After months of buildup, weeks of uncertainty and several changes, WrestleMania 36 has finally arrived. Saturday was Night 1 of the two-day event from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida...
Kofi Kingston Praises Rob Gronkowski Ahead of Star Hosting WWE WrestleMania 36
Apr 4, 2020
WWE Superstar Kofi Kingston celebrates at the end of the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Super Showdown event in Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port city of Jeddah late on January 7, 2019. (Photo by Amer HILABI / AFP) (Photo credit should read AMER HILABI/AFP via Getty Images)
Former WWE champion Kofi Kingston wouldn't be surprised to see Rob Gronkowski's involvement with the company grow down the line and spoke highly of the retired NFL star.
During an appearance on Fox Sports' First Things First, Kingston explained how Gronkowski checks all of the boxes necessary to make a transition to professional wrestling.
Wrestling Inc.'s Marco Rovere shared his full comments:
"I had the opportunity to cross paths with him as all these things are going on and Gronk's personality is such that, when he got in the ring a few years ago he just looked like he belonged. He's got it on the mic, he's got the charisma, he's got the size, he's got the energy. I think he's been wanting to do this for a really really long time, so we'll see what happens after he hosts, but I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up in the ring at some point soon."
WWE announced in March the former New England Patriots tight end would serve as the host of WrestleMania 36. He appeared on the March 20 edition of SmackDown to hype up his forthcoming duties.
Gronkowski was first involved with WWE in April 2017, when he helped his friend Mojo Rawley win the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Given his over-the-top personality and obvious crossover appeal, the 30-year-old was a natural candidate to make the jump to wrestling once his football career ended.
His WWE role beyond WrestleMania is unclear. The Wrap's Tony Maglio reported he had signed a contract with the company and that his WrestleMania 36 appearance would help build to a future storyline.
Getting Gronkowski in the ring for SummerSlam would make sense. That has become WWE's second-biggest show of the year, and it's far enough off (Aug. 23) to let him continue training for an actual match.
However, the coronavirus pandemic might have thrown those plans out the window. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a 30-day stay-at-home order, which could jeopardize WWE's filming schedule for Raw and SmackDown.
WWE WrestleMania 36: Live Stream, Event Start Time and Latest Betting Odds
Apr 4, 2020
WWE is set to host WrestleMania 36 under the strangest circumstances ever.
Not only will the show be broadcast without any fans present amid the coronavirus pandemic, it will also take place over two nights and feature some new and unconventional stipulations.
With every other sport postponing or canceling the season, WWE could have more attention than it would have otherwise anticipated.
Let's take a look at what you need to know about this year's WrestleMania.
Venue:WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida
Start Time:6 p.m. ET (Kickoff), 7 p.m. ET (main show)
How to Watch: WWE Network and select PPV providers
Betting Odds
OddsChecker.com lists betting odds for some of the top matches set to take place this weekend. Here is a rundown of each bout:
WWE has stacked the weekend's events with 16 matches. Here is a list of the nine remaining bouts:
Goldberg vs. Braun Strowman (Universal Championship)
Bray Wyatt vs. John Cena (Firefly Fun House match)
Bayley vs. Naomi vs. Tamina vs. Lacey Evans vs. Sasha Banks (SmackDown Women's Championship)
Elias vs. King Corbin
SamiZayn vs. Daniel Bryan (Intercontinental Championship)
Street Profits vs. Austin Theory and Angel Garza (Raw Tag Team Championships)
The Kabuki Warriors vs. Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross (Women's Tag Team Championships)
Otis vs. Dolph Ziggler
The Miz and Morrison vs. The Usos vs. The New Day (SmackDown Tag Team Championship ladder match)
PPV Live Stream
The one-hour Kickoff will be available through most social media platforms, YouTube and WWE Network.
A select few cable and satellite providers still carry WWE PPVs, but for the most part, people will be watching WrestleMania on WWE Network. Here is a list of the devices that support the streaming service, according to WWE.com:
Apple TV
Amazon Fire TV
PlayStation 4
Roku
Xbox One
Android devices with the WWE app
iOS devices with the WWE app
WWE.com
Select Panasonic, LG, Sony and Samsung Smart TVs
TiVo
Supported browsers
Other Important Information
Most or all of WrestleMania has already been filmed, but WWE has done a good job preventing spoilers from leaking to the media.
At least two of the matches will likely take place off-site. The Boneyard and Firefly Fun House bouts are the kind of contests WWE has likely built purpose-specific sets for.
What we don't know is which order WWE plans to air the matches. Nothing has been revealed about which matches will take place on either night, so everything will be a surprise.
Having a couple of weeks to prepare and film everything could lead to this being a much better PPV than anyone expects. Let's hope that ends up being the case.
The main event of any wrestling show is, invariably, the most important match on the card. It is the match that leaves a lasting impression on the audience, determining whether the overall viewing experience was a good one or not...
