Despite the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, WWE decided to tape its first two-night, pre-taped WrestleMania event.

As sporting events around the world are being canceled, WWE decided to host its WrestleMania event, often nicknamed the WWE version of the Super Bowl, at the Performance Center trainings facility in Orlando. While many helath restrictions were imposed on the event, and several big-name performers dropped out, Night One’s main show kicked off with impressive vocal performances by Aretha Franklin, Little Richard, Ray Charles, Nicole Scherzinger, Willie Nelson, and John Legend.

Despite enthusiasm from many fans, the actual wrestling in the two-day event recieved mixed reviews from audiences and critics alike. Rich Kraetsch, one of the founders of the Voices of Wrestling website, wrote, “Nothing makes sense in our world right now, but few things make less sense than WrestleMania 36 happening this weekend. WrestleMania is happening because of pure determination, guile and brash overconfidence. Yes, the show must go on but at what cost?”  

Unfortunately, the show was most likely not a successful business gain, and analysts estimate the show probably lost revenue from the WrestleMania 36 weekend. As of this week, WWE has announced that they will continue producing content on a closed set with no fans. However, it is unsure right now whether fan-less shows will be of long-lasting appeal to audiences. Currently, ratings are either mixed or dropping, and hosting without fans is costing WWE $29 million of revenue.