It has been four years since The Undertaker wrestled his final match against AJ Styles at WrestleMania 36. The bout which was originally supposed to be contested in a ring was changed to a cinematic match due to COVID-19 restrictions. Many fans still believe the Phenom deserved a sendoff in front of an audience but the legend himself seems to be content with it.

The Dead Man discussed the Boneyard match during the most recent episode of his podcast. Speaking about the bout being converted into a cinematic match, Taker said they were lucky to be able to shoot outside in the environment. He noted how due to the style of the match, they were able to tie in his real-life self with the different personas of his career:

“We got lucky in the sense that we got to go out of the Performance Centre. Because all the matches, Edge and I think Randy Orton, they had a hell of a match but it was so sterile because there was no reaction. We weren’t even pumping in noise at that point or didn’t have the virtual audience.

It was just them having a match in the Performance Centre, a killer match but there’s just no emotion to feed off of. That’s the thing that you live for. We were fortunate enough that we got to go off and had this cinematic match. It was cool for me because I got to kind of tie in all the characters in one.

I got to tie myself, the old school Undertaker, the American badass, everything got tied together for that match just due to the fact, the content of the interviews and the stuff that AJ was doing. That match was obviously supposed to be held in the ring. So we got really lucky that we were able to have those kinds of toys and the atmosphere.”

When Undertaker Realized This Was It

The Undertaker’s struggle with his health in the last few years of his career have been well documented. Before WrestleMania 36 there were multiple bouts Taker considered his last, only to be pulled back by the appeal of one more match. According to the Last Outlaw, the realization of the Boneyard match being ‘it’ finally hit him right before they filmed the climax of the fight:

“We were between takes. We were getting ready to, I think getting ready to go to the big finale off the top of the barn there. It was getting cold. We’ve been at it since I think we started filming around dark which was around eight o’clock. So now it’s four in the morning and my back, everything is locking up.

That’s like when I had [the realization], that’s when it finally clicked like ‘This is it dude. You’re not coming back after this one.’ It was just a moment; I was sitting there by myself and just a moment of pure clarity that just said ‘Shit. This is it right here’ Obviously I didn’t share it with anybody. We got through it.”

The WWE Hall of Famer was then asked if he feels content with the Cinematic match being the end of his wrestling journey. Taker mentioned how he always wanted to wrestle AJ Styles. He claimed that he is happy because of how poetic the bout turned out to be:

“I was happy because it was another thing like I was really fortunate enough to be involved in so many innovative matches and these crazy storylines and to be able to do this big cinematic type match which would add different layers to the product. I was happy with all that.

Deep down I always thought AJ was the Shawn Michaels of this generation. I wanted to have that kind of match that I had with Shawn with AJ in a ring, but I don’t think it would have been as poetic as what we were able to do.”

The retired legend later also revealed that AJ wanted to do even more things that would have put the spotlight on Taker in his final match. He refused however, because his body couldn’t handle it.

You can check out the full episode of the podcast below:

If you use any quotes from the article please credit SEScoops with an H/t for transcription

Triple H was recently a guest on After The Bell podcast of Corey Graves, where among other things; he explained the process of putting together the boneyard match between Undertaker and AJ Styles at WrestleMania 36.

The Game first explained how he got assigned to produce the match and revealed that he went to Vince McMahon. He asked the Boss what he needed to look at and McMahon assigned him to the boneyard match without even knowing what it was going to be:

“I then went to Vince and was like, ‘what do you think needs the most for me to look at it?'” recalled Triple H. “And he was like, ‘the Boneyard match’, and I was like, ‘OK, great. So what is the Boneyard Match?’ He’s like, ‘I don’t know, like a graveyard. It’s in a graveyard.’ I said, ‘OK.'”

• Also Read: Triple H Says WrestleMania Needs To Over Two Nights Going Forward

The former World Champion then explained the tough conditions they had to shoot in. He remembered how he was only assigned one cameraman for the match because the company was shooting WrestleMania simultaneously at the Performance Center.

Triple H spoke to Vince McMahon about it. He got the approval to get the NXT crew including Jeremy Borash and a team of digital shooters involved in the production and they finally began the shooting:

“So we gathered everybody up and we started laying it all out together and then set it up like a movie and went and shot it. I think we had seven cameras and we used a couple of drones in the process to shoot some of Taker’s arrival and things like that.

“Literally when we were shooting into the graveyard, if it was light out, there’s a house right there, but luckily the guy that owned this place over here was his house and he had all lights off so you couldn’t see it on the other side of the darkness.”

• Also Read: Dean Malenko Explains Why He Ended His 18 Year Long WWE Stint

The King Of Kings later also revealed that the set they were shooting at was a one-acre land that was behind a barn at the end of a residential neighborhood.

Previous reports have revealed that it took them 5 days to build the set and 8 hours to complete the shoot of the highly praised cinematic match. You can check out some more backstage details and behind the scene photos of the production here.

New WWE Universal Champion Braun Strowman recently appeared on the Gorilla Position podcast. The SmackDown Superstar would discuss his title win at WrestleMania 36 earlier this month, as well as the hectic 24 hours that preceded the event.

