WrestleMania 36

Last updated

WrestleMania 36
WrestleMania 36 Poster.jpg
Promotional poster featuring John Cena, Charlotte Flair, Roman Reigns, Becky Lynch, and "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt
Promotion WWE
Brand(s) Raw
SmackDown
NXT
DateMarch 25–26, 2020 [1]
(aired April 4–5, 2020 [lower-alpha 1] )
City Orlando, Florida
Venue WWE Performance Center [lower-alpha 2]
Attendance0 (behind closed doors) [lower-alpha 3]
Tagline(s)Too Big for Just One Night! [2]
WWE Network event chronology
← Previous
TakeOver: Tampa Bay (cancelled)		Next →
Money in the Bank
WrestleMania chronology
← Previous
35 		Next →
37

WrestleMania 36 was the 36th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, and NXT brand divisions. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was filmed on March 25 and 26, 2020, at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida and was broadcast as a two-night event on April 4 and 5. This marked the first time the event was broadcast over two nights as well as aired on tape delay. On pay-per-view, the two productions were sold as individual shows, with both available as a package deal. National Football League (NFL) player Rob Gronkowski served as the host of the event.

Contents

The event was originally scheduled to take place solely on April 5, 2020, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida and was to air live. In mid-March, all WWE programming was relocated to the Performance Center training facility due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with no audience and only essential staff present. WrestleMania 36 was the first major professional wrestling event to be affected by the pandemic, and is in turn the only edition of WrestleMania not to feature a live crowd. Taking advantage of the format, two cinematic matches—a "Boneyard match" and a "Firefly Fun House match"—were filmed offsite in an atypical, cinematic style. In June, Florida lifted restrictions on paid spectator attendance at sporting events with the next year's WrestleMania 37 moved to Raymond James Stadium; WrestleMania 37, in turn, adopted much of the buccaneer-themed marketing originally used for WrestleMania 36, including a similar logo.

The card comprised 18 matches which were divided between the two nights, including one match on each night's Kickoff pre-show and a dark match on the second night. In the main event of the show for Part 1, The Undertaker, partly returning to his "American Bad Ass" character for the first time in over 16 years, defeated AJ Styles in a Boneyard match, which was later revealed to be Undertaker's final match, while in the final match from the Performance Center, which was SmackDown's main match, Braun Strowman defeated Goldberg to win the Universal Championship. In other prominent matches, Becky Lynch defeated Shayna Baszler to retain the Raw Women's Championship, and Kevin Owens defeated Seth Rollins in a No Disqualification match. In the main event for Part 2, which was the main match for Raw, Drew McIntyre defeated Brock Lesnar to win the WWE Championship, after which an impromptu dark match occurred in which McIntyre retained the title against Big Show, which was shown on the April 6 episode of Raw . In the penultimate match, "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt defeated John Cena in a Firefly Fun House match. In other prominent matches, Edge defeated Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing match, which was Edge's first singles match since April 2011, and in the opening bout, Charlotte Flair defeated Rhea Ripley to win the NXT Women's Championship for a second time, which was the first and so far only time an NXT championship was defended at a WrestleMania.

Production

Background

WrestleMania is WWE's flagship pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, having first been held in 1985. It was the company's first pay-per-view produced and was also WWE's first major event available via livestreaming when the company launched the WWE Network in February 2014. It is the longest-running professional wrestling event in history and is held annually between mid-March to mid-April. [3] It was the first of WWE's original four pay-per-views, which includes Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, referred to as the "Big Four". [4] WrestleMania is ranked the sixth most valuable sports brand in the world by Forbes, [5] and has been described as the Super Bowl of sports entertainment. [6] Much like the Super Bowl, cities bid for the right to host the year's edition of WrestleMania. [7]

WrestleMania 36 was the fourth WrestleMania to be held in the state of Florida (after XXIV, XXVIII, and 33). The event featured wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brand divisions, as well as NXT—although some NXT wrestlers had appeared in WrestleMania's previously annual battles royal, this was the first WrestleMania to promote the brand, following NXT becoming one of WWE's three major brands in September 2019. [8] National Football League (NFL) player Rob Gronkowski, who had recently signed with WWE, was announced as the host of WrestleMania 36. [9] [10] Gronkowski last appeared for WWE during the WrestleMania 33 Kickoff pre-show in 2017. [11]

Parts 1 and 2 of WrestleMania 36 were sold as individual pay-per-views, with both available as a package deal. [12] For the first time, WWE announced that it would also offer the PPV as a digital purchase in the United States via FITE TV and the Fox Sports app (as an extension of Fox's broadcasts of SmackDown ). ESPN, which does not normally air WWE programming, aired encores of previous editions of WrestleMania during the lead-up to the event to replace the NCAA women's basketball tournament that had been scrapped. "Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd was the official theme song for the event. [13]

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Announced on March 7, 2019, the event was originally scheduled to take place at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida solely on April 5, 2020, and was to air live. [14] [15] As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, other wrestling promotions began to cancel or postpone their shows in an attempt to prevent further spreading of the COVID-19 virus. This became true after the National Basketball Association (NBA) suspended its season after two of its players tested positive for COVID-19 which caused a massive ripple effect, effectively shutting down the vast majority of the sports world within five days. [16] [17] [18] In speaking with the Tampa Bay Times regarding how this outbreak could affect WrestleMania 36, WWE's Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon said of this "The health and safety of not only our fan base, but also our superstars, really does come first ... We don't want to put anyone in a bad situation ever, regardless of the circumstance. Those are not risks worth taking". WWE's Executive Vice President of Special Events John Saboor further noted that they were constantly monitoring global events. [19] [20] A meeting was held by Tampa officials on March 12 to determine the fate of WrestleMania 36; it was decided that the event would still proceed as planned, barring that the situation did not worsen in a week's time. [21] Hillsborough County Commissioner Les Miller further stated that if the situation was not any better by the following week, they would "pull the plug" on WrestleMania 36 if WWE did not do it themselves. [22] WWE then stated that they had a contingency plan ready in case the event was canceled. [23]

On March 16, WWE announced that the event would be held at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida with only essential personnel in attendance, as with all other WWE weekly programs during this pandemic. [24] [25] [26] WWE then announced that WrestleMania 36 would be split into a two-night event, on April 4 and 5. The re-location effectively made it the third WrestleMania to be held in the city of Orlando, behind XXIV and 33. Many viewers also saw this as WWE taking an idea from New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW)—who had their Wrestle Kingdom event on January 4 and 5 earlier in the year. [9] Marketing of the event subsequently emphasized the change in format, with the new tagline "Too Big for Just One Night". [27] WWE also produced a commemorative shirt reading "I Wasn't There", a spoof of their "I Was There" shirts of previous WrestleManias. [28]

It was then reported by PWInsider that WWE were pre-recording several episodes of their weekly programs (with the exception of the live broadcast of the March 23 episode of Monday Night Raw ) for future broadcasts, as well as WrestleMania itself (marking the first WrestleMania to be pre-recorded rather than live), between March 21–26. WrestleMania tapings at the Performance Center were held between March 25 and 26. [1] It was reported that WWE had filmed post-WrestleMania episodes of Raw and NXT after production wrapped on WrestleMania, before taking a two-week break. [27]

In an interview with TV Guide , WWE's Executive Vice President of Global Talent Strategy & Development and part-time wrestler Triple H explained that the "unique", pre-recorded nature of the event gave them the opportunity to experiment with new production elements and settings (as opposed to being confined to the ring), such as the "Boneyard" and "Firefly Fun House" matches, which were done as cinematic matches. [29] The Boneyard match was filmed at a custom-built set on location in the Orlando area (about a 40-minute drive away from the Performance Center), [30] while the Firefly Fun House match segments were all taped at Titan Towers in Stamford, Connecticut, using props and set pieces from their storage facility. [31] In lieu of a live performance of "America the Beautiful" to open the show as per tradition, a montage of performances of the song from past editions of WrestleMania was shown instead. [27]

Changes in participation

The card underwent changes due to injuries and issues that arose related to the ongoing pandemic. Triple H confirmed that due to the circumstances, nothing would be held against any of the wrestlers who missed the event. He also stated that all of the talent competing were there in a voluntary capacity. However, this had already been planned before the changes in format and location brought about from the pandemic. [32]

WrestleMania's annual battles royal, the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal, were not scheduled to occur at WrestleMania 36 to limit the number of wrestlers in the ring at the same time. [33] Roman Reigns, who was at an increased risk for COVID-19 due to being in an immunocompromised state from his previous struggles with leukemia, requested to be removed from his match against Goldberg and WWE honored the request; [34] [35] Braun Strowman was selected as Reigns' replacement in the match. [36] [37] Andrade, who was scheduled to team with Angel Garza to face The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) for the Raw Tag Team Championship, [38] was removed from that match due to an injury and was replaced by NXT's Austin Theory. [39] Additionally, it was reported that The Miz had contracted an illness and was pulled from the WrestleMania card; [39] this turned the planned tag team triple threat Ladder match for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship [40] into a Triple Threat Ladder match between Jimmy Uso, Kofi Kingston, and defending champion John Morrison. [41] [42] Dana Brooke was originally advertised to be a part of the SmackDown Women's Championship elimination match, but she was taken off the card after reportedly being put into precautionary quarantine; Rey Mysterio was also reported to be in precautionary quarantine, but he had not been advertised for a match, though was reportedly going to face Andrade for the United States Championship. [43]

Storylines

The event comprised a total of 19 matches divided across the two nights, including one match on each night's Kickoff pre-show and one dark match on the second night. The matches resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw, SmackDown, and NXT brands, [44] [45] while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw, Friday Night SmackDown, and NXT . [46]

Main event matches

Feeling as though nobody deserved an opportunity to challenge him at the Royal Rumble or WrestleMania, Raw's WWE Champion Brock Lesnar decided to enter himself into the men's Royal Rumble match as entrant number one. [47] [48] Lesnar dominated the first half of the match until he was eventually eliminated by Raw's Drew McIntyre, who would go on and win the match, thus earning himself a world championship match of his choosing at WrestleMania. [49] The next night on Raw, McIntyre announced that he would challenge Lesnar for the WWE Championship at the event. [50] At Super ShowDown, Lesnar retained the title against Ricochet, keeping him as the defending champion against McIntyre at WrestleMania. [51]

