WWE reportedly had more talents and staff who tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday. As noted, it was reported on Wednesday morning how several WWE wrestlers and crew members have tested positive for COVID-19, and how it’s very likely that the spread of the Omicron variant will lead to more schedule and/or talent changes. You can click here for that original report.
In an update, PWInsider reports that there were additional talents and staff members who tested positive throughout Wednesday. Those talents have not been identified for obvious reasons, but there were also a number of talents who were contacted and asked to get tested out of an abundance of caution.
As of Wednesday afternoon, WWE officials still expected to go forward with all live events and tapings planned for the United States, but there has been a lot of phone calls being made and “a lot of running around” as the company tries to stay ahead of the situation while receiving additional details on talents and staff who may not be cleared to travel this weekend.
One WWE source noted that they are dealing with the same issues that Broadway and other sports leagues have dealt with in recent weeks, and that it’s nothing they could have avoided as they have held regular COVID-19 testing before allowing people into venues.
While no schedule changes have been confirmed as of this writing, it was noted that WWE is working on alternative line-ups for live events just in case a talent isn’t able to perform this weekend. A worst case scenario would see WWE fill up the undercard slots with wrestlers from WWE NXT, if necessary. There’s hope that if wrestlers are unable to perform on the annual post-Christmas Holiday Tour of live events, then the WWE Day 1 pay-per-view is far enough away that wrestlers would be cleared in time to perform on that show, which is now less than 10 days away.
The Holiday Tour is returning this year after being nixed in 2020 due to the pandemic, and there are still no plans to nix any of the tour dates in the United States next week. The tour kicks off this Sunday in Tampa and in New York City at Madison Square Garden, and wraps next Thursday with a show in Buffalo. As noted, next Thursday’s show scheduled for Quebec has been postponed until March, but that is the only change as of now. The other Canadian date, which is Wednesday in Toronto, is still on as of now.