John Cena

Bray Wyatt and John Cena clashed in the inaugural Firefly Fun House match at WrestleMania 36, and it remains the talk of the wrestling world because of its off-the-wall nature and the creativity that went into making it a reality.

The Fiend beat Cena in what was more of a dream sequence than a match, as WWE fans were essentially taken on a ride through Cena's career, with Wyatt putting his own twisted touch on things. In the end, The Fiend caught Cena in the Mandible Claw, and Wyatt counted him down for the pin.

More so than facing The Fiend, Cena partook in an internal struggle at WrestleMania, which means that anyone who faces The Fiend in a Firefly Fun House Match moving forward will likely be someone who has a history with Wyatt.

With that in mind, here are the top candidates to go up against Wyatt the next time a Firefly Fun House match takes place in WWE.

Braun Strowman

Braun Strowman scored the biggest win of his career at WrestleMania 36 when he beat Goldberg a little more than two minutes to become the new universal champion.

Wyatt was the one who dropped the Universal Championship to Goldberg in the first place, which suggests he may look to take the title back. He would have to beat Strowman to do so, and the champion is someone whose career was largely made possible by Wyatt.

Despite spending little time in developmental and having almost no television experience, Strowman got the call to the main roster as the newest member of The Wyatt Family in 2015.

Strowman provided pure muscle to the group and was essentially the heavy doing the bidding for Wyatt, Erick Rowan and Luke Harper. The Wyatt Family appeared unstoppable with Strowman in the fold, but the group dissolved when Strowman was moved to Raw as part of the WWE draft in 2016.

As a result, Strowman embarked on a singles career. WWE built him into one of the most dominant Superstars in recent memory, and he went on to win the Raw Tag Team Championship and Intercontinental Championship before beating Goldberg for the universal title.

There had never been a confrontation between Strowman and Wyatt until last year, when The Fiend attacked Strowman during his feud with Seth Rollins.

The rationale behind that attack was never explained, but it could come into play during a Firefly Fun House match, and Wyatt would have no shortage of material to use based on his previous working relationship with The Monster Among Men.

The Undertaker

Wyatt blamed the fact that he lost to Cena at WrestleMania XXX for many of his failures in the ensuing years, but his defeat to The Undertaker at WrestleMania 31 was perhaps just as damaging.

Had Wyatt become only the second person to ever beat The Undertaker on The Grandest Stage of Them All, it may not have taken this long for him to get to the top of the company.

Just as he did with Cena, Wyatt could play off that loss to The Undertaker and make it the driving force behind his desire to get revenge.

Even though Taker is 55, WWE injected new life into his career at WrestleMania, where he defeated AJ Styles in a Boneyard match. As entertaining as the Firefly Fun House match was, the Boneyard match may have stolen the show during the two-night event.

Wyatt could also reference that and claim that The Deadman refused to let him have his shining moment at WrestleMania.

Since both the Boneyard match and Firefly Fun House match were so successful, perhaps a mashup of those two contests between The Fiend and The Undertaker would be a natural progression.

It will be difficult to equal or top the first versions of both matches, but if WWE were to book it and build toward it for multiple weeks, it would have the WWE Universe buzzing.

Roman Reigns

No Superstar has stood across the ring from Wyatt more often than Roman Reigns, so The Big Dog would be a natural fit to clash with Wyatt in a Firefly Fun House match given their history.

On top of that, Reigns prevailed in the vast majority of those matches, including a Hell in a Cell contest in 2015. In many ways, that win halted some of the momentum Wyatt had built up in the months prior.

Reigns is essentially presented as this era's version of Cena, so a Firefly Fun House match between Wyatt and Reigns would likely resemble the one between Wyatt and Cena in many ways. Wyatt could claim that Reigns has held him down for years, play up to the fact that WWE hand-picked him to be top star and even offer a glimpse of what it would be like if Reigns were to turn heel one day.

Both Reigns and Wyatt figure to be in the thick of the Universal Championship hunt for as long as they remain on SmackDown, and a Firefly Fun House match could be a good way for them to duke it out for the title or to decide who gets to challenge for it.

Many expected Reigns and The Fiend to face each other at WrestleMania 36, but WWE went in a different direction. Even so, it feels inevitable that they are bound to meet in the near future.

If and when that does happen, a Firefly Fun House Match would be the perfect stipulation.

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WrestleMania 36 was an event unlike any other in the long and successful history of the WWE show, but even without fans in attendance, much of the card managed to deliver entertainment to the fans watching at home during the coronavirus pandemic.

