From the spectacular “Boneyard Match” on Night 1 to the crowning of Drew McIntyre as new WWE Champion on the second night, here’s a look back at the best of WrestleMania 36.
1) The Boneyard Match was an instant classic
“What in the hell is a Boneyard Match?”
That was the question me, you, and everyone else was asking heading into WrestleMania. I assumed that it was just a term Vince McMahon preferred over graveyard or cemetery.
Whatever we thought a Boneyard Match might be, we all got more than we ever could have hoped for. Wow. Wow, wow, wow. The match will go down as a WrestleMania classic.
If the mystique of The Undertaker has been lost over the past few WrestleMania’s, I feel like this WrestleMania reinvigorated his legend status. This was an example of how to utilize ‘Taker in a way that doesn’t expose his age or declining ring quality. It was also amazing to see the return of Biker ‘Taker, or the “American Bad Ass.”
Undertaker was just all kinds awesome in this match.
Meanwhile, AJ Styles should be commended as well. Styles will always be known as an exceptional in-ring talent, but this match showcased that his talent web is wider than perhaps WWE audiences originally thought. He was fantastic playing the role of a smarmy heel.
Kudos to everyone involved.
2) The Firefly Fun House Match? Also an instant classic
“What in the hell is a Firefly Fun House match?”
It turns out, it wasn’t even a match!
This was so well produced, once again, by WWE. Up against the wall creatively inside a training facility with no fans, WWE flexed their industry-leading production muscle to produce another hit with the Firefly Fun House match.
Bray Wyatt and John Cena played their parts incredibly well, and I’m positive that each wrestler had a large hand in how the match was produced and played out. The way the “match” told the story of Cena’s career, and the challenges he’s faced, was incredible. It was a brilliant deconstruction of Cena’s career, and a twisted and unique way for Wyatt to get in the head Cena.
It included plays on Cena’s first “ruthless aggression” appearance in WWE, his time spent as the Doctor of Thugonomics, a portrayal of Hollywood Hulk Hogan with Bray playing Eric Bischoff, and more.
If you haven’t watched this match, I can’t recommend it enough. If you watched it already, go and watch it again. It was awesome.
3) Edge is back
It was so amazing to see Edge back at WrestleMania.
It definitely wasn’t what he or anyone else had in mind when he re-debuted at the Royal Rumble this year, but the impact was still strong. Edge and Randy Orton battled in Last Man Standing match, with Edge eventually securing victory thanks to a conchairto.
It was a long, drawn out, emotional match that saw Edge take some pretty serious bumps en route to the win. If folks were wondering whether he would be able to take some extra punishment following his nine-year retirement due to neck surgery their questions were quickly answered.
Edge looked great, and it feels as though he could continue wrestling now for as long as he wants. The native of Orangeville, Ont., has said he wants to go out on his terms, and now appears to have the power to do so.
4) New Era of Champions
We entered WrestleMania with a WWE Champion and Universal Champion who wrestled each other at WrestleMania in 2004. We left WrestleMania 36 with two brand new champions, both securing their first major title within WWE.
Drew McIntyre is your new WWE Champion after defeating Brock Lesnar, while Braun Strowman is your new Universal Champion after defeating Goldberg. The matches were nearly identical in terms of moveset and length. The former champions delivered several of their finishing moves right away, which didn’t work. The new champions responded by delivering several finishing maneuvers of their own, which did work. Et voila, new champions on both the Raw and SmackDown brands.
It’s a shame though that both men didn’t get the chance to be celebrated in front of 70,000-plus screaming fans.
5) Canada comes out on top at ‘Mania
Well, Natalya lost in a pre-show match on Night 2, but we won’t count that.
Quebec natives Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens were both victorious in their matches at WrestleMania 36. Montreal’s Sami Zayn successfully defended his Intercontinental Championship against Daniel Bryan, while Marieville’s Kevin Owens took out Seth Rollins.
Owens can take credit for best bump of the weekend inside the Performance Center, with his leap off the top of the WrestleMania sign and through the announce table. It’s the kind of spectacle that will go into Owens’ career highlight reel, living on years down the line.
Zayn’s match was quite a bit different, where he took an absolute beating at the hands of Bryan, before catching the former WWE Champion with a Helluva Kick to secure the win. Sami played his role as heel brilliantly, managing to hold on to his championship.
Victories for Canada!
6) Charlotte is the star of the women’s division
Of the three women’s matches on the WrestleMania 36 card, the NXT Women’s Championship match between Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley stood out.
Becky Lynch has been riding a wave of momentum for over a year now, and has been a dominant Raw Women’s Champion, but her spark isn’t as bright as it was a year ago. Her match with Shayna Baszler on Night 1 was fine, but nothing spectacular.
Bayley retained her SmackDown Women’s Championship in a fatal-five way in a match that was also good, but missing anything noteworthy.
Flair, meanwhile, once again reminded everyone why she is the best women’s wrestler on the roster, by claiming the NXT Women’s Championship in a really good match against former champion Ripley.
Ripley, just 23 years old, also exhibited a showcase for her future potential, not looking out of place whatsoever amongst WWE’s best. Ripley is the future of the women’s division, while Flair is the here and now.
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7) WrestleMania was a fantastic distraction
Stepping away from match dissection and character analysis, WWE provided wrestling and non-wrestling fans alike with a great piece of distraction this weekend.
With all the uncertainty around the world right now, WWE was still able to provide two nights of entertainment that they did not have to do. They could have very easily said no to this production and instead moved it later down the line, and perhaps that would have been the more responsible thing to do. However, WWE’s “show must go on” motto rose to the top, and the sports entertainment giant gave us two nights of great wrestling action.
Whether you did or didn’t like the Firefly Fun House, or if you weren’t happy with how a match played out, it all really feels insignificant in relation to the uncertainty we’re all facing right now. Therefore, I say thank you to WWE, and thank you to everyone who participated in making WrestleMania 36 happen.