At Super ShowDown, AJ Styles was a participant in the Tuwaiq Mountain Trophy gauntlet match. Final participant Rey Mysterio was ambushed backstage by Styles' O.C. teammates Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, prompting Styles to declare himself the winner by forfeit. The referee gave Mysterio until the count of ten, during which, the camera cut backstage, showing that Gallows and Anderson had been attacked by The Undertaker, making a surprise return. Undertaker then made his entrance, taking Mysterio's place, and performed a Chokeslam on Styles to win the match and the trophy. [51] On the following Raw, a disgruntled Styles mocked Undertaker for still wrestling and issued a warning. [52] The Undertaker then appeared at Elimination Chamber and cost Styles his No Disqualification match with Aleister Black. [53] The following night on Raw, Styles taunted Undertaker by bringing up his wife Michelle McCool, blaming her for why Undertaker keeps coming back to wrestle, while also calling Undertaker by his real name, Mark Calaway. Styles then challenged Undertaker to a match at WrestleMania. [54] A contract signing for the match was conducted the following week. [55] Styles then challenged Undertaker to a Boneyard match, [38] and Undertaker accepted, cutting a promo akin to his "American Bad Ass" gimmick (circa 2000–2003). [56]

Undercard matches

After winning SmackDown's Universal Championship at Super ShowDown, [51] WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg appeared on the following night's episode of SmackDown and issued an open challenge by stating his catchphrase, "Who's next?" Roman Reigns interrupted and had a stare down with Goldberg before accepting his challenge, which was subsequently scheduled for WrestleMania. [57] Just before the event, however, Reigns requested to be removed from the match for being at an increased risk for COVID-19, as he was in an immunocompromised state from his previous health issues with leukemia; Reigns himself confirmed the report and stated that WWE honored the request. [35] [34] Triple H also confirmed the report in a March 29 interview on ESPN's SportsCenter . [32] Five days later on the April 3 episode of SmackDown, Braun Strowman was announced as Reigns' replacement in the match, making this the first WrestleMania since WrestleMania XXVIII where Reigns was not featured. [37]

At the Royal Rumble, Raw's Charlotte Flair won the women's Royal Rumble match to earn herself a women's championship match of her choosing at WrestleMania. [49] On the February 3 episode of Raw, Flair stated that she had defeated the women's champions of both Raw and SmackDown and had held those titles multiple times. She was then interrupted by Rhea Ripley, the NXT Women's Champion—a title that Flair had only held once during NXT's infancy in 2014. Ripley declared that Flair should challenge her as she had defeated Flair, but Flair had never beat her. [58] Flair continued to delay giving an answer until after Ripley had defended her title at TakeOver: Portland on February 16. [59] [60] After Ripley retained her title at the NXT event, she was ambushed by Flair, who accepted Ripley's challenge for a match at WrestleMania, marking the first time that a Royal Rumble winner chose an NXT championship to challenge for with the title itself being the first NXT championship to be defended at the event. [61]

Prior to Survivor Series, a rivalry began between Raw's Becky Lynch and NXT's Shayna Baszler. At the event, Baszler won the non-title brand supremacy triple threat match between the three brands' women's champions by submitting SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley. An irate Lynch attacked Baszler following the match and put her through an announce table. [62] After losing the NXT Women's Championship, [63] Baszler appeared as the thirtieth entrant in the women's Royal Rumble match, finishing as the runner-up. [49] Following Lynch's title defense on the February 10 episode of Raw, Baszler ambushed Lynch and bit the back of her neck, thus reigniting their feud. [60] Baszler was then entered into Raw's women's Elimination Chamber match at the namesake event where she single-handedly eliminated all of her opponents to win and earn herself a Raw Women's Championship match against Lynch at WrestleMania. [53]

John Cena, who had last appeared during Raw Reunion in July 2019, made his return from hiatus during the February 28, 2020, episode of SmackDown to address his role at WrestleMania. Seemingly announcing his retirement, Cena declared he would not be appearing at the event, stating that WrestleMania spots should be earned. As Cena gave a farewell salute to the audience from the stage, the lights went out. When they illuminated, "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt appeared behind Cena. The Fiend then pointed to the WrestleMania sign, signaling a challenge to Cena, who simply nodded in acceptance. A match between the two was then scheduled for the event. This was the second the two fought each other at WrestleMania after WrestleMania XXX in April 2014. [57] On the March 27 episode, Wyatt challenged Cena to a Firefly Fun House match, [64] and Cena accepted. [37]

After being forced to retire in 2011 due to a severe neck injury, WWE Hall of Famer Edge returned at the 2020 Royal Rumble during the namesake match, where he had a brief reunion with Randy Orton; Edge eliminated Orton before his own elimination. [49] On the following Raw, Edge explained how he was able to make his return. Orton then welcomed Edge back and suggested reforming Rated-RKO, but turned on Edge and performed an RKO on him, thus turning heel in the process. After attacking Edge's neck with a steel chair, Orton smashed Edge's head between two steel chairs in a maneuver known as the "Conchairto", which Edge had made famous in the past. [50] [60] [65] Edge's wife and fellow Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix appeared on the March 2 episode to give a medical update on her husband. Orton interrupted and said that he attacked Edge so that he would remain at home and continue his role as a husband and a father to their children. He then blamed Phoenix for the attack, claiming that she allowed Edge to get back in the ring. Phoenix slapped Orton, who in turn performed an RKO on her. [52] Edge returned the following week on Montel Vontavious Porter's (MVP) talk show, the "VIP Lounge". Orton attempted to attack Edge, only for Edge to perform an RKO of his own on Orton. After Orton retreated, Edge performed the Conchairto on MVP twice as a warning to Orton. [54] Edge then challenged Orton to a Last Man Standing match at WrestleMania, [55] and Orton accepted. [38]

At Survivor Series, Seth Rollins served as the captain of Team Raw for the men's Survivor Series elimination match, but questioned Kevin Owens' loyalty to the team due to Owens appearing at NXT TakeOver: WarGames; Raw suffered a devastating loss at Survivor Series, only winning one of the seven interbrand matches. [62] Rollins criticized the Raw roster for their poor performance and again questioned Owens' loyalty, who responded by performing a Stunner on Rollins. Owens then became the target of AOP (Akam and Rezar). [66] [67] Although Owens accused Rollins of being behind AOP's attacks, Rollins denied the accusations, though he ultimately joined with AOP, turning heel. [68] Rollins then began to refer to himself as the "Monday Night Messiah" and recruited Murphy into his new faction with AOP; Rollins and Murphy eventually won the Raw Tag Team Championship together. [48] At the Royal Rumble, Rollins eliminated Owens from the namesake match thanks to help from AOP and Murphy. [49] Rollins and Murphy lost their titles on an episode of Raw, [52] and during a rematch at Elimination Chamber, Owens cost them their match and performed a Stunner on Rollins afterward. [53] The following night on Raw, Rollins attacked Owens after an eight-man tag team match. [54] On the March 16 episode, a match between Rollins and Owens was scheduled for WrestleMania. [55]

On the Survivor Series Kickoff pre-show, Heavy Machinery (Otis and Tucker) participated in an interbrand tag team battle royal that was won by Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode; [62] the two teams entered into a feud following the event. Also during this time, Otis started a romance with Mandy Rose. On the February 14 episode of SmackDown, Otis had a scheduled Valentine's Day date with Rose; however, Ziggler arrived first and stole the date, causing Otis to walk away heartbroken. [69] On the March 6 episode, Otis apologized to Rose, who rejected the apology. [70] Heavy Machinery then participated in the SmackDown Tag Team Championship Elimination Chamber match, where they were eliminated by Ziggler and Roode. [53] On the March 20 episode of SmackDown, Ziggler distracted Otis during his tag team match by showing pictures of him and Rose together, enraging Otis, which caused Heavy Machinery to get disqualified, thus costing them another title opportunity. [71] Ziggler then challenged Otis to a match at WrestleMania and Otis accepted. [64] On the final SmackDown before WrestleMania, a mysterious hacker (later revealed to be Mustafa Ali) appeared on the TitanTron during Ziggler's match with Tucker and revealed that Rose's Fire and Desire tag team partner Sonya Deville had conspired with Ziggler to sabotage Rose's Valentine's date with Otis. [37]

On the March 6 episode of SmackDown, King Corbin was interviewed backstage about his plans for WrestleMania 36, but was interrupted by Elias. [70] The following week, Corbin lost his match after Elias played his guitar, causing a distraction. [72] On the March 20 episode, Corbin interrupted WrestleMania host Rob Gronkowski, which brought out Elias to perform a song about Corbin. Elias then tossed Corbin from the ring, and Gronkowski advocated for a match between the two at WrestleMania 36, [71] which was made official on March 23. [38]

Event

Part 1

Other on-screen personnel – Part 1
RoleName
Host Rob Gronkowski
English commentators Michael Cole (SmackDown)
John "Bradshaw" Layfield (SmackDown)
Tom Phillips (Raw)
Byron Saxton (Raw)
Portuguese commentatorMarco Alfaro
Spanish commentator Marcelo Rodríguez [73]
Ring announcers Greg Hamilton (SmackDown)
Mike Rome (Raw)
Referees Danilo Anfibio
Jessika Carr
John Cone
Eddie Orengo
Charles Robinson
Drake Wuertz
Rod Zapata
Interviewers Charly Caruso
Kayla Braxton
Pre-show panel Corey Graves
Peter Rosenberg
Pre-show correspondents Renee Young
Booker T
Mark Henry

Pre-show

During the WrestleMania 36 Kickoff Part 1 pre-show, Drew Gulak faced Cesaro. The climax saw Cesaro perform a U.F.O. on Gulak, followed by winning the match by pinfall. [74]

Preliminary matches

The actual pay-per-view portion of Part 1 opened with a special statement from Stephanie McMahon and a performance of "America the Beautiful", which was edited together from multiple performances of the song from previous WrestleMania events. Host Rob Gronkowski began hyping WrestleMania. He was joined by his friend Mojo Rawley. [75]

In the first match, The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) defended the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship against Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross. In the end, Cross performed the Purge on Sane followed by Bliss performing a Twisted Bliss to win and become the first two-time champions in the title's history. [75]

Next, Elias faced King Corbin. In the end, as Corbin attempted a pin on Elias with his legs on the rope, the referee noticed it and voided the pinfall; Elias then performed a roll-up on a distracted Corbin, who was arguing with the referee, to win the match. [75]

After that, Becky Lynch defended the Raw Women's Championship against Shayna Baszler. In the closing moments, as Baszler applied the Kirifuda Clutch on Lynch, Lynch countered into a roll-up to retain the title. [75]

In the fourth match, Sami Zayn, accompanied by Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura, defended the Intercontinental Championship against Daniel Bryan (accompanied by Drew Gulak). In the first half of the match, Zayn refused to face Bryan and continuously scurried away from him. Bryan would run after Zayn only for Cesaro and Nakamura to get in his way. This led to Gulak getting involved and temporarily taking out Cesaro and Nakamura. As Zayn wanted a countout victory, Bryan brought Zayn back into the ring and eventually started to perform his offensive attacks on him. In the end, Cesaro and Nakamura recovered and attacked Gulak. As Bryan attempted an aerial attack on Zayn, Zayn performed a Helluva Kick in mid-air to retain the title. [75]

