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Ticketmaster is still selling tickets for WWE at Madison Square Garden so is it still on?
Ticketmaster will not be selling tickets for that show for long. New York is in a state of emergency, as are many other States right now. Madison Square Garden has been shut down as you are not allowed to have Gatherings of more than 500 people in New York. That show will not happen on the 22nd no matter what.
What do you think WWE will do with Ricochet next?
Honestly, I think a lot of the angst and anger from fans online towards how Ricochet is being used right now is a little silly. Not everyone gets to be pushed to the top of the card at the same time and he just had a small program with Brock Lesnar. He's obviously not in the mix for a top match at WrestleMania and this is the time of year where the priority is going to be built around the main eventers for Wrestlemania. That doesn't mean that they're using him in the best way but I understand why he is not being used as a priority and was used to help give credibility to Riddick Moss. My guess is at some point they will give him another small push or perhaps turn him heel or placed in a tag team with somebody. Just because a talent is being booked to lose does not mean all is lost. Think about how Drew McIntyre used to be used and where he is now.
Do you think all WWE shows will be at the Performance Center going forward?
Honestly, I think for the time being that's the best idea. They can even dress up the building so to speak by having NXT trainees and trusted family and friends sit in the crowd and basically be fans for the night. That would allow some crowd reaction to what the towns are doing in the rain. I don't think there's any shame or any problem with doing an old-school Studio style wrestling show given the health concerns of the world right now. You can always postpone for down the line and let fans who want to attend the rescheduled show hold on to their tickets or get a refund.
Have you heard anything about the tiered WWE Network finally taken shape and being officially launched?
We have been told that there has been no real indication internally as to when they will launch. The original plan was to launch in January but then that was delayed.
If you were a betting man what is your bet about WrestleMania and all the other events set for Tampa?
I'm not a betting man and I can't say that I would know what I would think if I was, but if you ask me what they should do, I would say push the entire WrestleMania weekend back to June and try to make up your losses. If we are all lucky, this is a once-in-a-lifetime situation that is extremely scary and a very small, small side effect of this is that unfortunately for wrestling fans, it casts a massive Shadow over the biggest week of the year for pro wrestling. I understand the passion of everyone who just wants to watch their wrestling and enjoy the biggest show of the year because, let's face it, that's our biggest weekend of the Year here on the site. I get it and I love covering it on site, so I get the passion. However, there are times when real life situations are far more important than the distraction of enjoying wrestling's version of Woodstock and I can't think of a more drastic situation than the one we are currently in. When you look at all the sports that have canceled and suspended, losing untold millions in revenue and all (most importantly) the measures we are putting into place to protect people's health across the country, to me it is completely inappropriate and irresponsible to go ahead with that weekend as it originally was envisioned. Add in that a huge contingent of fans from Europe would not be allowed into the country in time to see the show and that is another reason why it should not take place the first week in April. Push it back. That's my opinion
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