(Photo courtesy hollywoodreporter.com)
By Lucas Greifzu – Editorial Editor
This year’s Wrestlemania was record-breaking and historic for multiple reasons. First, this year’s Wrestlemania was the first to be held without fans in WWE history. Second, it was the first Wrestlemania to be held over the span of two nights. While a lot of people were hoping that WWE would postpone the event so that it could be held with fans; many were happy with what they managed to get out of the show. The main card of Wrestlemania had 16 matches, eight on each night, and this article review each of them individually, and then review the event as a whole.
The first match of the first night saw the Kabuki Warriors (c) vs. Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross for the Women’s Tag Team Championships. This match was fairly average overall. There was good tag team wrestling from the Kabuki Warriors throughout the match. The match had good flow throughout, however it also had some mistakes; for example ,a couple of the moves at the end were not hit correctly. However, in the end, Bliss and Cross became the new Women’s Tag Team Champions. This match gets a rating of 2.5 out of 5 stars, but if there were not any mistakes with the moves towards the end of the match, it would have been 3 out of 5 stars.
The next match of the first night was Elias vs. Baron Corbin. This match was above average as a whole. Before the match Elias was able to smash a guitar over the back of Baron Corbin. As the match started there was some good back and forth wrestling; with both men being able to show their athleticism. In the end Elias was able to pull off a victory. This match gets a rating of 2.5 out of 5 stars.
The next match of the first night saw Shayna Baszler vs. Becky Lynch (c) for the RAW Women’s Championship. This match didn’t quite live up to the hype that it had laid out for itself. The match started off in a good way with some great back and forth wrestling. However, the match ended very quickly, and in an unexpected way. This unexpected ending made the match feel like it wasn’t important and that all of the buildup was for nothing. Nevertheless, Becky Lynch was able to retain her championship in a roll up pinfall victory. This match gets a rating of 2.5 out of 5 stars, but if there was an ending that was more befitting of the hype that this match would have received a rating of 3 out of 5 stars.
The next match of the first night saw Daniel Bryan vs. Sami Zayn (c) for the Intercontinental Championship. This match was fairly average overall. It started off rather slow as Sami Zayn kept dodging all of Daniel Bryan’s moves. However, as the match started to pick up both men were able to show their exceptional in ring ability. In the end, Sami Zayn was able to pick up the win and retain the Intercontinental Championship. This match gets a rating of 3 out of 5 stars.
Next, crossing the halfway point of the night, the next match saw John Morrison (c) vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Jimmy Uso in a ladder match for the Smackdown Tag Team Championships. This match was very good overall. This match was initially supposed to be a triple threat tag team match between the teams that these three men represent, but several of the wrestlers in the teams pulled out due to the Coronavirus. However, regardless of the circumstances of the match the wrestlers put on an excellent match. This match was full of back and forth action, as well as some incredible solo spots. In the end, John Morrison was able to pick up the victory by falling off of a ladder with the belts in his hands, and retain the Smackdown Tag Team Championships for his team. This match gets a rating of 4 out of 5 stars.
The next match of the night was Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins. This match was also very good overall. This match was different from all of the others on the card because it ended up turning into two matches. First, in a match without stipulation, Seth Rollins was able to defeat Kevin Owens via disqualification in an average match. However, following his defeat, Kevin Owens challenged Rollins to a no disqualification match. This is where things got interesting, as both men used many different weapons to their advantage. But, the spot that really stole the show was when Owens jumped off of the Wrestlemania sign through the announcers table onto Seth Rollins. This spot allowed Kevin Owens to win the match by pinning Rollins in the win. This match gets a rating of 4.25 out of 5 stars, but if the initial match had been more interesting and lasted a little longer, it would have received 4.5 out of 5 stars.
