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.[3] It was the first of WWE's original four pay-per-views, which includes Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, dubbed the "Big Four".[4] WrestleMania is ranked the sixth most valuable sports brand in the world by Forbes,[5] and has been described as the Super Bowl of sports entertainment.[6] WrestleMania 36 was 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 featured wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brand divisions, as well as NXT—although some NXT wrestlers had appeared in WrestleMania's previously annual battle royals, this was the first WrestleMania to promote the brand, following NXT becoming one of WWE's three major brands in September 2019.[7] For the first time, WWE announced that it would also offer the pay-per-view as a digital purchase in the United States via FITE TV, and the Fox Sports app (an expansion of Fox's broadcasts of SmackDown). ESPN, which does not normally air WWE programming, aired encores of previous editions of WrestleMania during the lead-up to the event.[8]
The event was originally to take place at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa solely on April 5, 2020 and was to air live.[9][10] As a result of 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][18][19] WWE then announced that WrestleMania 36 would be split into a two-night event, on April 4 and 5, marking the first WrestleMania to be done over two nights. It was also confirmed that the event would take place at other, unspecified locations, marking the first WrestleMania since WrestleMania 2 in 1986 (which originated from three different venues on the same night) to be held at multiple locations. Former National Football League (NFL) player Rob Gronkowski, who had recently signed with WWE, was also announced to serve as the host of the event[20][21]—Gronkowski last appeared for WWE at WrestleMania 33 in 2017.[22] It was then reported by PWInsider that WWE were pre-taping several episodes of their weekly programs for future broadcasts, as well as WrestleMania itself, between March 21–26 (with the exception of the live broadcast of the March 23 episode of Raw). WrestleMania was taped on March 25 and 26, and it will air on tape delay on April 4 and 5.[1] In an interview with TV Guide, WWE's Executive Vice President of Global Talent Strategy & Development and part-time wrestler Paul "Triple H" Levesque described the taped nature of the event as "unique"; noting that with the different settings, there would be "some matches and some components and things that will take place this year like we've never done before" in terms of production elements and settings, citing the announced Firefly Fun House and Boneyard matches (the latter stated to have been shot at a different location) as examples.[23]
The card underwent changes due to injuries and issues that arose related to the ongoing pandemic. Wrestlers such as Rey Mysterio, who was reportedly set to face Andrade for the United States Championship, and Dana Brooke, who was originally announced to take part in the SmackDown Women's Championship elimination match, were pulled from the event due to coronavirus concerns.[24] It was also confirmed that WrestleMania's annual battle royals, the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal, would not occur at WrestleMania 36 to limit the number of wrestlers in the ring at the same time.[25] Roman Reigns, who was at an increased risk for COVID-19 due to being in an immunocompromised state from his previous struggles with leukemia, requested to be removed from his match against Goldberg and WWE honored the request;[26][27] Braun Strowman was selected as Reigns' replacement in the match.[28][29] Andrade, who was scheduled to team with Angel Garza to face The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) for the Raw Tag Team Championship,[30] was removed from that match due to an injury and was replaced by NXT's Austin Theory.[31] Triple H confirmed that due to the circumstances, nothing would be held against any of the wrestlers who missed the event. He also stated that all of the talent competing were there in a voluntary capacity. Notably, Triple H was also not scheduled to compete at the event, though this was planned before the pandemic; this marks Triple H's first WrestleMania missed since WrestleMania 23 in 2007.[32]
Storylines
The event included matches that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw, SmackDown, and NXT brands,[33][34] while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw, Friday Night SmackDown, and NXT.[35]
World championship matches
Men's
Feeling as though nobody 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.[36][37] 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.[38] The next night on Raw, McIntyre announced that he would challenge Lesnar for the WWE Championship at the event.[39] At Super ShowDown, Lesnar retained the title against Ricochet, keeping him as the defending champion against McIntyre at WrestleMania.[40]
After winning SmackDown's Universal Championship at Super ShowDown,[40] 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 his challenge, which was subsequently scheduled for WrestleMania.[41] Just before the event, however, Reigns, requested to be removed from the match for being at an increased risk for COVID-19, as he was in an immunocompromised state from his previous health issues with leukemia; Reigns himself confirmed the report and stated that WWE honored the request.[27][26] Triple H also confirmed the report in a March 29 interview on ESPN's SportsCenter.[32] Five days later on the April 3 episode of SmackDown, Braun Strowman was announced as Reigns' replacement in the match.[29]