Strowman was not initially pegged to face then Champion Bill Goldberg at WrestleMania. Roman Reigns was the challenger heading into the event, however due to concerns surrounding the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic the ‘Big Dog’ would pull out of the show. This forced WWE to make a last minute change, and it was decided that Braun Strowman was the man to take the belt from Goldberg.

Driving To Wisconsin

“Oh yeah, without a doubt it was the craziest 24 hours of my life” Braun Strowman began. “There was quarantine and telling everybody to stay at home and doing everything they could to help control the spread of this virus. So I figured, you know, I have some land up in Wisconsin, I haven’t seen my family, they live out in the middle of nowhere. I’ve got 80 acres out in the middle of nowhere, it’s literally a town that’s barely incorporated. There’s 400 people in the old town so I was like, well, if I got to be locked down I’m gonna be locked down out in the middle of nowhere, being the country boy that I am.”

Vince McMahon

Strowman would then reveal how the 21 hour car journey ended with phone call from Vince McMahon. “So I loaded up my belongings in my car and drove 21 hours to Wisconsin. I got one hour away from my property and I got a phone call from the chairman of WWE, saying ‘Braun we’ve had some last minute changes, there’s a couple emergencies happening. We need you.’ And I said, ‘well, I’m in Wisconsin I just drove for 21 hours.’ He [Vince McMahon] said ‘we know, we’re sending a jet to Atlanta at 9pm, you leave at 9:15pm.’ So I made it to Wisconsin long enough to grab a quick bite at dinner and then headed to the little regional County Airport.”

Braun Strowman in a Four-Seater Jet

Strowman elaborated further, saying “I jumped on a four seater jet; which I’m terrified of flying on by the way because I barely can fit my large hairy self in there. So it was a pretty impressive, a very fast jet. It was timely to get me there. I think we got from Wisconsin back to Orlando in 1 hour 30 minutes? We were rocking and rolling. I landed, with the time change and everything? I got into Orlando like midnight-ish back to Florida? Got in bed about at one o’clock in the morning, woke up the next day and headed to the Performance Center.”

Goldberg vs Braun Strowman

Braun Strowman would finish by thanking his opponent in the WrestleMania 36 match. “I want to say a big thanks to Bill Goldberg for giving me the opportunity. To know and trust in me to want to get in there and ‘get these hands’ per se.”

Do you think that Strowman was the right man to beat Goldberg for the Universal Championship? Let us know in the comments

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Refunds are reportedly being issued to those who purchased tickets for WrestleMania 36. This comes via a report from PWInsider.

Initially, WrestleMania 36 was to go down from the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the event was forced to make a huge change. WWE moved their “Show Of Shows” to their own Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. Also, for the first time ever, no fans were allowed in the arena for the show.

WWE aired WrestleMania 36 over a two day period and featured more off location matches than usual. In addition to the show facing a ton of hurdles this year, it wasn’t without controversy either. Drew McIntyre’s WWE Championship win over Brock Lesnar was criticized for being too short. Also, Edge and Randy Orton’s Last Man Standing match, the second-longest in WrestleMania history, was believed to have lasted too long.

The match also featured a spot that rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. During the match, Orton choked Edge with a machine in the weight room similar to the one Chris Benoit killed himself with in 2007. With WrestleMania now behind them, WWE is focused on continuing to tape their weekly programs live. Florida has now deemed WWE “essential,” thus allowing them to continue broadcasting live weekly rather than pre-taping shows.

• Eric Bischoff Commends WWE For Delivering WrestleMania 36

WWE Superstar Nikki Cross recently appeared on the Gorilla Position podcast. The Scottish born Superstar won the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania 36 this past weekend alongside her partner Alexa Bliss. Nikki Cross discussed this during the interview, describing the feeling of winning the belts for the 2nd time in front of an empty Performance Center.

Nikki Cross on WrestleMania 36 Moment

“It was such a fulfilling moment” Nikki Cross began. “It was, so emotional like, I mean i think it was funny. I was watching it back and I saw the photos, and there’s this hilarious moment. I’m just on my knees and the referee has given me the Championship title, and I can’t get up! I’m just like…I was just overwhelmed like you know? I think you can see it in my face. It was [also] on Alexa’s face you know? It was so emotional for both of us. Because we’re still connecting with fans, it’s just the fans are in a different location. And they’re all safe in their homes and they’re watching it through their television.”

Women’s Tag Team Division

The WWE Women’s Championships have seemingly taken a backseat over the past few months, whilst the Kabuki Warriors of Asuka and Kairi Sane are extremely talented and entertaining there just hasn’t been a viable push for the belts in recent memory. Nikki Cross would however say that her and Alexa Bliss care greatly about the division and want to see it thrive.

“We’re all striving to make this division special”

Nikki Cross

“We care so much about the women’s tag team division” Nikki Cross stated. “And we’re striving to make that the best we can. Because we’re nurturing that [division], it’s like a newborn baby. And you know, we speak, so many of the girls feel that way. That we’re all striving to make this division special and the best division it can be. Winning the championship from the Kabuki warriors…getting to compete against them in a match? A match I’m very proud of? It was, it was so so emotional and the emotion, everything was still there.”

