Hurricane Irma is taking aim at the entire state of Florida. What impact will this have on the Orlando-based WWE talent?
As the weekend kicks off, Hurricane Irma has transformed into a storm never seen before. With sustained winds of over 185 miles per hour for several days, Irma has already wreaked havoc on several island nations in the Caribbean. The storm system grew to roughly the size of Texas. Now, a turn to the north has put the entire state of Florida in the path of destruction.
Florida happens to be a major setting of the professional wrestling world. For the past several years, WWE has based much of its operation out of Central Florida. While corporate offices are still in Stamford, Connecticut, much of the talent side of the company is now based in Orlando. NXT tapings still occur at Full Sail University in Winter Park, minutes away from downtown Orlando.
Of course, WWE opened the Performance Center in July 2013 in Orlando proper. The state of the art facility is home to dozens of future WWE Superstars. That doesn’t include the training staff and talent relations personnel. Much of the NXT talent also lives in the Orlando area, working out at the Performance Center with the trainees.
With a massive hurricane rapidly approaching their home base, what are these WWE talent doing to prepare for the storm? Irma is no joke – state officials have begun ordering massive calls for evacuation. Nearly one quarter of the state’s population are under evacuation orders – 6.3 million people. The forecast is so bad, even Walt Disney World is closing its gates.
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WWE took precaution earlier this week ahead of the storm. NXT Live Events scheduled throughout Florida both this weekend and next were canceled or rescheduled. Curiously, the NXT tapings scheduled for September 13 at Full Sail is still on as scheduled, though that could change in the days ahead.
At least one recent WWE signee is among those leaving the area. Lio Rush, whose signing was announced a few weeks ago, tweeted that he had finished his long journey away from danger.
https://twitter.com/itsLioRush/status/906165078453575680
Not everyone was getting away from the area. NXT Superstar and Mae Young Classic standout Abbey Laith tweeted that she was staying put for now. Why? The safety of her pet cats. (As a dog owner, if I couldn’t find a shelter that would let me bring my pup in, I’d probably wait it out at home, too.)
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The good news – if it can be called that – is that Orlando is quite a distance from the coasts.
One of the biggest dangers from Hurricane Irma is storm surge. Being so far inland minimizes that. It’s at least a few hours drive from either Florida coast to the Orlando area.
The Raw and SmackDown brands aren’t running any shows this weekend. The superstars will be headed to Anaheim for Monday night or Las Vegas for Tuesday – well out of the storm’s path.
NXT is also on the road this weekend, finishing a tour with a show in Toronto Saturday night. So much of the talent is already out of the area.
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Here at Daily DDT, we hope that everyone in any danger from Hurricane Irma stays safe over the next few days. The storm is no joke, and we wish everyone the best.
(* – An earlier version of this story mistakenly identified the site of this Monday’s Raw as Nashville, rather than Anaheim. We apologize for the error.)