Chris King takes a look back at one of the most surreal wrestling events of all time, 2020’s WWE WrestleMania 36!

As we get geared up for WrestleMania 42, one of my favorite things to do is go back and watch previous Manias and find that special magic again. Six years ago, we were living in a worldwide pandemic and nothing felt the same.  WrestleMania 36 was supposed to be held in Tampa Bay but, unfortunately it took place inside of the Performance Center. 

For the first time in WWE history, WrestleMania was split into two nights, which would become a constant going forward. Each night would feature a plethora of matches including Goldberg vs. Braun Strowman for the Universal Championship, Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens, AJ Styles vs. The Undertaker in a Boneyard Match, and Brock Lesnar vs. Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship. 

On Night one, one of the greatest bouts with an incredible build would be ‘The Messiah’ Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens. Rollins had been fighting for the greater good flanked by The Authors of Pain and Buddy Matthews and blatantly destroying Owens on multiple occasions. Rollins portrayed the perfect manipulating heel here.

The resilient ‘Prizefighter’ was so sick of Rollins’ crap that he challenged him to a match at Mania. What started as a simple match, quickly turned into an all out brawl with no disqualifications. Both superstars fought all over the ringside area, and KO would climb off the huge WrestleMania sign and hit a massive elbow drop! Owens would pick up the huge victory over The Messiah. 

Braun Strowman would challenge Goldberg for the Universal Championship in what was relatively a squash match. Roman Reigns was supposed to challenge Goldberg, butdue to health concerns, he took a hiatus from WWE. ‘The Monster Among Men’ would take four massive Spears from the veteran and retaliate with four running power slams to win his first Universal Championship! 

The main event of night one saw The Undertaker battle AJ Styles in a really fun and chaotic boneyard match. This dream match was supposed to take place in front of 75,000 screaming fans but, this was truly the perfect ending to Taker’s illustrious career. Styles had some massive balls calling out his opponent by calling him by his official name and disrespecting his family. ‘The Phenomenal One’ just kept poking the bear all the way into their match. Watching Styles arrive in Undertaker fashion inside of a coffin and give a maniacal laugh was hilarious. All the games were over after Taker rode in on his motorcycle to beat his ass! 

The Deadman would have to face off against The OC, and even his druids to shut his opponent up once and for all. Taker delivering a massive chokeslam and tombstone piledriver on the roof was a sight to see. Taker kicked Styles right into his own grave and rode off into the darkness, as usual! The Undertaker cross symbol blaring through the fire while Metallica plays was iconic! Taker would be so satisfied with the cinematic match that he would formally retire later that year! 

Night Two of WrestleMania 36 was awesome and electric, as Edge faced off with his greatest former friend now rival Randy Orton in a last man standing match, John Cena faced off with ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt inside the Firefly Funhouse, and Drew McIntyre looks to win his first-every WWE championship from ‘The Beast Incarnate’ Brock Lesnar! 

Edge made his shocking return at the 2020 Royal Rumble, after a career-ending neck injury. Randy Orton was excited to see his former Rated-RKO partner but he quickly put a stop to a reunion in a disgusting manner. Orton delivering a vicious Concerto to Edge and hitting an RKO on Beth Phoenix brought back flashbacks to ‘09 Orton and his feud with Triple H! 

‘The Viper’ came out of nowhere disguised as a cameraman to hit an RKO to start the match. Orton was a mastermind here playing the sinister antagonist to Edge’s comeback story. Both superstars went to war throughout the performance center in a hard-hitting performance. Orton choking out Edge while saying “I’ll always love you, man” was just vile and really fun to watch. Edge finally got the advantage in the gym area using the machines to gain some revenge. 

They fought through the backstage areas, a boardroom all the way to the top of an NXT production truck. Orton hitting his signature draping DDT on the bed of a pickup truck was nasty. The Viper tried to Punt Edge’s lights out but, got hit with a massive spear. Edge got the final shot hitting Orton with a devastating Concerto to win the match! 

