Report: Major WWE Storyline Put On Hold Due To COVID-19, Empty Arena Shows
WWE reportedly had plans for a big storyline this spring but the ongoing coronavirus pandemic caused the company to hold off on those plans.
According to @WrestleVotes, WWE officials had planned a “long, major storyline” that would play out on TV similar to the Vince McMahon limo incident and Nexus invasion angles of the past. It was noted that this potential storyline is on hold right now since there aren’t any fans in the arena, and fan reaction plays a major part in stories on the level of this one.
The COVID-19 outbreak has forced WWE to tape TV shows on empty arena, closed sets with no fans at the WWE Performance Center, and they’ve implemented strict rules for the tapings.
FWIW: I’ve been told there was a long major storyline that was to unfold over the span of weeks during the spring & summer, similar to the McMahon limo explosion or the Nexus invasion debut, that was put on hold due to no fans in attendance. Crowd reaction plays a major part.
— WrestleVotes (@WrestleVotes) May 14, 2020
While the Nexus storyline ultimately got a proper chance to play out on WWE TV, the Vince McMahon exploding limo angle never really got started due to the Chris Benoit double murder / suicide causing the company to abandon those plans just two weeks later.
MLW owner Court Bauer, also a former writer with WWE, revealed the details of the scrapped storyline during an interview with The World According To Wrestling podcast in 2017. According to Bauer, Vince’s real-life brother, Roderick McMahon, would have made an appearance after Vince’s funeral after he was “killed” in the limo explosion.
He went on to explain that Roderick’s on-screen persona would have been portrayed as the “anti-Vince” personality wise, but we don’t really know where the story was going to payoff. McMahon ultimately returned to WWE television in August, claiming that he faked the explosion himself to see who would actually care and mourn for his death.
It might seem like a crazy storyline, but this isn’t even as half as ridiculous as the one Vince didn’t hear about how he’d murder Hornswoggle in a pillowcase.
Related: Former WWE Writer Reveals Pitch To Have Mr. McMahon Kill Hornswoggle In A Pillowcase