Because of the difficult circumstances, WWE was forced to get creative and think outside the box, which led to two on-location matches that will likely be talked about for years to come. Even several of the matches that occurred in the empty Performance Center were strong as well.

On the heels of the first WrestleMania that was too big for just one night, here is a closer look at three of the matches that exceeded expectations and received rave reviews during the aftermath.

The Undertaker vs. AJ Styles

The Undertaker hasn't been known for putting on five-star matches in recent years, and at 55 years of age, he would've been hard-pressed to do so at WrestleMania 36 even against an elite in-ring worker like AJ Styles.

Rather than going forward with a basic match, however, WWE booked The Undertaker and Styles in a Boneyard Match, which became possible because of the lack of a live crowd.

The Boneyard Match was everything WWE fans could have hoped for and more, as The Phenom and The Phenomenal One battled through a cemetery. They got physical and talked trash all while a fitting musical score played in the background.

Taker and Styles were engaged in a highly personal rivalry due to Styles bringing up The Undertaker's wife, Michelle McCool, on multiple occasions during the build to WrestleMania. It was clear during the match that it was a source of great anger for The Deadman.

It was clear from the start of the Boneyard Match that it was going to be something special. Styles emerging from a casket was the perfect heel entrance, and The Undertaker arriving on a motorcycle like his old American Badass character was a great callback for longtime fans.

The Boneyard Match fell more like a movie than a match, which is likely why it was so widely praised as perhaps the best part of WrestleMania.

While The Undertaker may be near the end of his illustrious career, it was proved at WrestleMania that his career could potentially be extended even further if WWE continues to put him in similar situations moving forward.

John Cena vs. "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt

In much the same vein as the Boneyard Match, the Firefly Fun House Match between John Cena and "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt was unlike anything ever seen before at WrestleMania.

There were some major differences between the two matches, though, as the Boneyard Match was essentially an on-location Buried Alive Match, while the Firefly Fun House Match was almost like a dream sequence inside Cena's mind.

The battle between Cena and Wyatt was actually presented as an internal struggle for Cena. He thought back to many of the major moments and characters in his career, including his debut match against Kurt Angle and his evolution into the Doctor of Thuganomics character.

Wyatt also took Cena back to their WrestleMania 30 match and gave Cena the opportunity to "do the right thing" and hand him the victory by hitting him with a steel chair.

That led to WWE giving fans a glimpse of what it might have been like had Cena turned heel, as he donned an nWo shirt, much like "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan.

In the end, Cena's rage got the best of him, as The Fiend emerged from behind and beat him with the Mandible Claw.

There was little physical interaction between Cena and The Fiend, but the totality of the Firefly Fun House Match was bizarre, memorable and undoubtedly entertaining.

Much like The Undertaker vs. Styles, a normal match likely wouldn't have gone over so well with the WWE Universe, but the fact that it was so different from everything else allowed it to stand out as something special in WWE history.

Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley

There were multiple basic matches that were enjoyable to watch despite the lack of a live crowd, but the NXT Women's Championship match between Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley may have topped them all.

WWE showed a great deal of confidence in Flair and Ripley by having them open Night 2 of WrestleMania, and they didn't disappoint, as they went at it for 20 minutes and put on what was arguably the best women's match in WrestleMania history.

After previously injuring Ripley's knee on NXT, Charlotte targeted it through the match, which was the main story that was told from start to finish.

Flair was surgical in her precision, while Ripley sold the knee perfectly. The lack of a crowd actually aided the fans at home in hearing and feeling how much agony Ripley was in.

The 23-year-old Aussie battled back and nearly beat Charlotte on multiple occasions despite the injury, but The Queen was ultimately able to lock her into the Figure Eight, and Ripley was forced to tap out.

A portion of the WWE fanbase was critical of the booking decision since Charlotte wins titles so often and Ripley was viewed as a fast-rising star, but a competitive loss to perhaps the greatest women's wrestler of all time at WrestleMania isn't exactly a setback.

Ripley actually improved her stock by performing so well, and she figures to have the fans fully behind her when she attempts to win the title back from Flair down the line.

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John Cena Had Input on Firefly Fun House

Whether you loved or hated the Firefly Fun House Match between John Cena and The Fiend Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 36, it was definitely a spectacle that no one will ever forget. 

Per Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Randall Ortman of Cageside Seats), Cena had input on putting together the match, and his changes were “for the better.”

