Vince McMahon Praises WWE Employees for Working Through Coronavirus Pandemic

WWE CEO Vince McMahon praised the on-screen performers who have continued to appear on Raw, SmackDown and NXT during the coronavirus pandemic on Thursday's Q1 investors call.

According to Wrestling Inc's Marc Middleton, McMahon said the following regarding the drive of his Superstars:

"I have to give kudos to all of our performers. They're working so hard, and when you're in the ring and you're normally playing off a live audience, and there's no one there [now]. It's different but our performers are stepping it up, and really, really working hard. We're trying to produce a great product given the consideration of where we are."

WWE has been holding its weekly shows at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, with no fans in attendance because of the COVID-19 pandemic for more than a month. That includes WrestleMania 36, which marked the first time in the history of WWE's hallmark event that no fans were present to watch it.

McMahon continued by suggesting that WWE's performers have taken it upon themselves to serve as an outlet for those stuck at home during the pandemic:

"Our only natural resource, obviously, is talent, and our talent have taken this as a challenge, have taken this almost as a duty, which has always happened with us. And they realize that, you know...people are sitting at home, they're bored...and the fact that we can entertain families together [audio error] entertain them like no one else can entertain them. So, I think that they look at this as a challenge and they've really risen to the occasion. It's amazing actually.

"And there are a few that are unable to come down due to...certain things that exist, but nonetheless, by and large, kudos to them. They are a very, very special people, they're extraordinary athletes. They love to give. That's what this business is about, that's why they got into it, is to give and perform for the audience. There's no live audience, but that's another kudos to them because you have to think about that when you're in the ring, as if the live audience [audio error]. So, all in all, I'm so proud of them."

While WWE has been able to continue running shows, the COVID-19 outbreak has put a halt to its touring live events, eliminating ticket revenue and hurting merchandise sales. WWE also lost a huge annual revenue stream in WrestleMania, which was supposed to take place in Tampa, Florida.

As a result, WWE made massive cuts earlier in April, releasing several wrestlers and furloughing many other employees, including backstage producers.

Despite the situation, WWE reported $26.2 million in earnings for the first quarter of 2020 compared to an $8.4 million loss in last year's first quarter, per Middleton. Much of that is due to WWE's television deals with Fox and NBC Universal for SmackDown and Raw, respectively.

The fact that WWE is profitable suggests that it will continue to run for as long as it is permitted to, which means the performers who wants to put on a show for those watching at home will have plenty of opportunities to do so.

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Bleacher Report's David Gardner interviews athletes and other sports figures for the podcast How to Survive Without Sports.