Report: WWE is ‘planning an ambitious taping schedule that would cover them through WrestleMania’

According to a report from POST Wrestling, WWE is going to tape the next couple episodes of Raw and SmackDown over the next week, and this taping schedule could include both nights of WrestleMania 36 as well:

“We were informed at POST Wrestling by multiple people, as of Thursday, the company will be taping the remaining episodes of Friday Night SmackDown and Raw leading into WrestleMania.

One source we spoke with indicated that they are expecting both WrestleMania shows to be taped over the next week as well. Another was unsure if that was the case.

This is the smart choice by WWE. More restrictions about public gatherings could come out over the next week or so, and it might be impossible to create new content by the time WrestleMania gets here on Apr. 4 and Apr. 5. The longer WWE waits to shoot these events, including Raw and SmackDown, the greater the risk that the event is completely shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. So it makes the most sense to get in front of it now and tape as much content as possible, so that the shows can air as planned on the scheduled dates.

Now, whether or not it’s smart for WWE to force WrestleMania to go on as planned on Apr. 4 and Apr. 5, rather than postponing until later this year, is a different conversation. But if that is indeed what WWE is hell-bent on doing, then this is a logical way to go about getting it done.