If you use any of the quotes from this article please credit Gorilla Position podcast with a h/t to SEScoops.com for the transcription.

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• WWE Reportedly Contacted Hulk Hogan For WrestleMania 36 Appearance

There was a questionable spot during the Edge vs. Randy Orton Last Man Standing match at WrestleMania 36 that many found disturbing.

The match featured Edge and Orton doing battle all over the WWE Performance Center. Once the fight hit the gym, Randy Orton used a weight cable to choke Edge, reminiscent the method Chris Benoit used to killed himself back in 2007. There was immediate criticism for the incident on social media.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, some people in WWE were troubled by the visual. Everybody is WWE familiar with the details of the Chris Benoit situation. Especially with Benoit back in the headlines from the excellent Dark Side of the Ring episode covering the murders, many people made the connection and it was seen as a ‘questionable’ decision at best.

Aside from the criticism the match received for the choking spot, its duration was also criticized. The 40-minute Edge vs. Orton match is now the second-longest bout in WrestleMania history, right behind Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart from WrestleMania 12, which was an Iron Man match that lasted over an hour.

Edge eventually defeated Orton in their match with a conchairto. Orton was unable to answer the 10 count after Edge crushed his skull with a steel chair. It was “The Rated-R Superstar’s” first singles match in nine years.

• Edge Comments On His Return At WrestleMania, Praises Randy Orton

WWE officially confirmed on “the Bump” that the Miz will not participate in WrestleMania 36 this year. The announced reason for him being pulled from the card is that he was injured on last night’s Smackdown. It had previously been reported, however, that Miz did not perform on the show due to being sick. The Miz was scheduled to defend the Smackdown tag team titles in a tag-team triple threat ladder match against The Usos and New Day.

The tag-team titles will still be defended in a triple threat ladder match, however. The match has been changed from a tag-team triple threat to a single’s triple threat. The tag titles will still be on the line, however.

Jimmy Uso will represent the Usos in the match. Kofi Kingston will be the lone member of New Day to represent his team in the match.

• Betting Odds For WWE WrestleMania 36

2 Matches Added To WrestleMania 36 Kickoff Shows

WWE has also announced 2 new matches to take place on the WrestleMania 36 Kickoff shows. Drew Gulak will face Cesaro in single’s competition. The other added match features Natalya taking on Liv Morgan.

• WWE Cracking Down On Leaks & Spoilers Ahead Of WrestleMania

The final betting odds for all of the matches that will take place at the WWE WrestleMania 36 pay-per-view event have been released.

The card for the show that takes place tonight (Saturday, April 4, 2020) as well as tomorrow from Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center has not been finalized. 

WWE WrestleMania 36 Betting Odds

Make sure to join us tonight for match recaps and our takeaways from this latest pay-per-view event held by WWE. 

The favorites to win are listed as – while the underdogs are listed with +. Odds call for all three titles to change. Here are the final betting odds courtesy of BetOnline:

• Shayna Baszler -180 (5/9) vs. WWE RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch +140 (7/5)
• Drew McIntyre -350 (2/7) vs. WWE Champion Brock Lesnar +225 (9/4)
• WWE NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley -180 (5/9) vs. Charlotte Flair +140 (7/5)
• WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley (c) 5/4 vs. Sasha Banks 1/1 vs. Lacey Evans 4/1 vs. Naomi 13/2 vs. Tamina 33/1 – Five Pack Challenge
• WWE Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn -200 (1/2) vs. Daniel Bryan +150 (3/2)
• Edge -500 (1/5) vs. Randy Orton +300 (3/1) – Last Man Standing Match
• Kevin Owens -220 (5/111) vs. Seth Rollins +150 (3/2)
• Bray Wyatt -500 (1/5) vs. John Cena +300 (3/1) – Firefly Fun House Match
• The Undertaker -400 (1/4) vs. AJ Styles +250 (3/2) – Boneyard Match 
• Aleister Black -700 (1/7) vs. Bobby Lashley +400 (4/1)
• Elias -120 (5/6) vs. King Corbin -120 (5/6)
• Dolph Ziggler +130 (13/10) vs. Otis -170 (10/17)

Vince McMahon To Join Donald Trump Conference Call With Sports Commissioners

Heading into Friday’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown, most fans knew of the changes that had to be made to title matches taking place at WrestleMania 36.

The first expected change was Roman Reigns, who was slated to challenge Universal Champion Goldberg at this event, not competing. 

Since the show was taped last week, Reigns decided to pull out of the contest due to his concerns about the coronavirus as he has a weakened immune system with his leukemia battle.

WWE confirmed on SmackDown that Braun Strowman will replace Reigns in the contest to challenge the WWE Hall of Famer for the Universal Title. Despite Triple H stated that WWE would make the match change in a unique manner, WWE had Michael Cole announce the news in a quick segment. 

WWE had originally announced face-off for Friday’s SmackDown with Goldberg and Reigns, where it was expected that the change would be explained. Clearly, that didn’t happen. 

The other change was to the originally announced contest that would’ve seen John Morrison and The Miz defending the SmackDown Tag Team Titles against The Usos and The New Day at WrestleMania 36. 

