Sports have been in a bit of a standstill of late, with the NBA, NHL, and NFL halting their seasons. However, the interesting stories come from the many unique ways that each federation is finding ways to entertain their fans. NBA players started to compete against each other in NBA 2K20, with Nascar following the same technic. As for the WWE, instead of finding alternative, they taped their largest event Wrestlemania 36 a week in advance and split the showing over the weekend with the first four hours on Saturday and the rest on Sunday. The result is one of a unique wrestling experience that WWE has delivered in years.
Most Wrestling fans have a love/hate relationship with Wrestlemania. On the one hand, Wrestlemania is the biggest event of the year, with thousands of fans gathering to watch a true spectacle. On the other hand, the events are usually mixed with a pair of good matches and a pair of bad matches. The biggest hindrance to the show (speaking from experience) is that the show is extremely long clocking in at 7 to 8 hours. This year was meant to be no different with the event originally taking place in Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. However, do to the current Coronavirus pandemic there was doubt if the event was going to go through at all.
As a compromise, WWE taped their event a week in advance in their performance center. The show was shot in an empty arena with only essential personnel. The show was hosted by Rob Gronkowski, along with his partner Mojo Rawley. It was fun to see everyone perform with the idea that there is an audience, but as we will see some matches benefited while others did not.
For night one the event started with the first surprise of the night as Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross defeated The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) for the Women’s Tag Team Championship. Both teams had great chemistry and while is disappointing that The Kabuki Warriors lost their titles, it is a feel-good moment for Alexa Bliss and Niki Cross.
Elias defeated King Corbin in the first misfire of the night because this match is not a match that wouldn’t even main event on a regular episode of Raw.
Becky Lynch retained her title by defeating Shayna Baszler. It says a lot about Becky’s role when she main event the show last year to win the title, now she has the second shortest match of the night. This match didn’t help anyone and in fact it made Shayna look weak, confirming reports that Vince Mcmahon was not behind her.
Sami Zayn retained his tittle in a fun match against Daniel Bryan.
John Morrison retained the tag titles in a triple threat latter match against Jimmy Uso and Kofi Kingston. This was the first math that was able to pull off all of its tricks thanks to the power of editing. With the finish possible with a few camera cuts.
Kevin Owen defeated Seth Rollins putting on the best match of the night.
FTW Staff
What was originally booked as Roman Reign vs Goldberg. After backing out do to health concerns, Braun Strowman became a last minute replacer. The match was short (standard for Goldberg’s abilities) clocking in at two minutes and ten seconds. Braun defeated Goldberg, however the real question is what was the original plan, was Goldberg always meant to lose the title?
Finally, wrapping up night 1, AJ Styles vs. The Undertaker in a Boneyard match. The match was pre-recorded on a graveyard stage. This isn’t the first time WWE showed a match that was recorded in advance, but what this match benefited from was that fans did not need to watch it in the stadium. Usually, all the fans would stare at the titantron as the match would play. Knowing that everyone watching the match at home, give the match the ability to be as long and as over the top as possible. The match felt like you were watching a cheesy TV show, with all the twist and turn you would expect. Despite this, Undertaker vs. AJ Styles delivered one of the best matches in the whole show.
Night 2 started with Charlotte Flair delivering one of her best matches defeating Rhea Ripley for the NXT Women’s belt.
Aleister Black defeated Bobby Lashley.
Otis defeated Dolph Ziggler in a match that needed an audience, simply for Otis to get the hero pop he deserved.
Edge vs. Randy Orton was the longest match on the whole night as the two fought in a last man standing match for half an hour. The two spend most of the match hitting each other with weapons while walking around the Performance Center. The opening and finish of the match were the highlights, but what dragged the match was everything else. Without fans, there is no way of knowing whether or not this was a good or bad match.
The Street Profit defeated Angle Garza and Austin Theory with a surprise debut from Bianca Belair.
Bayley defeated four other superstars in a fatal 5-way elimination match to retain her championship.
The second match to be shot in another set was John Cena vs Bray Wyatt. The delivered a strange homage to the career of John Cena. Referencing his past as the Prototype, all the way to his battle with Bray Wyatt. There are so many reference and fun Easter eggs for wrestling fans that this is a can’t miss match.
Unlike night one the final match was for the WWE Championship, as Drew McIntyre defeated Brock Lesnar. While not the most entertainment match, it is always a treat to watch someone defeat Brock Lesnar.
Overall WWE managed to deliver a fun event in the mist of hard time. While events moving the way they are it is not clear if we will see another episode of Raw, or another PPV. It is great to see that despite the uncertainty this show at least left a smile in everyone’s face.