Vince McMahon

The card for WrestleMania 36 has seen numerous changes over the past few weeks as WWE continues to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. One match that has remained the same is the WWE Championship bout between Brock Lesnar and Drew McIntyre.

WWE chose to move ahead with WrestleMania despite not being able to have fans in attendance. This may end up causing WWE to save certain moments it had planned for the show for future dates.

The first several weeks of this feud made The Scottish Psychopath look unstoppable. He has gotten the best of Lesnar on multiple occasions and looked primed to win his first world title on the Grandest Stage of Them All.

However, part of what made his Rumble victory so special was the live crowd's reaction. The WWE Universe unanimously cheered for him that night, and WWE was probably banking on a similar reaction when he dethroned The Beast. 

A moment as special as somebody's first championship might be too important for WWE to have it take place without any fans present. For now, let's operate under the assumption that McIntyre were going to win the title at WrestleMania. 

If WWE can put on a regular PPV for SummerSlam, saving the title change for that night might be a better option. Let's examine this from both sides to see what is best for WWE and McIntyre.

Saving the Title Change for SummerSlam

There are several estimates going around related to when we might get the coronavirus under control to the extent that public gatherings and normal business can resume. Even some of the more conservative estimates say certain areas may be locked down until the summer.

For the sake of this experiment, let's say WWE will be able to have its SummerSlam take place in front of a live crowd.

Having the support of the WWE Universe is new for McIntyre. He has operated as a heel for most of his career but won the fans over recently with his skill and personality. There is no denying how much more special winning the WWE Championship would be if he could do it in front of thousands of screaming fans. 

He would likely follow it with an emotional speech about working hard to return to WWE a better wrestler and achieving his dreams. This is the kind of moment that would be on every highlight reel for the rest of his career. That might be too valuable to WWE to allow it to happen without fans in attendance.

The storyline would be easy to tell. McIntyre could come closer than anybody to beating Lesnar during their WrestleMania match. The Beast might even be forced to rely on help from Paul Heyman to retain his belt.

Over the next few months, McIntyre would stalk Lesnar and Heyman until he was granted a rematch. Then, when SummerSlam rolls around in August, McIntyre would destroy Lesnar and bring the WWE Championship home. It's simple but effective.

The Title Changes Hands at WrestleMania

There is an argument to be made for staying the course and having McIntyre defeat Lesnar for the title. If he wins the belt, he would be able to be more present as champion than Lesnar while WWE continues to put on shows at the Performance Center.

At a time when WWE is not able to have its entire roster available for every show, having the top champion on Raw more accessible is important.

McIntyre winning would also be a highlight from this year's event WWE can tout in the coming weeks as it continues to rely heavily on video packages and interviews for content.

What Is the Right Choice?

It wouldn't be surprising to see WWE delay the title change so it can happen in front of a live audience, but the most likely outcome is McIntyre leaving WrestleMania as the WWE champion.

WWE needs as many big moments to talk about in the coming weeks as it can get. The Beast being defeated at the biggest event of the year would be much more exciting to focus on than Lesnar retaining once again.

It also ups the replayability of WrestleMania while many people remain in isolation. We can see The Beast beat a bunch of people from past PPVs. It would be way more fun to see somebody take him down for once.

For information about the pandemic and precautions to take, please see guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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WrestleMania to Air on Fox Sports PPV for First Time

The two-night WrestleMania 36 event Saturday and Sunday will air on Fox Sports platforms, marking the first time WWE's marquee event has been carried by Fox.

According to WrestlingInc.com's Jason Ounpraseuth, WWE and Fox announced the pay-per-view can be seen on the Fox Sports App and FoxSports.com. WrestleMania will also be available on other pay-per-view platforms and WWE Network.

WrestleMania airing on Fox Sports represents the continued growth of the relationship between WWE and Fox. SmackDown has aired every Friday on Fox since October, and a WWE studio show called WWE Backstage has aired weekly on Tuesdays on FS1 as well.

