reflect on the life and career of Owen Hart. The two parties specifically talked about Bret and Owen’s WrestleMania 10 match and Bret feels that-that match set the table for wrestlers like Daniel Bryan and CM Punk who are/were of similar stature to Bret and Owen. “I think it certainly opened the door for guys, like Punk and Daniel Bryan, that did some great wrestling after my era. For our time, Owen and I was a great match. The hardest thing about the match with Owen that people overlook is that we’d never wrestled each other before. When you’ve never danced with someone before, you don’t know what you’re going to get. For our first match, that was a really good match.” Elsewhere in the interview, Hart shared that the majority of the finishes to his matches were his idea and the only one he can recall that wasn’t his was the WWF World Heavyweight Championship match against Bob Backlund at the 1994 Survivor Series. “All the endings to my matches were mine. The only match I can think of, off the top of my head, that the finish was done the way I was told was probably that Survivor Series where I lost to Backlund. But that whole match was my match. It was a very complicated match. Vince laid the outline, and then was like, ‘Figure it out. This is how it’s going to happen.’ It had the towel and all that. Every single person’s timing was so important to the other wrestlers. There’s Davey Boy, my mom, my dad, Owen, Bob Backlund, myself. A lot of moving pieces. That’s what I love about that match as you watch it back. That was a complicated story to tell but it was smooth as butter, first time we ever did it, last time we ever did, and a great moment.”

Originally Posted by Fightful WWE's stock finished at $38.72 per share when the stock market closed.

Growing coronavirus worries and uncertainty over the direction of WWE has hammered their stocks big time in recent weeks.


TPWW Frontpage:

• Rob Gronkowski Update – Will Be an “Active Wrestler” & Appear at WrestleMania
• XFL Ratings for Week 5 Games