As we reported earlier today here on eWn, WWE brought in most of their in-ring talents and staff earlier today for what was described as a round of “drive-through testing” for COVID-19. All of the people who were brought in today did not receive emails on Monday or Tuesday advising them to undergo tests on their own. In addition to that, any talent or staff members who tested negative for COVID-19 earlier this week had to be tested again today at the WWE Performance Center. Those who were not tested today will not be cleared to work Friday and Saturday’s TV tapings.
Also, Pwinsider is reporting that any members of the talent or staff who receive a positive test result for COVID-19 will be ordered to stay at home and won’t be allowed near the WWE Performance Center. As of this writing, the TV tapings are still scheduled for tomorrow and Saturday but there will need to be some major re-writes.
As previously reported here on eWn, WWE broadcasters Renee Young and Kayla Braxton have both confirmed that they have tested positive for COVID-19. This is the second time Braxton has been diagnosed with the virus as she previously had it back in March. WWE producer Adam Pearce is also one of those who tested positive.
When a WWE developmental talent who was last at the Performance Center on June 9th tested positive for the coronavirus, WWE cancelled their scheduled TV tapings on Tuesday, June 16th to test the entire staff and roster for the virus. The tapings then resumed on Wednesday. Up until that point, WWE’s medical staff had only been doing temperature checks. The latest positive test results for COVID-19 are the result of a new round of tests requested by WWE for staff and wrestlers on Monday, June 22nd. That’s when a new positive test result was revealed and it got worse from there. The new infections are reportedly not the result of the tests that were done last Tuesday (June 16th) at the WWE Performance Center after the first positive test result was discovered.
WWE officials have also requested that talents inform them if they are planning to travel outside of their local areas beyond their work for the promotion. It’s a mess to say the least and many talents and staff members are upset about having to work during times like this, especially with many of them having families and children to go home to. They know that if they refuse to work, especially if they are lower on the card, they’ll more than likely lose their spot on TV. Basically, it won’t go over well with Vince McMahon and creative despite WWE telling talent they don’t need to work if they don’t feel comfortable doing so. It’s a catch 22 of sorts.
