Backstage Rumor on WWE PC Audience Members Allegedly Being Told Not to Wear Masks for Raw

– As noted, news broke yesterday of a WWE developmental talent testing positive for the coronavirus. The talent was last onsite at the WWE Performance Center for a set of NXT TV tapings on Tuesday, June 9. Since that story broke, there’s a rumor that emerged from Wrestling Observer Radio and F4WOnline.com’s Bryan Alvarez that people in attendance at yesterday’s Raw were not allowed to wear protective masks or to come to the tapings with masks yesterday (June 15).

On his official Twitter account, Alvarez said that he was told by “multiple sources” that WWE would not allow anyone in the crowd at Monday’s Raw TV taping to wear masks. As previously reported, WWE allowed a select group of non-WWE employees into the Performance Center for last night’s TV tapings. Audience members included local fans, as well as friends and family of WWE talent.

According to Meltzer and Alvarez, audience members were allegedly told by WWE officials not to come to the TV tapings if they planned on wearing a mask. Meltzer stated on the subject, “They just told people, ‘If you want to wear a mask. Don’t come.'”

Alvarez later added that AEW does not ban those in attendance who are shown as audience members for their TV tapings from wearing masks, and there have been audience members seen wearing protective masks on AEW programming.

It should be noted that a memo was reportedly issued in April by WWE advising talent at TV tapings to being encouraged to wear a mask while inside the Performance Center. The masks would then be removed while filming. Granted, that was over two months ago before the company started using developmental talent and PC recruits as audience members.

On top of nobody finding out about the COVID failure until it hit social media, I was told by multiple sources that WWE would not allow anyone in the crowd at the RAW taping Monday to wear masks.

— Bryan Alvarez (@bryanalvarez) June 16, 2020