It has been days since the unprecedented aftermath the Coronavirus has left behind. Shutdowns and lockdowns are in place with little to no working hours for people. With many ordered to stay home and social distancing restrictions in place, the world is definitely in a scary time right now.
WWE has always been notorious for abiding by the saying “the show must go on”. In this case, the company has come across a roadblock and must detour for now. What was supposed to be WrestleMania 36 has ended up changing the entire landscape that the fans come to know about WrestleMania. As of this writing, WrestleMania will be held at the Performance Center over a two-night span. No crowds, no fireworks, no electric atmosphere to drive the show.
One of the most talked about matches is 2020 Royal Rumble winner Drew McIntyre vs. Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship. McIntyre is currently enjoying a well-deserved push that has been about a decade in the making. He went from The Chosen One to being a member of the immature 3MB before being released by the company.
While McIntyre was away from the company, he completely reinvented himself by becoming better and turned around his overall look. When he returned to WWE, he was in the NXT main event scene, where he won the NXT Championship. McIntyre’s journey is the epitome of why WrestleMania moments are so special and emotional. Many fans want nothing more than to see McIntyre enjoy the fruits of his labor by experiencing a well-deserved WrestleMania moment.
With the pandemic giving WWE no choice but to cancel the show in Tampa, that moment has seemingly been taken away from him, should he win. But does he have to win right now?
While WWE is faced with some tough decisions in the weeks and possibly months ahead, what does this mean in due time? Should they have McIntyre go ahead and dethrone the Beast Incarnate at the Performance Center or should they book the feud to extend to possibly SummerSlam? With no timetable in regards to if and when the Coronavirus peaks and subsides, that question is simply hard to answer.
“You never hear the shot that takes you down.” #RAW pic.twitter.com/PZPeFCweGL
— Drew McIntyre (@DMcIntyreWWE) March 3, 2020
That is why storytelling is so important in a match and the overall feud. It would be easy to just write Lesnar off the program given the fact that this match will take place at the Performance Center. What that means is that Lesnar comes off as an entitled jerk, and he could simply just not show up while using Paul Heyman to declare that point of wrestling at the Performance Center is beneath him.
The duo did something similar to this last year, given that WrestleMania 35 was the first time that the women main-evented the show. Heyman declared that The Beast didn’t want to compete if he was not in the main event. The scenario easily promotes the trend and coordinates with Lesnar’s character.
But what fans need right now is hope, and that’s why a McIntyre win could happen here as well. Having the mindset that he deserves that stolen moment but at least he got the Championship, it seems harsh. What factors could make the moment even better for McIntyre? There is no question that no one deserves the moment more right now. It is so hard to say what is right and how to go about things.
There is no right way to handle this situation, especially when WrestleMania is pro wrestling’s Super Bowl. But in hindsight pro wrestling is much like a movie or a TV show, provides an escapism from the world. And do we all need that right now.
