WWE President, Owner and CEO, Vince McMahon, has orated his belief that WWE can return to live events within six weeks of the current COVID-19 pandemic lifting.
Since March 2020, World Wrestling Entertainment has been without a live audience at television tapings or pay-per-view events after being forced by the worldwide pandemic to move firstly into its own Performance Center, then to the Amway Centre where the historic WWE ThunderDome was erected and currently to Tropicana Field.
Despite other promotions and sports carefully re-introducing live attendance to various events, WWE have taken every precaution possible to ensure that not only its viewing public is safe but also its talent, by biding its time before bringing devotees back into the fold.
Now, Vince McMahon has spoken about bringing fans back home and his belief that once the restrictions lift, his company will be ready to produce its first live event within six weeks during the company’s 2020 Earnings Call:
“Looking ahead to 2021, the challenges of a COVID environment, it continues on. We expect a gradual return to ticketed audiences. And that is something that is… OK, we’re going to have live events, but will the live events make any money? Are we going to have 20% [capacity], 30%, 40% to where you break even? I don’t think anyone has a handle on exactly when that’s going to happen.
We are ready. We are the most flexible, adaptable media company in the world. We can turn something around in terms of live events in six weeks. It just speaks to our ability to innovate as a media company and continue in this current environment to create long term value.”
With McMahon confident his company is ready for an easing of restrictions, it had been heavily rumoured that WrestleMania 37 on April 10 and April 11 will have attendances of around 30,000 for each night making it the first official WWE event in over a year to admit fans back into the promotion.
Credit for the interview: WWE
h/t for the transcription: Wrestling Inc.