The sports and entertainment industries have been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak, and now, WWE faces the unthinkable possibility of delaying WrestleMania, its showcase event, because of concerns about the pandemic.
That topic headlines a roundup of rumors and innuendo also featuring The Undertaker, Shayna Baszler and All Elite Wrestling's world champion Jon Moxley.
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (h/t Randall Ortman of Cageside Seats) reported that, according to several wrestlers he has spoken with, the feeling is WrestleMania 36 will not go on as planned because of coronavirus concerns.
The March 11 travel ban issued by President Donald Trump, which forbids people from traveling from 26 countries in Europe to the United States for the next 30 days, would mean the large international fanbase expected to arrive in Tampa for The Showcase of the Immortals would be unable to enter the country.
Taking that into consideration, plus the pressure to cancel major events amid the outbreak, it would not be a surprise if WrestleMania is postponed.
Cancellation would be, given Vince McMahon's track record with ensuring shows go on.
Randall Ortman of Cageside Seats reported The Undertaker was backstage at Raw this week, but the decision was made to hold him off until next week's show.
After his surprise appearance at Elimination Chamber Sunday, it makes sense WWE would want to preserve some of The Deadman's aura and not overexpose the audience to him before what is slated to be a major singles match with AJ Styles at WrestleMania.
It was the right call, too, as Styles' promo on Raw was a fantastically personal, unabashedly insulting one that adds heat to his program with The Phenom and sets them both up for one of the more emotional matches at The Granddaddy of Them All.
Undertaker is slated to return to the flagship show Monday for a contract signing with Styles.
Paul Davis of WrestlingNews.co reported Paul Heyman was behind Shayna Baszler's dominance inside the Elimination Chamber Sunday night.
According to the report, Heyman had previously wanted to book CM Punk in a similar fashion back in 2006 at the ECW December to Dismember pay-per-view but was shot down by Vince McMahon.
This time was different.
Baszler became the first competitor in chamber history to eliminate every one of her opponents, tapping them out in succession and cashing her ticket to WrestleMania 36 and a date with Becky Lynch for the Raw Women's Championship.
The booking of the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view split the audience, some applauding the effort to make The Queen of Spades look like an unstoppable force while others argued it was a lackluster main event that could have been better positioned earlier in the card.
Whatever the case may be, the fact that Heyman got his way and was allowed to book Baszler in the manner he did is reflective of management's belief in the 38-year-old competitor ahead of the biggest match of her career.
Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer Newsletterreported Jon Moxley was always intended to be the second AEW world champion.
Moxley debuted at last May's Double or Nothing pay-per-view and quickly became one of the stars around whom AEW officials built the brand. An immensely popular star with name recognition and experience in the highest profile matches, it makes absolute sense that the company would want him to succeed Chris Jericho as world champion.
Whether he has enough high-quality heels to work with to have the type of reign Jericho did is now the question.