The Miz was pulled from the match due to him being ill and not able to work the show. However, WWE didn’t announce that change during the broadcast.  

WWE presents the WrestleMania 36 pay-per-view event as a two-night event on Saturday, April 4 and Sunday, April 5 in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center.

Video: Roman Reigns Explains His Decision To Not Compete At WWE WrestleMania

On a weekly basis, WWE has to deal with spoilers from leaking and WrestleMania 36 was no different. 

The company taped episodes of RAW, NXT, and SmackDown in addition to both nights of WrestleMania 36 last week. These tapings were different, according to a new report from Sports Illustrated.

WWE had to move WrestleMania 36 from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay to the empty WWE Performance Center. This was done due to the outbreak of the coronavirus. 

Per the report, leaking WWE information is a fireable offense. With WrestleMania being WWE’s biggest event of the year, WWE wanted to present it in the best way possible despite it being a taped show. 

It was noted that the tapings for WrestleMania 36 ran overnight from 11pm until 5am.

Also, there were only a limited number of people present for the set of WWE TV and pay-per-view tapings held last week. People like WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, Kevin Dunn, Paul Heyman, and Bruce Prichard were in attendance. 

Also, the majority of the producers or agents were not present for the matches. The agents that helped put the matches together were the likes of Adam Pearce, and WWE Hall of Famers Shawn Michaels, and “Road Dogg” Brian James.

These producers are considered to be the unlikeliest of candidates to leak spoilers. So far, no leaks regarding the outcome of the matches taped have been revealed. 

• Big Show Addresses Critics Of Roman Reigns’ WrestleMania Decision

Triple H has responded to the criticism WWE has received for going through with WrestleMania 36 despite the current coronavirus pandemic.

Former WWE Champion “The Game” was recently a guest on “The Ariel Helwani MMA Show” to discuss “The Show Of Shows.” Triple H noted that WWE believes they’re putting on an essential service of entertaining fans during this hectic time.

“Look, there’s going to be critics of everything. I think we’re doing this to provide what we believe is an essential service in entertaining our fans, entertaining people around the world, and I think you see that with ESPN picking up past WrestleManias, and FOX, NBC and that partnership, we can put out content… even our historic content is evergreen in nature because of the storytelling aspect of what we do, and I say this a lot, we’re more akin to the ‘Rocky’ movie than we are actual boxing.

“Once the event takes place live in boxing, you’re kind of done with it. With us, you’ll watch it over and over again, because it’s the story, and the characters, and the emotion that you feel. You’ll go back and relive those epic moments — Hogan slamming Andre the Giant at WrestleMania 3, or whatever connects with you from the past.

He went on to note that WWE is working very closely with government officials, and taking all the necessary precautions to protect all involved.

“We’re working with the government officials very closely. We’re taking all of the precautions, we’re screening our talent. Anybody that’s uncomfortable doing this doesn’t have to. The crew and the staff is very, very limited.

“We’re working the talent waves, where we bring them in for their particular stuff and then they can leave, and keeping people as separated as possible, trying to do this in as safe a way as possible, while still being able to perform a vital service. We’re following CDC recommendations, as well as Dr. Joseph Maroon and Dr. Jeffrey Dugas.”

WrestleMania 36 was initially scheduled to take place from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on April 5. However, after the coronavirus outbreak, the event was canceled due to gathering bans. WrestleMania was expected to attract over 70,000 people. Now, the event has been relocated to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. Also, the show will take place over the span of two nights. Day one of WrestleMania 36 begins tomorrow, Saturday, April 4 at 6:00 p.m. ET.

The action continues on Sunday, April 5 at 6:00 p.m. ET as well. Aside from the location and date changes, some of the matches have also been affected. One of the biggest changes being Roman Reigns’ removal from his Universal Title match with Goldberg. Goldberg will now face a replacement opponent on the show.

• WrestleMania 36: Backstage Notes On Two-Night Lineup Structure

H/T POST Wrestling for the transcriptions

WrestleMania 36 kicks off tomorrow, and for the first time ever, it will take place over the span of two days.

Due to the current coronavirus pandemic, no fans will be in attendance for Wrestlemania, another first-ever for the WWE. According to a recent report from the WrestleVotes Twitter account, we have some more details to pass along regarding the two-night lineup. WWE officials were still working on the lineup for the event as of this week. It’s likely the two gimmick matches will air on separate days.

Those being the Boneyard match between The Undertaker and AJ Styles, and the Firefly Funhouse match between John Cena and Bray Wyatt. Also, it’s believed that the two World Title matches will also air on separate nights. Goldberg will defend his Universal Championship against Roman Reigns’ replacement opponent, after Reigns pulled from the card due to health concerns.

Also, Brock Lesnar will defend his WWE Championship against Drew McIntyre. The same is expected for the two Women’s Championship matches. Charlotte Flair challenged Rhea Ripley for the NXT Women’s Championship. Becky Lynch will also be defending her Raw Women’s Championship against Shayna Baszler. SEScoops will be providing you with live coverage of WrestleMania 36 both nights.

Coverage on Saturday and Sunday will begin at 6:00 p.m. ET. We’ll keep you updated as more information becomes available.