Next, the SmackDown Tag Team Championship was defended in a Triple Threat Ladder match. The match was originally scheduled as a tag team Triple Threat Ladder match in which The Miz and John Morrison were to defend the titles against The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) and The New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston), but due to the Miz falling ill, the match was contested between Morrison, Jimmy, and Kingston, each representing their respective team. In the end, all three competitors together, who were atop ladders, managed to unhook the gold hook with the titles still intact. After a scuffle, Jimmy and Kingston performed a headbutt on Morrison, who fell down atop a ladder wedged between the rope and a second ladder. As Morrison fell, he grasped the title belts, unhooking them as he fell, thus Morrison retained the titles for himself and the Miz. [75]

Afterward, Kevin Owens faced Seth Rollins. The match ended via disqualification for Owens, as Rollins attacked him with the ring bell. Owens then taunted Rollins to face him again in an accepted No Disqualification match. During the match, Owens attacked Rollins with the ring bell and performed a diving elbow drop off the WrestleMania sign. In the end, Owens performed a Stunner on Rollins to win the match. [75]

In a small segment, 24/7 Champion R-Truth joined Rob Gronkowski and Mojo Rawley, who were standing atop a viewing podium. Gronkowski attempted to pin Truth to win the title. However, Rawley moved Gronkowski and pinned Truth instead to win the 24/7 title for a seventh time. [75]

In the final match of Part 1 from the WWE Performance Center, Goldberg defended the WWE Universal Championship against Braun Strowman, who replaced Roman Reigns. After a stare down, Goldberg surprised Strowman with a kick on the stomach and a throw into a corner. Goldberg attempted a Spear on Strowman into the corner, but Strowman dodged it and Goldberg collided into the ring post. After Strowman attempted a Running Powerslam, Goldberg reversed it into three Spears for a nearfall. Then, Goldberg performed a fourth Spear on Strowman. As Goldberg attempted a Jackhammer, Strowman reversed it into three Front Powerslams and a Running Powerslam for a pinfall, winning his first WWE Universal Championship and the first world championship of his career.

Main event

In the main event of Part 1, The Undertaker faced AJ Styles in a Boneyard match, which was a Buried Alive match set at an undisclosed cemetery and warehouse in the Orlando area. A hearse arrived at the cemetery to The Undertaker's theme music, however, Styles emerged from the casket. The Undertaker then arrived riding a motorcycle (reminiscent of his "American Bad Ass" gimmick) to the tune of Metallica's "Now That We're Dead". Early on, Undertaker would refer to Styles as "Allen" (Styles' real first name) as AJ tried getting away. Halfway through the match, Styles' O.C. teammates Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson appeared in an attempt to assist Styles, but Undertaker fought them off. The Undertaker then fought a group of druids which were set up as a distraction by the O.C. so Styles could gain the upper hand again. Styles broke a shovel in half across The Undertaker's spine which caused him to fall into the grave. As Styles was preparing to fill the grave with dirt to win, Undertaker suddenly appeared behind Styles and started to attack him. Both men fought all over the graveyard and atop the warehouse. When Styles backed off from Undertaker on the rooftop, scared and in disbelief about him rising from the grave, Undertaker raised his arms to make a wall of fire appear behind Styles, preventing Styles from running away. The O.C. then saw a chance to go for another attack on Undertaker, who struck back yet again. He threw Gallows off the roof, performed a Tombstone Piledriver on Anderson and chokeslammed Styles off the roof and through an old piece of wooden flooring. Undertaker then carried Styles over to the grave, where Styles begged him not to be buried. Undertaker brought him to his feet, embraced him, praised Styles for his efforts, and told him he would not bury him. However, Undertaker feigned walking away, as he turned back around and kicked Styles into the grave. Undertaker then started the tractor and dumped all the dirt into the grave, burying Styles to win the match. Following the match, as the camera panned on the grave, Styles' hand was sticking out from the dirt, while Undertaker then departed on his motorcycle, again to the Metallica song. This would be The Undertaker's final match at WrestleMania as well as in his career, cementing his final WrestleMania record at 25-2. [75]

Part 2

Other on-screen personnel – Part 2
RoleName
Hosts Rob Gronkowski
Titus O'Neil
English Commentators Michael Cole (SmackDown)
John "Bradshaw" Layfield (SmackDown)
Tom Phillips (Raw/NXT Women's Championship match)
Byron Saxton (Raw/NXT Women's Championship match)
Portuguese commentatorRoberto Figueroa
Spanish commentator Carlos Cabrera [73]
Ring announcersGreg Hamilton (SmackDown)
Mike Rome (Raw/NXT Women's Championship match)
RefereesDanilo Anfibio
Shawn Bennett
John Cone
Darrick Moore
Eddie Orengo
Charles Robinson
Drake Wuertz
Interviewers Charly Caruso
Kayla Braxton
Pre-show panel Corey Graves
Peter Rosenberg
Pre-show correspondents Renee Young
Booker T
Christian

Pre-show

During the WrestleMania 36 Kickoff Part 2 pre-show, Liv Morgan faced Natalya. In the end, Morgan pinned Natalya with a roll-up to win the match. This was Morgan's first WrestleMania win in her WWE run. [76]

Preliminary matches

The actual pay-per-view portion of Part 2 opened with Rhea Ripley defending the NXT Women's Championship against Charlotte Flair. In the climax, after a back-and-forth match, Flair forced Ripley to tap out to the Figure-Eight Leglock to win the title for her second time, and the first time since NXT TakeOver in May 2014. Flair also became the first wrestler to win an NXT championship before and after NXT became one of WWE's three main brands. [77]

Next, Aleister Black faced Bobby Lashley, accompanied by Lana. In the end, as Lashley attempted a spear on Black, Black performed a Black Mass on Lashley to win the match. [77]

Afterward, Otis faced Dolph Ziggler (accompanied by Sonya Deville). In the closing moments, as Otis attempted to perform the Caterpillar on Ziggler, Deville distracted Otis on the ring apron, which allowed Ziggler to attack Otis with a low blow from behind. Mandy Rose then came out and attacked Deville. With the referee distracted, Rose performed a low blow on Ziggler. Otis then performed the Caterpillar on Ziggler to win the match. Following the match, Otis and Rose shared a kiss in the ring. [77]

In the fourth match, Edge faced Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing match. As Edge waited for Orton to make his entrance, Orton disguised as a cameraman attacked Edge from behind with an RKO. Orton then attacked Edge with a second RKO and a camera, but Edge rose to his feet. Edge and Orton then fought in the Performance Center's gym area, where Orton placed Edge's arms in a sling and proceeded to attack him. As Orton attempted to attack Edge with a weight, Edge performed a dropkick on him. The two then fought back to the ringside area, where Orton threw Edge into a barricade off a raised platform. After fighting throughout the Performance Center, they eventually fought atop a production truck in the backstage area where Edge performed a spear on Orton and Orton performed an RKO on Edge. In the end, Edge applied a sleeper hold on Orton, who passed out on a chair. A conflicted Edge then performed the Conchairto on Orton. Edge won the match after Orton was unable to answer the referee's 10 count. [77]

In a small segment, new 24/7 Champion Mojo Rawley ran away from multiple wrestlers into the Performance Center. They cornered Rawley near the podium that host Rob Gronkowski was standing on. Gronkowski witnessed this and performed a dive on top of the wrestlers. Gronkowski then pinned Rawley to win the 24/7 Championship. [77]

Next, The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) defended the Raw Tag Team Championship against Angel Garza and Austin Theory (with Zelina Vega). In the closing moments, Ford performed a springboard frog splash on Theory, who was then pinned by Dawkins. After the match, Garza, Theory, and Vega attacked The Street Profits. NXT's Bianca Belair then ran out and attacked Vega, clearing the ring. [77]

After that, Bayley defended the SmackDown Women's Championship in a fatal five-way elimination match against Sasha Banks, Lacey Evans, Naomi, and Tamina. Tamina was the first eliminated after the other wrestlers piled on top of her for the pin. Banks applied the Bank Statement on Naomi to eliminate her. As Bayley attempted a dropkick on Evans in the corner, Evans moved out of the way and Bayley attacked Banks instead. After Bayley tried apologizing, Bayley pushed Banks out of the way of an attack from Evans, who performed the Woman's Right on Banks to eliminate her. Bayley did not attempt to break up the pin to save Banks. In the end, as Evans was about to perform the Woman's Right on Bayley, Banks returned to the ring and performed a backstabber on Evans. Bayley performed a Rose Plant on Evans to retain the title. [77]

The penultimate match was the Firefly Fun House match between John Cena and "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt. Cena came out for his match in the Performance Center, assuming his match was taking place in the ring. Wyatt was then shown in the Firefly Fun House, stating that Cena would actually be facing himself before exiting through the fun house's door. Cena was then teleported to the Firefly Fun House. After also going through the door, Cena was transported through a series of dream sequences where Wyatt demonstrated his perceived personality flaws (such as being a bully who did not have to work for his achievements like Wyatt did), including his debut appearance on SmackDown (with Wyatt acting as Kurt Angle, and Cena seemingly unable to say anything but "ruthless aggression"), and a spoof of Saturday Night's Main Event (where Wyatt introduced Cena as his tag team partner "Johnny Largemeat", who was tired out from repeatedly lifting weights). Appearing as his old cult leader persona of The Wyatt Family, Wyatt then reminisced about his loss to Cena at WrestleMania XXX, and pledged to right his previous wrong. Back in a ring, Cena reversed out of an attempted Sister Abigail by Wyatt, and was (as in that previous match) coerced into using a chair against him. However, as he did so, Wyatt disappeared, and Cena was suddenly transported to nWo Monday Nitro — with Wyatt acting as Eric Bischoff, who introduced Cena, acting as "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan. In the ring, Cena tackled Wyatt. After a fury of fists, Wyatt disappeared and was replaced by the Huskus the Pig Boy puppet. The Fiend then snuck up from behind and performed Sister Abigail and the Mandible Claw on Cena to win the match, with Wyatt's normal self counting the pin. Just before The Fiend performed Sister Abigail, the audio of Cena's promo from SmackDown was played, where Cena had stated that at WrestleMania, he would end the existence of the "most over hyped, over valued, over privileged WWE Superstar". After the segment ended, a visibly shaken Titus O'Neil was shown on camera, uttering "I don't know what I just saw." [77] [78] [79]

Main event

In the main event of Part 2, Brock Lesnar (accompanied by Paul Heyman) defended the WWE Championship against Drew McIntyre. McIntyre hit Brock Lesnar with a Claymore on Lesnar for a nearfall. Lesnar performed three German suplexes and an F-5, but McIntyre kicked out at one. Lesnar then performed two more F-5s, both of which again resulted in nearfalls. As Lesnar went for a fourth F-5, McIntyre countered and performed three more Claymores on Lesnar to win the match and title, capturing his first world championship in WWE and becoming the first-ever British-born world champion in WWE history, as well as WWE's thirty-first Triple Crown champion. [77] After the show went off the air, McIntyre was confronted by Big Show, who McIntyre then faced in a title defense described by WWE as the "hidden WrestleMania main event." [80] McIntyre performed a Claymore on Big Show to retain the title. This dark match aired on the April 6 episode of Raw. [81]

Reception

The event was highly positively received by fans and received positive reviews from critics. While most argued that the event suffered from both a poor lead-up and the absence of a live audience (partly due to most of the wrestlers being removed from the event shortly before its filming, mostly in relation to the pandemic, including Roman Reigns, The Miz, Andrade, and Dana Brooke, who were all slated to defend or challenge for championships) many felt that the event exceeded expectations, with both critics and fans largely praising the Boneyard and Firefly Fun House matches as the best of the event for their uniqueness and over-the-top tone (and in the case of the latter, its inventiveness and humor).

