Report: WWE Wasn't Close to Moving WrestleMania 36 to MSG Despite Rumors

WWE and Madison Square Garden officials reportedly never had talks about moving WrestleMania 36 to MSG in New York City despite recent rumors, according to Joseph Staszewski of the New York Post.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, WWE moved WrestleMania 36 from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, and other undisclosed locations with no fans in attendance. The show will still take place on April 5, but it is also being stretched into a two-night event with the first half of WrestleMania occurring on April 4.

WWE provided Staszewski with the following statement:

"We went through an exhaustive contingency planning process balancing the precautionary measures necessary to protect our fans, performers and employees with the ability to deliver world-class entertainment, particularly during this trying time. We netted out with a historic two-night event as WrestleMania will now stream on Saturday April 4 and Sunday April 5 on WWE Network and be available on pay-per-view. Only essential personnel will be on closed sets at multiple locations, including WWE's training facility in Orlando, during the production of WrestleMania."

After WWE announced that WrestleMania was being moved to the Performance Center, the Fight Oracle Twitter account reported WWE was instead reportedly aiming to move WrestleMania to Madison Square Garden on June 7.

Had WWE moved WrestleMania to Madison Square Garden, it would have marked the fourth time that WrestleMania had been held at The World's Most Famous Arena and the first time since WrestleMania 20 in 2004.

While staging the biggest show of the year in front of fans would be ideal, several factors likely prevented that from happening.

For starters, there is no telling when large crowds will be permitted to gather. To further prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended no gatherings of 50 or more people for eight weeks, but that is merely a starting point.

Also, postponing WrestleMania until June would have put WWE in a difficult position in terms of either having to put the current storylines on hold or stretch them out for three more months, which would have been a major challenge.

Performing in front of no fans is far from ideal, but the announcement that WrestleMania is taking place over the course of two days at multiple venues suggests that WWE is planning to get creative and present something fans have never seen before.

With essentially every major sports league in the United States currently suspended and much of the country practicing social distancing and self-quarantine, WWE potentially could have a massive audience watching WrestleMania from home.

That could still make WrestleMania a worthwhile endeavor, even though WWE is missing out on much of the revenue that come along with WrestleMania weekend. If nothing else, WWE Network subscriptions figure to rise significantly in the coming weeks.

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