10 Fascinating WWE Facts About WrestleMania 36
8. Vince McMahon Fought For The Empty Stadium
A WrestleMania scheduled for April 5th was as good as dead by the start of March as the realities of the global pandemic made clear the need for everybody to avoid contact and reduce the spread.
Try telling that to Vince McMahon.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis banned all public events for 30 days on March 12th, back before the scale and severity of just how long lockdowns would be required had fully revealed itself. That itself was enough for most sports, public events and entertainment companies to understand the brief and shut up shop, but Vince McMahon ignored all that. He spent days locked in talks with DeSantis and his team, allegedly trying to force through any and every other option before relenting and returning to Raw and SmackDown's new Performance Center home.
Raymond James Stadium got its WrestleMania the following year, and - adverse weather aside - the socially distanced crowd were given their own unique slice of wrestling history.