This year's WrestleMania is perhaps the most unique show in its 36-year history, as it will emanate from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, with no fans in attendance due to the coronavirus pandemic.

WrestleMania was originally supposed to take place in front of more than 70,000 fans at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

This year also marks the first time WrestleMania has ever occurred over the course of two days. With so many matches to get on the card and so little original sports entertainment content available to watch, stretching it out to two days seems like a smart move on WWE's part.

Also, former New England Patriots tight end and potential future Pro Football Hall of Famer Rob Gronkowski is hosting WrestleMania this year, which is something that should appeal to Fox Sports in a big way.

McMahon Reportedly Giving More Slack on Promos

WWE is known for its scripted promos and lack of wiggle room in terms of ad libbing and creativity on the mic, but that reportedly may be changing.

According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), WWE Chairman Vince McMahon gave performers and Raw Executive Director Paul Heyman "some rein" when it came to the promos on Monday's episode of Raw.

Monday's Raw was the go-home episode prior to WrestleMania, and it was heavy on promos with The Undertaker, Kevin Owens, Edge, Raw women's champion Becky Lynch and Heyman (on behalf of WWE champion Brock Lesnar) all cutting lengthy promos to sell their upcoming matches at WrestleMania.

The promos have generally been fantastic on Raw over the past couple of weeks, as AJ Styles, Randy Orton and Seth Rollins also shined on the mic last week.

Perhaps being given "more rein" is part of the reason for that, but the unique atmosphere with no fans in attendance has also helped.

Rather than having to talk over a raucous crowd in the middle of the ring, Superstars have had the opportunity to speak right into the camera while standing at the top of the ramp, sitting backstage or even milling around a graveyard setting, like The Undertaker.

As a result, it has felt like the performers are speaking directly to their opponents and the fans at home, and that intimacy has made many of the matches on the WrestleMania card feel important.

There is no clear timeline for when fans will be allowed to attend WWE events or any sporting event again in the United States, but one positive from WWE's perspective is that it can continue to provide the fans watching at home with some spectacular talking segments.

Reason for Sane's Recent Absence from TV

Kairi Sane has not been on WWE programming for the past few weeks, but that was reportedly planned ahead of time regardless of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Meltzer (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Robert Gunier), Sane has been home in Japan spending time with her husband after recently getting married. WWE was reportedly aware that she wouldn't be available until WrestleMania.

Sane last competed in a televised match on the March 9 episode of Raw when she and Kabuki Warriors tag team partner Asuka beat Liv Morgan and Natalya.

After Alexa Bliss beat Asuka in a singles match on last week's SmackDown, it was announced that The Kabuki Warriors will defend the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships against Bliss and Nikki Cross at WrestleMania 36.

The WrestleMania 36 matches were taped last week, and every indication is that Sane was on hand to take part in the match.

While the current iteration of the WWE women's tag team titles have only been around for just over a year, Sane and Asuka are the longest-reigning champions, as they have held the titles for over 170 days.

At WrestleMania, they will face one of their toughest challenges yet when they face a Bliss and Cross team that previously held the titles for two months before dropping them to Sane and Asuka in October.

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If you're building a wrestling Mount Rushmore, there's a solid argument to be made for including The Rock. He's one of the two or three greatest promos in history, wrestled with a charisma that had fans hanging on his every strike and only had a career shortened because he left to become the highest-paid actor in Hollywood.

When it comes to Rock's own personal Mount Rushmore, though, he can only come up with three, along with a host of others for the fourth spot.

"My wrestling Mount Rushmore would be 'The Immortal' Hulk Hogan, 'The Nature Boy' Ric Flair, 'The Texas Rattlesnake' Steve Austin," Rock said during an Instagram Live Q&A, per Kellie Haulotte of Wrestling Inc. "That fourth person, I always kind of keep blank because I vacillate back and forth between 'Nature Boy' Buddy Rogers, Bruno Sammartino, Randy 'Macho Man' Savage, Dusty Rhodes."

