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The new decade has kicked off with the worst health scare to have hit humanity in years. The coronavirus pandemic has severely impacted all walks of life and the panic, as you may have sensed, is as real as it gets.
Almost every industry has been negatively influenced by the Covid-19 outbreak and the sporting world has arguably been hit the worst.
Sporting events from all around the world have either been postponed or canceled in the wake of the rapidly growing health threat and even the world of professional wrestling has had to suffer the consequences.
Small-time wrestling promotions have experienced grave repercussions and they look forward to a daunting road to recovery. On the flipside, WWE has adapted to the situation and will go ahead with all most of its upcoming shows, including the holy grail of pro wrestling events, WrestleMania.
While the decision-makers in WWE have had sleepless nights while trying to conform to the demands of the current scenario, the Superstars have also been unfortunately affected by the unprecedented circumstances in a big way.
The entire roster has been discomforted by what's happening, however, there are a handful of performers who have been affected more than the other talents.
In this slider, we take a look at those Superstars who have been affected the most by the pandemic.
#10. Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns is gearing up for one of the biggest matches of his career against Goldberg at WrestleMania 36 and as things stand, the Spear vs. Spear match has prominently been pushed to be one of the main events of the show.
The Universal Championship match is an important clash and WWE is taking the steps to ensure that both the performers in the match are healthy for it, especially Roman Reigns, who successfully overcame Leukemia but is said to have a weakened immune system.
Dave Meltzer revealed during a recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Radio that the WWE doctors will monitor Roman Reigns due to his history with CML Leukemia.
The Big Dog is said to be at a higher risk of being infected and the company's medical team will make sure that he stays safe.
Meltzer explained:
“They have doctors who are going to monitor Roman Reigns, but he’s got a weakened immune system to a degree because the CML leukemia is in him for life. He beat it. It may not come back, it may come back. CML is one of those things that can come back and you know, likely will and he’ll likely go through the same scenario that he did. It’s one of those things that’s in you and it can come back. That’s one of the things that’s not really good as far as risk goes.” H/t Credit: WrestleTalk
#9. and #8. Finn Balor and WALTER
While WWE has announced the plan to conduct WrestleMania 36 with a few big changes, NXT TakeOver: Tampa has unfortunately been nixed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
WWE is still building up all the feuds for the show, which was evident from the most recent episode of NXT that had lengthy interviews and vignettes highlight the top storylines.
Finn Balor vs. WALTER is one of the programs that WWE intends on going ahead with, however, there are many roadblocks.
As reported by Dave Meltzer in last week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter, due to the European travel ban, Balor vs. WALTER may not happen at the TakeOver Tampa show even if the event happens as planned.
Meltzer stated the following in the Newsletter:
For WWE, it looks like he Walter vs. Finn Balor match at the planned NXT Takeover show on 4/4 is off, if the show even happens. One of the travel ramifications is that if a non-U.S. citizen or resident has been to EU’s Schengen area (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland) in the past 14 days, they can’t come to the U.S. regardless of the airport they are flying into. So anyone who was in Germany last week, which includes Walter and Alexander Wolfe, wouldn’t be allowed in, unless somehow they find a way around those regulations.
A lot has changed in the past week as WWE has not nixed the storyline and they could end up having the match at the next NXT UK TakeOver show in Dublin on April 26th.
The match can also happen at the unannounced replacement date of TakeOver Tampa, however, there is no update on the same.
WALTER may not be able to get into the United States anytime soon and that has forced the company to change the plan for his angle with Balor.
#7. Brock Lesnar
A big concern was raised this week with regards to Brock Lesnar's WrestleMania 36 status.
As noted by Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there have been questions about Lesnar making it to WrestleMania as the United States of America and Canada have decided to shut down their border.
Lesnar resides in Saskatchewan, Canada and the travel ban imposed by the authorities of both countries have jeopardized The Beast Incarnate's WrestleMania appearance.
It was, however, added that the belief is that he would be able to make it to 'Mania as he is also scheduled to appear on the upcoming episode of RAW, which will also take place at the Performance Center.
It's been stated that people will be allowed to cross the border for 'essential business' and we can only hope that Brock Lesnar's important WrestleMania showdown against Drew McIntyre classifies as one.
