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WrestleMania 36

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WrestleMania 36
WrestleMania 2020 Poster.jpg
PromotionWWE
Brand(s)Raw
SmackDown
NXT
DateApril 5, 2020
CityOrlando, Florida
VenueWWE Performance Center
Attendance0[Note 1]
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WrestleMania 36 is the upcoming 36th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and WWE Network event produced by WWE for their Raw, SmackDown, and NXT brand divisions—the first to promote the NXT brand. It is scheduled to take place on April 5, 2020, at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida with only essential personnel in attendance; it was originally scheduled to take place at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, but was moved due to the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic. It will be the first WWE pay-per-view unattended by fans.[1][2][3][4][5]

Production

Background

WrestleMania is considered WWE's flagship event, having first been held in 1985. It is the longest-running professional wrestling event in history and is held annually between mid-March to mid-April.[6] It was the first of WWE's original four pay-per-views, which includes Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, dubbed the "Big Four".[7] WrestleMania is ranked the sixth most valuable sports brand in the world by Forbes,[8] and has been described as the Super Bowl of sports entertainment.[9] WrestleMania 36 will be the third WrestleMania to be held in the city of Orlando, and the fourth to be held in the state of Florida (after XXIV and 33 also in Orlando, and XXVIII in Miami Gardens). The event will feature wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brand divisions, as well as NXT—although some NXT wrestlers have appeared in WrestleMania's annual battle royals, this will be the first WrestleMania to promote the brand, following NXT becoming one of WWE's three major brands in September 2019.[10]

The event was originally to take place at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. Following the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic, other wrestling promotions began to cancel some of their shows in an attempt to prevent further spreading of the COVID-19 virus.[11] In speaking with the Tampa Bay Times regarding how this outbreak could affect WrestleMania 36, WWE's Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon said "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.[12][13] 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.[14] 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.[15] WWE then stated that they had a contingency plan ready in case the event was canceled.[16] On March 16, WWE announced that the event would be held at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando with only essential personnel in attendance, as with all other WWE weekly programs during this pandemic.[17]

Storylines

The event will include matches that result from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portray heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results are predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw, SmackDown, and NXT brands,[18][19] while storylines are produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw, Friday Night SmackDown, and NXT.[20]

Feeling as though no one 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.[21][22] 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.[23] The next night on Raw, McIntyre announced that he would challenge Lesnar for the WWE Championship at the event.[24] At Super ShowDown, Lesnar retained the title in his scheduled match, keeping him as the defending champion against McIntyre at WrestleMania.[25]

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.[23] On the February 3 episode of Raw, Flair said 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 said that Flair should challenge her as she had beaten Flair, but Flair had never defeated her.[26] Flair continued to delay giving an answer until after Ripley had defended her title at TakeOver: Portland on February 16.[27][28] 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 the Rumble winner chose an NXT championship to challenge for with the title itself being the first NXT championship to be defended at the event.[29]

Prior to Survivor Series, a rivalry began between NXT's Shayna Baszler and Raw's Becky Lynch. At the event, Baszler won the non-title brand supremacy triple threat match between the three brands' women's champions by submitting SmackDown's champion. Following the match, an irate Lynch attacked Baszler and put her through an announce table.[30] After losing the NXT Women's Championship,[31] Baszler appeared as the thirtieth entrant in the women's Royal Rumble match, finishing as the runner up.[23] Following Lynch's title defense on the February 10 episode of Raw, Baszler attacked Lynch and viciously bit the back of her neck, thus reigniting their feud.[28] 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.[32]

After winning SmackDown's Universal Championship at Super ShowDown,[25] 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 the challenge. The match was then scheduled for WrestleMania.[33]

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, he said 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, being a rematch from WrestleMania XXX in 2014.[33]