• Details On WWE Not Announcing WrestleMania 36 Match Order Yet

With WrestleMania 36 still being days away, the company has yet to release the match order for both nights of the show. 

This has caused fans to wonder as to what’s the hold up with the match order. Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio shed some light on the situation. 

It turns out that WWE officials are still deciding which matches will air on which nights. However, the belief is that the decision should be finalized by Friday, which is the day before the first night. 

WWE filmed each match individually last week and there wasn’t an order in which those matches were taped.

Now, WWE is taking the time to edit the footage, add special effects, and then put it in an order based on the star power they have on their rosters. This is being done to put on the most exciting matches for each night. 

WWE presents the WrestleMania 36 pay-per-view event as a two-night event on Saturday, April 4 and Sunday, April 5 in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center. Both nights start at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT will air on the WWE Network. 

There will be no fans in attendance due to the outbreak of the coronavirus. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming days. 

• Triple H Discusses WWE Adapting To Changes Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

WWE Hall of Famer and co-host of Busted Open Radio Bully Ray recently commented on the two day WrestleMania 36 event this weekend. This is of course the most unique WrestleMania in recent history, possibly ever. WWE are having to pre-tape the event due to the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. And the atmosphere, according to Bully Ray, is somewhat akin to the post 9/11 SmackDown show back in 2001.

Bully Ray on Keeping Fans Happy

“The number one thing I would want to do is not disappoint the fans” Bully Ray began, discussing how he would’ve approached the situation. “Now, one of the things they could have done; and I’m not saying that this is a good idea, as a former owner of businesses. When you leave it up to the decision of the customer. You never know what you’re going to…what kind of feedback you’re gonna get. And it could affect your business. It might not have been a horrible idea to put out one of those polls that the WWE sends out and says: ‘due to the current situation, would you like the show to go on this year?'”

“It probably wouldn’t have been a bad idea to get feedback from the WWE Universe as to what they wanted”

Bully Ray

9/11

Bully Ray would elaborate further, talking about how he feels the company is genuinely doing the shows ‘for the fans.’ “It probably wouldn’t have been a bad idea to get feedback from the WWE Universe as to what they wanted. See when the WWE says that they’re doing it for their fans? These are the cases where I truly believe it. Because I go back to what happened on 911, and how the WWE wanted to make sure that; despite the nation going through a really, really tough time? Vince was adamant about the WWE standing tall and helping people to heal through the form of entertainment.”

“‘Here, watch Smackdown for two hours tonight. And you’ll forget about all of the horrible things that we’re dealing with out there.’ And wrestling fans were extremely happy that we went out there and we did that, as you know, as a company, because the number one thing they said was, thank you for helping me forget for two hours.”

Not Putting a Positive Spin on It

Bully Ray would finish by describing how WrestleMania this year won’t ‘feel the same.’ Of course with the absence of fans in attendance. “Now with WrestleMania I believe they’re doing the same thing, I think Vince wants to help the nation to heal through his brand of entertainment. The hard part is, it’s not going to feel the same. Yeah, we might be kind of getting used to this thing with no audience I think thats just a bunch of happy horsesh*t that you say on the show. To me, we’re just getting through it, I’m not used to it. I’m not used to watching RAW or Smackdown like that. I’m not putting that happy spin on it. I think it absolutely f*cking sucks that there’s nobody.”

“The Show Must Go On” – Bully Ray

Then Bully Ray would finish by saying that he believes WrestleMania should go on; that WWE made the right decision. “And this is why I think having WrestleMania is a good idea, and why I think I would have made the same recommendation and decision. Yes. Let the show go on. Because at the end of the day, even when there’s 20,000 people in this arena, we’re not playing to those 20,000, we’re playing to the millions and millions at home.”

Do you think that WWE were right to go on with WrestleMania 36 this week? Let us know in the comments

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• Jim Ross Would Have Postponed WrestleMania 36

Just days after it was reported, WWE has confirmed that one title match at WrestleMania 36 has been changed. 

On Monday’s episode of RAW, WWE announced that The Street Profits will now defend the RAW Tag Team Titles against Angel Garza and Austin Theory at this show. 

This is a change from Andrade being in the match as he was replaced by Theory. Last week, it was reported that Andrade had suffered a rib injury, which WWE confirmed to be true. 

Kevin Owens and The Street Profits beat Seth Rollins, Garza and Theory in a six-man tag team match on Monday’s show, which marked Theory’s main roster debut. 

WWE presents the WrestleMania 36 pay-per-view event as a two-night event on Saturday, April 4 and Sunday, April 5 in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center. Both nights start at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT will air on the WWE Network. 

