WWE WrestleMania 36: Part 2 Review - April 5, 2020

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Kickoff Match: Liv Morgan def. Natalya

I had no desire to see a Riott Squad Triple Threat a month ago, but it would have made perfect sense under the current circumstances. If they weren't going to put The Viking Raiders, Ricochet, Humberto Carrillo, Sheamus or Jeff Hardy in this spot, at least that would have been acceptable because there's history there and WWE had been building toward it prior to the coronavirus outbreak. Natalya facing Morgan was completely random. They did their best, but it felt like something you'd see on Main Event. I'm floored they got more time than Drew Gulak vs. Cesaro from Night 1's Kickoff show, but at least the right woman won.

Charlotte Flair def. Rhea Ripley to Win the NXT Women's Championship

I had high hopes for this one and they did not disappoint. As a pure wrestling match, it was arguably the best of the weekend. Flair gets a lot of flack from fans (likely because of how she's booked), but she never ceases to amaze and her high-profile matches always have a big-fight feel to them. Ripley performed her ass off as well and proved she is at Flair's level. I loved the story they told with Flair targeting Ripely's knee and that being the reason why Ripley ultimately tapped out. Don't get me wrong, I hated the outcome and believe Flair does not at all need the NXT Women's Championship, but it's hard to be mad after such a spectacular matchup. I need a rematch, stat!

Aleister Black def. Bobby Lashley

There was zero reason for this match to happen other than to get both guys on the card, but it ended up being better than expected. Black is excellent and Lashley often doesn't get the credit he deserves, so I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that they worked well together. I really, really hope Lashley and Lana teasing tension afterward leads to them splitting up sooner rather than later. By the way, Black's entrance gear looked awesome.

Otis def. Dolph Ziggler

Of all the matches that I wish had a crowd, this comes close to leading the list, if only for that post-match celebration. This storyline with Otis, Ziggler, Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville has been the best thing going on SmackDown for months and Otis has gotten over in a big way. The match itself wasn't anything out of the ordinary, but Rose taking out both Deville and Ziggler was a great moment. Otis got the girl in the end, and as "predictable" as it may seem, WWE doesn't always do what makes sense (see: the opener) and thus I'm glad they went in that direction.

Edge def. Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing Match

The build to this bout was so stellar that I think a lot of us had unrealistic expectations. I feel bad for Edge, who deserved better in his first match back. Last Man Standing matches can either kick ass or be ungodly boring. Unfortunately, this fell in the latter category. There were parts I liked and it was an excellent effort from both men on the whole, but maybe some of the spots would have packed more of a punch had Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa not just brawled around the Performance Center three weeks ago. There were long periods of silence that hindered the quality of the matchup as opposed to helping it. Had they shaved off 10 or so minutes and not gotten so repetitive down the stretch, this would have been much hotter.

Raw Tag Team Champions The Street Profits def. Austin Theory and Angel Garza

This was the perfect match to follow up Edge vs. Orton, as it was short, sweet and straight to the point. I still have no idea why Austin Theory of all people replaced Andrade, but at least he fared well and I thought he and Garza made for a good team. You could have put this on Raw and no one would have complained, but at least it got Street Profits and the Raw Tag Team Championship on WrestleMania. The post-match angle was more memorable with Bianca Belair making the save for Street Profits. Of course, she's married to Montez Ford in real life, so it made sense. I think she could do just fine on her own, but either way, I'm happy she's finally on the main roster. It was overdue.

SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley def. Lacey Evans, Sasha Banks, Naomi and Tamina in a Fatal 5-Way Elimination Match

Thank the lord Tamina was the first one eliminated. She had no business being in this match in the first place and it would have worked just as well as a Fatal 4-Way (especially since Naomi and Lacey Evans have been in the title hunt lately, not Tamina). The matchup was decent, but the bigger story was what would happen between Bayley and Banks. Bayley inadvertently hit Banks at one point, so they made you think that Banks would betray her and take the title for herself. Not only did that not happen, Banks ended up interfering at the end and helping Bayley retain the title. Honestly, I didn't mind the outcome because it will mean more when Bayley eventually loses it, hopefully to Banks. SummerSlam in Boston would be ideal, but that's assuming the world will be back to normal by then.

"The Fiend" Bray Wyatt def. John Cena in a Firefly Fun House Match

Needless to say, this was less of a match and more of a spectacle, and I enjoyed every single second of it. I thought that wouldn't be a popular opinion, but after scanning social media on Sunday night, it looks like I'm in the majority on that. As I said in my review of Night 1, I'm a big fan of WWE taking a more cinematic approach with some of their matches a la Lucha Underground, mostly because it's so different and can be a blast when done right. I dug all the callbacks and, again, how it felt like a movie and less of a match. This is the type of environment where Wyatt really shines and Cena also played his role well. Much like the The Undertaker vs. AJ Styles, this won't be everyone's cup of tea and I totally get it. That said, this delivered in my mind and I sincerely hope WWE does more stuff like this as long as they're in empty arenas.

Drew McIntyre def. Brock Lesnar to Win the WWE Championship

I'd be hypocritical to crap on Goldberg vs. Braun Strowman from Night 1 yet praise this. The outcome was what I'm wanted and I'm ecstatic WWE did the right thing now instead of waiting, but there really wasn't much to the match whatsoever. They traded finishers for four minutes and that was about it. There was very little creativity there and Lesnar didn't stray away from his tired formula. On the bright side, McIntyre was cemented as a star here by kicking out of multiple F5s and then going over Lesnar clean. It sucks the moment didn't feel bigger with no one there, but McIntyre deserves it, nonetheless. It would be foolish for the company to not go all in on him as champion.

Overall Show

Night 2 of WrestleMania 36 was on par with Night 1 in my book and featured enough entertaining matches and moments to be considered worthwhile. Considering the circumstances, I thought WWE put on a better-than-expected event between the two nights. That isn't to say everything was perfect and there were certainly some outcomes I didn't agree with, but between the two cinematic-style matchups, McIntyre's crowning achievement, Otis getting the girl, and some quality undercard contests, it's an easy thumbs-up show. With a little less filler (King Corbin vs. Elias for example), it would have been even stronger, but the same can be said for any WrestleMania. I don't know if it's practical, but I'd be all for a two-day WrestleMania in the future if they're so insistent on cramming so many Superstars onto the card. This format was way more bearable, but of course, it wasn't the same or as special without a rowdy crowd in attendance.