AEW reschedules more shows due to COVID, while WWE stands ready to return

It’s a familiar story. So much so that we’re sure you don’t need any background information.

But in case you just woke up from a Rip Van Winkle-like coma, welcome back! Wish we had better news.

There’s a highly contagious virus affecting the entire world, but nowhere worse than in the United States, where a combination of poor leadership and tribalism have helped the disease run rampant for most of the year. As a result, large social gatherings like concerts & sporting events are almost completely out of the question until a vaccine is developed. And they may continue to be out of the question even then, because of the way healthcare is administered in this country and people who refuse to take vaccines because of debunked conspiracy theories.

But that’s a whole ‘nother discussion...

To the matter at hand, AEW has postponed a number of wrestling shows on their calendar, some for the second time:

• The Dynamite taping at Philadelphia’s Liacouras Center that was originally scheduled for April 22 before being moved to July 29 is now set for April 7, 2021.
• The Dynamite taping at Boston’s Agganis Arena that was originally scheduled for April 15 before being moved to Aug. 5 is now set for April 21, 2021.

Meanwhile, WWE has reportedly scrapped plans to run shows with fans in Florida at the ends of this month. They still have a few events on their schedule for the fall, like a Raw in Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on Sept. 28. But for now, the company is putting the decision in the hands of venues.

WWE Executive Vice-President John Brody told the SportsPro podcast (h/t Fightful):

“If people open arenas safely, we’re ready. Our chairman and CEO Vince McMahon has said we’re ready to go and entertain and put smiles on faces. We look forward to that next step in the transition.”

For now, it looks like Raw, SmackDown, and even big events like SummerSlam will continue happening at the WWE-owned Performance Center in Orlando.

While some events with crowds have happened sporadically, no recurring promotion has officially made the move to performing in from of fans on a regular basis yet. McMahon is rumored to want to lead the way... we’ll see how that goes as we head into the fall.