WWE WrestleMania 36 results: Firefly FunHouse, Boneyard matches capture the best moments from the surreal 2020 show

WrestleMania 36 has always been destined to be remembered, for better or worse. For the first time in history, WWE’s annual signature event was organized over two nights, pre-recorded at the empty WWE Performance Center during the global coronavirus pandemic. Many fans were hesitant with the belief that WWE could provide the spectacle that deserves the WrestleMania title, but the company somehow pulled away from the seemingly impossible by delivering two nights of vigorous wrestling without the tens of thousands of fans in attendance.

While there are plenty of moments that will forever stick in the minds of wrestling fans, we narrowed our list down to the top three from each evening. Let’s look at six of the most memorable moments from the first two-week WrestleMania in history.

Night 1

1. Undertaker throws AJ Styles into the open grave: Conceptually, a duel between AJ Styles and Undertaker was a big risk. WWE took another opportunity to present a cinematic experience that went wrong, most notably the attempt to recreate Matt Hardy’s “Broken Universe” magic, as well as the disastrous 2017 House of Horrors match between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt. Undertaker and Styles, however, WWE scored the execution by striking the right balance between tense action and over-presentation.

After fighting through the cemetery, beside a barn filled with druids and on the roof, the decisive moment of the match came when Styles begged Undertaker not to bury him. The Undertaker laughed, saying that he would not bury Styles after fighting so well, only to then turn around and hit Styles in the grave before piling dirt all over his body using a tractor. The stunning encounter ended with Styles’ hand scraping from the dirt, with the Undertaker exiting the scene on his motorcycle to complete the first night of WrestleMania 36.

2. Kevin Owens gets his “WrestleMania Moment”: The idea of ​​”WrestleMania Moment” as a pivotal point in a wrestler’s career has caught on in the last decade where the concept is woven into the story. That was the case with the bidding between Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins. Rollins achieved his own record of success at past WrestleManias while recording verbal shots in Owens’ failure history. So when Rollins chose to be disqualified by banging Owens in the bell, it felt like Rollins was going down the slightest resistance to rob Owens to reach that moment for at least another year.

Owens, however, will be looking to restart the match, and that has led to his now iconic moment. With the Rollins down at the top of the announcement table – an Owens score that uses the same bell as the weapon – Owens climbed to the top of the WrestleMania sign posted off the coast before jumping and driving Rollins through the senton table. The highlight that came moments later was Owens’ thinking of jumping into his own story.

3. Brown Strowman wins first world title: Braun Strowman joining Roman Reigns against Goldberg at the last minute was not an ideal circumstance. Strowman’s journey to the WWE was complicated by questionable decision-making, with the WWE never intruding while the iron was in its hottest condition.

Strowman entered the ring against Goldberg who is still a bit fresh from his first championship single, a brief run as the interim champion of moving the intercontinental title to Sami Zayna. But in running through Goldberg in the short run to win the universal title, he was put in the position to take the ball and run with it as one of the best champions on promotion. Fans will have to wait and see how things work out for him.

Night 2

1. John Cena Enters Firefly Fun: Trying to pick one moment out of John Cena’s Firefly Fun House match with Bray Wyatt would be almost impossible. Where Boneyard Match was the culmination of a high-end action movie, the fun part was indie psychological horror films made into professional wrestling. Wyatt promised that Cena would face off in the match, and that effectively happened when Cena walked into the party house before entering through the door where he re-lived the various staff from his WWE time. With each step through the process, Wyatt addressed Can’s weaknesses and weaknesses, before finally tearing him down to the point of vulnerability at which “The Fiend” could appear and nail Cena using Mandible Claw.

A moment after Cena walked through the door, he was greeted by hornatine Vince McMahon, with the puppet demanding Cena once again displaying “relentless aggression.” That set the current tone of the surreal match we were about to witness. But the best moment of all may have been insincere in the middle of an interview match from Saturday night’s main event, in which Cena played the role of Johnny Largemeat.

2. Drew McIntyre finally exploits his potential: One of the main themes of building WrestleMania has been competitors looking to monetize their potential against others who have already achieved an elite level of success. That was the case with Owens’ battle with Rollins and Strowman against Goldberg, but also with Drew McIntyre, who wanted to complete his 19-year journey to the top of the wrestling world when he met Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship. McIntyre failed to tap into his potential during his first run in WWE, eventually firing him from his contract before developing as a performer on the independent stage. Lesnar represents the opposite path through sport, finding success from the jump before becoming a performer able to manage his conditions as an almost invincible force.

McIntyre had to survive a series of F-5s from Lesnar in their short match to close out the event – each ejection was a sign of the strength and confidence he gained from past failures. When the momentum turned, McIntyre took full advantage, following Claymore Kick after Claymore Kick until he wiped it out, leaving Scott to celebrate his WWE Champion status as the show went off the air.

3. Charlotte Flair’s career comes full circle: While it’s hard to leave Edge’s return to single-player action against Randy Orton off this list, the best in-ring game of the weekend should be noted. Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley opened the second night of WrestleMania with incredible effort. Flair is an expert at delivering jaw dropping matches on the biggest stages, but working in an empty building gives extra focus to the wrestlers and their ability to manage the match without the interaction of the crowd. Flair and Ripley did just that by staying in a dramatic clash for Ripley’s NXT Championship.

After focusing her attack on Ripley’s knee throughout the match, Flair was finally able to lock into the figure-eight to force the champion to surrender, winning the NXT title in the process. It was at that point that Flair’s career came full circle, winning a championship that put her on the map when navigating NXT at a time when the brand was focused on development ownership. Now, with NXT on cable each week, Flair is back on top.