At Super ShowDown, AJ Styles was a participant in a gauntlet match for the Tuwaiq Trophy. Final participant Rey Mysterio was ambushed backstage by Styles' O.C. teammates Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, prompting Styles to declare himself winner by forfeit. The referee, however, gave Mysterio until the count of ten. During the count, 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.[25] On the following Raw, a disgruntled Styles mocked Undertaker for still wrestling and issued a warning.[34] The Undertaker then appeared at Elimination Chamber and cost Styles his match.[32] The following night on Raw, Styles goaded Undertaker by bringing up his wife Michelle McCool, blaming her for why Undertaker keeps coming back to wrestle. Styles then challenged Undertaker to a match at WrestleMania.[35] A contract signing for the match was conducted the following week.[36]

After being forced to retire in 2011 due to a severe neck injury, WWE Hall of Famer Edge returned at 2020's Royal Rumble event during the namesake match, where he had a brief reunion with Randy Orton; Edge eliminated Orton before his own elimination.[23] On the following Raw, Edge explained how he was able to make his return. Orton then welcomed Edge back and suggested reforming their tag team, Rated-RKO, but turned on Edge and performed an RKO on him. After attacking Edge's neck with a chair, Orton smashed Edge's head between two chairs in a maneuver known as the "Conchairto", which Edge had made famous.[24][28][37] Edge's wife and fellow Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix appeared on the March 2 episode to give a medical update on Edge. Orton interrupted and said that he attacked Edge to keep him home so he could continue to be a husband and a father. 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.[34] Edge made his return the following week on Montel Vontavious Porter's talk show, the "VIP Lounge". Orton attempted to attack Edge, but Edge performed an RKO of his own on Orton. After Orton retreated, Edge performed the Conchairto on MVP as a warning to Orton.[35] Edge then challenged Orton to a Last Man Standing match at WrestleMania, which was made official.[36]

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 the event, only winning one of the seven interbrand matches.[30] Rollins criticized the Raw roster and again questioned Owens' loyalty who responded by performing a Stunner on Rollins. Owens then became the target of AOP (Akam and Rezar).[38][39] Owens accused Rollins of being behind AOP's attacks, but Rollins denied the accusations, though he ultimately joined with AOP, turning heel. Rollins then began to call himself the "Monday Night Messiah" and recruited Murphy into his new faction with AOP; Rollins and Murphy eventually won the Raw Tag Team Championship together. At the Royal Rumble, Rollins eliminated Owens from the namesake match thanks to help from AOP and Murphy.[23] Rollins and Murphy lost their title on an episode of Raw, and during a rematch at Elimination Chamber, Owens cost them their match and performed a Stunner on Rollins afterwards.[32] The following night on Raw, Rollins challenged Owens to a match at WrestleMania,[35] which was accepted by Owens the following week.[36]

Matches

No. Matches* Stipulations
1 Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Drew McIntyre Singles match for the WWE Championship[40]
2 Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Charlotte Flair Singles match for the NXT Women's Championship[41]
3 Becky Lynch (c) vs. Shayna Baszler Singles match for the WWE Raw Women's Championship[42]
4 Goldberg (c) vs. Roman Reigns Singles match for the WWE Universal Championship[43]
5 John Cena vs. "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt Singles match[44]
6 The Undertaker vs. AJ Styles Singles match[45]
7 Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins Singles match[46]
  • (c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
  • *Card subject to change

Notes

  1. ^ The event will be held without a live audience due to the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic.