That list of three is about as close to ironclad locks as one can get. Hogan's racist comments have turned off many fans, but he's undeniably the biggest star in wrestling history—perhaps more responsible than any person, save Vince McMahon, for the popularity of wrestling in the United States. Flair is the consummate pro wrestler and to many the GOAT for his combination of mic skills, in-ring classics and longevity.

Austin and Rock defined the Attitude Era, pushing WWE to heights it has not seen in the two decades since.

He added:

"You always want to pick people who have had the most impact on the wrestling business, who have moved the bottom line, but also, most importantly, they just have this intangible, this X-factor, where they can connect with the crowd and connect with an audience. And the bottom line is with those three individuals that I mentioned—Hogan, Austin and Flair—they really moved the company's bottom line. They moved the NWA's bottom line, the WWF and the WWE's bottom line. In terms of drawing power, these were the biggest draws in the history of professional wrestling, and that's all that matters."

Rock said he considers himself "on the back of Mount Rushmore," which is a bit of humility downplaying his impact.

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McMahon Was Reportedly Alone in Wanting WrestleMania to Proceed

WWE Chairman Vince McMahon was reportedly the only person in the company who wanted to hold WrestleMania 36 on its scheduled date despite the coronavirus pandemic.

According to PWInsider (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Marc Middleton), wrestlers and behind-the-scenes workers were against the idea, but the show went on due to McMahon's desire for it to happen.

The COVID-19 outbreak forced WWE to move WrestleMania from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, with no fans in attendance. In addition to keeping the show on April 5, WWE made WrestleMania into a two-night event for the first time ever, as Night 1 will air April 4.

WWE was left with limited options because of the coronavirus, and rather than canceling or postponing, the decision was made to hold the show as scheduled under much different circumstances than expected.

Since WWE already had its storylines in place, it would have been difficult to halt them or stretch them out. Also, since there is no telling when mass gatherings will be allowed again in the United States, it would have been difficult to reschedule WrestleMania for a different date.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in some major changes to the WrestleMania card, including Roman Reigns pulling himself from his scheduled Universal Championship match against Goldberg, per Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet.

Reigns reportedly didn't want to put himself at risk since he has a compromised immune system because of his previous treatment for leukemia.

Between that and other potential changes, WWE has been left scrambling to put WrestleMania together, but all signs point toward the show being ready for air on WWE Network on April 4 and 5.

Miz Reportedly No Longer Part of WrestleMania

SmackDown Tag Team champion The Miz reportedly will not compete at WrestleMania 36, according to PWInsider (h/t Middleton).

Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Raj Giri) reported that Miz showed up to the tapings at the WWE Performance Center this week with an illness, and that The Usos weren't happy about it. That also reportedly led to Reigns' decision to pull himself from his scheduled match.

On Friday's SmackDown, The Usos were scheduled to face New Day with the winners going on to challenge The Miz and John Morrison for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania.

It is not clear if Miz's absence means there will be no SmackDown Tag Team title match at WrestleMania or if Morrison may have a replacement partner.

If The Miz is not part of the WrestleMania 36 card, it will mark his first absence from the WrestleMania card since WrestleMania 23 in 2007, although he was outside the ring as part of a lumberjack match on that show.

While The Miz's absence would leave a hole on the WrestleMania card and the possibility of Miz and Morrison vs. The Usos vs. New Day not happening may be somewhat disappointing to fans, WWE has a responsibility to protect The Miz and the rest of its performers.

Quarantine Reportedly Kept Lashley From Building WrestleMania Match

Bobby Lashley was reportedly not able to participate in the build to his WrestleMania match against Aleister Black because of concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Meltzer (h/t Middleton), Lashley was supposed to appear on the March 16 Raw to start the build, but he had been in South Africa for promotional work one week earlier, so the decision was made for him to self-quarantine due to the risks involved with international travel currently.

