Quick Takes on WWE Using Performance Center for Shows, Rob Gronkowski and More

Credit: WWE.com

From Edge returning to Raw on Monday to SmackDown being held at the Performance Center on Friday, this past week in WWE ended far differently than it started.

The company, like the rest of the sports world, is in a stake of flux, with the coronavirus outbreak being declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. That puts WrestleMania 36 on April 5 in a precarious position, with fans wondering whether it will go on as planned or if it's bound to be postponed indefinitely.

Despite that, WWE has made the most of the unfortunate situation by continuing to deliver quality content on all three of their biggest brands.

News of former New England Patriot Rob Gronkowski's signing on Tuesday's WWE Backstage made it an especially newsworthy week in WWE, along with the announcement that he will be a part of the forthcoming edition of SmackDown. Elimination Chamber was also held March 8 and gave fans a better idea of what to expect come WrestleMania.

The coronavirus will likely continue to have an adverse effect on WWE, All Elite Wrestling and every other wrestling promotion out there for the foreseeable future, but that doesn't mean fans can't continue to enjoy everything the promotions have to offer in the meantime.

This week's Quick Takes will delve into the possibility of WrestleMania emanating from the Performance Center, Dakota Kai's questionable loss on NXT, the identity of The Dark Order's Exalted One, which will be revealed Wednesday night, and more.

The many cancellations in the worlds of entertainment and sports of late because of the coronavirus caused WWE to follow suit by moving Friday's SmackDown to the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, for the first edition of the show to not have a live audience.

It was a different atmosphere, to say the least, but to the company's credit, it made it work. The Superstars having to perform in an empty arena resulted in one of the most interesting episodes of SmackDown in history.

WWE has since announced that Monday's Raw will also emanate from the Performance Center. It's a smart solution in the meantime, but it must be noted that WWE taping TV shows there three times a week will grow tiresome very quickly.

There's nothing WWE can do as long as the coronavirus remains a threat in the United States, not to mention that it's a better alternative to not producing programming at all.

With WrestleMania 36 set to take place in Tampa, Florida, on April 5, there's a strong possibility the event will forced to be canceled or, at the very least, postponed. One option would be to bring WrestleMania to the Performance Center as well, but with no one in attendance, it wouldn't have the same feel as it would have in a packed stadium.

As the Show of Shows, WrestleMania needs to be held in front of a rowdy crowd in order to be as epic as it is every year. If that means postponing it until it's safe for fans to attend, then so be it.

For now, the Performance Center is proving to be an incredible investment for the company and has given fans something to watch on television with almost everything else on hold for the time being.

Aleister Black's momentum as a singles star seemed to stall following his anticlimactic loss to AJ Styles on March 2's Raw, but he managed to bounce back with a win over Styles at Elimination Chamber.

Although that marked Black's biggest victory in WWE to date, it was the returning Undertaker fans were talking about coming out of that bout, not the former NXT champion.

Black stepping up to Seth Rollins on the next night's Raw was an encouraging sign that WWE Creative hadn't forgotten about him, but their match ended in a disqualification. He was left out of the subsequent eight-man tag team affair, raising the question of whether WWE has a plan in place for him at WrestleMania 36.

The answer to that appears to be no.

It would have been perfectly logical for Taker to team up with Black against the entire O.C. after what went down at Elimination Chamber, but WWE instead decided to go in a different direction with that program. As a result, Black has been left on the sidelines.

Black could conceivably be slotted into the United States Championship picture, but it would feel forced. With everyone else on Raw tied up in other storylines, he may have to settle for a place in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal with the rest of the directionless undercard competitors.

That would be a waste of his talent, but nowhere else on the card would make sense. Getting involved in Undertaker vs. Styles remains a possibility but is far from a guarantee.

WWE's announcement Tuesday night that Rob Gronkowski was in talks to join the company sent shock waves throughout the WWE Universe and led to a divisive response from fans on social media.

Gronk has proved himself to be an electric personality in everything he's done, whether he's playing football or serving as an analyst off the gridiron. He's also an incredible athlete and will obviously bring some new eyeballs to WWE TV.

While many sports stars and Olympians have transitioned into the world of wrestling and achieved great success (Kurt Angle and Ronda Rousey come to mind), there has been zero indication that the three-time Super Bowl winner has been training to become a WWE Superstar.

With WrestleMania right around the corner, it seems unlikely that he will be rushed into the ring. His upcoming appearance on SmackDown may be designed to capitalize off the buzz he has coming off the announcement that he's WWE-bound before he heads to the Performance Center to hone his skills as a sports entertainer.

Mojo Rawley has already confirmed that he will be appearing alongside Gronk on Friday night, so it's possible Gronk's first feud in WWE will be with his longtime friend. Although that would make sense given their history, it might be smarter for the former Patriot to work with someone who would make him look like a million bucks from the get-go, such as Cesaro.

Either way, SmackDown scooping up Gronk would seem to be WWE's latest attempt to bring star power to the blue brand. He may lead to a ratings boost for a week or two, but the company's efforts should be focused on building up stars it already has before bringing in anyone else.

Dakota Kai was one of NXT's hottest heels coming off her betrayal of Tegan Nox at TakeOver: WarGames III, followed by her back-to-back wins over her former friend. Their most recent encounter inside the steel cage was excellent and seemed to set up Kai as a viable challenger to the NXT Women's Championship.

During her opportunity to advance to the NXT Women's Championship No. 1 contender's ladder match at TakeOver: Tampa, she fell short against Mia Yim.

Yim shone in the last ladder matchup she competed in on NXT TV, but Kai was the one on the roll. It was highly questionable for her to lose unless the plan is for Raquel Gonzalez to ambush Yim before the event to allow Kai to take her place.

Her loss would have been acceptable had she cost Nox her qualifier against Deonna Purrazzo later in the night to set up one more match between them at TakeOver, but Nox ended up beating Purrazzo with ease. In other words, Kai's two straight wins over Nox mean nothing.

NXT's women's division is among the best in the world, so it's bizarre that Kai would be booked to compete at TakeOver given how she's been handled lately. Here's hoping this wrong can be rectified and that Kai not only enters the No. 1 contender's clash in Tampa but wins the whole thing.

Kai vs. Rhea Ripley for that prestigious prize is only inevitable.

On the latest edition of AEW Dynamite, it was announced that The Exalted One of The Dark Order will finally be revealed on Wednesday's episode. That could change now that the show will no longer be emanating from Rochester, New York, because of the coronavirus pandemic, but fans have waited long enough for the payoff to this angle, and now is as good of a time as any for it to happen.

Of everyone who has been rumored for the role over the past several months, "Broken" Matt Hardy remains the strongest and most fitting candidate.

Hardy is fresh off his WWE departure and is expected to sign somewhere sooner rather than later. He could well appear for a number of promotions before inking a deal, but AEW is where he should end up full time, specifically with The Dark Order.

Considering Dynamite was originally supposed to emanate from Rochester, many fans suspected that Brodie Lee would be introduced as The Exalted One because that's his hometown. However, Lee has never been known for his promos, whereas Hardy leading his own stable of misfits is too perfect of an opportunity to pass up.

The Young Bucks' recent appearances on Hardy's Free the Delete YouTube series have sparked speculation that he could be AEW-bound in the not-too-distant future, but that doesn't necessarily mean he will be brought in as The Exalted One.

Hardy's "Broken brilliance" would be best suited for The Dark Order, but whomever AEW goes with as The Exalted One, one can only hope the reveal lives up to the hype after all this time.