In the penultimate match of the night we saw Braun Strowman vs. Goldberg for the Universal Championship. This match was below average overall. Similarly to the Smackdown Tag Team Championship match, this match was also affected by the Coronavirus. Initially, this match was scheduled to be Roman Reigns vs. Goldberg, but Roman pulled out due to his personal health. However, the match still went on, but it was very underwhelming. In a match that lasted less than 5 minutes; Braun Strowman was able to earn a dominant victory over Goldberg, and become the new Universal Champion. This match gets rating of 2 out of 5 stars, but if the match were longer and had more of a story behind it, it would have received 3 out of 5 stars. Furthermore, there is no telling how good the original match of Roman Reigns vs. Goldberg would have been.
Finally, the main event of night one of Wrestlemania was AJ Styles vs. The Undertaker in a Boneyard match. This match was above average overall. This match had a lot of good attributes to it. However, this match felt more like a movie than a wrestling match. The match was filmed on a different set and was very high production. There were several special effects moments and many things that are much more theatrical than a regular match would allow for. That being said there were some great spots throughout, and both men sold moves well. In the end, the Undertaker was able to defeat AJ Styles by burying him in a grave with his name on it. This match gets a rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars, but if the match were slightly less high production and felt more like an actual wrestling match, it would have received a rating of 4 out of 5 stars.
In the first match of the second night of Wrestlemania, we saw Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley for the NXT Women’s Championship. This match was above average overall. The match starts off with Charlotte showing that she is the more experienced wrestler. However, the match quickly became more balanced. After some good back and forth wrestling, Charlotte Flair was able to win the match and become the new NXT Women’s Championship. This match gets a rating of 3 out of 5 stars.
The next match of night two was Aleister Black vs. Bobby Lashley. This match was average overall. The match started off with Aleister Black trying to take out the much larger Bobby Lashley, but Lashley was able to turn it around and take control of the match. However, in the end, Lashley’s wife Lana yelled instructions into the ring that led to Aleister Black spin kicking Lashley in the side of the head, thus picking up the victory. This match gets a rating of 2.5 out of 5 stars, but if the match had a more convincing ending to it, it would have received 3 out of 5 stars.
The next match of the night was Otis vs. Dolph Ziggler. This match was average overall, but the story was very entertaining. This whole feud started on Valentine’s Day when Mandy Rose supposedly stood Otis up for Dolph Ziggler. But, last week there was footage revealed that showed that Dolph Ziggler set himself up so that he would get to date Mandy and Otis wouldn’t. This led to the two of them having a match at Wrestlemania. The match itself was seemingly normal until Ziggler hit Otis with a low blow while the referee wasn’t looking. However, Mandy Rose came out and hit Dolph with a low blow while the referee wasn’t looking and helped Otis defeat Dolph Ziggler. This match gets 2 out of 5 stars, but the story gets a rating of 5 out of 5 stars.
The next match of the night was Edge vs. Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing match. This match was extremely good overall. In order to fully understand this story you have to go back to nine years ago. Nine years ago, Edge was forced to retire due to severe injuries in his neck. However, two surgeries and nine years of recovery later, Edge was able to return to the ring at the Royal Rumble in January. The night after that, Randy Orton came out and turned his back on Edge and smashed a chair over his head. At Wrestlemania this match was over 20 minutes long and was very gruesome to watch. It was a very personal match that saw many dangerous spots and potential injuries. The match ended in a similar way that the night after the Royal Rumble did, but with the roles reversed. Edge was able to put Randy Orton in a sleeper hold and then smash a chair over his head while holding back tears; which resulted in Edge winning the match. This match gets a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars.
The next match of the night saw Austin Theory and Angel Garza with Zelina Vega vs. the Street Profits for the RAW Tag Team Championships. This match was average overall. This match was thrown together in a hurry as one of the original competitors was injured before Wrestlemania. This was a standard tag team match which resulted in the Street Profits retaining their championships. However, at the end the challengers beat up the Street Profits, but Bianca Belair came to their rescue. This resulted in the Street Profits beating down on Garza and Theory while Belair beat down on Zelina Vega. This match gets a rating of 2.5 out of 5 stars.
