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It seems World Wrestling Entertainment (WW) isn’t following in Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) footsteps to put a halt in staging events, as Vince McMahon and Co. are still keen on keeping the wheels rolling.
According to an official statement from WWE, its upcoming WrestleMania 36 event — which was originally set to go down at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, Fla., on April 5 — will now take place at the company’s training facility in Orlando.
And like UFC did this past Sat. at UFC Fight Night 170 in Brasilia, Brazil, it will do so without any fans in attendance.
“In coordination with local partners and government officials, WrestleMania and all related events in Tampa Bay will not take place,” said WWE statement. “However, WrestleMania will still stream live on Sunday, April 5 at 7 pm ET on WWE Network and be available on pay-per-view. Only essential personnel will be on the closed set at WWE’s training facility in Orlando, Florida to produce WrestleMania.”
While WrestleMania 36 is still good to go, other pre-planned events that were set to take place during the week — such as NXT TakeOver and the WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremonies — have been cancelled, according to CBS Sports.
And if you thought watching a UFC event with no fans in attendance seemed eerie, watching a monumental event such as the spectacle that is Wrestlemania — which usually draws record-breaking crowds — in an empty facility will be a tough pill to swallow at first. Especially since the two combatants still have to sell the performance and the dialogue that accompanies it.
That said, WWE fans have gotten a little taste of what to expect, as the promotion’s previous Monday Night Raw and Smackdown shows have gone down behind closed doors. However, those weekly offerings pale in comparison to WWE’s biggest show of the year.
Wrestlemania 36 is set to feature the WWE championship title match between former UFC heavyweight kingpin, Brock Lesnar, taking on Drew McIntyre, while Goldberg faces Roman Reigns for the Universal championship.