I’m pretty sure that the WrestleMania 36 Night 1 review is going to be weird, and the same will likely apply to Night 2 (my review).
There are plenty of good matches on the card, but it’s impossible to know what to expect from having no fans at the biggest wrestling show of the year. And with a Boneyard Match and a Funhouse Match on the agenda, this won’t be a WrestleMania filled with mat classics.
Let’s get to the WrestleMania 36 Night 1 review.
VIDEO: Stephanie McMahon welcomes us and reiterates WWE’s commitment to entertaining its fans. We then get a video mixing in various America The Beautiful performances from previous WrestleMania shows. This was actually pretty creative. And then we get the WrestleMania hype video that includes Pirates of the Caribbean, AC/DC, and other fun stuff.
RINGSIDE: Rob Gronkowski gets things started and then Mojo Rawley joins. Gronk chops Mojo and they yell to start the show.
Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross vs. (c) Asuka and Kairi Sane – WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles
Michael Cole and JBL are on commentary for this one. MAGGLE is back. Asuka is already making a case for WrestleMania MVP with her facial expressions and dancing. Sane pushes Bliss down and messes with her hair. Bliss slaps Sane and mocks her. Cross with a dropkick on Sane for two. Asuka back in and she uses the snapmare for a big kick on Cross. They go back and forth as Bliss makes the tag while Cross throws Asuka out. Kevin Dunn already working the camera cuts for every punch. That’s gonna get old quick for an empty arena show.
Bliss with a baseball slide to Sane. Bliss then hits a flip off the apron, and Cross follows it up with a body press of her own. Back in the ring where Bliss gets a near fall on Asuka. Cross works on Asuka’s arm, but she managed to make the tag to Sane. Cross throws Sane out of the ring and goes for a dropkick, but Sane reverses. All four women brawl on the outside before Asuka takes control in the ring. Double team from the champs as Asuka continues to entertain like there’s 80,000 people in the building. I love her. Sane with furious punches to Cross, which includes about 348 camera cuts in five seconds.
Cross with a rollthrough pin attempt for two. Hot tag to Bliss who runs wild. Bliss goes up top and gets knocked to the middle turnbuckle, which allows Sane to come off the top with a stomp to her face for a near fall. Great spot there. Sliding forearm from Sane for another two. Asuka back in and she chokes Bliss with her boot. Asuka is so great. Asuka goes to work on the arm and then Sane with some shenanigans on Bliss while the ref’s back was turned. Asuka with a kick to Bliss’ face for another near fall. Cross tries to get a clap going but that doesn’t seem to be working.
Bliss finally gets the hot tag to Cross who hits the running bulldog on Sane. Cross with the flying cross body for a two on Sane. The ref gets occupied with Asuka, and Sane rakes Cross’ eyes. Asuka comes in but Cross hits the backbreaker on her and nearly gets the win before Sane hits the Insane Elbow to break it up. Asuka slaps on the Asuka Lock on Cross, but Bliss hits the Twisted Bliss to break that up. Sane takes out Bliss and everyone is down. Asuka with the knees to the face of Cross as Sane goes up top. Cross climbs up and so does Asuka. The champs channel their inner Road Warriors with a modified Doomsday Device, with Sane hitting a flying forearm on Cross. Asuka with the pin but Cross kicks out at two.
Sane knocks Bliss off the apron and the champs go for a double team, but Cross gets out of the way as Asuka runs shoulder-first into the post. Cross hits the spinning neckbreaker on Sane. Bliss then hits the Twisted Bliss to win the titles at 15:05. Look, we know there are gonna be limitations with all of these matches due to not having a crowd. But I really enjoyed this one. They worked hard and put together a fun match.
- Rating: ***
BACKSTAGE: Kayla Braxton with Sami Zayn, Cesaro, and Shinsuke Nakamura. Zayn teases a plan and says he’s gonna walk out as Intercontinental champion.
BACKSTAGE: Shayna Bayzler prepares for her match.