The male world title matches were also criticized for their short lengths and overuse of finishing moves. [27] [82] [83]

Brent Brookhouse of CBS Sports gave the event a positive review, acknowledging that "many fans were understandably hesitant to believe WWE could deliver a spectacle deserving of the WrestleMania title, but somehow the company pulled off the seemingly impossible by delivering two nights of compelling wrestling without tens of thousands of fans in attendance." He ranked the Boneyard and Firefly Fun House matches as the best for Part 1 and 2, respectively, noting that in contrast to previous attempts by WWE to "recreate Matt Hardy's 'Broken Universe' magic", the first "nailed the execution by striking the right balance between tense action and over-the-top presentation", and the second was described as "indie psychological horror movies brought to professional wrestling." [78]

Randall Colburn of The A.V. Club gave the event a B−. While praising WWE for making the most out of its "weirdest WrestleMania of all time", particularly the Boneyard match, he did point out that most matches suffered from its poor lead-up and lack of live audience, stating notably that Becky Lynch and Shayna Baszler's match was "a listless and too-short battle that, when you consider the response both performers tend to extract from crowds, might have shifted into another gear in a packed stadium". He also cited examples of "shoddy storytelling", noting that it "[was] great that Braun Strowman beat the snot out of Goldberg, but it might have resonated more if the company hadn't just had the 53-year old Goldberg destroy The Fiend, a heretofore untouchable star, during a PPV in Saudi Arabia—and, you know, done anything with Braun over the past few years". [84]

David Bixenspan of Slate heavily criticized the lead-up to the event, stating that "[The wrestlers], in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania, looked significantly more like they were doing bad playacting and play-fighting than they usually do. Others decided to play to a crowd that wasn't actually there. ... the WWE style—with its emphasis on overwrought capital–P 'performance,' over-rehearsed matches, and flowery mannerisms—looked more like a parody when staged in front of zero spectators. Still, expectations for this WrestleMania were low, albeit with some minor optimism over the show being divided up into two nights instead of the marathon one-night slogs of recent years". However, he stated that after two lackluster opening matches, the card from Lynch vs. Baszler onward then comprised "very physical matches [which] made the best of the setting, and with most of the matches fitting that bill, [Part 1] was really strong overall", although he found Part 2 much weaker, stating that Edge vs. Randy Orton was "glacially slow, and it appeared to somehow be edited out of an even longer match", and that Lesnar vs. McIntyre felt "more like a formality than anything cool, because it was so paint-by-numbers". Slate considered the Boneyard and Firefly Fun House matches to be the best matches. [82]

Anthony Mango of Bleacher Report stated "It's hard to judge this event. You have to take the good with the bad, maintain honest integrity with criticism, but also be forgiving and acknowledge that this was not how WrestleMania was supposed to be". He gave a positive review, although he ranked Elias vs. Corbin, Black vs. Lashley, and the SmackDown Women's title match as the low points of the event. [85] [86] Jake Rill, also of Bleacher Report, gave the Boneyard match a 4.5 star ratings on a scale of 5, their highest rated match from both nights, while giving the Universal Championship match a 0.5 star, their lowest rated match from the event. [87]

Despite having no attendance due to the circumstances, WrestleMania 36 was the most-viewed event in WWE history with a record 967 million views combining both nights across the company's digital and social platforms. [88] [89] The Hollywood Reporter noted that the Boneyard and Firefly Fun House matches could set a precedent for WWE using more "cinematic experiences" in its programming to make up for the closed door tapings. [27]

Aftermath

In late-April, it was revealed that WrestleMania host Rob Gronkowski had come out of his NFL retirement, where he was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. [90] It was later revealed that Gronkowski exercised a release clause in his WWE contract in order to return to the NFL, and he dropped the 24/7 Championship to R-Truth in a segment on the June 1 episode of Raw. Wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer noted that before his release, Gronkowski was scheduled to work a match at SummerSlam as well as WWE's Saudi Arabia show later in the year. He also said that the release was "mutual". [91]

In May, a five-part documentary series about The Undertaker began airing on the WWE Network called Undertaker: The Last Ride. The documentary series chronicles The Undertaker's career from 2017 to 2020 and his decision on when he should retire, which he previously believed was going to be his match with Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 33. In the final episode that released on June 21, Undertaker stated that he had nothing left to prove and had no desire to step in the ring again, feeling that his match with AJ Styles was the perfect ending to his 30-year career, thus making his WrestleMania 36 match with Styles his final match. However, he did not rule out the possibility of a potential one-off match, depending on the situation. Undertaker also revealed that he did not make a full return to his American Bad Ass gimmick at WrestleMania 36. Instead, it was a combination of his Deadman persona, the American Bad Ass, as well as his real life self; the latter due to how personal Styles' promos were against Undertaker. [92] The Undertaker's official retirement ceremony later occurred at Survivor Series on November 22, which also celebrated the 30th anniversary of his debut in WWE, which occurred at the 1990 Survivor Series. [93]

Raw

The following night's episode of Raw showed the "hidden WrestleMania main event", in which Drew McIntyre retained the WWE Championship over Big Show roughly 25 minutes after McIntyre had defeated Brock Lesnar to win the title. [81]

Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch praised Shayna Baszler regarding their WrestleMania match and stated that Baszler knew where to find her if she wanted to face off again. [81] The following week, Baszler won her qualifying match to compete in the women's Money in the Bank ladder match. [94]

Raw Tag Team Champions The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) faced Austin Theory and Angel Garza (accompanied by Zelina Vega) in a rematch for the titles where the champions retained once again, though by disqualification, thanks to Vega. Bianca Belair again came out after the match, and challenged Vega to a match which ended in a no-contest. A six-person mixed tag team match ensued with The Street Profits and Belair defeating Theory, Garza, and Vega. [81]

Charlotte Flair boasted about defeating Rhea Ripley and becoming a two-time NXT Women's Champion, though said that Ripley was "okay". [81] Ripley returned on the May 6 episode of NXT to save Io Shirai from a post-match beat down after Flair had retained the title against Shirai due to disqualification. [95] This ultimately set up a triple threat match between the three women at TakeOver: In Your House. [96]

On the April 13 episode, Seth Rollins stated that by losing to Kevin Owens at WrestleMania, he had been crucified and now he had truly risen (buying into his "Monday Night Messiah" gimmick). He later attacked WWE Champion Drew McIntyre following the latter's match with Andrade. [94] He subsequently set up a title match for Money in the Bank. [97]

On the May 11 episode of Raw, both Edge and Randy Orton made their first post-WrestleMania appearances. Orton stated that at WrestleMania, the better man won but questioned whether or not the better wrestler had actually won. Noting that the Royal Rumble and Last Man Standing matches were non-traditional matches, Orton challenged Edge to a normal singles match at Backlash, [98] [99] which Orton won. During the match, Edge legitimately tore his triceps. [100] After recovering from his triceps tear, Edge returned at the 2021 Royal Rumble, where he and Orton entered at number one and two, respectively. The two brawled at ringside, and Edge injured Orton's leg, taking Orton out for the majority of the match. Orton returned in the closing moments of the match where he attempted to eliminate Edge, however, Edge countered and eliminated Orton to win the men's Royal Rumble match. [101] Orton then faced Edge in a rubber match the following night on Raw, where thanks to a distraction by Alexa Bliss (as part of a storyline between Orton, Bliss, and "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt), Edge defeated Orton, putting an end to their rivalry. [102]

SmackDown

On the following episode of SmackDown, Bray Wyatt interrupted new Universal Champion Braun Strowman after the latter's match. Wyatt reminded Strowman that it was he who brought him to WWE with his old Wyatt Family stable. Wyatt, who had lost the title to Goldberg at Super ShowDown, then stated he wanted his title back and Strowman accepted the challenge, [103] which was scheduled for Money in the Bank, though against Wyatt's normal self instead of The Fiend. [104]

Also on the following SmackDown, Tamina pointed out the fact that Bayley nor any other competitor in the fatal five-way elimination match actually beat her and challenged Bayley to a singles match for the SmackDown Women's Championship. Bayley agreed if Tamina could defeat her friend Sasha Banks, [103] which Tamina subsequently done the following week to earn the title match at Money in the Bank. [104] On the April 24 episode, Evans defeated Banks to qualify for the women's Money in the Bank ladder match due to an untimely assist from Bayley. [105] The following week, Tamina's backstage interview was interrupted by Banks, and she and Bayley attacked her until Evans made the save. [106] On the May 8 episode, Evans and Tamina defeated Banks and Bayley with Tamina pinning Bayley. [107]

On the following SmackDown, new WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross retained their titles in a rematch against The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane). [103] Since only one member of each team competed for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania, The New Day's Big E suggested that the other team members should face off in a triple threat match for the titles. [103] The match occurred the following week, in which Big E defeated Jey Uso and The Miz to win the SmackDown Tag Team Championship for a record eighth time for The New Day. [104]

