WWE has continued to operate weekly television shows and monthly pay-per-event events since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, running WWE Performance Center programs in Orlando, Florida, initially without fans, then with small groups of apprentices. performing as an audience, and over the past few weeks, with some artist friends and family in the makeshift crowd. Now, with Florida and Orange County (where Orlando is located) experiencing a significant increase in the number of cases of the virus, the company has been hit with positive cases.
After a development talent tested positive for the coronavirus last week, WWE delayed tapings to ensure that all of its talents, employees, and production staff were screened. Fighters and staff were reportedly informed over the weekend of other confirmed cases at the company and recommended to be retested with at least three and up to two dozen positive tests for coronavirus, according to Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet. Wrestling Newsletterit’s Dave Meltzer.
WWE presenter Renee Young announced on Twitter Wednesday night that she was one of the positives.
WWE did not respond to CBS Sports’ request for comment on the positive test reports of the COVID-19 test, but did note that, for the first time, it will test all employees for coronavirus prior to each production at WWE Performance Center ( where he records Raw SmackDown and PPV) and Full Sail University (where the company records NXT).
“WWE will continue to test COVID-19 on its talent, production team and employees ahead of television productions for the foreseeable future,” the statement read.
Prior to last week’s positive result, WWE had only performed talented temperature checks, employees and staff also answered questionnaires before entering its facilities to take TV and PPV shots.
WWE stopped touring in March, but has never stopped recording shows, as sports, entertainment, and the media, including professional wrestling, were considered “essential business” by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
A company source previously told CBS Sports that WWE planned to start conducting COVID-19 tests at some point once the tests became more available and reliable, although a start date was never set or reported for that process. begin to. WWE executive Paul “Triple H” Levesque previously emphasized that WWE was taking strict precautions approved by medical professionals despite failing to conduct direct tests to detect coronaviruses due to a lack of rapid response time and reliability.
Florida has seen almost 110,000 cases of COVID-19 with recent spikes recording more than 5,500 reported cases in a single day. The state has become one of the main hot spots for coronavirus nationwide, along with Arizona, California and Texas. More than 3,200 people have died from the coronavirus in the sun state.