King Corbin vs. Elias
King Corbin reminds us what he did to Elias. Corbin demands that the referee count out Elias and declare him the winner. Elias comes out and shatters the guitar on Corbin’s back. Elias throws Corbin into the barricade and then into the ring post. Elias throws Corbin into the ring to officially start the match. Running right hand from Elias and then a running elbow for a quick two. Elias with a backbreaker and another two count. Corbin counters a move and Elias falls to the outside. Back in where Corbin sends Elias into the post and then gets a two count.
More offense from Corbin, including a big clothesline for a near fall. Corbin goes to work on Elias’ injured shoulder. Corbin yells at JBL to tell everyone how good he is. Elias tries to regain the advantage but Corbin sends his shoulder into the post for a second time and gets a two count. Corbin continues working on the shoulder, but Elias counters and sends Corbin’s shoulder into the post. Elias with lots of punches to Corbin in the corner while I ponder how the former wrestles in jeans. Just don’t know how he does it.
Elias with the reverse neckbreaker on Corbin for two. Elias goes up top but Corbin moves out of the way and hits the Deep Six for a near fall. Corbin goes for a clothesline in the corner but Elias moves, and he catches Corbin with a jumping knee to the face for a two count. Worth noting that I’ve checked the volume multiple times out of habit when it gets silent in between spots. Corbin goes for a pin with his feet on the ropes, and the ref yells at him. Corbin gets angry and that allows Elias sneak in and roll him up for the win at 9:00. Not much to this one.
- Rating: *1/2
VIDEO: We get a hype video for Becky Lynch vs. Shayna Baszler.
IN THE PARKING LOT: Becky arrives driving the semi-truck. Is she here for a match with Baszler or a monster truck battle with The Giant? Also, I love that they’re still doing the unique WrestleMania entrances with no crowd. Why the hell not.
Shayna Baszler vs. (c) Becky Lynch – RAW Women’s Title
Both women exchange punches to start the match, with Shayna going for the Kirifuda Clutch before Becky rolls out of the ring. Shayna follows her and throws her head into the apron. Shayna goes for a powerbomb but Becky reverses into a hurricanrana. Becky slams Shayna’s head off the announce desk and then throws her into the steel steps. Back inside where Becky hits a dropkick off the top and follows it with a flying forearm in the corner. More offense from Becky until Shayna hits a knee strike to her head. Shayna goes on offense but Becky reverses and attempts the Disarm Her but Shayna reverses that into another clutch attempt, which leads to Becky countering into a pin attempt for two.
Shayna with a double-underhook facebuster for a near fall. They make their way to the apron and trade punches. Shayna goes for a clothesline but Becky hits what is basically a Rock Bottom onto the apron. Becky rolls her back in but Shayna kicks out at two. Becky goes up top again but Shayna hops up and kicks her in the face before throwing her off. Shayna locks in an armbar but Becky temporarily rolls it into a pin as Shayna regains control by using the Disarm Her on Becky. Shayna then with a big kick to Becky’s face for another near fall. Shayana goes for the clutch again but Becky hits a stunner to rack Shayna on the ropes. Becky tries the Disarm Her again from the apron but Shayna counters with the Kirifuda Clutch while using the rope. The ref forces her to break the hold, which doesn’t exactly help Becky since Shayna grabs her and throws her into the announce table.
Back inside where Becky tries to get the advantage but Shayna once again reverses into the Kirifuda Clutch. Becky flips over to counter it and pins Shayna to regain the title at 8:30. Well that was quick. This was an action-packed sprint that likely sets up a rematch. But no Shayna post-match attack felt disappointing.
- Rating: **1/2
Daniel Bryan vs. (c) Sami Zayn – WWE Intercontinental Title
Zayn stalls in the corner to start the match and then retreats outside the ring. He gets back inside and does the same thing again. And he does it again before Bryan gets fed up and chases him. Cesaro steps in front of Bryan, with Zayn sliding back into the ring. More chasing with Shinsuke Nakamura stepping in front of Bryan. Zayn runs away again and Drew Gulak has had enough as he jumps off the apron onto Cesaro and Nakamura. Gulak throws both over the barricade, and Bryan yells at Gulak to let Zayn leave if he wants. Zayn walks up the ramp and Bryan charges at him with a spear before dragging him back into the ring.