Also on the following SmackDown, Heavy Machinery's Tucker faced Dolph Ziggler in a rematch from the SmackDown prior to WrestleMania in a losing effort; Otis and Mandy Rose were absent that night. [103] The following week, Sonya Deville called out Rose to clear the air between them. An emotional Deville stated that Rose was the most selfish person she had met. Deville also stated that she was the better wrestler and Rose was nothing more than eye candy. Ziggler then came out and stated to Rose that she could not deny the chemistry between them. Deville attacked Rose, which prompted Otis to come out and attack Ziggler. [104] On the May 1 episode, Otis defeated Ziggler again to qualify for the men's Money in the Bank ladder match. Also that same episode, Rose lost her Money in the Bank qualifying match due to a distraction from Deville, who attacked Rose after the match. [106] The following week, Deville defeated Rose. [107] Rose and Deville would continue feuding until SummerSlam, where Rose defeated Deville in a no disqualification loser leaves WWE match. [108]

Elias sang a song about his win over King Corbin at WrestleMania 36. [103] The following week, Elias was about to make another performance, but was viciously attacked by Corbin, who bashed the guitar on Elias' back. [104] Elias returned at Money in the Bank, where he cost Corbin the men's Money in the Bank ladder match. [109] On the following episode of SmackDown, Corbin defeated Elias in a WrestleMania rematch to advance in the tournament for the vacant Intercontinental Championship. [110]

It would be two years before Roman Reigns and Goldberg would have their originally scheduled match for the Universal Championship. Reigns made his return at the 2020 SummerSlam [108] and won the title at Payback. [111] Reigns remained champion for over the next year and into 2022. In February 2022, Goldberg confronted Reigns and set up a match between the two for the title at Elimination Chamber. [112] At the event, Reigns defeated Goldberg to retain the title. [113]

Further effects of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic had further effects on WWE following WrestleMania. Raw, SmackDown, 205 Live , and pay-per-views continued to be broadcast from the Performance Center until August before relocating to Orlando's Amway Center with a new virtual fan viewing experience called ThunderDome [114] —they then moved to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida [115] in December and then Yuengling Center in Tampa in April 2021. [116] Mid-year, 205 Live began doing their tapings in conjunction with NXT. Broadcasts of NXT were done from its home base of Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida until October when NXT was relocated to the Performance Center, rebranded as the Capitol Wrestling Center, NXT's version of the ThunderDome and an homage to WWE's predecessor, the Capitol Wrestling Corporation. [117] Furthermore, WWE released several talent due to budget cuts as a result of the pandemic. These included Hall of Famer Kurt Angle, Rusev, Drake Maverick, Zack Ryder, Curt Hawkins, Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows, Heath Slater, Eric Young, Rowan, Sarah Logan, No Way Jose, Mike Chioda, Mike Kanellis, Maria Kanellis, EC3, Aiden English, Lio Rush, The Colóns (Primo and Epico), [118] and Cain Velasquez, [119] and many other behind-the-scenes employees. However, following his loss in the final of the interim NXT Cruiserweight Championship tournament, Maverick re-signed with the company, [120] and it was reported that WWE had reached out to some of the other released talent, though for lower pay than their previous contracts. [121]

While WrestleMania 37 was initially announced for SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, [122] in October 2020, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that WWE would consider relocating the event to Raymond James Stadium in order to allow for in-person attendance at a reduced capacity, which was not possible under California's health orders; Florida lifted those restrictions in late-August 2020. [123] WWE officially announced the move on January 16, 2021, and it was the first WWE event to have ticketed fans in attendance during the pandemic with a limited capacity of 25,000 spectators for each night and with COVID-19 safety protocols in place. [124] [125] WWE then returned to live touring in mid-July. [126]

Results

Night 1 (April 4)
No.ResultsStipulationsTimes [75]
1P Cesaro defeated Drew Gulak by pinfall Singles match [127] 4:25
2 Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross defeated The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) (c) by pinfall Tag team match for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship [128] 15:05
3 Elias defeated King Corbin by pinfall Singles match [129] 9:00
4 Becky Lynch (c) defeated Shayna Baszler by pinfall Singles match for the WWE Raw Women's Championship [130] 8:30
5 Sami Zayn (c) (with Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura) defeated Daniel Bryan (with Drew Gulak) by pinfall Singles match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship [131] 9:20
6 John Morrison (c) defeated Jimmy Uso and Kofi Kingston [lower-alpha 4] Triple threat ladder match for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship [132] 18:30
7 Kevin Owens defeated Seth Rollins by pinfall No Disqualification match [lower-alpha 5] [133] 17:20
8 Braun Strowman defeated Goldberg (c) by pinfall Singles match for the WWE Universal Championship [134] 2:10
9 The Undertaker defeated AJ Styles (with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson) Boneyard match [135] 24:00
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match
P – the match was broadcast on the pre-show
Night 2 (April 5)
No.ResultsStipulationsTimes [77]
1P Liv Morgan defeated Natalya by pinfall Singles match [136] 6:25
2 Charlotte Flair defeated Rhea Ripley (c) by submission Singles match for the NXT Women's Championship [137] 20:30
3 Aleister Black defeated Bobby Lashley (with Lana) by pinfall Singles match [138] 7:20
4 Otis defeated Dolph Ziggler (with Sonya Deville) by pinfall Singles match [139] 8:15
5 Edge defeated Randy Orton Last Man Standing match [140] 36:55
6 The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) (c) defeated Angel Garza and Austin Theory (with Zelina Vega) by pinfall Tag team match for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship [141] 6:20
7 Bayley (c) defeated Sasha Banks, Lacey Evans, Naomi, and Tamina Fatal five-way elimination match for the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship [142] 19:20
8 "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt defeated John Cena Firefly Fun House match [143] 13:00
9 Drew McIntyre defeated Brock Lesnar (c) (with Paul Heyman) by pinfall Singles match for the WWE Championship [144] 4:35
10D Drew McIntyre (c) defeated Big Show by pinfall [lower-alpha 6] Singles match for the WWE Championship [145] 6:55 [146]
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match
P – the match was broadcast on the pre-show
D – this was a dark match

SmackDown Women's Championship Fatal 5-Way match eliminations

EliminatedWrestlerEliminated byMethodTimes [77]
1 Tamina Bayley, Naomi, Lacey Evans, and Sasha Banks Pinfall 6:35
2 Naomi Sasha Banks Submission 10:20
3 Sasha Banks Lacey Evans Pinfall 13:25
4 Lacey Evans Bayley 19:20
Winner Bayley (c)—

Notes

    1. ↑ This event was originally set to air live as a one-night event on April 5, 2020, before changing to a two-night event that aired on tape delay.
    2. ↑ Two matches were taped elsewhere; the Boneyard match was taped on location in the Orlando area, while the Firefly Fun House match was taped at Titan Towers in Stamford, Connecticut. The COVID-19 pandemic caused WWE to mandate no paying audience for the event at any of the locations. This event was originally set to be held at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
    3. ↑ The event was held without a live audience due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.
    4. ↑ This match was scheduled to be a tag team triple threat ladder match with six participants (The Miz and John Morrison, The Usos, and The New Day). Due to The Miz contracting an illness, he was removed from the card and the match was changed to a standard triple threat ladder match with one participant from each of the three teams. The wrestler who won the match was awarded the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship for their respective team.
    5. ↑ The match started as a standard singles match which Owens initially won via disqualification. The match was restarted as a No Disqualification match.
    6. ↑ The match was shown on the April 5, 2020, episode of Raw .

    Related Research Articles

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Brock Lesnar</span> American professional wrestler (born 1977)

    Brock Edward Lesnar is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, amateur wrestler, and professional American football player. As a professional wrestler, he is signed to WWE; however, he is currently on hiatus from active competition. Often regarded as one of the most prolific combat sport athletes in the world, Lesnar is the only person to have won the primary heavyweight championships of WWE, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), the Inoki Genome Federation (IGF), and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Randy Orton</span> American professional wrestler (born 1980)

    Randal Keith Orton is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Orton has the tied-third most world championship reigns in history, and a career spanning over 20 years.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Reigns</span> American professional wrestler (born 1985)

    Leati Joseph "Joe" Anoaʻi, better known by his ring name Roman Reigns, is an American professional wrestler and former football player. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE since 2010, and currently performs on the SmackDown brand. He is the former leader of The Bloodline stable and a member of the Anoaʻi family. Reigns's title reign of 1,316 days as Undisputed WWE Universal Heavyweight Champion was the fourth-longest world title reign in WWE history and the longest championship reign since 1988. He is widely regarded as one of the best professional wrestlers currently active in the world.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Bray Wyatt</span> American professional wrestler (1987–2023)

    Windham Lawrence Rotunda, better known by his ring name Bray Wyatt, was an American professional wrestler best known for his tenures in WWE from 2009 to 2021, and 2022 until his death in 2023.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">WrestleMania 33</span> 2017 WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event

    WrestleMania 33 was the 33rd annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on April 2, 2017, at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida, and was the third WrestleMania held at the state of Florida after XXIV and XXVIII. The New Day served as the hosts of the event. It was the first WrestleMania to feature Goldberg since WrestleMania XX.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">The Wyatt Family</span> Professional wrestling stable

    The Wyatt Family was an American professional wrestling stable in WWE originally composed of Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan, and Luke Harper.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">WrestleMania 31</span> 2015 WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event

    WrestleMania 31 was the 31st annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It took place on March 29, 2015, at Levi's Stadium in the San Francisco Bay Area city of Santa Clara, California.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">SummerSlam (2015)</span> WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event

    The 2015 SummerSlam was the 28th annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It took place on August 23, 2015, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York and would be the first of four consecutive SummerSlam events to take place at the arena. It was the first SummerSlam since 2008 to be held outside of Los Angeles as its Staples Center was the exclusive home for SummerSlam from 2009 to 2014. It was also the eighth SummerSlam to be held in the New York metropolitan area. The Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey was originally supposed to host SummerSlam, but due to its closure in April 2015, the event was relocated. It was also the first SummerSlam to be four hours in length, a length previously reserved only for WrestleMania. This was also the last SummerSlam held before the reintroduction of the brand extension in July 2016.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">WrestleMania 34</span> 2018 WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event

    WrestleMania 34 was the 34th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brand divisions. The event took place on April 8, 2018, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, and was the second WrestleMania held at this venue after XXX.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Rumble (2017)</span> WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event

    The 2017 Royal Rumble was the 30th annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on January 29, 2017, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. This was the second Royal Rumble to be held at this venue after the 1997 event, and the fourth to be held in the state of Texas, after the 1989, 1997, and 2007 events.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">WrestleMania 35</span> 2019 WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event

    WrestleMania 35 was the 35th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brand divisions. The event took place on April 7, 2019, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It included the first-ever women's main event match in WrestleMania history. It was also the first WrestleMania since WrestleMania 2000 to not feature The Undertaker. It was also the final WrestleMania to be held as a one-night event; the following year, WrestleMania was expanded to two nights.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Public image of Roman Reigns</span> Ascendency of American professional wrestler Roman Reigns

