13 March 2020

WWE's Friday Night SmackDown set to be behind closed doors as WrestleMania 36 gets go ahead

WWE's Friday Night Smackdown is set to be shown behind closed doors due to the coronavirus outbreak, while the company still insists it plans to stage WrestleMania 36.

The SmackDown event will still be shown live, but has been re-located from Detroit's Little Caesar's Arena to the WWE Performance Center in Florida.

The WWE said in a statement: "Friday Night SmackDown on March 13 will air live as regularly scheduled and emanate from WWE's training facility in Orlando, Florida with only essential personnel in attendance."

WrestleMania 36 is scheduled to go ahead on April 5 in Tampa Bay as the biggest wrestling company in the world look to maintain their record of staging the event every year since 1985.

WWE added: "The health and safety of our fans, performers and employees are our top priorities and we are monitoring the situation closely with our partners and government officials in Tampa Bay." 

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