Updated WWE WrestleMania 36 Card

• WWE Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Drew McIntyre
• WWE NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair
• AJ Styles vs. The Undertaker – Boneyard Match 
• Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins – Singles Match

• WWE Universal Champion Goldberg vs. TBA
• John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt – Singles Match
• Edge vs. Randy Orton – Last Man Standing Match
• WWE RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. Shayna Baszler
• WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley vs. Lacey Evans vs. Tamina vs. Naomi vs. Sasha Banks – Five Pack Challenge
• Baron Corbin vs. Elias
• Bobby Lashley vs. Aleister Black
• WWE RAW Tag Team Champions The Street Profits vs. Angel Garza & Austin Theory
• WWE Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn vs. Daniel Bryan
• Otis vs. Dolph Ziggler

Eric Bischoff Details What Led To His WWE Departure After Latest Run

There has been a lot of criticism over WWE deciding to go forward with WrestleMania 36 despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

WWE will be holding WrestleMania 36 in front of an empty crowd inside the Performance Center from Orlando, Florida. Many talents have been pulled from the card due to health concerns. Roman Reigns, who has battled leukemia twice now, was removed from his scheduled Universal Title match with Goldberg. Braun Strowman now takes his place.

Also, WrestleMania is being stretched out over two days. The first will be Saturday, April 4, and will conclude on Sunday, April 5. Like many other major sports leagues, WWE is being called on to postpone their biggest event of the year until things subside. However, Vince McMahon has opted for the show to go on. Now, speaking on the Wrestling Observer Radio program, WWE Hall Of Famer and All Elite Wrestling (AEW) commentator Jim Ross has offered his thoughts on the situation.

If it were up to Ross, he’d pull the plug on WrestleMania and save the event for a later date.

“I would’ve waited until I could’ve got it to an arena, or a stadium, and I would’ve made a big celebration out of it that we’re back, America’s back, the virus is gone, celebratory WrestleMania probably,” Ross said. “But here’s the problem with that, that’s already been, I’m sure, budgeted in for a certain amount of money, and because of the uncertainty of the virus we don’t know when that date would be to run the stadium show as the make good, the celebratory WrestleMania as I call it, and so I can understand it budgetarily, they’re a publicly traded company, they have to make money for their stockholders, their stock needs to rebound, blah blah blah.

“So I don’t know if my suggestion is a great one whatsoever, but I can tell you it would be so easy to replicate amazing enthusiasm, anticipation and excitement in a make good, celebratory WrestleMania, vis-a-vis it’s a television vehicle like we’ve done on AEW the last few weeks, like WWE has done, in a closed set. The empty arena thing. The empty arena thing is okay to keep programming on, but it’s not much fun to work at because you get used to that adrenaline that the fans provide. There’s nothing like that.”

• Roman Reigns Comments On Pulling Out Of WrestleMania Title Match

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

A new match has been announced for the upcoming WWE WrestleMania 36 PPV.

WWE booked an interesting match on Friday Night SmackDown on FOX between Drew Gulak and Shinsuke Nakamura. The stipulation of the contest was that if Gulak beat Nakamura then Daniel Bryan would get an Intercontinental Title match. 

On the show, Gulak ended up beating Nakamura. As a result, Bryan will challenge Sami Zayn for the strap at WrestleMania 36.

WWE presents the WrestleMania 36 pay-per-view event as a two-night event on Saturday, April 4 and Sunday, April 5 in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center.

Updated WWE WrestleMania 36 Card

• WWE Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Drew McIntyre
• WWE NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair
• AJ Styles vs. The Undertaker – Boneyard Match 
• Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins – Singles Match

• WWE Universal Champion Goldberg vs. TBA
• John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt – Singles Match
• Edge vs. Randy Orton – Last Man Standing Match
• WWE RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. Shayna Baszler
• WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley vs. Lacey Evans vs. Tamina vs. Naomi vs. Sasha Banks – Five Pack Challenge
• Baron Corbin vs. Elias
• Bobby Lashley vs. Aleister Black
• WWE Raw Tag Team Champions The Street Profits vs. Angel Garza & TBA
• WWE Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn vs. Daniel Bryan

What are your thoughts on this match being added to the card? Sound off in the comment section.

Title Match At WrestleMania 36 Reportedly Changed, Another Star Pulled

In the past 24 hours, news of several changes made to the WrestleMania 36 card has surfaced online. 

The coronavirus epidemic has forced the company to change things up with their biggest event of the year despite their efforts to do the show they initially wanted this week.

On Friday, it was reported that The Miz had been pulled from the show due to illness which impacted what WWE had planned for Miz and John Morrison at WrestleMania 36 in their latest title defense of the SmackDown Tag Team Championships. 

Miz and Morrison were supposed to defend the titles against the winners of New Day vs. The Usos on Friday Night SmackDown. Dave Meltzer is reporting that Morrison will face one of the Usos in a ladder match instead at WrestleMania 36. 

Also, despite it being reported elsewhere, Asuka and Cesaro both worked WrestleMania with no health issues. For those who are wondering, Edge vs. Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing match was successfully taped this week. 

Finally, PWInsider reported that Buddy Murphy was indeed sick and didn’t come to any TV tapings this week including WrestleMania 36. It was noted by Meltzer that no one sick was allowed around even if they had a cough or a stuffy nose at the tapings.

The changes started earlier this week when news broke earlier this week that Rey Mysterio and Dana Brooke were off the plans for the show due to self quarantining. 

Then, it was reported that Roman Reigns had decided to not work his scheduled match against WWE Universal Champion Bill Goldberg despite being in the building when the show was taped. 

