A lot has been written about the state of Florida deciding to allow WWE to continue taping their TV shows from an empty gym in Orlando. The company was labeled an “essential business” by the state, a decision later defended by the governor’s office, which issued a statement saying WWE was “critical to Florida’s economy.” A few days later, news came out that a conservative SuperPAC headed up by former Trump cabinet member (and wife of WWE CEO Vince McMahon) Linda McMahon pledged to spend a whopping $18.5 million in Tampa and Orlando, two cities WWE has a large presence in (and two local economies which are certainly reeling due to the loss of WrestleMania week and NXT’s weekly broadcasts). Just last week, the city of Orlando read an anonymous complaint from a WWE employee saying they were being “forced to work” during a pandemic. Nothing to see here, folks!
Thankfully, this hasn’t gone unnoticed by late-night TV hosts. Last week, The Daily Show host Trevor Noah cracked a few jokes about WWE (even having Seth Rollins hit Florida Governor Ron DeSantis with a steel chair, sorta). Then last night during the latest episode of Conan At Home, long-running late-night TV host Conan O’Brien poked fun at the WWE being labeled an “essential service,” with his co-host Andy Richter referring to professional wrestlers as “selfless gladiators who elbow smash, cross-chop and clothesline each other day after day for our amusement,” before taking some potshots at members of the WWE roster:
Who knew Coco was a smark?