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Quarantine Be Damned, Vince McMahon Wants Live Crowd for SummerSlam

Could we be gearing up for a rematch between WWE's Vince McMahon and one of his greatest opponents, God, at WWE SummerSlam? Most people would view the current coronavirus pandemic as a situation that, while very sad and unfortunate, is outside of our ability to control, at least when it comes to when it will be safe for people to gather in large groups again (regardless of what some reopening advocates are hoping for). However, Vince McMahon is not most people, and the WWE Chairman is apparently unhappy that the virus is interfering with his long term booking plans.

According to Dave Meltzer in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the planned WWE SummerSlam event in Boston for August looks nearly impossible, according to recent comments made by the city's mayor, who has outright told promoters to begin making other plans. Meltzer writes:

WWE: SummerSlam and all the usual things that go with it look very unlikely for Boston in late August. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said that they don't envision a point this summer where it makes sense to have large crowds gathered in the city. He said that all parades and festivals in the city would not take place until 9/7 at the earliest. "If your event brings crowds together in close contact, like a concert, a road race or flag raising, you should start look at alternatives now," he said.

Vince McMahon would reportedly be willing to push SummerSlam back to September if need be because he wants a live crowd that badly, especially after being forced to film WrestleMania in an empty building. The notoriously stubborn McMahon reportedly views the pandemic as "inconvenient" and would be willing to do whatever it takes because he's "determined" to have a live crowd. Meltzer writes:

Regarding rumors of SummerSlam being moved to September, Vince McMahon is determined to have a live crowd for this year's SummerSlam. Right now it is scheduled for August but if waiting until September is the only way to have the show in front of a live crowd, the thought is he would make that move but it is not a move decided on and he hasn't outright committed to it. Vince is the person who will make the call and he changes his mind constantly, sometimes brilliant and often in almost complete denial of what is going on in the world and right now he sees the pandemic as something inconvenient because it gets in the way of his vision of what the product is supposed to be and his plans.

The interesting thing is that WrestleMania this year actually worked out pretty well for being filmed in an empty building. Yes, it lacked the grandeur of being held inside a stadium, but it forced WWE to make creative choices that ended up turning what could have been a lackluster and predictable event into something that offered a nice change of pace from the last few years. Plus, you all know The Chadster's views on wrestling crowds: all they do is ruin the show by inserting their opinion. If SummerSlam were to be held in an empty arena, I for one would be all for it. Unfortunately, I don't have nearly the same amount of pull when it comes to the decision as Vince McMahon does.

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