• WWE’s Relationship With CM Punk Is Even Worse Than We Thought

WWE Superstar Natalya recently appeared on the Gorilla Position podcast. The Hart Family member discussed a number of topics on the show, with one being her relationship with WWE CEO Vince McMahon. Natalya would describe how McMahon has “been there” for her at numerous times in her career.

“You know what’s really funny? And maybe, I’m gonna say this because…it’s coming from a place that, it’s a compliment!” Natalya began. “Vince is the type of boss, that if you need to talk to him as a talent, you can talk to him. And in the most serious moments of my career and the most serious moments of my life? [Like] When my dad passed away, when I was announced that I was going to Saudi Arabia.”

Natalya elaborated further, saying how she had spoken to McMahon even this week. “In the last week I’ve spoken to him and communicated with him. He’s been wonderful. He’s always as crazy as it gets. And as crazy as his schedule gets because he’s running so many things? He is so accessible, he is so accessible for us if we really need him. He’s been there for me through the best and worst times in my life.”

Natalya would finish by saying “if it was something I needed to ask him a question about my match or, you know, say I I’m concerned about this or I wanted to add this idea or I think we can contribute this way? He’s all open, like we can always…I’ve never not been able to talk about anything with him.”

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• Chris Jericho & Matt Hardy Recall Pitching Ideas To Vince McMahon
• Bret Hart On Recommending Steve Austin to Vince McMahon, Being Warned About WCW
• Tyson Kidd On What Vince McMahon Told Him About His Producer Role

After several weeks of speculation, WWE has indeed confirmed Edge vs. Randy Orton for WrestleMania 36. The company did so on Monday’s episode of RAW as Orton accepted Edge’s challenge to a match at the biggest event of the year. 

This came after Edge addressed Orton’s attack on him and his wife on RAW last week. Edge’s challenge to the former fellow WWE Champion was a Last Man Standing Match. 

A few weeks ago on RAW saw Orton attack Edge’s wife and fellow WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix in the final segment of the show. 

• Edge Defends WWE’s Decision To Deliver WrestleMania 36

This match was expected as Edge has been off TV for several weeks after receiving the beatdown by Randy Orton after making his return to the ring in the 30-Man Royal Rumble Match.

WWE presents the WrestleMania 36 pay-per-view event as a two-night event on Saturday, April 4 and Sunday, April 5 in Orlando, Florida.

Updated WWE WrestleMania 36 Card

• WWE Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Drew McIntyre
• WWE NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair
• AJ Styles vs. The Undertaker – Boneyard Match 
• Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins – Singles Match
• WWE Universal Champion Goldberg vs. Roman Reigns
• John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt – Singles Match
• WWE RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. Shayna Baszler
• WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley vs. Lacey Evans vs. Tamina vs. Naomi vs. Sasha Banks – Five Pack Challenge
• Baron Corbin vs. Elias
• Bobby Lashley vs. Aleister Black
• WWE Raw Tag Team Champions The Street Profits vs. Angel Garza & Andrade
• Edge vs. Randy Orton – Last Man Standing Match

WWE has added a stipulation to the upcoming match between AJ Styles and The Undertaker at WrestleMania 36. 

During Monday’s episode of RAW, Styles cut a promo about how he has the perfect match for their upcoming contest and it was right in the wheelhouse of Taker. 

He challenged the legendary pro wrestler to a Boneyard Match. Styles also poked fun at Taker recently appearing in a Save The Tigers video during his promo. For those who are wondering what this match is, WWE has yet to confirm the exact rules. 

In related news, WWE has changed the SmackDown Women’s Title match at WrestleMania 36. 

Last week on Friday Night SmackDown, Paige announced that Bayley would defend the SmackDown Women’s Title in a Six-Pack Challenge Elimination Match with Dana Brooke, Lacey Evans, Tamina Snuka, Naomi, and Sasha Banks.

WWE edited their WrestleMania 36 match listing on the official website that now shows it being a Fatal 5-Way Elimination Match. Brooke is the star who was removed from the listing.

As of this writing, there’s no word yet on why Brooke was removed from the match.

WWE presents the WrestleMania 36 pay-per-view event as a two-night event on Saturday, April 4 and Sunday, April 5 in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center. Both nights start at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT will air on the WWE Network. 

WWE Has Talent Roster Under Lockdown During Taping Schedule

WWE has just announced two new matches for the WrestleMania 36 card.

First, the Raw Tag Team Championships will be on the line when The Street Profits, Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford, put their titles on the line against Andrade and Angel Garza, who will be accompanied by Zelina Vega. Also, it has been announced that Aleister Black will be taking on Bobby Lashley in a singles match. Lashley will be accompanied by Lana.

This year’s WrestleMania will be very different from year’s past. Due to the fact that it’s taking place smack in the middle of the coronavirus outbreak, some major changes have been implemented. WrestleMania 36 has been moved from its original venue, expected to hold around 70,000 inside the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando.

WrestleMania will have no audience for the first time ever, as all matches will take place in front of an empty crowd. Also, WrestleMania will be a two-night event. The festivities start on Saturday, April 4, and the second half of the card will take place on Sunday, April 5. Lastly, the show will not be live. Most of the matches and segments will be filmed this week. It’s certainly a big change the company has had to make given the state of the world during the coronavirus pandemic.