    Professional wrestler Roman Reigns is a focal point of extensive press coverage, with public attitudes towards him fluctuating at various points throughout his career.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Rumble (2018)</span> WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event

    The 2018 Royal Rumble was the 31st annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on January 28, 2018, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the third Royal Rumble held at this venue after the 2004 and 2015 events, and was the first to include a women's Royal Rumble match, and consequently, two Royal Rumble matches, which is now standard for the event.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">WrestleMania 37</span> 2021 WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event

    WrestleMania 37 was the 37th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event was held as a two-night event, taking place on April 10 and 11, 2021, at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. Following the merger of the WWE Network under Peacock in the United States in March 2021, WrestleMania 37 became the first major WWE event for which U.S. subscribers could only livestream the event via Peacock. WWE Hall of Famers Hulk Hogan and Titus O'Neil served as the hosts of the event.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Super Show-Down (2018)</span> WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event

    The 2018 Super Show-Down was the inaugural Super Show-Down professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brand divisions. The event took place on October 6, 2018, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and was WWE's first pay-per-view event held in the Australia.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Survivor Series (2019)</span> WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event

    The 2019 Survivor Series was the 33rd annual Survivor Series professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, and NXT brand divisions. The event took place on November 24, 2019, at the Allstate Arena in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Illinois, marking the second Survivor Series held here after the 1989 event when the arena was still known as the Rosemont Horizon. It was the first and only Survivor Series to include the NXT brand, the first since 2009 to feature three major brands, and the first and only to feature three-way Survivor Series elimination matches. The theme of the event was brand supremacy and featured wrestlers from the three brands against each other.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Rumble (2020)</span> WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event

    The 2020 Royal Rumble was the 33rd annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on January 26, 2020, at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Super ShowDown (2019)</span> WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event

    The 2019 Super ShowDown was the second annual Super ShowDown professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by the American company WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brand divisions. The event took place on June 7, 2019, at the King Abdullah Sports City's King Abdullah International Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It was the third event that WWE held in Saudi Arabia under a 10-year partnership in support of Saudi Vision 2030.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Elimination Chamber (2020)</span> WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event

    The 2020 Elimination Chamber was the 10th Elimination Chamber professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on March 8, 2020, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

    The Bloodline is a villainous professional wrestling stable that performs in WWE on the SmackDown brand. The team is led by Solo Sikoa and features The Tongans and Jacob Fatu. The name of the stable is in reference to the majority of the group being members of the Anoaʻi family of Samoan professional wrestlers.