It's unclear what specific changes Cena made to the match, which was essentially a trip down memory lane for WWE fans. It also featured some alternate-world moments, like Cena being a member of the nWo. 

WWE had to get more creative with WrestleMania this year due to limitations posed by the coronavirus pandemic. The Firefly Fun House and Boneyard Matches were among the most unique events in the promotion's history. 

Considering those limitations, as well as Cena potentially not wanting to risk injury with his acting career taking off, being able to do a match that involved limited wrestling yet still be entertaining would require plenty of creativity.

If nothing else, the Firefly Fun House was creative and unique. 

Charlotte Flair Working Double Duty

Despite being the NXT women's champion, Charlotte Flair will reportedly continue to be part of the Raw brand. 

Per Meltzer (h/t Marc Middleton of Wrestling Inc.), WWE wants to keep Flair on Monday nights and use her on NXT in an attempt to beat All Elite Wrestling in the Wednesday-night ratings war. 

Flair's victory over Rhea Ripley seemed to take some in the WWE Universe by surprise. It would have been understandable to have Ripley go over to make her a bigger star, but WWE decided to put the crown on the Queen.

Normally, having a superstar work on two shows would be a monumental task because of the travel and increased potential for injury due to fatigue. 

Right now, though, with WWE having to tape all of its shows from the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, Flair won't have to fly to NXT from whatever city Raw happened to be in on a given week. 

WWE Schedules More TV Tapings

WWE will be able to resume taping upcoming shows despite a stay-at-home-order being put into place in Florida last week due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

As first reported by Fightful Select and confirmed by Meltzer, WWE is running closed-set tapings at the Performance Center starting Friday. 

The tapings are scheduled to run for one week with three episodes each of Raw and SmackDown being filmed. 

Meltzer also noted the belief is NXT will tape "several episodes" at its traditional home at Full Sail University. 

This is notable because when WWE did marathon taping sessions last month, the last episode that was filmed was the Raw after WrestleMania. Three weeks of tapings will get WWE through the April 27 episode of Raw and May 1 episode of SmackDown. 

The next scheduled pay-per-view is Money in the Bank on May 10.

Nobody knows what the future holds for John Cena in WWE. Assuming he will continue winding down his in-ring career, his loss to "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 36 would serve as a fitting coda.

Retirement matches or "loser leaves town" stipulations are common in wrestling, but fans rarely know with any level of certainty whether they're witnessing the last time somebody will set foot inside a ring. That's especially true with legends.

The Rock lost to Goldberg at Backlash 2003 and moved on to acting full-time. Hulk Hogan lost to Yokozuna at King of the Ring 1993 and left for the greener pastures of WCW. Andre the Giant's last WWF match was his and Haku's defeat to Demolition at WrestleMania VI.

There's a chance WrestleMania 36 could be the end of Cena in WWE—at least to the point where his appearances don't feel like a postscript. He went more than a year without wrestling prior to WrestleMania, and he has wrestled seven times since beating Triple H at Greatest Royal Rumble in April 2018.

The Firefly Fun House match could be a perfect way to wrap up Cena's narrative arc in WWE because it brought his career full circle.

Uproxx's Brandon Stroud has a detailed breakdown of the bout and examined the many themes throughout Cena's encounter with the theme.

Upon first glance, the whole thing might have appeared absurd and somewhat goofy. Imagine watching this without any context.

As Stroud explained, each set piece was in service to a larger story. It's almost funny to say out loud, but Cena suddenly looking conflicted as he attacked a pig puppet and revealed the overarching theme.

In kayfabe, the idea of Cena as this heroic role model babyface was actually a fraud because his on-screen character was a bad person. 

Wrestling doesn't get the credit it deserves as a storytelling medium, which is a self-inflicted wound to some extent. People can point to any number of tasteless promos, tropes or angles to write off WWE as a highbrow form of entertainment.

But when it hits, wrestling can be every bit as good as a dramatic film or television series.

Cena was like Michael Corleone at the end of The Godfather saga. He's a 16-time world champion and one of the biggest stars of his generation, yet he felt empty because he alienated anybody who tried to be his friend and put himself ahead of everyone else.

If you want to go deep enough, the Firefly Fun House match makes you rethink Cena's entire legacy. Every time Big Match John came through and beat the odds, there was a small part inside Cena that hated himself for selling out in pursuit of success.

This isn't something fans expected to be contemplating coming out of WrestleMania 36.