With all that being said, you can check out the updated WrestleMania 36 card below.

WrestleMania 36 Card

• WWE Championship: (C) Brock Lesnar vs. Drew McIntyre
• NXT Women’s Championship: (C) Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair
• WWE Raw Women’s Championship: (C) Becky Lynch vs. Shayna Baszler
• WWE Universal Championship: (C) Goldberg vs. Roman Reigns
• John Cena vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt
• The Undertaker vs. AJ Styles
• Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins
• WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship – Six-Pack Challenge: (C) Bayley vs. Lacey Evans vs. Dana Brooke vs. Tamina vs. Naomi vs. Sasha Banks
• WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championships: (C) The Miz and John Morrison vs. TBD
• WWE Raw Tag Team Championships: (C) The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) vs. Andrade and Angel Garza (with Zelina Vega)
• Aleister Black vs. Bobby Lashley (with Lana)

• Update On WWE Taping Schedule & WrestleMania 36

WWE reportedly taped two episodes of Friday Night Smackdown and two episodes of 205 Live yesterday at the WWE Performance Center. According to a report from PW Insider, it was a long day of tapings for the company as WWE seeks to ensure they have content prepared for the next several weeks.

Today, NXT is scheduled for tapings from the Performance Center. The plan is then to present a live episode of RAW from the same venue on Monday night. RAW will be back in the Performance Center on Tuesday to then tape several more episodes to ensure WWE has content up until April 6th.

Some portions of WrestleMania 36 will be taped on Tuesday and Wednesday. The show will not air live and recent internal memos are reported to have circulated within the company to avoid tag lines such as “live on WWE Network” or “streaming live.”

• Latest On WWE Taping Schedule, WrestleMania Status Being Kept Quiet

WWE WrestleMania 36 will now air on the WWE Network as a two-night event on Saturday, April 4 and Sunday, April 5 in Orlando, Florida from the WWE Performance Center. 

WrestleMania 36 Lineup

1. WWE Championship
   Brock Lesnar (c) vs Drew McIntyre
2. NXT Women’s Championship
   Rhea Ripley (c) vs Charlotte Flair
3. RAW Women’s Championship
   Becky Lynch (c) vs Shayna Baszler
4. WWE Universal Championship
   Bill Goldberg (c) vs Roman Reigns
5. WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship
   Bayley (c) vs Lacey Evans vs Dana Brooke vs Tamina vs Naomi vs Sasha Banks
6. John Cena vs Bray Wyatt
7. The Undertaker vs AJ Styles
8. Kevin Owens vs Seth Rollins
9. Smackdown Tag Team Championships
   The Miz and John Morrison (c) vs. (The New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston) or The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso)

After a few days of uncertainty regarding WWE’s upcoming taping schedule, we have a big update. There have been a few reports about WWE officials considering a multi-day taping schedule that would cover several upcoming episodes of Raw, SmackDown, NXT and WrestleMania.

According to PWInsider, the multi-day marathon taping schedule at the WWE Performance Center kicks off today and will in fact include WrestleMania.

Here is the current WWE TV taping schedule through WrestleMania:

• Saturday (3/21): Friday Night Smackdown for 2/27 and 4/3
• Sunday (3/22): Taping for future episodes of NXT
• Monday (3/23) & Tuesday (3/24): RAW episodes for 3/23 and 3/30
• Wednesday (3/25) & Thursday (3/26): Wrestlemania Nights One & Two 

All of this comes after last Monday when the company issued a statement that noted the show will take place from the Performance Center next month.

WWE had to make the change due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, which has been impacting their event schedule. 

Former New England Patriot Rob Gronkowski will be hosting the show on both nights. WWE noted in the announcement that only essential personnel will be on the closed set during the production of WrestleMania.

A new match has been announced for the upcoming WWE WrestleMania 36 PPV and it involves Bayley. 

During Friday Night SmackDown, WWE had former WWE Divas Champion Paige make an appearance via Skype where she did a segment with WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley and Sasha Banks. 

This is where it was announced that Bayley would defend her title against Banks, Dana Brooke Tamina, Naomi, Lacey Evans in a Six Pack Challenge Match. As of this writing, there’s no word yet on which night this match will take place. 

WWE presents the WrestleMania 36 pay-per-view event as a two-night event on Saturday, April 4 and Sunday, April 5 in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center. Both nights start at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT will air on the WWE Network. 

Updated WWE WrestleMania 36 Card

• WWE Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Drew McIntyre
• WWE NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair
• AJ Styles vs. The Undertaker – Singles Match
• Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins – Singles Match
• WWE Universal Champion Goldberg vs. Roman Reigns
• John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt – Singles Match
• WWE RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. Shayna Baszler
• WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley vs. Lacey Evans vs. Dana Brooke vs. Tamina vs. Naomi vs. Sasha Banks – Six Pack Challenge
• Baron Corbin vs. Elias

What are your thoughts on this match being added to the card? Sound off in the comment section.

• Latest On WWE Taping Schedule, WrestleMania Status Being Kept Quiet