John Cena entered The Firefly Funhouse for one of most spectacular cinematic masterpieces of all time. This match was a cinematic journey of John Cena’s history within the company, and looking back at his greatest failures. It was so interesting to see how his future could have been way different had he turned heel, instead of maintaining being a babyface who was shoved down our throats for years! Bray Wyatt as ‘The Fiend’ finally got his comeuppance after Cena refused to put him over at Mania 30. 

Wyatt was red-hot at that time but, Cena gave him his greatest defeat of his career. The Fiend may not have been created if it wasn’t for this loss on the grandest stage of them all. Wyatt would defeat Cena and go on to become the Universal Champion months later. 

The final match of the grand event was Drew McIntyre defeating Brock Lesnar to win his first WWE Championship. After Lesnar’s impressive performance at the Royal Rumble, McIntyre humiliated him by eliminating him and punching his ticket to the biggest match of his career. The way WWE hyped McIntyre is very similar to how they are hyping Oba Femi right now. They made him look like an unstoppable beast. 

The match started with a free trip to Suplex City followed by a F5 for a kickout at one! Lesnar’s eyes grew wide as his opponent kept coming back. ‘The Scottish Warrior’ would not stay down and, The Beast was getting pissed. McIntyre would ultimately slay the beast hitting four massive Claymore kicks to win his first WWE Championship! Paul Heyman has a look of shock and disappointment as McIntyre poses with his title. What a way to end WrestleMania 36! 

WrestleMania 42 represents the opportunity for WWE to launch Oba Femi into the stratosphere against Brock Lesnar

Oba Femi will take on Brock Lesnar in his first match at WrestleMania, and this match feels so important. ‘The Ruler’ has had Lesnar’s number for several weeks, and they even had to keep both monsters apart to prevent another massive brawl on the go-home episode of Monday Night Raw. 

‘The Beast Incarnate’ is hoping to continue his reign of terror against the young up-and-comer, while Femi is looking to cement his legacy with the biggest win of his career. It took me a minute, but the last time there was so much importance in a Lesnar match was at WrestleMania 36. 

At that time, Drew McIntyre was trying to make the biggest impact on his career by slaying The Beast. 

Long before Covid happened, the entire WWE Universe was fully behind McIntyre after eliminating  Lesnar and then winning the Royal Rumble. Lesnar worked his ass off to make sure his challenger looked like a million bucks. 

There was an instance where McIntyre hit a Claymore Kick, and there were rumors that Lesnar told his challenger to raise the title to build more momentum going into their match. While the WWE Championship match was held inside of the Performance Center due to COVID, Lesnar utilized everything he could to make McIntyre’s moment that much more special. 

Since then, Lesnar has dominated a plethora of opponents including John Cena, Cody Rhodes, and even Roman Reigns. The Beast recently joined The Vision inside their WarGames match. On the February 23rd episode of Monday Night Raw, Paul Heyman and his client Lesnar laid out an open challenge to any superstar for a match at WrestleMania Night Two. 

On the March 16th episode of Raw, Femi answered The Beast’s WrestleMania challenge by hitting his Fall From Grace Powerbomb. Lesnar was rumored to have told his challenger to stand on his throat and point at the WrestleMania sign. This not only solidified Femi as the ‘Next Big Thing’, but it also helped make the moment more impactful. Lesnar has not dominated Femi one time in their encounters, which is very different from all of Lesnar’s previous opponents. Typically, it’s either very one-sided with The Beast dominating his opponent, or they both trade victories. 

Nobody has looked this strong since Lesnar in 2002. The Beast would come in and destroy all of his opponents. Lesnar was a freak of nature, as he quickly moved up into the main event title scene. He won King of the Ring and defeated The Rock at the 2002 SummerSlam PLE to become the youngest WWE Champion in WWE history. For twenty-five years, Lesnar has been portrayed as this immovable object. That was until The Ruler answered his challenge and dropped Lesnar like he was nothing. 

On Night Two, if Femi really does beat Lesnar, he will take his place on the throne. This could truly be a passing of the torch moment, as perhaps Lesnar’s days in the WWE are numbered. There’s a lot of speculation that he may have his retirement match at this year’s SummerSlam PLE. Femi could use this opportunity as a huge stepping stone to the main event title scene, where ‘The Ruler’ truly belongs.