    References

    1. 1 2 Johnson, Mike (March 21, 2020). "WWE taping updates". PWInsider. Archived from the original on March 22, 2020. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
    2. ↑ "WrestleMania 36". WWE . Archived from the original on March 21, 2020. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
    3. ↑ Benigno, Anthony; Clapp, John (April 3, 2013). "WrestleMania 29 press conference brings WWE to Radio City Music Hall". WWE . Archived from the original on April 7, 2013. Retrieved March 31, 2014. ... WWE's flagship event lights up MetLife Stadium ... WrestleMania
    4. ↑ Ian Hamilton, Wrestling's Sinking Ship: What Happens to an Industry Without Competition,p. 160
    5. ↑ "Forbes Fab 40 2017". Forbes . October 24, 2017. Archived from the original on December 4, 2017. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
    6. ↑ Gelston, Dan (April 4, 2013). "WrestleMania is Super Bowl of sports entertainment". Associated Press . Archived from the original on March 31, 2014. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
    7. ↑ Graser, Marc (March 28, 2010). "WrestleMania sets off bidding frenzy". Variety . Archived from the original on April 26, 2012. Retrieved February 9, 2011.
    8. ↑ Csonka, Larry (May 10, 2016). "Triple H Discusses NXT as a Third Brand, Putting Talent in a Position to Succeed, More". 411Mania . Archived from the original on May 11, 2016.
    9. 1 2 Maglio, Tony; Maas, Jennifer (March 18, 2020). "WWE Splits Audience-Free WrestleMania 36 Into Two Nights, Multiple Locations". TheWrap . Archived from the original on March 19, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
    10. ↑ "Unprecedented two-night WrestleMania to be hosted by Rob Gronkowski on WWE Network". WWE . March 17, 2020. Archived from the original on March 18, 2020. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
    11. ↑ Keller, Wade (April 2, 2017). "Keller's WrestleMania 33 Kickoff show 4/2: Renee hosts panel with HBK, Lawler, Booker, Kickoff Match results ongoing". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on April 6, 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
    12. ↑ Rivera, Joe (April 4, 2020). "How much does WrestleMania 36 cost? How to watch WWE Network for free & PPV price". Sporting News . Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
    13. ↑ Barrasso, Justin (April 3, 2020). "Behind the Scenes of a Bizarre 'WrestleMania 36'". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
    14. ↑ WWE.com Staff (March 7, 2019). "WWE and local dignitaries officially announce that WrestleMania 36 will take place in Tampa Bay in 2020". WWE . Archived from the original on March 8, 2019. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
    15. ↑ Campbell, Brian (March 7, 2019). "WrestleMania 36 location: WWE returns to Florida with 2020 show in Tampa Bay". CBSSports . Archived from the original on March 30, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
    16. ↑ Konuwa, Alfred (February 29, 2020). "WWE And The Wrestling World Brace Themselves For Coronavirus Outbreak". Forbes . Archived from the original on March 1, 2020. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
    17. ↑ "NBA to suspend season following Wednesday's games". NBA . March 11, 2020. Archived from the original on March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
    18. ↑ Michie, Kevin (March 12, 2020). "Fate of WWE's Wrestlemania 36 expected to be decided next week - Sportsnet.ca". Archived from the original on January 26, 2022. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
    19. ↑ Cridlin, Jay (February 27, 2020). "As Tampa's WrestleMania date nears, WWE watching coronavirus". Tampa Bay Times . Archived from the original on February 28, 2020. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
    20. ↑ Burch, Liz (March 10, 2020). "How coronavirus concerns are impacting Tampa Bay area events". WTSP . Tegna Inc. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
    21. ↑ Knight, Joey; Frago, Charlie (March 12, 2020). "WrestleMania 36 still on for now ... but stay tuned". Tampa Bay Times . Archived from the original on March 17, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
    22. ↑ Kasabian, Paul (March 14, 2020). "WrestleMania 36 at Risk of Being Canceled by Hillsborough County in Florida". Bleacher Report . Archived from the original on March 15, 2020. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
    23. ↑ Cascio, Josh (March 13, 2020). "WWE putting 'contingency plans' in place if Hillsborough County cancels WrestleMania 36". FOX13News.com . Fox Television Stations, LLC. Archived from the original on March 17, 2020. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
    24. ↑ Powell, Jason (March 16, 2020). "WrestleMania officially moved to the WWE Performance Center". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on March 17, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
    25. ↑ Jackson, Amanda (March 16, 2020). "WWE to hold WrestleMania without fans". CNN . Archived from the original on March 17, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
    26. ↑ "WWE statement regarding WrestleMania 36". WWE . March 16, 2020. Archived from the original on March 17, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
    27. 1 2 3 4 5 Szalai, Georg (April 6, 2020). "How WWE Pulled Off WrestleMania 36 Without Fans and What It Means for Its Business and Future". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on April 7, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
    28. ↑ "WWE selling 'I Wasn't There' shirts for WrestleMania 36". FOX 13 News. March 23, 2020. Archived from the original on April 3, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
    29. ↑ Hatchett, Keisha (April 2, 2020). "WWE's Triple H Explains What It's Like to Film WrestleMania Without the Fans". TV Guide . Archived from the original on April 4, 2020. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
    30. ↑ Ashish (April 6, 2020). "Backstage Details for WrestleMania 36 Boneyard Match: Improvised Lines, Accidental Blood, AJ Styles 'Hand' Idea, More". 411Mania . Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
    31. ↑ Alvarez, Bryan (April 6, 2020). "WOR: WrestleMania 36 Night Two, plus all the news!". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online . Archived from the original on April 7, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
    32. 1 2 ESPN (March 29, 2020). Triple H remembers his favorite WrestleMania moment, previews WrestleMania 36 – SportsCenter. YouTube. Archived from the original on April 1, 2020. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
    33. ↑ Satin, Ryan (March 19, 2020). "WWE Confirms WrestleMania 36 Will Not Feature Battle Royal Matches". Pro Wrestling Sheet . Archived from the original on March 20, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
    34. 1 2 Satin, Ryan (March 26, 2020). "Roman Reigns Out Of WrestleMania 36 Match". Pro Wrestling Sheet . Archived from the original on March 27, 2020. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
    35. 1 2 Satin, Ryan (March 30, 2020). "Roman Reigns Comments On Pulling Out Of WrestleMania 36 (Video)". TheSportster. Archived from the original on April 2, 2020. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
    36. ↑ Chiari, Mike (March 27, 2020). "WWE WrestleMania 36 Rumors: Braun Strowman Replacing Roman Reigns vs. Goldberg". Bleacher Report . Archived from the original on March 27, 2020. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
    37. 1 2 3 4 Brookhouse, Brent (April 3, 2020). "WWE SmackDown results, recap, grades: John Cena accepts challenge, major WrestleMania 36 change confirmed". CBSSports . Archived from the original on April 4, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
    38. 1 2 3 4 Keller, Wade (March 23, 2020). "3/23 WWE Raw Results: Keller's report on Heyman and Lesnar live in the Performance Center addressing McIntyre, Orton answers Edge, WrestleMania 36 hype". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on March 24, 2020. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
    39. 1 2 Pollock, John (March 27, 2020). "Another WWE performer off WrestleMania, identity of replacement". POST Wrestling. Archived from the original on March 27, 2020. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
    40. ↑ "SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Miz & John Morrison vs. The Usos vs. The New Day (Triple Threat Ladder Match)". WWE . March 27, 2020. Archived from the original on March 28, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
    41. ↑ Nason, Josh (March 27, 2020). "New WrestleMania 36 match, updates on Cesaro, Asuka & Murphy". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online . Archived from the original on March 27, 2020. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
    42. ↑ Powell, Jason (April 4, 2020). "WrestleMania 36 Smackdown Tag Title match officially changed". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
    43. ↑ Konawa, Alfred (March 27, 2020). "WWE's WrestleMania 36 Tapings Sound Like An Abject Disaster". Forbes . Archived from the original on March 27, 2020. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
    44. ↑ Grabianowski, Ed (January 13, 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
    45. ↑ "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE . Archived from the original on February 18, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
    46. ↑ Steinberg, Brian (May 25, 2016). "WWE's 'Smackdown' Will Move To Live Broadcast On USA (Exclusive)". Variety . Archived from the original on May 26, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
    47. ↑ Keller, Wade (January 6, 2020). "1/6 WWE Raw Results: Keller's report on return of Brock Lesnar, Lana-Lashley wedding fallout, Andrade vs. Rey for U.S. Title, Viking Raiders vs. O.C. vs. Street Profits". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on November 28, 2020. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
    48. 1 2 Keller, Wade (January 20, 2020). "1/20 WWE Raw Results: Keller's report on another pre-Rumble appearance by Lesnar, Lashley & Lana vs. Rusev & Liv, Andrade vs. Rey in a ladder match". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on November 28, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
    49. 1 2 3 4 5 Brookhouse, Brent; Silverstein, Adam (January 26, 2020). "2020 WWE Royal Rumble results, recap, grades, winners: Shocking return, A+ match lead epic show". CBSSports . Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
    50. 1 2 Keller, Wade (January 27, 2020). "1/27 WWE Raw Results: Keller's report on Royal Rumble fallout, Drew McIntyre's and Charlotte's celebrations, Liv Morgan vs. Lana". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on January 28, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
    51. 1 2 3 Brookhouse, Brent; Silverstein, Adam (February 27, 2020). "2020 WWE Super ShowDown results, recap, grades: Goldberg wins title in controversial end to show". CBSSports . Archived from the original on February 27, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
    52. 1 2 3 Keller, Wade (March 2, 2020). "3/2 WWE Raw Results: Keller's report on Super Showdown fallout, Lesnar turns attention to McIntyre, Beth Pheonix updates Edge condition, Aleister vs. Styles, Baszler vs. Asuka". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on April 22, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
    53. 1 2 3 4 Keller, Wade (March 8, 2020). "3/8 WWE Elimination Chamber PPV Report: Keller's report on Street Profits vs. Seth & Murphy, Andrade vs. Humberto, Bryan vs. Gulak, Men's Tag and Women's Singles Chamber matches". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on March 17, 2020. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
    54. 1 2 3 Keller, Wade (March 9, 2020). "3/9 WWE Raw Results: Keller's report on Extreme Rules fallout, Edge appears after Orton attacked his wife last week, Rey vs. Garza, Drew wrestles". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on December 6, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
    55. 1 2 3 Keller, Wade (March 16, 2020). "3/16 WWE Raw Results: Keller's report on "Stone Cold" Steve Austin in fan-free setting, A.J. Styles-Undertaker contract signing for WrestleMania, Edge live in-ring interview". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on March 17, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
    56. ↑ Keller, Wade (March 30, 2020). "3/30 WWE Raw Results: Keller's report on final week of WrestleMania build, Brock Lesnar, Becky Lynch, Undertaker, Edge". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on April 1, 2020. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
    57. 1 2 Keller, Wade (February 28, 2020). "2/28 WWE SmackDown Report: Keller's report on John Cena's hyped appearance, fallout from Goldberg's Universal Title win at Super Showdown, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on February 29, 2020. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
    58. ↑ Keller, Wade (February 3, 2020). "2/3 WWE Raw Results: Keller's report on Randy Orton's explanation, Rollins vs. Ricochet vs. Lashley for title shot in Saudi Arabia, Liv Morgan vs. Lana". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on February 4, 2020. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
    59. ↑ Wells, Kelly (February 5, 2020). "2/5 NXT on USA Report: Wells's report on Charlotte appearance, Ripley and Bianca face-to-face, Cruiserweight Champion Jordan Devlin". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on February 6, 2020. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
    60. 1 2 3 Keller, Wade (February 10, 2020). "2/10 WWE Raw Results: Keller's report on Lynch vs. Asuka in rematch, big tag match, Super Showdown hype". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on November 29, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
    61. ↑ Wells, Kelly (February 16, 2020). "NXT TakeOver Portland Report 2/16: Live results and match analysis for Cole vs. Ciampa, Ripley vs. Belair, Kai vs. Nox Street Fight, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on August 15, 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
    62. 1 2 3 Campbell, Brian (November 24, 2019). "2019 WWE Survivor Series results, recap, grades: NXT dominates, title matches excite on fun show". CBSSports . Archived from the original on November 25, 2019. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
    63. ↑ Wells, Kelly (December 18, 2019). "12/18 NXT on USA Report: Wells's report on stacked show including Ripley vs. Baszler for Women's Championship, Cole vs. Balor for NXT Championship". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on November 28, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
    64. 1 2 Brookhouse, Brent (March 27, 2020). "WWE SmackDown results, recap, grades: Bray Wyatt issues a new challenge, more WrestleMania 36 changes". CBSSports . Archived from the original on April 1, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
    65. ↑ Keller, Wade (February 17, 2020). "2/17 WWE Raw Results: Keller's report on Orton vs. Hardy, Rusev & Carillo vs. Lashley & Garza, Seth's Sermon, Baszler Bite Fallout". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on February 18, 2020. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
    66. ↑ Keller, Wade (November 25, 2019). "11/25 WWE Raw Results: Keller's report on Survivor Series fallout, Charlotte vs. Asuka, Styles vs. Carrillo, Seth vs. Owens". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
    67. ↑ "Raw: Seth Rollins calls out the RAW roster after a poor Survivor Series". Canoe.com . November 25, 2019. Archived from the original on November 28, 2019. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
    68. ↑ Keller, Wade (December 9, 2019). "12/9 WWE Raw Results: Keller's report on Rey Mysterio vs. A.J. Styles, Rusev-Lana divorce proceeding, final Raw TLC hype". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on December 10, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
    69. ↑ Keller, Wade (February 14, 2020). "2/14 WWE SmackDown Report: Keller's report on Otis and Mandy's Valentine's Day Date, Mystery Partner & Reigns vs. Miz & Morrison". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on March 14, 2020. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
    70. 1 2 Keller, Wade (March 6, 2020). "3/6 WWE SmackDown Report: Keller's report on Firefly Funhouse on John Cena, Lacey & Naomi vs. Sasha & Bayley, NWO on A Moment of Bliss, Tag Gauntlet". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on December 5, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
    71. 1 2 Brookhouse, Brent (March 20, 2020). "WWE SmackDown results, recap, grades: Rob Gronkowski appears, universal title contract signing". CBSSports . Archived from the original on March 21, 2020. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
    72. ↑ Keller, Wade (March 13, 2020). "3/13 WWE SmackDown Report: Keller's coverage of empty arena event at Performance Center featuring John Cena, Roman Reigns, Jeff Hardy, plus Bayley & Sasha vs. Bliss & Cross, Bryan vs. Cesaro". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on April 29, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
