WWE Grants Wrestlers Time Off Due To Coronavirus

WWE officials made the announcement at the Performance Center on Friday.

Triple H
WWE.com

WWE has followed AEW President Tony Khan's lead by telling their wrestlers that they don't need to attend television tapings while the coronavirus pandemic is ongoing.

This is according to the tremendously reliable John Pollock of POST Wrestling, who claims that several sources within WWE told his website this over the weekend, with the message seemingly conveyed at the Performance Center sometime around last Friday's SmackDown taping.

It is believed that as with AEW, any WWE wrestler who feels uncomfortable about travelling, working, and performing during the outbreak won't face any repercussions if they choose to stay at home.

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As with AEW, it's good to see WWE doing the right thing here. They have taken what looks like an increasingly necessary step to safeguard the health and wellbeing of their employees, and appear to be getting ahead of the curve before any government-enforced lockdown.

It'll be interesting to see how many wrestlers take WWE up on this offer. This is obviously a small price to pay, but it opens the possibility of Raw, SmackDown, and NXT being stretched extremely thin, though the promotion appears to be pushing forward with their empty arena shows.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.