COVID-19 Outbreak Affects WWE Live Events

Although WWE have been operating with live crowds, seemingly past the worst of the pandemic, COVID is still an issue in the United States (and worldwide). Several wrestlers were pulled from live events this weekend, with top stars like WWE Champion Big E, Bobby Lashley, Seth Rollins, Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair & Zelina Vega all pulled from the December 26 house show at Madison Square Garden.

Several Superstars reportedly felt sick in recent days, although it is believed that not all Superstars pulled from the show have COVID- rather, it is a precautionary measure to save the headliners for the Day 1 PPV this coming weekend. However, one of the challengers in the WWE Championship Fatal 4 Way, Seth Rollins, took to Twitter to announce that he was having a "COVID Christmas".

This follows Smackdown stars being pulled from a house show in Tampa, Florida, as Universal Champion Roman Reigns, Xavier Woods, and Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura missed the event.

Thoughts: Really horrible news on a number of levels, especially in the holiday season. Hopefully, all the people who are sick recover in a timely fashion. As for the entertainment lost with the top talent missing the show, the MSG fans had a nice replacement, as Edge was flown in for his first house show in 10 years, as he faced Kevin Owens in a Steel Cage match. Fingers crossed for some normalcy soon- in WWE, the United States, and the entire world.

By Mick Robson