The fallout of the Covid-19 strain of coronavirus is hitting the wrestling world hard, with events around the world being canceled by the hour it seems.
A few hours ago, the Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) decreed that indoor mass gatherings of more than 100 people and outdoor mass gatherings of over 500 people should be canceled. Within minutes of his announcement, OTT Wrestling tweeted that they would be canceling their ScrapperMania weekend, their biggest weekend of the year.
#ScrapperMania6 #OTT pic.twitter.com/AJLJflHxIa
— OTT WRESTLING (@OTT_wrestling) March 12, 2020
Last night DEFY Wrestling based in the Pacific North West, announced that their March 29 show – The Defyiant Ones – would be canceled too due.
Due to the restrictive ban on live events in King County announced today by Washington State health officials, DEFY will be forced to CANCEL our Sunday, March 29th show THE DEFYANT ONES.
Ticket holders will be contacted directly via email with additional information and options. https://t.co/yGsYgJDZV0
— DEFY Wrestling (@defyNW) March 12, 2020
As Marc wrote a few days ago, NJPW, DDT, and Stardom canceled shows in Japan due to the outbreak.
There is also talk that WrestleMania itself could be canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The city of Tampa are meeting later today to discuss the possibility of postponing/canceling major events. And as we know, WrestleMania is one of those events. It will hopefully take place in the 65,000 seats Raymond James Stadium on April 5.
WrestleVotes via Twitter said yesterday that the WrestleMania situation wasn’t looking good now. TalkSports own Alex McCarthy tweeted earlier today that we could have a summer WrestleMania –
Think we’re looking at a summer ‘Mania… ?
— Alex McCarthy (@AlexM_talkSPORT) March 12, 2020
At noon today, local Tampa officials will meet to discuss the situation. Jane Castor, the Mayor of Tampa, spoke to a local Tampa radio show yesterday. She was quoted as saying that they are “still assessing the situation”.
Whichever way you look at it, it really doesn’t look good for the global wrestling community right now.
