Backstage Update on COVID-19 Situation in WWE, Notes on Talents & Referees in Quarantine

– During today’s Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez shared an update on the COVID-19 situation in WWE. It was previously reported by the Observer that two of the three women (Nikki Cross, Nia Jax, and Shayna Baszler) who were not medically cleared for Sunday’s Clash of Champions events were likely healthy and were pulled from the event after coming into contact with someone who had the coronavirus. Jax and Baszler went public that they were healthy and not sick.

Jax and Baszler are reportedly being kept off TV for two weeks as a precautionary measure provided they do not test positive for COVID-19. Meltzer added that Nikki Cross, who was previously slated to face Bayley for the SmackDown women’s title at Clash of Champions before getting pulled, went into quarantine “before Friday [Sept. 25].” According to Meltzer, he still didn’t know about Cross’ current health situation. So, Cross will likely be out for a “minimum of two weeks.”

Also, Meltzer noted that Retribution weren’t at least night’s Raw and didn’t appear for similar reasons. It was previously reported by Pro Wrestling Sheet’s Ryan Satin that all five Retribution members tested negative for COVID-19, and they are staying in quarantine for two weeks after coming into contact with someone who had the virus.

Another talent Meltzer noted who was MIA on last night’s WWE Raw was Cedric Alexander, though he remarked he didn’t know about Alexander’s COVID-19 status.

Additionally, WrestlingInc.com reports that two Raw referees are quarantining at the moment for precautionary reasons and were not in attendance at Raw. As a result, SmackDown referee Jessika Carr filled in for them last night.