After a developmental wrestler tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, WWE postponed its filming of Raw and SmackDown.
WWE paused its Tuesday tapings of Raw and SmackDown after a developmental talent tested positive for the coronavirus.
The infected wrestler was in the WWE Performance Center on June 9, WWE's Associate Medical Director Dr. Jeffrey Dugas said in a statement Monday night. The individual sat in the audience during a show taping and has not returned to the facility since.
"To ensure the health and safety of the company’s performers and staff, all talent, production crew and employees on site at the training and production facilities will be tested for COVID-19 immediately," Dugas said.
These tests will be the first administered by WWE, according to Wrestling Observer. However, this is the company's second known case of COVID-19, after an employee who worked at Wrestlemania 36 tested positive in April.
The WWE Performance Center is located in Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis designated wrestling as an essential business in April. Since then, the company restructured its filming schedule to reduce travel. Now, two episodes are filmed each week—one each of Raw and SmackDown—to be released the following week. Including Tuesday's delayed shows, WWE has five more filming days on their schedule this year.
WWE operated without a crowd of onlookers between March 13 and May 25, when the company began using nonessential personnel as audience members. On Monday, a "select number of friends and family were permitted to attend WWE’s TV production," according to a statement from the company on Tuesday.
"These individuals were required to participate in medical screenings prior to entering the closed set at our training facility, and were kept apart from in-ring performers and production personnel," WWE's statement continued. "Attendance was below 20 percent capacity and social distancing guidelines were adhered to with at least six feet between parties, thus face masks were not required."
Next week's episodes of Raw and SmackDown are now set to be filmed on Wednesday, as well as NXT. The company says that it plans to proceed with its normal television production schedule after Tuesday.