Based on a new and longer "stay-at-home' mandate issued from the state of Florida, WWE can't produce shows out of the WWE Performance Center and as such, there is talk WWE might take some time off after WrestleMania 36.
The state-wide new order is potentially not good news for WWE who has been producing all of its content out of the Orange County area. If the ban they believed was going to lift on April 9 is no longer lifting and shows can't be produced out of the PC, WWE either needs to find another location or shut things down until May.
WWE has filmed enough footage to air WrestleMania 36, the post-WrestleMania Raw show and a little more footage beyond that, but likely not enough to produce seven hours of original content between Raw, SmackDown and NXT.
Instead, after news today that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has issued a stay at home order for the entire state, popular Twitter rumors reporters WrestleVotes tweeted WWE might choose to halt production altogether. They tweeted:
Rumors around the PC last week were that if the state of FL issued a Stay Home order, which happened today, WWE would reconsider taking a break post Mania. The RAW after is shot. I’ve been told if they are pausing for a while, some footage shot won’t be aired. TBD at this point.
Obvioulsy, time off for WWE is just rumored at this point and only based on what seems to be talk backstage at the Performance Center last week. Everything is still "to be determined" and it's not a small decision. If WWE paused production on all of their shows, WWE might be able to air other footage and air Raw or other shows each week, but it essentially brings an end, in a manner of speaking, to their reign as the longest running weekly live show in history.
Knowing WWE probably doesn't want to go down this route, Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet noted, "It wouldn’t surprise me to see WWE move things to Connecticut as opposed to going on a break if they eventually can’t film at the PC for a period of time."
To Break Or Not To Break
Some wrestlers have been calling for an off-season for years and if there was ever a circumstance in which one would make sense, it's this. That said, WWE is capitalizing on new television deals with so little sports action to air on multiple networks these days. Shutting down production simply hits harder financially than the hit the company has already taken losing the revenue from WrestleMania.
Next: New Concept Pics Of Wyatt's Wrestlemania Fun House Show Horrific Idea [Photo]