WWE & AEW Fans Could Attend Shows Next Week?
Major new Florida developments mean that the Empty Arena Era may be over sooner rather than later.
Despite sounding like an utterly ludicrous idea to a lot of people, WWE and AEW could have fans in attendance for their weekly events as soon as next week.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has issued a three-phase plan to reopen the state, which would have the knock-on effect of allowing WWE and AEW to allow fans back into any Florida-housed shows.
Courtesy of WPLG Local 10, the first phase of DeSantis’ plan is to start on Monday for all areas of Florida bar Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, and Broward. That first phase encourages people to gather in groups no larger than ten, that people should work from home where possible, that at-risk groups should remain in a lockdown environment for now, and that restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and gyms are to open at 50% capacity.
What’s most interesting where it pertains to pro wrestling, is that this first phase will allow sporting events to restart under the ruling that social distancing guidelines are adhered to and that venues are limited to 25% of total capacity.
Given how the WWE Performance Center and AEW’s Daily’s Place are both located in Florida, this feasibly means that both companies could realistically allow fans – albeit in small numbers – to attend their weekly shows as early as this coming week.
Neither WWE nor AEW have commented on this latest development, but All Elite Wrestling is due back at Daily’s Place this Wednesday, while WWE is due to be back at the Performance Center on Monday, May 11 - although one might assume WWE could return to the PC sooner following this latest development.