Update On WWE Running Live Events By The End Of Summer
WWE officials have started working to strategize potential courses of action towards resuming regular live event tours after pausing operations a few months back due to the coronavirus pandemic.
WWE still hopes that if all works out, they should be prepared to hold regular live events by the end of the summer, according to PWInsider. This goes with the previous timeline of July or August that has been mentioned a few times in recent months. While WWE still has some events listed on Ticketmaster as of this writing, nothing is set in stone but they do hope to be running before the end of the summer season.
There is also hope that the company will be able to run events outside of TV tapings at the Performance Center or the NXT Arena on the campus of Full Sail University, by August. PWInsider noted that other sources who confirmed the August talk believe that the timeframe is premature. The whole process was described as being very "day to day" with plans and strategies quickly changing as officials work to establish various contingency plans.
WWE is still very early in the process of returning to regular events, and then there's the fact that a large percentage of the company's live event staff is still on furlough after being put on the shelf due to company-wide cuts brought on by COVID-19 in April.
It was noted a few weeks back that things were beginning to happen behind-the-scenes so that the company would be ready when they are given permission to resume touring amid the pandemic. There were early discussions about ticket sales for arena events moving forward, with social distancing guidelines remaining in place. WWE and other companies that are planning to resume live entertainment will be faced with a different environment with various changes that are brought on by the outbreak. There has also been talk of keeping the new new Plexiglas "shields" with taller ringside barriers and that being the new norm for WWE live events. WWE will obviously be faced with several tricky obstacles and factors to deal with due to the pandemic.
The last WWE live event or TV taping outside of Orlando was the March 9 RAW episode from Washington, DC. Stay tuned for updates.