Women's
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.[38] On the February 3 episode of Raw, Flair stated that 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 declared that Flair should challenge her as she had defeated Flair, but Flair had never beat her.[42] Flair continued to delay giving an answer until after Ripley had defended her title at TakeOver: Portland on February 16.[43][44] 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 a Royal Rumble winner chose an NXT championship to challenge for with the title itself being the first NXT championship to be defended at the event.[45]
Prior to Survivor Series, a rivalry began between Raw's Becky Lynch and NXT's Shayna Baszler. At the event, Baszler won the non-title brand supremacy triple threat match between the three brands' women's champions by submitting SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley. An irate Lynch attacked Baszler following the match and put her through an announce table.[46] After losing the NXT Women's Championship,[47] Baszler appeared as the thirtieth entrant in the women's Royal Rumble match, finishing as the runner-up.[38] Following Lynch's title defense on the February 10 episode of Raw, Baszler ambushed Lynch and bit the back of her neck, thus reigniting their feud.[44] 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.[48]
Undercard matches
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, Cena declared 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.[41] On the March 27 episode, Wyatt challenged Cena to a Firefly Fun House match,[49] and Cena accepted.[29]
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 gave Mysterio until the count of ten, during which, 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.[40] On the following Raw, a disgruntled Styles mocked Undertaker for still wrestling and issued a warning.[50] The Undertaker then appeared at Elimination Chamber and cost Styles his no disqualification match with Aleister Black.[48] The following night on Raw, Styles taunted 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.[51] A contract signing for the match was conducted the following week.[52] Styles then challenged Undertaker to a Boneyard match,[30] and Undertaker accepted.[53]
After being forced to retire in 2011 due to a severe neck injury, WWE Hall of Famer Edge returned at the 2020 Royal Rumble during the namesake match, where he had a brief reunion with Randy Orton; Edge eliminated Orton before his own elimination.[38] On the following Raw, Edge explained how he was able to make his return. Orton then welcomed Edge back and suggested reforming 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.[39][44][54] Edge's wife and fellow Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix appeared on the March 2 episode to give a medical update on her husband. Orton interrupted and said that he attacked Edge so that he would remain at home and continue being a husband and a father to their children. 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.[50] Edge made his return the following week on Montel Vontavious Porter's (MVP) talk show, the "VIP Lounge". Orton attempted to attack Edge, only for Edge to perform an RKO of his own on Orton. After Orton retreated, Edge performed the Conchairto on MVP as a warning to Orton.[51] Edge then challenged Orton to a Last Man Standing match at WrestleMania,[52] and Orton accepted.[30]
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 Survivor Series, only winning one of the seven interbrand matches.[46] Rollins criticized the Raw roster for their poor performance and again questioned Owens' loyalty, who responded by performing a Stunner on Rollins. Owens then became the target of AOP (Akam and Rezar).[55][56] Although Owens accused Rollins of being behind AOP's attacks, Rollins denied the accusations, though he ultimately joined with AOP, turning heel. Rollins then began to refer to himself as 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.[38] Rollins and Murphy lost their titles on an episode of Raw, and during a rematch at Elimination Chamber, Owens cost them their match and performed a Stunner on Rollins afterward.[48] The following night on Raw, Rollins challenged Owens to a match,[51] and Owens accepted for WrestleMania.[52]
On the Survivor Series Kickoff pre-show, Heavy Machinery (Otis and Tucker) participated in an interbrand tag team battle royal that was won by Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode;[57] the two teams entered into a feud following the event. Also during this time, Otis started a romance with Mandy Rose. On the February 14 episode of SmackDown, Otis had a scheduled Valentine's Day date with Rose; however, Ziggler arrived first and stole the date, causing Otis to walk away heartbroken.[58] On the March 6 episode, Otis apologized to Rose, who rejected the apology.[59] Heavy Machinery then participated in the SmackDown Tag Team Championship Elimination Chamber match, where they were eliminated by Ziggler and Roode.[48] On the March 20 episode of SmackDown, Ziggler distracted Otis during his tag team match by showing pictures of him and Rose together, enraging Otis, which caused Heavy Machinery to get disqualified, thus costing them another title opportunity.[60] Ziggler then challenged Otis to a match at WrestleMania and Otis accepted.[49] On the final SmackDown before WrestleMania, a mysterious hacker appeared on the TitanTron during Ziggler's match with Tucker and revealed that Rose's tag team partner Sonya Deville had conspired with Ziggler to sabotage Rose's date with Otis