    73. 1 2 Rendon102 (April 3, 2020). "En Wrestlemania 36 se dará otro hecho histórico respecto a las narraciones". Super Luchas (in Spanish). Archived from the original on April 7, 2020. Retrieved April 5, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
    74. ↑ Powell, Jason (April 4, 2020). "WrestleMania 36 Kickoff Show results: Powell's live review of the night one pre-show featuring Drew Gulak vs. Cesaro". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
    75. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Powell, Jason (April 4, 2020). "WrestleMania 36 results: Powell's live review of night one featuring Goldberg vs. Braun Strowman for the WWE Universal Championship, Undertaker vs. AJ Styles in a Boneyard match, Becky Lynch vs. Shayna Baszler for the Raw Women's Championship, Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
    76. ↑ Powell, Jason (April 5, 2020). "WrestleMania 36 Kickoff Show results: Powell's live review of the Night Two pre-show featuring Liv Morgan defeated Natalya". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
    77. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Powell, Jason (April 5, 2020). "WrestleMania 36 results: Powell's live review of Night Two featuring Brock Lesnar vs. Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship, John Cena vs. "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt in a Firefly Funhouse match, Edge vs. Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing match, Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair for the NXT Women's Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
    78. 1 2 Brookhouse, Brent (April 6, 2020). "WWE WrestleMania 36 results: Firefly FunHouse, Boneyard matches lead best moments from surreal 2020 show". CBSSports . Archived from the original on April 7, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
    79. ↑ "WrestleMania 36: McIntyre stops Lesnar, Gronk wins 24/7 title". ESPN . April 5, 2020. Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
    80. ↑ WWE WrestleMania [@WrestleMania] (April 6, 2020). "Your hidden #WrestleMania main event has been unlocked. #WWERaw @WWETheBigShow @DMcIntyreWWE" (Tweet). Archived from the original on April 7, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2020– via Twitter.
    81. 1 2 3 4 5 Brookhouse, Brent (April 6, 2020). "WWE Raw results, recap, grades: Surprise WWE title match, debuts and returns after WrestleMania 36". CBSSports . Archived from the original on April 7, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
    82. 1 2 Bixenspan, David (April 6, 2020). "WrestleMania Still Happened Last Weekend. Without Fans. It Was Weird". Slate . Archived from the original on April 8, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
    83. ↑ Al-Ghamdi, Abdullah (April 5, 2020). "Wrestlemania 36 Without An Audience Is A Surreal Mess According to Fans". Screen Rant . Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
    84. ↑ Colbrun, Randall (April 6, 2020). "The Weirdest Wrestlemania of All Time at Least Figured Out How to Use Its Legends". The A.V. Club . Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
    85. ↑ Mango, Anthony (April 5, 2020). "WWE WrestleMania 36 Results: Reviewing Top Highlights and Low Points of Day 1". Bleacher Report . Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
    86. ↑ Mango, Anthony (April 6, 2020). "WWE WrestleMania 36 Results: Reviewing Top Highlights and Low Points of Day 2". Bleacher Report . Archived from the original on April 8, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
    87. ↑ Rill, Jake (April 6, 2020). "WWE WrestleMania 36 Results: Star Ratings for All Matches from Full Show". Bleacher Report . Archived from the original on April 7, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
    88. ↑ WWE.com Staff (April 7, 2020). "WrestleMania 36 shatters more records". WWE . Archived from the original on April 7, 2020.
    89. ↑ Casey, Connor (April 7, 2020). "WWE WrestleMania 36's Viewership Smashed Records". ComicBook.com . Archived from the original on April 8, 2020.
    90. ↑ Shook, Nick (April 21, 2020). "Patriots trade TE Rob Gronkowski to Buccaneers". NFL . Archived from the original on April 22, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
    91. ↑ Harris, Jeffrey (June 2, 2020). "Rob Gronkowski Reportedly Exercised Release Clause for WWE Contract". 411Mania . Archived from the original on June 10, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
    92. ↑ Hussain, Humza (June 21, 2020). "The Undertaker Announces Retirement From WWE". Screen Rant . Archived from the original on June 25, 2020. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
    93. ↑ Brookhouse, Brent (November 22, 2020). "2020 WWE Survivor Series results, recap, grades: Undertaker bids farewell, Roman Reigns-Drew McIntyre delivers". CBSSports . Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
    94. 1 2 Brookhouse, Brent (April 13, 2020). "WWE Raw results, recap, grades: Seth Rollins stomps Drew McIntyre, strong new group forms". CBSSports . Archived from the original on April 14, 2020. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
    95. ↑ Wells, Kelly (May 6, 2020). "5/6 NXT on USA Report: Wells's report on Charlotte vs. Io Shirai, Adam Cole vs. Velveteen Dream, Dijakovic vs. Gargano, Kross debuts". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on May 10, 2020. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
    96. ↑ Tedesco, Mike (May 22, 2020). "NXT Women's Championship match announced for TakeOver: In Your House, updated card". WrestleView. Archived from the original on June 7, 2020. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
    97. ↑ Keller, Wade (April 20, 2020). "4/20 WWE Raw Results: Keller's report on Drew McIntyre's response to Seth Rollins attack, Rey Mysterio vs. Murphy, Aleister vs. Austin Theory, MVP vs. Apollo Crews". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on April 22, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
    98. ↑ Brookhouse, Brent (May 11, 2020). "WWE Raw results, recap, grades: Becky Lynch's big news, Seth Rollins' brutality highlight great show". CBSSports . Archived from the original on May 20, 2020. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
    99. ↑ Brookhouse, Brent (May 18, 2020). "WWE Raw results, recap, grades: Seth Rollins recruits new disciple, Kevin Owens among returns". CBSSports . Archived from the original on May 26, 2020. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
    100. ↑ Keller, Wade (June 14, 2020). "6/14 WWE Backlash PPV Results: Keller's report on McIntyre vs. Lashley, Edge vs. Orton in the Greatest Wrestling Match Ever, Hardy vs. Sheamus, Strowman vs. Miz & Morrison, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
    101. ↑ Keller, Wade (January 31, 2021). "WWE Royal Rumble results 1/31: Keller's report on Reigns vs. Owens, McIntyre vs. Goldberg, Men's Rumble, Women's Rumble". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on February 16, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
    102. ↑ Keller, Wade (February 1, 2021). "2/1 WWE Monday Night Raw Results: Keller's report on Royal Rumble fallout, what's next for McIntyre and Asuka as champions, Road to Elimination Chamber". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on February 11, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
    103. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Keller, Wade (April 10, 2020). "4/10 WWE SmackDown Report: Keller's coverage of WrestleMania fallout, Braun Strowman celebrates beating Goldberg, will Roman Reigns even be mentioned, Asuka & Sane vs. Cross & Bliss". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on April 11, 2020. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
    104. 1 2 3 4 5 Keller, Wade (April 17, 2020). "4/17 WWE SmackDown Report: Keller's coverage of Naomi vs. Dana Brooke, Daniel Bryan vs. Cesaro in MITB qualifiers, Triple Threat for SD Tag Titles". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on April 19, 2020. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
    105. ↑ Keller, Wade (April 24, 2020). "4/24 WWE SmackDown Report: Keller's report on Triple H 25th Anniversary Celebration, more Money in the Bank qualifiers, Bliss & Cross vs. Carmella & Brooke". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on April 26, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
    106. 1 2 Crosby, Jack (May 1, 2020). "WWE SmackDown results, recap, grades: Two Money in the Bank slots filled, Bray Wyatt tells a story". CBSSports . Archived from the original on May 2, 2020. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
    107. 1 2 Brookhouse, Brent (May 8, 2020). "WWE SmackDown results, recap, grades: Braun Strowman, Bray Wyatt meet ahead of Money in the Bank match". CBSSports . Archived from the original on May 9, 2020. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
    108. 1 2 Brookhouse, Brent; Silverstein, Adam (August 24, 2020). "2020 WWE SummerSlam results, recap, grades: Roman Reigns' shocking return caps show with big title changes". CBSSports . Archived from the original on July 26, 2021. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
    109. ↑ Keller, Wade (May 10, 2020). "5/10 WWE Money in the Bank PPV Results: Keller's report on Men's and Women's MITB Corporate Ladder matches, Drew vs. Seth, Braun vs. Bray, Bayley vs. Tamina". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on May 16, 2020. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
    110. ↑ Keller, Wade (May 15, 2020). "5/15 WWE SmackDown Results: Keller's report on Otis on Miz TV, Charlotte pays a visit, news on vacated Intercontinental Title, tournament begins, Otis and a mystery partner, Sonya and Bryan shine on mic". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on May 16, 2020. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
    111. ↑ Brookhouse, Brent; Silverstein, Adam (August 30, 2020). "2020 WWE Payback results, recap, grades: Roman Reigns' shocking title win highlights best PPV of the year". CBSSports . Archived from the original on September 27, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
    112. ↑ Brookhouse, Brent (February 4, 2022). "WWE SmackDown results, recap, grades: Goldberg challenges Roman Reigns to title match at Elimination Chamber". CBSSports . Archived from the original on February 5, 2022. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
    113. ↑ Keller, Wade (February 19, 2022). "2/19 WWE Elimination Chamber Report: Keller's report on Reigns vs. Goldberg, Lynch vs. Lita, Rousey & Naomi vs. Charlotte & Deville, Chamber matches, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on February 19, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
    114. ↑ Lambert, Jeremy (August 17, 2020). "WWE Announces ThunderDome Arena; Enhanced Fan Experience, Residency At Amway Center; First Look Video Shown". Fightful. Archived from the original on September 21, 2020. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
    115. ↑ Lambert, Jeremy (November 19, 2020). "WWE ThunderDome Moving To Tropicana Field On December 11". Fightful. Archived from the original on November 19, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
    116. ↑ Defelice, Robert (March 24, 2021). "WWE ThunderDome Officially Moving To The Yuengling Center Beginning With The Raw After WrestleMania". Fightful. Archived from the original on March 24, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
    117. ↑ Defelice, Robert (October 4, 2020). "NXT TakeOver 31 To Feature The Debut Of The Capitol Wrestling Center". Fightful. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
    118. ↑ WWE.com Staff (April 15, 2020). "Kurt Angle, Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows and other Superstars released". WWE . Archived from the original on April 15, 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
    119. ↑ Rose, Bryan (April 28, 2020). "Cain Velasquez released by WWE". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online . Archived from the original on May 3, 2020. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
    120. ↑ Wells, Kelly (June 3, 2020). "6/3 NXT on USA Report: Wells's report on Fantasma vs. Maverick for Cruiserweight Championship, Mia Yim vs. Candice LeRae, final In Your House hype". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on June 4, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
    121. ↑ McMahon, Mike (June 3, 2020). "Wednesday news: WWE addresses diversity, AEW announces Fyter Fest, IMPACT pulls talent from upcoming video game". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on June 4, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
    122. ↑ Brookhouse, Brent (February 10, 2020). "WrestleMania 37 location: WWE returns to California with 2021 show in Los Angeles". CBSSports . Archived from the original on February 11, 2020. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
    123. ↑ Nason, Josh (October 2, 2020). "WWE bringing WrestleMania back to Tampa's Raymond James Stadium". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online . Archived from the original on October 5, 2020. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
    124. ↑ Otterson, Joe (January 17, 2021). "WWE Moves WrestleMania 37 to Tampa Bay, Sets Dallas and LA for 38, 39". Variety . Archived from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
    125. ↑ Brookhouse, Brent (March 17, 2021). "2021 WWE WrestleMania 37 tickets: Capacity set at 25,000 fans for each night of show at Raymond James Stadium". CBSSports . Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
    126. ↑ Otterson, Joe (May 21, 2021). "WWE to Return to Live Touring in July". Variety . Archived from the original on May 21, 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
    127. ↑ Powers, Kevin (April 4, 2020). "Cesaro def. Drew Gulak (Kickoff Match)". WWE . Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
    128. ↑ Garretson, Jordan (April 4, 2020). "Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross def. The Kabuki Warriors to become the new WWE Women's Tag Team Champions". WWE . Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
    129. ↑ Melok, Bobby (April 4, 2020). "Elias def. King Corbin". WWE . Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
    130. ↑ Powers, Kevin (April 4, 2020). "Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch def. Shayna Baszler". WWE . Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
    131. ↑ Melok, Bobby (April 4, 2020). "Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn def. Daniel Bryan". WWE . Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
    132. ↑ Garretson, Jordan (April 4, 2020). "SmackDown Tag Team Champion John Morrison def. Kofi Kingston and Jimmy Uso in a Triple Threat Ladder Match". WWE . Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
    133. ↑ Powers, Kevin (April 4, 2020). "Kevin Owens def. Seth Rollins in a No Disqualification Match". WWE . Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
    134. ↑ Melok, Bobby (April 4, 2020). "Braun Strowman def. Goldberg to become the new Universal Champion". WWE . Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
    135. ↑ Garretson, Jordan (April 4, 2020). "The Undertaker def. AJ Styles in a Boneyard Match". WWE . Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
    136. ↑ Clapp, John (April 5, 2020). "Liv Morgan def. Natalya (Kickoff Match)". WWE . Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
    137. ↑ Benigno, Anthony (April 5, 2020). "Charlotte Flair def. Rhea Ripley to become the new NXT Women's Champion". WWE . Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
    138. ↑ Laboon, Jeff (April 5, 2020). "Aleister Black def. Bobby Lashley". WWE . Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
    139. ↑ Clapp, John (April 5, 2020). "Otis def. Dolph Ziggler". WWE . Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
    140. ↑ Benigno, Anthony (April 5, 2020). "Edge def. Randy Orton (Last Man Standing Match)". WWE . Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
    141. ↑ Laboon, Jeff (April 5, 2020). "Raw Tag Team Champions The Street Profits def. Angel Garza & Austin Theory". WWE . Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
    142. ↑ Benigno, Anthony (April 5, 2020). "SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley def. Sasha Banks, Naomi, Lacey Evans and Tamina (Fatal 5-Way Elimination Match)". WWE . Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
    143. ↑ Clapp, John (April 5, 2020). ""The Fiend" Bray Wyatt def. John Cena in a Firefly Fun House Match". WWE . Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
    144. ↑ Benigno, Anthony (April 5, 2020). "Drew McIntyre def. Brock Lesnar to become the new WWE Champion". WWE . Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
    145. ↑ Benigno, Anthony (April 6, 2020). "WWE Champion Drew McIntyre def. Brock Lesnar". WWE . Archived from the original on April 7, 2020. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
    146. ↑ Powell, Jason (April 6, 2020). "4/6 WWE Raw Results: Powell's live review of the night after WrestleMania 36 edition featuring new WWE Champion Drew McIntyre, what's next for Edge, Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch, and Shayna Baszler". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on April 7, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
    This page is based on this Wikipedia article
    Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
    Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.