As we’ve noted, there are said to be several positive COVID-19 tests coming out of within WWE this week, with multiple sources reporting that the numbers are in the double digits. Four employees have went public with their positive tests – on-air talents Renee Young and Kayla Braxton, and producers Adam Pearce and Jamie Noble. This is Braxton’s second time with the coronavirus as she first had it back in March.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that it’s believed the person responsible for this latest outbreak in WWE is a female WWE NXT performer who was in the stands as a fan, which is the positive test revealed last week that led to Tuesday’s TV tapings being postponed so they could hold another round of testing.
Regarding Young’s positive test, she got tested on her own and WWE officials did not know she was going to get tested. Rumors on a positive test for Young popped up on Wednesday when AEW announced that World Champion Jon Moxley, who is married to Young, was being pulled from Dynamite that night due to COVID-19 concerns as he had been around someone who was in contact with someone who was positive, in Nevada where he lives. It turns out this was Young.
Young went public with her positive test on Twitter and The Observer reports that this did not go over well in WWE.
Young reportedly started feeling sick this past Monday, with pressure on her chest. She was bedridden and then lost her sense of taste, according to the Observer. She and Moxley both immediately got tested by a local doctor. The next night, around midnight, Moxley received his test results back and they were negative. The couple was relieved, but a few minutes later they got Renee’s positive test results back. Young immediately contacted WWE with the news, and Moxley immediately contacted AEW, informing them that he had been with his wife for several days straight and even with his negative test, he didn’t feel like it was worth risking the other AEW talents just in case he was in the early stages of the virus. Plus he didn’t want to leave his wife at home while she was beginning to fight the virus.
The Observer also reported that neither Vince McMahon, Triple H, Kevin Dunn, or Mark Carrano had contacted Renee as of Thursday to see how she was doing, although several talents from WWE did. It was also noted that Renee had improved from the worst symptoms by then, and at last word on Thursday she was still tired and her chest felt heavy, but her cough had improved. The belief by then was that she had already gotten through the worst of the virus.
Moxley was reportedly told by AEW’s doctor to isolate himself and if he didn’t test positive or show symptoms, he should be OK for the July 2 Fyter Fest taping with Brian Cage. However, The Observer notes that it’s not that simple. Moxley made the call not to leave Nevada and go to a hotel, because he didn’t want to leave Renee alone in case she got worse, and also because of concern that if he did have the virus, he might infect people at a hotel. Young and Moxley are reportedly isolating themselves in different parts of their house, and Moxley was planning to take multiple COVID-19 tests this week. The rest will play itself out but the worst case scenario, if Moxley tests positive, then AEW would have to delay the match with Cage until he makes a full recovery. If not, they could push the match taping back from July 2 and still potentially do an empty arena match as late as July 8, which is the day the match is scheduled to air during Night Two of Fyter Fest on TNT.
Regarding Pearce, there was a lot of concern because he had worked so closely with 57 year old Bruce Prichard, and he had worked a lot with 74 year old McMahon. There has also been some concern over WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair, who is 71 with a history of recent health issues. Flair was one of the performers who appeared at both days of tapings last week when the outbreak occurred, but at last word Flair was not experiencing any health issues. It’s been reported that Flair will no longer be used at any upcoming tapings due to the virus.
The Observer also reported that WWE Producer Tyson Kidd came to WWE’s COVID-19 testing on Thursday with a fever. Kidd and wife Natalya both tested negative for the coronavirus, and that may have been after taking two different tests. However, WWE asked both of them to miss Friday and Saturday’s TV tapings as a precautionary measure, even though Natalya was fine.
Stay tuned for more on this ongoing coronavirus outbreak in WWE.
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