Knowing full well that nothing is assured when it comes to his availability going forward, WWE and Cena could've opted for a safe WrestleMania match where he played all of the hits. This was the formula for his battle with The Undertaker at WrestleMania 34.

Instead, they ventured off the beaten path and tried a completely new concept.

Like The Rock, Cena will probably never leave wrestling for good. Maybe he'll show up for a reunion show or anniversary episode, or he could wrestle in a one-off bout that is explicitly fan service.

The Firefly Fun House might have been where we witnessed John Cena the WWE character wave goodbye.

WWE just evolved.

Generally speaking, WWE has done some of its best work when absolutely forced to change. Some of the company's glory years stemmed from direct competition. Struggling with pay-per-views in a streaming era helped birth WWE Network.

And now adaptation for the coronavirus pandemic created a redefining sort of match: the pre-taped cinematic duel.

It started Saturday night at WrestleMania 36, with Undertaker burying AJ Styles alive after a personal feud. It continued Sunday night, with John Cena and Bray Wyatt's Fiend colliding for a memorable experience, which is probably the best way to explain the amazing, weird trip down memory lane.

And nothing will be the same in the aftermath.

Undertaker's match especially is a must-see case study here. It doesn't take a ton of searching on social media or the internet at large to see the contest with Styles was a resounding success, if not the highlight of Mania as a whole (when the internet unanimously likes something, WWE needs to pay attention). 

Impressive, considering Undertaker's past few matches have been terribly received by even the kindest, most attached fans. Whispers of a tarnished legacy (which he was sure to bring up while trash-talking Styles in their match) weren't uncommon.

Then Saturday night happened.

A whole new door has opened when it comes to aging stars like Undertaker. If WWE CEO Vince McMahon isn't sitting in an office smacking himself on the forehead with dollar signs for eyeballs, there might be something wrong with him.

Let's summarize: Taker should never be in a normal match again. He should never have the chance to commit a gaffe that hurts his legacy on his way out. It doesn't have to be about this sort of insurance, either, as simply seeing him roll up to a cemetery as the American Badass, beat the tar out of Styles and bury him was awesome and the one thing fans will still bring up about this 'Mania 10 years down the line.

And think of the possibilities. If WWE is willing to go this route with some of its older stars, why not bring back other names?

Why not get the Undertaker vs. Sting story we never received?

If that doesn't excite fans, nothing much will. The pre-taped, cinematic match with surprisingly good production isn't without flaws. It would be weird when things go back to normal to sell tickets to fans, only for the live audience to have to watch a screen for 30 minutes just like those fans viewing from home.

But as WWE has shown over the years, it can find a workaround for anything. Maybe reserve these sorts of matches for the biggest of cards like 'Mania and SummerSlam, for which legends like Taker usually show up anyway.

It's hard not to think of the possibilities. Contrast the Taker match or the Cena-Fiend bout with Goldberg's match with Braun Strowman, which was every bit as ho-hum as Goldberg's match with Wyatt in Saudi Arabia. It was a thing, yes, but most viewers might have come out of it just thankful nobody got seriously hurt.

Now throw Goldberg in a streetlight set up in one of these cinematic matches. Let Triple H have a moment in one. And again, hello, Taker vs. Sting. It goes on and on. But relegating some of the older legends to these sorts of matches for general mass appeal is at least worth considering as a viable new long-term wrinkle.

Granted, one of the issues with WWE is overdoing something to death, earning ire from at least a portion of the fanbase. But that's why nailing down the above parameters—only with aging legends and only on otherwise stacked cards at special times—were already outlined. As long as WWE isn't hammering this idea every single pay-per-view, it won't wear out its welcome.

But just look at the wonders it worked for so many Superstars over the span of two nights. Taker's career is easily considered as revived, if not lengthened by a long time if he sticks to these sorts of matches. Cena wasn't stuck in a ring doing his usual five moves. Wyatt was merely built for this sort of thing and is must-see TV just to gander at what he might do. (Styles was great too, he just doesn't need it).

These are incredible developments for acts that needed them. And it's already thrilling to think about what Superstar might next goad Undertaker into literally defending his yard.

And really, it's to the point where one has to wonder why WWE hadn't already thought of this. Pro wrestling is largely about entertaining live crowds. But with the luxury of such a ridiculously talented roster, it can afford to innovate in a way that makes some Superstars immortal and keeps them in action well past their traditional expiration date.

If WWE leans into this properly with the right legends, WrestleMania 36 and the matches put on by Cena and Undertaker will stand as the onset of a stellar evolutionary step for wrestling.