The next match of the night saw Sasha Banks vs. Lacey Evans vs. Tamina vs. Naomi vs. Bayley in a Fatal 5 Way elimination match for the Smackdown Women’s Championship. This match was below average overall. While this match might look good on paper it didn’t turn out that way. In the beginning, all of the other competitors tried to eliminate Tamina because she was the strongest one in the ring. However the big problem with this match is that there was a lack of flow between the competitors in the match. This resulted in there being several gaps of silence in the match. In the end Bayley was able to retain her championship, but she might’ve damaged her friendship with Sasha Banks in the process. This match gets a rating of 2 out of 5 stars, but if the match had some more flow to it as well as a better story between the wrestlers, it would have received 3 out of 5 stars.
The penultimate match of both night two and the entire show was John Cena vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt in a Firefly Funhouse match. This match was exceptional overall. The match started with John Cena coming out to the ring, but he was then teleported to the Firefly Funhouse, which is the residence of the Fiend. Cena then went through a door that changed the whole perception of reality. Bray Wyatt ran Cena through his history in the WWE and explained to everyone how he was a sellout and had everything handed to him. He then got to the part in the story where Cena and Wyatt crossed paths 6 years ago. Wyatt then went on an emotional speech saying that he had to fight for everything he had, and for a guy like Cena to tell him that he is over privileged was wrong. In the end, the Fiend appeared and put an end to John Cena and defeated him in the match. When everything was said and done, this match gets a rating of 5 out of 5 stars. Quick note, there has only been one official 5-star match in the modern era of the WWE, so this match was extremely well done.
Finally, in the main event of night two and of the entire Wrestlemania card, we saw Drew McIntyre vs. Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship. This match was fairly average overall. This match went how a lot of people expected it to go. It started with Brock Lesnar dominating the match. He hit McIntyre with several German Suplexes and three F5s, but he was unable to pin McIntyre. The momentum turned quickly as McIntyre hit Lesnar with several Claymore Kicks, and was able to pin Lesnar to become the new WWE Champion. This match gets a rating of 2.5 out of 5 stars, but if the match were a little longer and had some more depth to it, it would have received a rating of 3 out of 5 stars.
While there were several strong moments throughout this event. The three best moments would have to be the Firefly Funhouse match, Edge vs. Randy Orton, and the Boneyard match. The Firefly Funhouse match is the best moment of this Wrestlemania simply due to the fact that it gave the fans everything that they could have wanted and more. The amount of levels that were in the story that this match told were phenomenal. Plus, the Fiend was able to assert himself as the dominant character on Smackdown after he recently lost his championship to Goldberg. The second best moment would have to be the Edge vs Randy Orton match. This match told a very personal story between these two men. They were once a tag team and they were once brothers, but this match showed that they are neither of those things anymore, and put the feud to rest. Finally, the third best moment of the show was the Boneyard match. Even though the match was very high production and didn’t really feel like a wrestling match, it still told a very good story, and was very entertaining to watch.
There were also some not-so-good moments in this show that can’t be overlooked. The three worst moments of the match were The Smackdown Women’s Championship match, the Universal Championship match, and Elias vs Baron Corbin. Hands down, the worst moment of the night was the Smackdown Women’s Championship match. There was very little flow between the competitors, and the story between them didn’t make me interested in watching the match. Not too far behind that is the Universal Championship match. There was nothing in particular that was wrong with this match, but you have to wonder how much better it would have been if Roman Reigns was competing. (While I completely agree with and respect his choice to step away due to his personal health, I do still wish I could have seen him compete at this event.) Finally, the third worst moment of the night was the Elias vs Baron Corbin match. The main problem with this match is the lack of story between the two competitors. While there wasn’t really anything wrong with the match itself, it was strange that the match was happening at Wrestlemania. This match didn’t feel like a Wrestlemania moment and in my opinion it shouldn’t have happened at Wrestlemania.
All in all, Wrestlemania 36 was an above-average Wrestlemania, and certainly better than many of the recent Wrestlemanias. While there were some very noticeable bad moments, the good moments outweighed them for this event. Overall, Wrestlemania 36 deserves a rating of: 3.5 out of 5 stars.
By Alexis Broderick – News Editor
The Advocate Online 