WrestleMania 36 is set to be the biggest event in WWE history due to being held over two days, but it will also be one of the strangest because there will be no fans in attendance...
Some of the most memorable matches in WWE WrestleMania history were preceded by storylines that hooked audiences long before the Superstars ever set foot inside the squared circle...
The face of WrestleMania 36 may have changed due to the coronavirus pandemic but titleholders still face extraordinary threats to their reigns, including universal and WWE champions Goldberg and Brock Lesnar , respectively...
The most unique WrestleMania of all time takes place Saturday and Sunday from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, and despite the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on ...
WWE WrestleMania 36: Updated Card, PPV Schedule and Predicting the Match Listing
Apr 1, 2020
The seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic has forced WrestleMania 36 out of a stadium in front of tens of thousands of fans for the first time in 17 years and into the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, where there will be zero fans in attendance.
Despite these unique, never-before-seen circumstances, the show still features a multitude of high-profile matches and championship clashes, including Drew McIntyre's attempt to dethrone Brock Lesnar as WWE champion in the night's marquee bout.
PPV Schedule
Saturday and Sunday at 7:00 p.m. ET
Available to stream on WWE Network, FITE.tv, Fox and traditional pay-per-view outlets
Predicting the Match Listing
With two nights to work with and three hours for each broadcast, there is an opportunity for WWE officials to spread its massive, 16-match card out and not allow one match to overshadow another, as has been the case in years past.
But what does that potentially look like?
Here's a prediction.
Saturday Night
Raw Women's Championship Match: Becky Lynch vs. Shayna Baszler
WWE Universal Championship Match: Braun Strowman vs. Goldberg (as reported by Dave Meltzer, Wrestling Observer Radio)
Firefly Funhouse Match: John Cena vs. "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt
Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins
Ladder Match for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships: The New Day vs. The Usos vs. John Morrison and The Miz
Elias vs. King Corbin
Women's Tag Team Championship Match: Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross vs. The Kabuki Warriors
Intercontinental Championship Match: Daniel Bryan vs. Sami Zayn
Sunday Night
WWE Championship Match: Drew McIntyre vs. Brock Lesnar
SmackDown Women's Championship Match: Naomi vs. Lacey Evans vs. Tamina vs. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks
Raw Tag Team Championship Match: The Street Profits vs. Austin Theory and Angel Garza
NXT Women's Championship Match: Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair
Aleister Black vs. Bobby Lashley
Otis vs. Dolph Ziggler
Drew McIntyre's Big Moment
When predicting the real main event of WrestleMania 36, there are a few factors to weigh, and one of them is which Superstar, on a card full of them, is the greater priority.
Throughout the build to the event, it has become abundantly clear that McIntyre is the golden goose of this year's show. From eliminating Lesnar from the Royal Rumble to leaving him lying twice in one night weeks later on Raw, he has been positioned as the conquering hero ready to slay The Beast and take his WWE Championship.
If that is the plan, then his coronation absolutely should be the last thing fans see as this year's Showcase of the Immortals goes off the air.
The only other option? Strowman defeating Goldberg, which will lack the emotion given its thrown-together nature in the wake of Roman Reigns reportedly pulling out of the event among concerns over his health and well-being.
Women Headline for a Second Straight Year
Speaking of Goldberg vs. Strowman and its lack of emotional consequence for fans, it creates an opening for another match to headline night one of WrestleMania. That match should be Becky Lynch's defense of the Raw Women's Championship against Shayna Baszler.
There has been no bigger star for WWE over the last 12 months than Lynch.
Not Seth Rollins, not Roman Reigns, not Brock Lesnar.
The Man has been all over the place, appearing in print and digital media beyond the wrestling industry. She has more than carried her weight as champion and has earned the opportunity to stand atop the WrestleMania card as she faces her toughest challenge to date.
Given her star power, the strength of her rivalry with Baszler and the fact that it is likely to be a better match than the minutes-long Universal Championship bout only further proves it belongs on top.
Spreading Out the Gimmicks
The unenviable task facing WWE's production team is deciding which of the high-profile gimmick matches to put where.
Styles vs. Undertaker and Edge vs. Orton just feel like bigger deals than Cena vs. Wyatt, even if the backstory to that particular match is the easiest told. Thus, they feel like prime candidates for a Sunday card that is shaping up to be the more prestigious of the two.
Then there is the proposed ladder match between The Usos, The New Day, and Miz and Morrison that is destined to change because of Miz's illness and absence from the card. Where does that go in relation to the much more significant matches?
In order to strike a perfect balance, WWE should put it on the same night as Cena-Wyatt to avoid overshadowing the two more significant matches on the card featuring returning legends Edge and Undertaker.
Either way, one night is destined to appear more significant because of the jam-packed nature of it in relation to the other night. It is a fine line management must walk to make each night feel equally important, and the fact that as of April 1 there is still no definitive lineup suggests the company realizes the significance of the match order and is working to provide the best possible listing for each broadcast.
