Backstage news on many WWE Superstars missing RAW amid COVID-19 outbreak
This week's episodes of RAW and SmackDown had many glaring absentees. It was expected to happen as multiple positive COVID-19 cases have been reported in the WWE in the past week.
Dave Meltzer provided a few details on the Superstars who missed RAW on the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Radio. As reported earlier, Natalya and her husband, Tyson Kidd, were asked to stay at home as a precautionary measure. Both Natalya and Kidd have not tested positive.
Meltzer revealed that Rey Mysterio and Dominik were scheduled to be on this week's WWE RAW, but they ended up shooting a segment from their home. Liv Morgan was also kept away for this reason.
Randy Orton and Austin Theory were the other big names who were kept off TV, but there were no updates on the reasons. Meltzer did add that he'd heard nothing about any of the names mentioned above testing positive for coronavirus.
He reported the following:
So Natalya wasn't there, but she did not test positive, that was a precautionary measure that we knew about going in.
Rey Mysterio and Dominik were scheduled to be on the show, they actually did a segment from home and Austin Theory wasn't there, and of the main characters, those were the only ones that when I watched the show, I immediately noticed. Like, no Randy Orton obviously. I don't know what that means. In a sense, I guess that would be the biggest one. I guess if he's not on next week's show and he's on the week after, I guess that will tell you something. Not all of these are COVID positives that I just named, like Natalya was not, but some of them were.
The COVID-19 situation in WWE
WWE reportedly has over 30+ positive cases. While constant testing is being conducted behind the scenes, the company has to take the necessary steps to safeguard the health of its employees and talents.
Roman Reigns, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and Riddick Moss are some of the WWE Superstars who have voluntarily opted to not appear at the shows. The increased risk of the virus spreading hasn't stopped WWE from running shows, as they have altered their schedule and are looking to tape more content in the weeks to follow.