Opinion: Coronavirus could lead to another popular PPV being changed this year
The past couple of weeks have been extremely difficult for WWE and Vince McMahon. With the most recent episodes of SmackDown and RAW being aired live from the Performance Center and the postponing of the first season of the new XFL, the company has been feeling the effects of the world pandemic.
The company officially made the announcement on Monday that WrestleMania, the marquee event of the year, has also found itself a home in Orlando, Florida's Performance Center. It's going to be a very jarring experience for everyone involved, talent and fans alike, but the change could reverberate far past April 5th. WWE hasn't offered up any information for anything set to occur after Sunday, April 5th, but one must imagine that the Performance Center will be the home of RAW, SmackDown, and NXT for the foreseeable future.
How will this affect SummerSlam?
If WWE has been forced to make such an immense change by moving WrestleMania from an outdoor stadium in front of over 70,000 people to a closed-off training facility with only talent and essential crew in attendance, it means that for the first time in many years, the phrase "anything can happen in WWE" is going to have some real-life credence.
SummerSlam may also be in jeopardy. Depending on how long COVID-19 keeps people in isolation and countries on lockdown, it will continue to affect the traveling the company does. If the outbreak gets worse or, at the very least, keeps on pace and keeps people from convening in large crowds, fans who paid for the show will either have to be reimbursed or accomedated for another show that comes to their town -- whenever that may be.
It could completely change WWE's business model. There are supposed to be PPV events all spring and summer long -- all year long, of course -- so what does WWE do? It's a predicament, to say the least. This is all unchartered territory, as what the world is going through with the mysterious virus is unheard of in the modern era. Many things are being forced to change, and Vince McMahon's empire is not going to be spared.
At the moment it is too soon to tell how their upcoming events will be impacted, as it all comes down to timing. SummerSlam is still scheduled to take place on August 23rd from the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, but will it happen, or will WWE's second biggest show of the year also take place from the small building that WWE uses to mold the Superstars of tomorrow?