If there’s any pro wrestling event in the U.S. that has been most impacted by COVID-19, it’s WrestleMania. WrestleMania 36 was supposed to take place at Raymond James Stadium last year but COVID sent that to WWE’s Performance Center in Orlando and was held without fans. The visual was different but was necessary given the circumstances.
This year, WWE is going to try Tampa once again along with revealing some interesting developments regarding events in 2022 and ’23. In a tongue-in-cheek news report, WWE revealed that Tampa will host WrestleMania 37 in a two-day show on April 11-12. Having WrestleMania 37 in Tampa was already known, as it was to make up for not having it there last year but the show got moved two weeks after it was originally scheduled.
BREAKING: @JohnCena, @WWERomanReigns, @HeymanHustle, @SashaBanksWWE, @StephMcMahon and @TripleH provide a major update on the upcoming sites for #WrestleMania in 2021, 2022 and 2023! pic.twitter.com/nQd4y8HfBn
— WWE (@WWE) January 17, 2021
It’s unknown if WrestleMania 37 will have fans but WWE probably wouldn’t be going to Raymond James Stadium if fans couldn’t attend. So chances are there will be some sort of fan presence there.
What’s interesting is that instead of hosting WrestleMania next year, LA is getting moved to 2023 with WrestleMania 39. Before COVID, the plan was to have this year’s WrestleMania in LA for the first time since 2005. Instead, Dallas will host WrestleMania 38 at AT&T Stadium while SoFi Stadium gets 39.
This is purely speculation, but given the unknowns of the pandemic, it’s probably smart to delay LA’s WrestleMania to 2023. Considering LA will probably be one of the last U.S. cities to lift their COVID restrictions, WWE pushing their event by two years means they don’t have to worry if restrictions in California will be lifted by next year. By going to Dallas, chances are restrictions will have been lifted in Texas by 2022. And if for some reason there are still COVID restrictions in 2023, then chances are things will have gotten so bad that a WrestleMania taking place anywhere might be irrelevant.
