How WWE Raw Foreshadowed An Escape From The Empty Arena Era

The two companies couldn't let punters in originally because it would have been a worse look than running shows altogether. As the sporting and non-sporting world and all its competitive leagues, divisions and and competitions came to a stop, the pretend ones laughed in the face of reality and continued to run. Global optics were ignored in the face of extremely localised Florida-based action.

WrestleMania's cinematic matches and Double Or Nothing (general) will probably be remembered as the peak of the form, and wrestling would do well to remember some of the lessons it has learned from these troubling times. But as weeks become months and months feel like years, why wouldn't wrestling be at the forefront of f*cking this off entirely, just like those people in your life that you've come to deeply resent for doing the same.

Crowds have gathered at Daily's Place in Jacksonville, apparently. One suspects the same could be said for the Performance Center, or at least as close as some of the nearby Full Sail regulars are allowed near it anyway. Wrestlers probably haven't been held at gunpoint and asked to populate the ringside area, but would you say no to your boss in the most unpredictable time in the history of most of our lives? Wrestlers will be experiencing many of the same realities as the rest of us, and this is one of them. They've been politely asked or have volunteered to - paraphrasing that godforsaken Money In The Bank tagline - risk their health for the ultimate reward of getting through it in one piece and literally living to tell the tale.

There will be fans willing to pay to take that chance instead. Monday's Raw and that little July tidbit may prove to be evidence of WWE testing the waters. And evidence of testing is something we could all do with a little more of.

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