UPDATE: WrestleMania 36 Likely to Still Go On, Under One Condition

WrestleMania 36 is one of many events affected by the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic. NBA, NCAA, MLB, and NHL have all made precautions, by either postponing, having empty arena events, or canceling events altogether. For instance, while the initial decision was to have the NCAA March Madness tournament televised in empty arenas, it was changed to canceling the entire tournament (as well as the conference championship games) altogether. After a case was confirmed from Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert, all further NBA games were suspended.

WWE has taken precautions by now having their events in empty arenas. The last event where a crowd was involved was last week’s NXT television event at the WWE Performance Center. Since then, future events will be held in an empty arena at the WWE PC until further notice, such as last week’s SmackDown, and the “3:16 Day” episode of Raw.

For WrestleMania 36, this may also be the case. TMZ has recently reported that WrestleMania is still on the books for April 5. However, it may be aired under the same precautions as the weekly television shows.

Wrestlemania 36 Not Officially Canceled, WWE Considering Options https://t.co/j0FJKGCFfm

— TMZ (@TMZ) March 16, 2020

“One high placed WWE source tells us there’s still a chance Mania will happen in some capacity,” TMZ reports. “We’re told the situation is fluid. Nothing is set in stone just yet. However, one of the options on the table is a no-fan event (like UFC) but WWE will still broadcast the event live.”

READ MORE: Will WrestleMania 36 Be Cancelled? According to Jim Ross, No

Truly, the sports world has never experienced a situation like this. In 2009, the H1N1 (swine flu) became a pandemic, with over 18,000 deaths and over 600,000 cases. However, the urgent panic that COVID-19 has generated, causing companies, schools, parks, sporting events, and libraries to be closed nationwide, is certainly a unique phenomenon.

For WWE, canceling WrestleMania would be cause a significant loss in revenue, and it looks like Vince McMahon is not willing to allow this to happen.

Follow Chris Featherstone on Twitter @chrisprolific, and the Pancakes and Powerslams Show @cravewrestling. Subscribe to the Pancakes and Powerslams Show via the Crave Wrestling Facebook page.