Bryan with hard rights to Zayn’s head as the latter keeps trying to escape. Bryan with a couple of stiff kicks before he goes back to the punches. Zayn to the outside but Bryan flies through the middle rope onto him while basically ramming his shoulder into the barricade. More kicks from Bryan and they head back inside, where he hits a missile dropkick on Zayn. Bryan continues the onslaught and then slaps the hell out of Zayn before hitting a running knee to the face. Cole asks if Zayn is crying and JBL plainly says he shouldn’t be crying at WrestleMania.
Zayn counters and regains the advantage with a clothesline. Zayn with a slap to Bryan’s face and then hits a few chops. Bryan responds with a running clothesline and delivers multiple kicks to Zayn. Gulak starts a yes chant on the outside but Cesaro and Nakamura attack him from behind. Bryan dives through the ropes and takes out both of them. Bryan gets back in the ring, and Zayn hits the Helluva Kick for the win at 9:20. Another short match, but the storytelling was good with Zayn escaping with the victory.
- Rating: **1/2
Kofi Kingston vs. Jimmy Uso vs. (c) John Morrison – Triple Threat Match for the Smackdown Tag Team Titles
Several flips and counter moves early as all three men retreat to a corner. Then all three slide outside and bring a ladder into the ring, which leads to them climbing to the top. Jimmy delivers a few chops but Morrison pushed his ladder over and Jimmy lands hard on his knee. Jimmy pulls Morrison off the ladder before Kofi hits a flying cross body on Jimmy. Morrison gains control with kicks to both opponents. Morrison and Kofi counter each other’s moves, with Kofi getting the upper hand and eventually knocking Jimmy off the top of the ladder. Morrison speeds up and throws Kofi off the ladder but isn’t in position to grab them.
Jimmy gets the advantage and knocks Morrison to the mat. Kofi launches himself off the top rope and under one of the ladders, with Jimmy and Morrison catching him and throwing him to the outside. Morrison with a thumb to the eye of Jimmy, and then he throws the ladder on him. Jimmy regains the advantage and sets up the ladder in the corner. Jimmy throws Morrison’s face off of it and goes for a superplex but Morrison dumps him on the ladder. Morrison hits a spinning move off the top onto Jimmy in an awesome spot. Morrison throws Jimmy out and heads up the ladder, but Kofi flies off the top rope and Morrison catches him before Kofi counters and knocks him off the ladder.
Kofi leaps over the top onto Morrison and business is picking up. Jimmy jumps off the barricade towards Kofi, but the latter throws a ladder at him. Kofi builds a bridge between the ring and barricade before putting Jimmy on the ladder. Morrison climbs up top but Kofi hammers him. Kofi and Morrison climb on opposite turnbuckles, with Morrison going full-on tightrope walking to the other corner. Kofi with the Spanish Fly off the top on Morrison, and Jimmy flies off the top for a splash onto Morrison. Kofi and Jimmy climb the ladder, with Kofi getting knocked off before climbing to the inside of the ladder and knocking Jimmy off.
Kofi goes to grab the titles but Morrison climbs up to join him. Kofi knocks Morrison off and then hits a modified flying dropkick. Jimmy sets up a ladder bridging another ladder the middle rope. Jimmy catches Kofi and then drives him face first into the ladder on the middle rope. Morrison set up on the ladder while Jimmy climbs another ladder, but Morrison hops up and sends Jimmy flying to the outside off the top of the ladder. Morrison climbs the ladder in the middle of the ring and goes to grab the titles, but Kofi stops him. Jimmy back in the mix and he sets up a ladder beside them. All three put their hands on the titles, which leads to them pulling off the hook with the titles still attached. Morrison then gets knocked off the ladder onto the one on the middle ropes, and he holds onto one of the titles to retain at 18:30. Fun match with a creative finishing sequence.
- Rating: ****
VIDEO: We get a video hyping the feud between Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens.
Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens
Rollins may as well be Jay White’s twin at this point with his ring gear. Rollins rolls outside the ring but Owens pursues him. Rollins slides back in and goes for the Curb Stomp as Owens enters the ring but it misses. Owens chops and punches before hitting a big clothesline and a few senton splashes. Rollins exits the ring again but that doesn’t work as Owens throws him into the barricade. He goes it again for good measure and tosses Rollins in the ring. Owens goes for a powerbomb on Rollins on the apron but Rollins reverses it and backdrops him onto the apron. And then Rollins hits the Falcon Arrow on Owens onto the apron. Holy shit. That was brutal.
Rollins dives onto Owens on the outside and taunts him a bit. Rollins hits another dive and goes back to the taunting. Rollins tries it a third time but Owens punches him. Rollins quickly regains control with a slingblade and then we get some mounted punches. And another Curb Stomp attempt from Rollins but Owens hits a spike DDT. Rollins misses a splash in the corner, which allows Owens to hit a superkick and a senton off the top for a near fall. More counters from each man, with Rollins hitting an enziguri and Owens hitting a huge clothesline.
Owens takes Rollins up top and the latter rakes Owens’ eyes. Rollins goes for the sunset flip powerbomb and turns it into a buckle bomb in the opposite corner. Owens quickly hits a pop-up powerbomb for a two count. They head back outside and Rollins hits Owens in the face with the ringbell as the ref calls for the DQ at . Rollins heads up the ramp but Owens grabs a mic and calls him a little bitch and challenges him to an impromptu no DQ match. Rollins accepts and the ref restarts the match. Good thing because the DQ finish was extremely disappointing.
Rollins goes back to work and throws Owens into the barricade. Rollins then picks up the steel steps and hammers Owens with it. Rollins picks up a chair and hits Owens with that too. And make it another chair shot to the back. Rollins throws everything off the announce table but turns around into Owens hitting him with the ringbell. Owens does it again and then leaves the ringside area. Then we see Owens climbing the WrestleMania sign, and then he jumps off of it onto Rollins on the table. Multiple refs come out to check on both men but Owens gets up and rolls Rollins back in the ring. Owens pulls Rollins to the center of the ring and hits the Stunner to win it at 17:20. Great storytelling to push the hatred these two have for each other. This felt like a WrestleMania blow-off match, which is exactly what it needed to be.
- Rating: ***3/4
RINGSIDE: Gronk and Mojo are having fun and R-Truth asks if he can hang out with them to hide from the people chasing him. That leads to Gronk going for the pin on Truth, but Mojo throws him off and gets the pin on Truth to win the title. Mojo leaves as Gronk looks pissed.
BACKSTAGE: Charley Caruso with Paul Heyman. He hypes the Brock Lesnar vs. Drew McIntyre match on night two.
RINGSIDE: Tom Phillips and Byron Saxton hype all of the night two matches, including Lesnar vs. McIntyre, Edge vs. Randy Orton, and John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt.
Braun Strowman vs. (c) Goldberg – Universal Title
Something tells me these two aren’t fighting to a time-limit draw. They go face to face to start the match, with Goldberg kicking Braun before missing a spear in the corner. Braun picks up Goldberg but the latter maneuvers out of it and hits a spear. Braun gets up quickly and Goldberg hits another spear. Goldberg with a third spear but Braun kicks out at two. Braun staggers to the corner and gets a fourth spear from Goldberg, who then goes for the Jackhammer but Braun reverses it into a powerslam.
Braun hits another powerslam and then another. Braun hits a fourth powerslam and wins the title at 2:10. That’s interesting. Most expected Goldberg to retain, but Braun takes care of business with the biggest title win of his career. Hard to rate the match since it basically featured only two moves.
- Rating: *1/2
VIDEO: We get a video hyping AJ Styles vs. The Undertaker in a Boneyard Match. Styles was so great in the build to this one.
