Major Changes For This Year’s Summerslam

The more plans change. We are in a weird place and time in the world of wrestling at the moment with all kinds of changes going on every day. The spread of the Coronavirus has shaken everything up so horribly that it isn’t clear when anything is going to be back to normal. This includes wrestling, and a big change might be coming to one of the most important events of the year.

You’re probably familiar with the Big Four pay per views. As in the main four pay per views of the year in WWE. We are already through two of them but the other half of the set is still a good distance away. That leaves both WWE and the fans with a lot of time to think about them, though we might be needing to change some of those thoughts. At least where some of them are taking place that is.

Boston, Massachusetts Mayor Marty Walsh has announced that the city will not be allowing any large gatherings through at least Labor Day on September 7. This would include WWE’s weekend of Summerslam shows, scheduled from August 21 – 24, meaning WWE will either need to move tot he Performance Center or find an area allowing crowds in venues at that point. There is no word on where the show might relocate outside of Orlando, Florida

We are planning a healthy re-opening and an equitable recovery process—as soon as the health data tells us it is safe. But we do not envision a point this summer when it will make sense to have large crowds gathered in close contact for prolonged periods.

— Mayor Marty Walsh (@marty_walsh) May 8, 2020

I can announce that parades and festivals will not take place this summer in the City of Boston,
up to and including Labor Day on September 7.

— Mayor Marty Walsh (@marty_walsh) May 8, 2020

For smaller events, we will be looking at them on a case-by-case basis as we move through the summer months.

— Mayor Marty Walsh (@marty_walsh) May 8, 2020

If your event brings crowds together in close contact–like a concert, a road race, or a flag raising– you should start looking at alternatives now.

— Mayor Marty Walsh (@marty_walsh) May 8, 2020

Summerslam has quite the history. Check out some of its bigger moments:

Opinion: I’m curious about this one but I can’t say I’m surprised by any of it. August was a bit of a stretch to see a major event like this take place and the fact that the show isn’t taking place isn’t all that shocking. There is a good chance that some places will allow fans in their arenas by then, but a major city like Boston was always a bit much to believe as a real possibility.

Where do you see Summerslam taking place? How do you see the card looking? Let us know in the comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since 2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his- Amazon author page with 30 wrestling books. Get the latest and greatest in professional wrestling news by signing up for our daily email newsletter. Just look below for “GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES” to sign up. Thank you for reading!