WrestleMania 36, WWE’s biggest show of the year, takes place this weekend, but in rather unusual circumstances.
Instead of being in front of thousands of fans in Tampa at the Raymond James Stadium, the event is being held behind closed doors at the company’s Performance Centre due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
The WWE have decided the show must go on, but for the first time the action is being split over two nights on April 4 and 5 with 16 matches scheduled at this point.
Here is a look at what is lined up and what to expect this weekend.
Edge to defeat Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing match
The best booked feud on the WrestleMania card. Orton has been electric as the man jealous of his former friend’s return after a nine-year hiatus because of injury.
It will be fascinating to see how Edge fares in his first singles match since WrestleMania 27. Booking a Last Man standing match is smart as it won’t be a pure wrestling bout and allows for some chicanery outside the ring.
Everyone wins here. Edge gets a feel-good win as Orton reminds everyone that when he is focused he is one of the very best still in WWE.
Drew McIntyre beats Brock Lesnar to win the WWE Universal Championship
Initially this writer expected Lesnar to retain and push back McIntyre’s coronation to a later date.
But the absence of Roman Reigns from the WWE World Heavyweight title match, which we will get to, changes things.
WWE usually has a big title moment at WrestleMania and with Reigns out of the picture having McIntyre follow up his Royal Rumble win with the gaining of his first world title makes sense.
McIntyre has momentum, plenty of charisma, and believable physicality to take on the Beast.
Lesnar appears motivated for this storyline and he puts his British rival over this weekend.
Bill Goldberg retains the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Right, this one is a bit sketchy as we have a number of difficult elements.
Roman Reigns is out of his scheduled title match with champion Goldberg, owing to his health concerns from the pandemic, given his weakened immune system following his past health issues with leukaemia.
Reigns has confirmed his absence on social media but it is yet to be acknowledged officially on WWE programming, with the final SmackDown before Mania taking place on Friday evening.
Braun Strowman is the rumoured replacement for Reigns to face Goldberg.
Now the whole point of this feud was to make Reigns champion and be the face of the SmackDown brand.
That is surely still the same goal. Nothing changes so Goldberg retains, and drops the belt to Reigns at a later date.
WWE would likely pinpoint the first SmackDown in front of a live crowd as and when the Coronavirus crisis subsides sufficiently at a date in the future.
Fans will be so happy to be watching live action again that a big pop is guaranteed for whoever shines that night, so putting the title on Reigns, whenever that is, would be the smart play.
Charlotte Flair beats Rhea Ripley to win the NXT Women’s title
This is a tough one. Ripley is highly thought of in WWE and her ascent up the women’s division of WWE has been rapid.
But it is hard to go against Flair on the big occasion. This feels like the start of the feud, so having Flair win the NXT title will be a big deal, not just for her but for the brand.
It would solidify the notion that NXT is no longer a feeder league for Raw and SmackDown and adds intrigue to WWE programming.
Plus it is hard to see where Flair fits in elsewhere right now. Becky Lynch v Shayna Baszler on Raw and Bayley v Sasha Banks on SmackDown are the major rivalries on those shows and Flair on NXT makes a lot of sense for a short period.
Shayna Baszler beats Becky Lynch to win the Raw Women’s Championship
Lynch has had an amazing past 12 months since pinning Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania 35 and she has racked up numerous big wins since.
But she must drop the title here. Baszler is the last creditable opponent for her on Raw and it does feel like the right time for a change at the top.
Baszler’s introduction to Raw, after a dominant run on NXT, has been hit and miss and she needs immediate success to demonstrate to the main audience that she is the real deal.
Lynch also needs a change and having her chase the title will be fun, especially if Baszler does win with some nefarious tactics.
Bayley retains the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Sasha Banks, Tamina, Lacey Evans and Naomi in a five-way elimination match
There are really only two realistic winners here. The champion Bayley or her friend Sasha Banks.
A feud between this pair has been teased going back two years and this is where things begin to kick off.
