The coronavirus crisis has caused most sports leagues to shutter, but WWE has managed to continue broadcasting weekly TV events by shifting production to its Performance Center in Orlando, where shows have been taped without an audience. This weekend, WWE will stage WrestleMania 36, its biggest show of the year, at the Performance Center as a two-night event – but one of the company’s biggest stars will be missing from the lineup.
Roman Reigns was originally scheduled to face WWE legend Goldberg in a singles match for Goldberg’s Universal Championship, but Reigns pulled out of the event due to health concerns. Reigns is a leukemia survivor and is immunocompromised, which puts him at a greater risk of complications should he become infected with COVID-19.
Reigns confirmed that he would not participate in WrestleMania on Instagram earlier this week, but WWE did not acknowledge the lineup change until Friday’s episode of SmackDown. Goldberg will still defend his Universal title, with Braun Strowman stepping in to take Reigns’ place.
It's official 🚨@Goldberg will defend his #UniversalTitle against @BraunStrowman at #WrestleMania! pic.twitter.com/zGfbNN96Fe
— WWE (@WWE) April 4, 2020
You can see the full WrestleMania 36 card below.
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