Lesnar's WWE Championship match against McIntyre is expected to be one of the main events of the two-day WrestleMania show this year and the last thing that the officials would want is to lose their biggest name.
While there is a level of concern, there is also a relieving sense of confidence that he will compete at the Show of Shows.
#6 and #5. Samir and Sunil Singh (The Singh Brothers)
Brock Lesnar isn't the only Canadian native whose WrestleMania status is in doubt.
Samir and Sunil Singh are also residents of Vancouver, Canada, and the border shutdown could mean that they may not be able to be a part of this year's WrestleMania.
American President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that the country will be closing down the border for non-essential traffic and the Singh Brothers took to Twitter to comment on the news.
Their tweet made it seem like they would not be able to get into the United States for WrestleMania and that's the most distressing situation for a WWE Superstar.
The Singh Brothers were never expected to be a part of the grander scheme of things, and at most, they would have been booked in the Men's Battle Royal if it were to be still on the card.
However, missing out on WrestleMania is a big loss for the Superstars as they lose money and the opportunity to be a part of the big event that happens only once a year.
Sunil and Samir Singh aren't the most popular talents on TV, but spare a thought for the duo who would have loved to be at work rather than in self-isolation.
#4. Paige
WWE announced a couple of weeks back that Paige would be returning on last week's episode of SmackDown to confront Bayley.
The retired Superstar sadly didn't turn up.
As revealed by Pro Wrestling Sheet's Ryan Satin, Paige couldn't be in attendance due to coronavirus-related travel concerns.
The former Divas Champion tweeted out hours before this week's episode of SmackDown that she would be at the Performance Center to finally make her highly-publicized announcement.
However, WWE chose to air a pre-recorded segment of Paige announcing Bayley's WrestleMania match.
PWInsider reported that Paige was originally supposed to be flown to Florida for an appearance, but a last-minute decision was made to pre-tape her segment.
While no official reason was provided, it's obvious that the difficulties regarding traveling may have had a role to play in WWE's call to make the change.
Paige's announced return fuelled speculation that she could be coming back to announce her in-ring return, however, as we had noted earlier, there are currently no plans to get her back to wrestling.
The former SmackDown GM confirmed that Bayley will defend the SD Women's title against five other women in a six-pack challenge.
It's interesting to note that a popular Superstar was left out of the match, which takes up to our next slide...
#3. and #2. Carmella and Corey Graves
Bayley will defend the SmackDown Women's title against Lacey Evans, Dana Brooke, Naomi, Sasha Banks, and Tamina (Yes, Tamina!).
Conspicuous by her absence is Carmella, who has been one of the top contenders for the title on the Blue Brand.
As revealed by Carmella on Twitter, the Princess of Staten Island is currently in quarantine along with her boyfriend Corey Graves.
Graves has also not been seen on WWE TV for the past few weeks and self-isolation is the reason. The commentator event spoke about going into quarantine during a recent episode of the After The Bell podcast and it's a safe move considering the risk of the deadly virus spreading even further.
Carmella and Graves have not been infected by the virus and we should all take a cue from the couple about the importance of isolation in these testing times.
It has been reported that WWE has given the Superstars the option to skip shows without any repercussions and Carmella may have sacrificed a WrestleMania title shot in favor of safety.
The popular couple may be away from the bustling world of WWE for now but they are doing all they can to keep themselves entertained as highlighted from their activities on social media.
#1. Braun Strowman
Braun Strowman drew the ire of the professional wrestling community recently after he took shots at independent wrestlers for complaining about not getting paid due to the current crisis.
The Monster Among Men has had to face the backlash of the fans for his comments but he may also be a victim of the unforeseen outcomes of the virus.
A fan asked Strowman about how he would feel about not getting paid in this situation and the WWE Superstar made a very surprising revelation in response.
Strowman stated that he is also not getting paid at the moment as he is a private contractor, who gets paid as per the work. As part of the series of tweets that have caught the attention of the fans, Strowman also revealed that he isn't even getting half of what he is supposed to earn.
We're sure that the former Intercontinental Champion isn't the only WWE talent who is be facing the financial problem.
The coronavirus situation can't be taken lightly as it has disrupted every individual's life in some form or another, we, at Sportskeeda, request every one to take the required precautions that will help put an end to the crisis.
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