WWE Extreme Rules 2020 is scheduled to be held on July 19, 2020, at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. The pay-per-view is one of the trademark annual gimmicks of the company and has a massive fan-following. But due to the exponential rise of the COVID-19 cases in Florida, question are being raised over the WWE Extreme Rules 2020 EVENT.
WWE Extreme Rules 2020 : 4 reasons which makes Extreme Rules 2020 doubtful in July
Reason 1 – Florida governor’s decision of WWE as ‘essential service’ under the scanner
WWE in April was declared an ‘essential service’ by Florida governor Ron DeSantis. The Republican justified his decision by saying, “Obviously, WWE, there is no crowd of anything, so it is a very small amount of people. The comment was made a day after one WWE staffer was tested positive for Covid-19″
Also Read: WWE News: Renee Young’s to make”Big Fat Announcement” on Wednesday
The decision has now come under fire as the southeastern state has seen a fivefold rise in corona cases in the past two weeks. Florida has recorded over 1.4 lakh cases so far with more than 3000 casualties.
Many Floridians are now asking authorities to removal of ‘essential services’ tag from WWE business and others like them. If that happens, WWE will have to announce the cancellation of this year’s Extreme 2020 event.
Reason 2 – WWE gets hit by COVID-19
Along with the state WWE themselves is suffering.
In the last 1 week itself, more than two dozen cases have been reported from WWE headquarters. WWE has not released any official statement on the number of cases and have continued with the business as usual. Call it utter insensitivity or neglect but the truth is that the World’s biggest Wrestling company is under fire from all quarters, especially after big-wigs like Renee Young and Kayla Braxton tested positive.
Reason 3 – The Growing Voices against WWE
An anonymous letter from a WWE developmental talent has put Vince McMahon-owned company under scathing criticism.
“Now that WWE has more talent and staffers starting to test positive, we’ve been informed by talent relations not to discuss our illness wit, anyone, besides those we may live with that may need to know [sic.],” read the anonymous statement.
“We are FORBIDDEN to tell anyone else nor can we come out publicly to make any statements. It was stressed that WWE will take care of any medical treatments, should we need them. In the same breath, it was made clear the company would handle the PR and only those that needed to know about our condition would know as HIPPA laws would prevent them from making our names public [sic.],” reported the Forbes.
Not only this it is also rumored that WWE management is extremely unhappy with Renee Young after she declared results of her positive test in public. All this put together has led to voices being raised against WWE operations and their lack of empathy in the situation.
If the rumors are to be believed, legal action is being mulled against the WWE for their mishandling of the situation.
Reason 4 – WWE missing big superstars from action
WWE’s biggest setback in the current situation is that the big names like Roman Reigns, Daniel Bryan and Kevin Owen, all are missing from action. These superstars are known as the crowd pullers and without them, WWE has struggled to keep the storylines interesting.
Moreover, the biggest shock came when WWE pulled off its Intercontinental Championship match between AJ Styles and Drew Gulak. Although there has been no confirmation from the company on why the decision was made. But reportedly it was made as the two had come in contact with Renee Young during a backstage conversation.
All this put together will make WWE Extreme Rules 2020 very doubtful in July. But WWE is not alone.
NBA also in the same boat
Besides WWE, NBA has also decided to resume its 2019-20 season from July 31. But the recent report of 16 positive cases out of 302 players, NBA’s season has once again come in doubt.
The NBA and NBPA said in a joint statement on Friday said,” Any player who tested positive will remain in self-isolation until he satisfies public health protocols for discontinuing isolation and has been cleared by a physician”.
WrestlingTV’s view:
Vince McMahon is known for his strong-headedness and if he wants he will make sure that the Extreme Rules 2020 is held. As of now, the only step WWE has taken is to increase the testings and not allow anyone to enter the arena who show Covid symptoms. The next two weeks will be crucial for WWE as they move closer to host another pay-per-view.
