When you think of services that are essential during a global pandemic, the list isn’t very long. We need access to grocery stores, gas stations, and pharmacies. The bank, post office, and Primo Hoagies remain open.

Florida is being more flexible with their approach, and adding fake wrestling to the list, via ESPN:

WWE was deemed an “essential business” in Florida, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said Monday, allowing the company to resume live television shows from its Orlando training facility and Full Sail University in Winter Park.

The decision, outlined in an April 9 memo from Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office, could open the door for other sports to resume in the state.

According to Demings, WWE initially was not designated as essential and therefore was not exempt from the state’s shelter-in-place order, which took effect April 3 and runs through at least April 30. That decision was reversed after “some conversation” with DeSantis’ office, Demings said Monday during a news conference.

According to the memo sent by the governor’s office on Thursday, recent additions to the list of “essential services” in the state include “employees at a professional sports and media production with a national audience — including any athletes, entertainers, production team, executive team, media team and any others necessary to facilitate including services supporting such production — only if the location is closed to the general public.”

Sounds a bit goofy, and you’re going to have people making WWE jokes this morning, but the promotion just did two nights of Wrestlemania from that private facility, so this isn’t some far-fetched concept. They’re uniquely positioned to hold events in a responsible and safe way, which ultimately results in fresh content finding its way to our TV screens and helps lift the sporting malaise hanging over the country.

The NFL is forging ahead with the draft for the same reason – to give people something to look forward to. UFC wanted to do what WWE was doing, but their private facility is in Nevada and they have not been given clearance by the state athletic commission. On the other end of the spectrum, Florida wants to move ahead with closed-doors athletic events, which is a good example of how different states are handling this crisis in their own ways.

Anyway, if you need a wrestling fix, here’s Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon in a ladder match at Summer Slam 1995:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFpyy81pyYo