Banks will go close to winning, but will be screwed over by Bayley to prevent her winning the title.
I don’t expect a split on the night, but it will sow the seeds on Banks turning face and challenging Bayley for the title going into the summer.
The Undertaker to defeat AJ Styles in a Boneyard match
Some fiery promos from both men have helped put some heat into this one.
Styles needs a big win as he has flagged on Raw over past year since turning heel.
He could be a good early opponent for McIntyre’s Universal title reign.
But Styles is good enough to be built up regardless of whatever happens this weekend, which is just as well as it is hard to see Taker losing here.
There are elements of the American biker gimmick of the early 2000s in Taker’s words and appearance of late, and it is clear he is having fun reliving his past.
Taker wins in a competitive match.
Bray Wyatt defeats John Cena in a Firefly Fun House match
Wyatt needs to win this badly. His character was hurt by the awful feud with Goldberg that culminated in him losing the Universal Championship in less than five minutes to the part-timer.
Wyatt’s work as The Fiend has been some of the most innovative seen in WWE in years and it would be a shame to waste it.
Cena has a passion for the business and the 16-time champion will do the right thing here and put Wyatt over.
Kevin Owens beats Seth Rollins
This rivalry has gone on his the Raw after Survivor Series and both men have done fine work to sustain the heat.
Owens arguably needs the victory more then Rollins and he will go over this weekend to hopefully continue his push towards returning to the world title scene.
Sami Zayn wins against Daniel Bryan to retain the Intercontinental Championship
Bryan continues to be brilliant value in WWE and he has made an absorbing storyline out of nothing with his work with Drew Gulak.
Zayn has only just won the intercontinental title and while Bryan winning would be great, there feels like there is more money in the championship staying where it is.
Whether Gulak, intentionally or not, costs Bryan the match, or Zayn’s henchmen Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro interfere, the title does not switch hands.
Asuka and Kairi Sane defeat Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross to retain the Women’s Tag Team titles
Asuka and Kairi Sane have been brilliant as tag champions and have helped make the tag division a source of interest.
A title change may happen in this rivalry, but it doesn’t happen here as miscommunication between the challengers allows the Japanese pairing to stand tall.
The Street Profits to retain the Raw Tag Team Championship against Austin Theory and Angel Garza
This match has changed line-up considerably due to illnesses to a number of people, including Rey Mystery and United States champion Andrade.
This will be a filler encounter with Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford prevailing to keep the gold around their waist.
Aleister Black wins against Bobby Lashley
One of the easier matches to call.
Lashley’s return to WWE has been a big disappointment and things don’t get any better for him this weekend as he proves to be fodder for the impressive Black, who WWE clearly have big plans for in the months ahead.
Baron Corbin defeats Elias
This is filler, which could well end up on the pre-show on either night.
Corbin is a great character heel but needs more in-ring credibility. Getting another WrestleMania win here seems the obvious move as WWE lacks good heels and Corbin, when given good material, is a good foil for the leading babyfaces in the company.
Otis defeats Dolph Ziggler
This is a match that will be hurt by the absence of a crowd, with fans before the lockdown having really got behind Heavy Machinery and Otis in recent months.
The story is about the relationship between Otis and Mandy Rose, which has been ruined so far by Ziggler and the teased interfering of Rose’s tag partner Sonya Deville.
A feel-good moment for the weekend as Otis stands tall and gets the girl as Rose leaves the arena with him as Ziggler and Deville get their comeuppance.
John Morrison and The Miz retain the SmackDown Tag Team Championship
This is another match where the line-up is unknown due to The Miz having been ruled out with illness.
A triple threat tag match with The New Day and The Usos had been planned but now that will not happen and a Plan B will have to be put in place.
Whatever WWE come up with the most safest thing to expect is that Morrison and Miz will still be champions after Sunday evening.
WrestleMania 36 is on the WWE Network and the action is scheduled to start at 2am on both April 5 and April 6 UAE time.