Black vs. Lashley was announced for WrestleMania prior to this week's episode of Raw, and Black won a squash match. While the match was mentioned, Lashley did not appear on the show.

Despite the lack of build, Meltzer reported that Black vs. Lashley was indeed taped as part of the WrestleMania tapings.

WWE has pushed Black hard over the past few months on Raw, and it seems likely that the Lashley match is meant to get him over even more as a rising star.

Lashley has a great deal of value in his own right, though, and a strong performance against Black could be good for his stock even if he doesn't win.

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Matt Hardy said Monday that he holds no ill will toward WWE and Vince McMahon despite leaving the company to sign with AEW.

When asked by a fan on Twitter if he still likes McMahon, Hardy offered the following response: "Yes. I have great respect for Vince &and will always be grateful for the opportunities he gave me. I had to leave because we didn't share the same visions for my future. My decision to leave was ultimately based on business and to ensure my own happiness going forward."

Hardy made a surprise debut for AEW on last week's episode of Dynamite when he appeared on a balcony and was named the replacement for Nick Jackson on The Elite's team for Blood and Guts against The Inner Circle.

After several years away, Hardy and his brother, Jeff Hardy, made their shocking WWE return at WrestleMania 33 three years ago.

The Hardy Boyz had initial success as a tag team, and Matt later got to bring his "broken" character to WWE programming, but the run was relatively short, and he was unable to convince the powers that be to give him another opportunity to bring that gimmick to life.

Hardy has been open about the fact that he was frustrated creatively in WWE, which ultimately led to his departure.

During an appearance on Chris Jericho's Talk Is Jericho podcast (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Jason Ounpraseuth) last week, Hardy noted that he couldn't get through to McMahon creatively:

"I pitched idea after idea after idea to WWE, and I never got any feedback. I would hear a little chatter here, a little chatter there, but there was never anything that like stuck or like, you know, anything that ever like sparked any kind of like creative fire in Vince's mind. That just became frustrating, and then later they were just trying to re-sign me just to have me under contract so that I was a WWE employee, and I kept turning down money, which was good money. But like I wanted to be in a prominent role in television, and I don't think Vince saw that for me."

The 45-year-old Hardy had essentially become enhancement talent in WWE, but there is seemingly a good chance that he will be more of a main event player in AEW.

AEW has shown a penchant for pushing former WWE Superstars, such as Jericho, Jon Moxley, Cody, Dustin Rhodes and Jake Hager. AEW also hasn't shied away from putting older wrestlers in big spots, as Jericho is 49 and Rhodes is 50.

It also appears that AEW gives more creative freedom to its performers, whereas McMahon has final say in much of what happens in WWE, which can lead to situations such as the one Hardy experienced.

Even so, Hardy made a name for himself in WWE and became a global star because of his time in the company, and he appears to have a great deal of appreciation for the role McMahon played in that.

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Former WWE Superstar Matt Hardy said Vince McMahon only enjoyed one aspect of his feud with Bray Wyatt, which ended with an Ultimate Deletion match: the laughing.

Hardy explained on the Talk Is Jericho podcast (via Jason Ounpraseuth of Wrestling Inc.) he struggled to push certain elements of his Broken and Woken characters through the creative process, but the WWE chairman took a liking to the dueling laughs.

"There was a point where I did the Broken Matt Hardy laugh and then Bray had laughed too, and when Vince heard the laughs together, he's like, 'this is, this is funny s--t, let's roll with this,' and then it was every week, it was laughing at the end, over and over to overkill," Hardy said.

The 45-year-old longtime fan favorite said McMahon didn't fully understand the direction of his character, which forced him to adjust key elements of the gimmick that prevented it from reaching full potential:

"So I guess it was like, IP's that he would own whatever it was Woken Matt Hardy, but it was just so watered down from what we're doing originally, and I don't think he understood the concept of it. I mean, I think one of the things that was like so beloved by Broken Matt is like he would wink at the audience and kind of break the fourth wall and make jokes that would make the smart fans, the die-hard fanbase, pop. And I don't think Vince totally understood that and I don't think he got it and I don't think he would even want to play to those people."

