WrestleCon Cancelled, Marriott Hotel Demand An Astronomical Amount Of Money In Damages

Last night, WWE announced WrestleMania 36 had been moved from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.

This had monumental ramifications for a myriad of independent wrestling shows and events, with many having been postponed or cancelled following the announcement. 

One of these events is WrestleCon, the popular convention which allows fans to meet wrestling stars from the likes of Terry Funk to Mike Tyson. Co-owner of WrestleCon Michael Bochicchio was dreading having to cancel the con as he admitted in an interview with Vice that he will likely have to sell his house. 

Despite President Donald Trump recommending the suspension of gatherings of more than 10 people, and the CDC recommending gatherings of over 50 people be cancelled, the host of WrestleCon, the Marriott Hotel, told the convention in an email that they do not believe it is "impossible" or "illegal" for the con to go ahead and their cancellation will cause damages to the hotel. Marriott is, therefore, demanding $114,202.00 from WrestleCon. 

This has caused an uproar within the professional wrestling world, and Chris Jericho and Scott D'Amore among others have called out Marriott for their stance.

The former Le Champion tweeted: "Hey @wrestlecon, no court in the world would force u to pay this bill AND if we go into city wide lockdowns, they won’t have a leg to stand on anyway. In the meantime shame on u @Marriott for taking this stance in such an uncertain time! I have tons of fans who feel the same way."

Scott D'Amore tweeted: "Hey @Marriott @MarriottBonvoy @MarriottIntl Ambassador Elite here (see attached account) How about an explanation as to how you feel “Force Majeure” doesn’t apply to the current pandemic??? Sad to see what you are trying to do to @wrestlecon & @Highspots Do what’s right guys!"