References

  1. ^ "WWE statement regarding WrestleMania 36". WWE. March 16, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  2. ^ "WWE and local dignitaries officially announce that WrestleMania 36 will take place in Tampa Bay in 2020". WWE. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  3. ^ "WrestleMania 36 location: WWE returns to Florida with 2020 show in Tampa Bay". CBSSports.com. March 7, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  4. ^ Varsallone, Jim (March 17, 2020). "Tampa, rich in pro wrestling history and wrestlers, to host its first WWE WrestleMania". Miami Herald. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  5. ^ Jackson, Amanda (March 8, 2019). "WWE to hold WrestleMania without fans". CNN. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  6. ^ "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
  7. ^ Hamilton, Ian (2006). Wrestling's Sinking Ship: What Happens to an Industry Without Competition. Lulu. p. 160. ISBN 9781411612105.
  8. ^ "Forbes Fab 40 2017". Forbes. October 24, 2017. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  9. ^ Gelston, Dan. "WrestleMania is Super Bowl of sports entertainment". Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 31, 2014. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  10. ^ "Triple H Discusses NXT as a Third Brand, Putting Talent in a Position to Succeed, More – 411MANIA". www.411mania.com.
  11. ^ Konuwa, Alfred (February 29, 2020). "WWE And The Wrestling World Brace Themselves For Coronavirus Outbreak". Forbes. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  12. ^ Cridlin, Jay (February 27, 2020). "As Tampa's WrestleMania date nears, WWE watching coronavirus". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  13. ^ Burch, Liz (March 10, 2020). "How coronavirus concerns are impacting Tampa Bay area events". WTSP. Tegna Inc. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  14. ^ Konuwa, Alfred (March 12, 2020). "WWE WrestleMania 36 Will Move Forward For Now Amid Coronavirus Concerns". Forbes. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  15. ^ Kasabian, Paul. "WrestleMania 36 at Risk of Being Canceled by Hillsborough County in Florida". Bleacher Report. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  16. ^ Cascio, Josh (March 13, 2020). "WWE putting 'contingency plans' in place if Hillsborough County cancels WrestleMania 36". FOX13News.com. Fox Television Stations, LLC. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  17. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (March 16, 2020). "WrestleMania To Stream Live Without Audience Due To Coronavirus Outbreak". Deadline. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  18. ^ Grabianowski, Ed (January 13, 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 18, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  19. ^ "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on February 26, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  20. ^ 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.
  21. ^ Powell, Jason (January 6, 2020). "01/06 WWE Raw Results: Powell's review of Brock Lesnar's return, Andrade vs. Rey Mysterio for the U.S. Championship, The Viking Raiders vs. The Street Profits vs. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson in a Triple Threat for the Raw Tag Titles, first show of 2020". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  22. ^ Powell, Jason (January 20, 2020). "01/20 WWE Raw Results: Powell's review of Andrade vs. Rey Mysterio in a ladder match for the U.S. Championship, Rusev and Liv Morgan vs. Bobby Lashley and Lana, WWE Champion Brock Lesnar, Royal Rumble developments". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  23. ^ a b c d e Powell, Jason. "WWE Royal Rumble results: Powell's live review of the Royal Rumble matches, "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt vs. Daniel Bryan in a strap match for the WWE Universal Championship, Becky Lynch vs. Asuka for the Raw Women's Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  24. ^ a b Powell, Jason. "01/27 WWE Raw Results: Powell's review of Edge's return, Royal Rumble winners Drew McIntyre and Charlotte Flair, Seth Rollins and Buddy Murphy vs. Samoa Joe and Kevin Owens for the Raw Tag Titles, Liv Morgan vs. Lana". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  25. ^ a b c Powell, Jason (February 27, 2020). "WWE Super ShowDown results: Powell's live review of "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt vs. Goldberg for the WWE Universal Championship, Brock Lesnar vs. Ricochet for the WWE Championship, Big E and Kofi Kingston vs. The Miz and John Morrison for the Smackdown Tag Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  26. ^ Powell, Jason (February 3, 2020). "2/3 WWE Raw Results: Powell's review of Seth Rollins vs. Ricochet vs. Bobby Lashley in a Triple Threat for a shot at the WWE Championship at WWE Super ShowDown, Randy Orton addresses his attack on Edge, Liv Morgan vs. Lana rematch". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  27. ^ Moore, John (February 5, 2020). "2/5 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Charlotte Flair responding to Rhea Ripley's WrestleMania challenge, Ripley and Bianca Belair meeting face to face going into their title match at NXT Takeover: Portland, new NXT Cruiserweight Champion Jordan Devlin's appearance". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  28. ^ a b c Powell, Jason (February 10, 2020). "2/10 WWE Raw Results: Powell's review of Becky Lynch vs. Asuka for the Raw Women's Championship, Seth Rollins, Murphy, and AOP vs. Samoa Joe, Kevin Owens, and The Viking Raiders in an eight-man tag match, the build to WWE Super ShowDown continues". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  29. ^ Moore, John (February 16, 2020). "2/16 NXT Takeover: Portland results – Moore's live review of Adam Cole vs. Tommaso Ciampa for the NXT Championship, Rhea Ripley vs. Bianca Belair for the NXT Women's Championship, Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly vs. Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne for the NXT Tag Titles, Finn Balor vs. Johnny Gargano". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  30. ^ a b Powell, Jason (November 24, 2019). "WWE Survivor Series results: Powell's live review of Brock Lesnar vs. Rey Mysterio in a No Holds Barred match for the WWE Championship, "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt vs. Daniel Bryan for the WWE Universal Championship, Becky Lynch vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Bayley in a non-title match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
  31. ^ Moore, John (December 18, 2019). "12/18 NXT TV results: Shayna Baszler vs. Rhea Ripley for the NXT Women's Championship, Adam Cole vs. Finn Balor for the NXT Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  32. ^ a b c Powell, Jason (March 8, 2020). "WWE Elimination Chamber results: Powell's live review of Shayna Baszler vs. Asuka vs. Ruby Riott vs. Liv Morgan vs. Sarah Logan vs. Natalya in an Elimination Chamber match for a shot at the Raw Women's Championship at WrestleMania 36, Smackdown Tag Title Elimination Chamber match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  33. ^ a b Barnett, Jake (February 28, 2020). "2/28 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Barnett's review of John Cena's return, Goldberg's first appearance since winning the WWE Universal Championship at WWE Super ShowDown". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  34. ^ a b Powell, Jason (March 2, 2020). "3/2 WWE Raw Results: Powell's review of Aleister Black vs. AJ Styles, Seth Rollins and Murphy vs. The Street Profits for the Raw Tag Titles, Beth Phoenix provides an Edge update, Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane, Rey Mysterio and Humberto Carrillo vs. Andrade and Angel Garza". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  35. ^ a b c Powell, Jason (March 9, 2020). "3/9 WWE Raw Results: Powell's review of Edge returning following Randy Orton's attack on Beth Phoenix, Rey Mysterio vs. Angel Garza, Drew McIntyre in action, the build to WrestleMania kicks in". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  36. ^ a b c Powell, Jason (March 16, 2020). "3/16 WWE Raw Results: Powell's review of Austin 3:16 Day with Steve Austin, Undertaker vs. AJ Styles contract signing for WrestleMania, first Raw at the fan-free WWE Performance Center". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  37. ^ Powell, Jason (February 17, 2020). "2/17 WWE Raw Results: Powell's review of Randy Orton vs. Matt Hardy in a No Holds Barred match, Aleister Black vs. Erick Rowan, Humberto Carrillo and Rusev vs. Angel Garza and Bobby Lashley, Seth Rollins delivers a sermon". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  38. ^ Powell, Jason (November 25, 2019). "11/25 WWE Raw Results: Powell's review of the night after Survivor Series edition with AJ Styles vs. a four-way winner for the U.S. Championship, Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka, Seth Rollins' town hall meeting". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
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  40. ^ Chik, Jon. "WWE Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Drew McIntyre". WWE. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  41. ^ Melok, Bobby. "NXT Women's Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair". WWE. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  42. ^ Chik, Jon. "Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch vs. Shayna Baszler". WWE. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  43. ^ "Universal Champion Goldberg vs. Roman Reigns". WWE. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  44. ^ "John Cena vs. "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt". WWE. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  45. ^ "The Undertaker vs. AJ Styles". WWE. March 16, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  46. ^ Benigno, Anthony (March 16, 2020). "Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins". WWE. Retrieved March 16, 2020.

External links

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