AJ Styles vs. The Undertaker – Boneyard Match
We hear Taker’s theme as a hearse pulls into a graveyard. Two people open the back and pull out a casket, and Styles pops up laughing. This match is going to be straight out of Broken Matt Hardy’s playbook. Styles yells for Taker, and we get some hard rock music as a motorcycle drives down the road. The bike pulls into the graveyard and the AMERICAN BADASS IS BACK. Ric Flair knew what he was doing when he drafted Taker at No. 1 in the first-ever WWE Draft. Styles taunts Taker about Michelle McCool and then says he went ahead and dug Taker’s grave. Styles picks up an object off the ground but Taker punches him.
Taker keeps talking shit to Styles as he tries to run away. Shit talking Taker is the best. He throws Styles into the casket and then throws his face into it a few times. Taker picks up a weapon and goes to hit Styles with it, but Styles ducks and Taker arm goes through the car window. Taker’s response: “Son of a bitch.” This match is already five stars. Taker is pissed at Styles because his arm is busted open. Taker throws Styles on the windshield of the hearse and they climb on top of it. Styles fights back but Taker knocks him down again.
Taker with furious punches on Styles as he yells at him to not talk about his wife again. Styles falls off the hearse and onto the ground with Taker continuing to talk shit. Styles throws dirt into Taker’s face and goes on the attack. CUE THE DRAMATIC MUSIC. Styles hits a few punches but Taker fights back and sends Styles into a grave. Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows yell at Taker and we basically get a John Wayne moment where Taker spits and slowly talks towards them. We’ve got a cinematic masterpiece here.
As Taker approaches them, they move out of the way and the shed behind them lights up. Five druids dramatically step out and surround Taker. He says let’s do this. FUCK YEAH. Taker starts beating their asses but Anderson and Gallows attack him. Anderson grabs a shovel but Taker kicks him in the stomach and punches both of them. Taker grabs the shovel and hits both with it but Styles comes from behind and hits Taker with some type of big concrete block. Styles begs for Taker to stay down and retire already.
Styles taunts Taker some more and then spears him into the shed. Styles tells Taker he doesn’t have it anymore. Styles continues the taunting until Taker gives him the middle finger. Styles knocks him to the ground and calls him a broken down old bitch. Styles grabs a shovel and hits Taker on the back with it, which sends him into a grave. Styles gets on the tractor and laughs, but Taker majestically appears behind him and attacks.
Styles runs away by climbing a ladder to get on top of what appears to be a barn. Taker then says there’s nowhere to run and we get fire out of nowhere behind Styles. That leads to Styles charging Taker but getting knocked down. Taker then throws punches to Anderson and Gallows who have also made their way onto the top of the barn. So much for that as Taker literally throws Gallows off the top of the barn. Then he hits the Tombstone Piledriver on Anderson onto the roof. THROW HIS ASS OFF THERE TOO. He doesn’t and instead taunts Styles. Taker then chokeslams Styles off the barn.
Taker with even more shit talking and he says he’s not finished with Styles yet. So Taker picks him up and takes him near a grave. Styles tries to apologize and begs for Taker not to bury him. Taker says he won’t and gives Styles a hug. Taker goes to walk away and then turns around and kicks Styles into a grave. Taker hops on the tractor and pours the dirt to get the win at 19:00. We see Styles’ hand raised from the dirt as Taker hops on his bike and hits the road. I’m not sure what I just watched but it was wildly entertaining and both guys played their roles to perfection. Obviously, the match rating here isn’t based on your traditional match. Instead, it’s all about entertainment value.
- Rating: ****
Blake’s WrestleMania 36 Night 1 Awards
- Best Match: AJ Styles vs. The Undertaker
- WrestleMania 36 Night 1 MVP: AJ Styles
- Overall WrestleMania 36 Night 1 Rating: 7.5/10
- Thoughts: Considering that expectations were low entering this unique WrestleMania, I don’t think there’s any doubt that Night 1 was a success. Becky vs. Shayna was a little disappointing, and the Universal title match wasn’t much from a wrestling standpoint. But everything else offered something different. The women’s tag match was fun, the ladder match was a high-flying exhibition, Rollins and Owens beat the hell out of each other, and Styles and Taker basically wrestled in an alternate universe. This was a very good start, with Night 2 featuring several more intriguing matches.
For more of my show reviews, visit the Pro Wrestling Reviews section!
