SOURCE SPORTS: WWE Named ‘Essential Business’ by Florida Governor

The governor of the Sunshine State has listed the WWE as essential business, allowing the company to remain open while other businesses in the state have been forced to close.

Mayor Jerry Demings of Orange County is being interrogated as to why the WWE Performance Center has been allowed to stay in business by Gov. Ron DeSantis despite the nationwide law to close all essential businesses.

“I think initially there was a review that was done and they were not initially deemed an essential business,” Demings said. “With some conversation with the Governor’s office regarding the Governor’s order, they were deemed an essential business. And so, therefore, they were allowed to remain open.”

Demings was not clear about why it was changed for the wrestling giant to remain in business, however, WWE says that the health of their talent and staff are first priority and “we believe it is now more important than ever to provide people with a diversion from these hard times. We are producing content on a closed set with only essential personnel in attendance following appropriate guidelines while taking additional precautions to ensure the health and wellness of our performers and staff. As a brand that has been woven into the fabric of society, WWE and its Superstars bring families together and deliver a sense of hope, determination and perseverance.”

A WWE wrestler has tested positive for the Coronavirus, but the organization said that the person has now recovered, who originally caught the deadly virus from medical workers. Demings said he knew very little about that circumstance.

“In terms of the specifics associated with the wrestling personality who tested positive, I don’t know any of the details of that obviously because of HIPAA laws,” Demings said.

“That’s like a little family. A small family of professional athletes that wrestle. And, if one of my family members tested positive in my house, that would be concerning to me. We would have to make some provisions in our house to make sure that the rest of us not get infected. So, I would assume that, from a business perspective, the WWE is doing that type of analysis of its own family.”