In turn, the Broken gimmick that brought him back to prominence while with TNA didn't receive the necessary support to truly thrive in WWE.

Hardy said he was still happy with the storyline he was able to develop with Wyatt, per Ounpraseuth:

"I really enjoyed the stuff that I did do as Woken Matt and just the fact that I was able to convince Vince and company to do that Ultimate Deletion and have that fight with Bray. It wasn't all that I wanted to be, but I am very proud that that got accomplished.

"He watched it in the production meeting and a few people in there had watched already, but after it was over and ended, everybody like clapped and stood up. And he was just kind of looking around and he told a couple people, 'I just I don't get it. I just I don't get it. I mean if it was good, if it does the number, then I'm truly out of touch.' I think he said that. It kept the audience over three million viewers, which was cool."

Hardy signed with All Elite Wrestling after leaving WWE and made his television debut last week on AEW Dynamite with the Broken gimmick back in place.

He was scheduled to take part in the AEW Blood and Guts special event Wednesday, but that's been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Newly signed AEW star Matt Hardy appeared on Chris Jericho's Talk Is Jericho podcast Friday to discuss what led him to leave WWE.

Hardy made a surprising return to WWE alongside his brother, Jeff, at WrestleMania 33 three years ago, but that was essentially the high point of Matt's stint since he wasn't given a long-term opportunity to run with his "broken" character.

Hardy told Jericho (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Jason Ounpraseuth) that WWE's unwillingness to work with him creatively was what made him depart:

"I pitched idea after idea after idea to WWE, and I never got any feedback. I would hear a little chatter here, a little chatter there, but there was never anything that like stuck or like, you know, anything that ever like sparked any kind of like creative fire in Vince's mind. That just became frustrating, and then later they were just trying to re-sign me just to have me under contract so that I was a WWE employee, and I kept turning down money, which was good money. But like I wanted to be in a prominent role in television, and I don't think Vince saw that for me."

Hardy theorized that his age (45) played a role in Chairman Vince McMahon not wanting to put him in any big spots.

Additionally, Hardy discussed the day he told everyone that he wasn't re-signing with WWE and noted that the outcome may have been different had Triple H been the one in charge rather than McMahon:

"What a weird day, and it was like, I'm very honest and open with everyone. I told everyone from Vince all the way down what I wanted and what I expected if I was going to stay around. Once we were on the same page, and I said, 'OK, well, thank you guys very much. I'll just go my own way.' And even days after I left, I talked to to Triple H. It's just like he was cool, and I feel like if Triple H would have been the guy that was solely in power, I would have probably had a much better opportunity of kind of getting to do what I wanted creatively, but it is what it is."

While Hardy was a multi-time tag team champion during his most recent stint in WWE, he was primarily used as enhancement talent over his final year. That included taking beatings from Randy Orton during his final two appearances on Raw.

In stark contrast, Hardy made his surprise AEW debut on Wednesday's episode of Dynamite and was announced by Matt Jackson as the replacement for Nick Jackson on The Elite's team for Blood and Guts against The Inner Circle.

Hardy was in full "broken" garb, which suggests he will be given a long creative leash and have the opportunity to take his character and run with it, much like he did in Impact Wrestling before returning to WWE.

In many ways, Hardy's issues with McMahon and WWE echoed sentiments expressed by Jon Moxley during an interview with Jericho after he left WWE and joined AEW.

Although AEW is occurring on a smaller scale than WWE, it is undoubtedly gaining momentum and has already firmly established itself as the No. 2 wrestling company in the United States.

It is possible that Hardy won't make as much money and won't be known to as wide an audience as he would have been in WWE, but if creative freedom was his biggest want, then it is difficult to argue with his decision to jump ship.

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