WWE faces furloughs, cost-cutting despite being deemed essential business in Florida: How does the show go on?

Updated ·7 min read

As the coronavirus pandemic impacts nearly all facets of life, WWE announced on Wednesday that it would be furloughing staff and implementing cost-cutting measures in response to the ongoing global health crisis.

In a press release, Vince McMahon’s wrestling company announced it would be “reducing executive and board member compensation, decreasing operating expenses, cutting talent expenses, third-party staffing and consulting and deferring spend on the build out of the company’s new headquarters for at least six months.”

In addition to those actions, the company stated that it would be furloughing employees, a move the company says it believes will be “temporary in nature.” While full-time employees were getting furloughed, the athletes who make up the on-screen rosters work under contract, meaning their departures are more concrete.

As Wednesday carried on, news trickled out about the WWE stars who were being released. The wrestling community rallied behind the men and women who ultimately lost their jobs and livelihoods, sharing, liking and retweeting the heartbreaking news and reactions.

As of Wednesday evening, more than two dozen members of the WWE roster and/or backstage producers had lost their jobs.

The company’s announcement comes days after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that it would be deemed an “essential business” and be allowed to film shows at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando and at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Fla.

DeSantis’s decision, which many were quick to suggest was politically motivated, put WWE in the crosshairs of those who believe the company is endangering its employees’ lives continuing to hold live events — even without audiences in attendance.

Comparing the personnel working for WWE at this time to first responders, doctors, nurses, grocery store workers and others who are on the front lines combatting the virus and providing services, the notion that athletes are “essential” is a hard sell for many. When you dig deeper and look at the surrounding circumstances, however, WWE’s decision to continue with its scheduled programming is a bit more justifiable.

First and foremost, WWE has not simply been allowing just anyone into the buildings in which it is filming. Speaking with several members of the roster leading into WrestleMania — which was taped last month in Orlando — all conveyed the same message. WWE is taking the necessary steps to make sure any and all personnel are being screened prior to entering the facility. WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon outlined the procedures to Sports Illustrated earlier this month:

Thee Performance Center itself is a closed set. We’re shooting in waves. No one person, regardless of who they are, is allowed to enter if they have a temperature of over 100.4, or if they have been out of the country or been in touch with someone who has been out of the country.

We also do pandemic-level cleaning, which includes fogging and ultraviolet light, in the facility every single night. That could be overkill, quite frankly, but we really are trying to put in the best safety practices that we possibly can given the circumstances. Those are some of the measures we are taking, and it is as comprehensive as it can possibly be.

In addition to the screenings, WWE talent has been adamant that participation in these events is voluntary. Similar to their statements about the screening process, several stars told Yahoo Entertainment that working was presented to them as an option. The fact that Roman Reigns (real name: Joe Anoa’i), arguably the company’s biggest star and someone who was set to have a headlining role at WrestleMania and subsequent events, pulled out of the event of his own volition, indicates that WWE at one point — and perhaps still is — allowing talent to make decisions on an individual basis.

It’s hard to believe that WWE would all of a sudden ditch these precautionary measures simply because DeSantis has changed the classification of its work.

WWE may also be contractually obligated to put on live shows instead of taping bulk episodes and airing them weekly — as it had done prior to last Friday’s episode of Smackdown. According to Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE’s television deals with NBCUniversal and Fox may both call for a specific number of shows to be aired live each year. While the specific wording of these contracts is unknown, there are clear business implications behind the decision to eschew taped programming.

The biggest argument in support of WWE’s decision may have indirectly come from Dr. Anthony Fauci, perhaps the biggest and most trusted voice when it comes to America’s fight against COVID-19. Fauci, who has been extremely cautious when it comes to timelines about reopening the country, outlined how professional sports leagues could return to action as early as this summer.

“There’s a way of doing that,” Fauci told Snapchat’s Peter Hamby on Wednesday in one interview of a week-long series. “Nobody comes to the stadium. Put [athletes] in big hotels, wherever you want to play. Keep them very well surveilled ... and have them tested like every week and make sure they don’t wind up infecting each other or their family and just let them play the season out.”

WWE is already putting many of these guidelines and measures into practice, and it is important to recognize that the company is filming in Orange County, Fla., where there have been 1,073 confirmed cases and 18 deaths as of Wednesday afternoon, according to data from Florida Department of Health’s Division of Disease Control and Health Protection.

Despite the measures and relatively low case count, nothing is perfect. The company confirmed over the weekend that an employee tested positive for COVID-19 last month and has since recovered.

It’s easy to paint McMahon and WWE as the evil billionaire and conglomerate just looking to make an extra buck, but it isn’t that simple. WWE’s primary competitor, All Elite Wrestling, announced on Twitter Tuesday that it is still planning to hold its “Double or Nothing” event while withholding specifics and announcing it would adhere to “the latest guidance of national and global health authorities.”

Ultimately, these are unprecedented times for the world as a whole — business is no exception. Is WWE justified in continuing to film live events? It’s hard to definitively say. Do sports and entertainment professionals deserve to be deemed essential workers? Probably not. The bottom line is the decision is far more complex than anyone could have possibly imagined, but if WWE can keep its personnel healthy — and employed — it may be able to avoid another round of difficult decisions.

For the latest coronavirus news and updates, follow along at https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus. According to experts, people over 60 and those who are immunocompromised continue to be the most at risk. If you have questions, please reference the CDC and WHO’s resource guides.

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