There are few things Americans love more than watching live wrestling, and Florida isn’t about to deprive anyone of that, coronavirus shelter-in-place guidelines be damned. At a press conference on Monday, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings walked reporters through Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s recent decision to categorize WWE as an “essential business,†a term most of us have come to associate with health-care workers, grocery store employees, and those working in public transportation.
“I think initially there was a review that was done. They were not initially deemed an essential business,†said Demings. “With some conversation with the governor’s office regarding the governor’s order, they were deemed an essential business. So, therefore, they were allowed to remain open.†A spokesperson from DeSantis’s office reportedly told ESPN “that such services were characterized as essential ‘because they are critical to Florida’s economy.’â€
As such, WWE has resumed producing live wrestling shows as of today, Monday, April 13, starting with WWE Raw, after airing several weeks of prerecorded shows, including WrestleMania 36. The matches, filmed at WWE’s Orlando training facility and Winter Park’s Full Sail Academy, will still take place without an audience, though, because, come on, “essential†doesn’t mean “willing to put Bray Wyatt’s health in jeopardy,†here.