Night Two of WrestleMania 36 concluded last night and displayed more intense, grueling action to wrap up a prideful weekend for wrestling fans.
WWE proved us wrong. They managed to put together an incredible show with circumstances that made this quite impossible.
They helped us forget about everything happening to this planet and just enjoy being a wrestling fan for two nights.
So with that being said, thank you WWE for a great evening.
Anyways, let’s focus on the kayfabe aspect of this company: WWE has had a massive switch in their rosters with champions and character arcs, so let’s take a look at ‘Six Biggest Takeaways From WrestleMania 36 (Night Two)’:
6. Drew McIntyre Becomes WWE Champion
In a moment we have all thrived for, Drew McIntyre beat Brock Lesnar to win the WWE Championship and become the first British WWE Champion in the headlining match of Night Two.
McIntyre’s work ethic and determination to reach the top is noticeable and his vigorous climb up the ladder makes this moment more wholesome.
The match was quite the basic ‘Beast Incarnate’ match. Few suplexes, few F5s, some offense on his opponent’s part then something backfires and he either gets beaten or hits one last move in the final reach for triumph.
This time, McIntyre managed to lay in a few Claymores and gained the victory. This would have been even more heartfelt in front of a crowd, however, that’s a situation out of WWE’s hands and therefore, this is still a heartwarming moment.
I’m looking forward to seeing where the ‘Sexy Scotsman’ goes next and hopefully it isn’t Lesnar winning MITB and cashing in…
5. Charlotte Flair Wins The NXT Women’s Championship
In the opening match of Night Two, Charlotte beat Rhea Ripley for the NXT Women’s Championship.
The match was very fun, with intense spots and lots of technical submissions powered throughout. They just wanted to damage each other and both women have come out of this match more scarred than before.
In the end, ‘The Queen’ locked in the Figure Eight and made Ripley tap.
This is an effective decision. This should mean Charlotte will move to NXT full-time going forward and will have incredible matches with their division. Turning a developmental into a star once she is defeated.
The future is unclear for Ripley. I’d like to see her move up to the main roster and tear the house down with talent on RAW as they have quite a lackluster division and need more star-power.
4. Edge Was The Last Man Standing
Edge vs. Orton was one/if not the most personal match on this card. Edge’s return was magical but perhaps there is a part of us worried for Edge sustaining an injury again.
This made the Last Man Standing match more heart-wrenching to watch.
The match immediately seen an RKO being delivered as Orton was disguised as a cameraman, then another one for desperate measures.
That was basically all we saw from in-ring action for this match. After that, the brawl took them around the Performance Center.
This was more an actual fight rather than a wrestling match and I enjoyed that element. Orton just wanted to finish the job and it was Edge’s fight for survival.
There was a lot of plodding as they maneuvered around the PC, but the ending was worth it.
Edge and Orton were atop of a production truck, Orton laid upon a steel chair. The ‘Rated-R Superstar’ had another chair in his hand, tears streaming down his face. He had to hurt his friend and prove that he still belongs. He hit the con-chair-to and the ref counted to ten, leading to Edge being coined the Last Man Standing.
Overall, the match was really intense and personal. Could’ve done with ten minutes being dropped but ultimately it was a sweet bookending to their feud.
3. Bianca Belair Main Roster Call-Up?
The Street Profits defeated Austin Theory & Angel Garza to retain their Raw Tag Team Championship.
They gave the frankenteam the smoke and it turned out to be nothing less than a great match. That is expected though with the talent of all four men.
Also, can we just mention once again the charisma and enthusiasm from the Street Profits? Honestly, Ford and Dawkins had energy like they were still in front of 70,000 in attendance!
The biggest takeaway from this match came during the post-match angle.
Garza and Theory attacked the Street Profits once it was all said and done, then the menacing Zelina Vega got involved.
She delivered a superkick to Ford, not expecting his wife, Bianca Belair to be at the ready and help the Street Profits leave the match on their own two feet.
Is this an official call-up for Bianca Belair? It feels that way and it looks like she will be adding her resources to the Street Profits team.
This seems to be a fun act and I’m interested to see what happens going forward. Hopefully, Belair still manages to wrestle as her presence in the Raw Women’s Division will be significant in giving it a boost in life and energy.
2. Otis Wins Over Mandy Rose
Otis is such a loveable character, so when he kissed Mandy Rose in the middle of the ring it was truly joyful and a ‘happily ever after’ moment.
This match wasn’t built on in-ring work but rather Otis just trying to get his hands on Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler had Sonya Deville in his corner, whereas, Otis was by himself due to the beat down Tucker received on SmackDown.
Otis was approaching the win when Deville distracted him and the ref so that Ziggler could low blow Otis. Romance stories in WWE love action to the balls as seen in this feud and the Rusev-Lashley rivalry from earlier this year.
As we all watched heartbroken, Mandy Rose ran down to the ring (in her wrestling gear for some strange reason) and gave Ziggler the medicine he deserved – a low blow!
This led to Otis doing the caterpillar, winning the match and kissing the girl of his dreams in the center of the ring.
I’m genuinely pleased for Otis and how WWE followed the support of his fans to capitalise on an exceptional ‘Mania moment.
1. The FireFly FunHouse Match
Finally, the match that everyone is talking about. Let’s discuss the FireFly FunHouse Match between John Cena and Bray Wyatt.
Wasn’t it magnificent? This match was so creative, it was so dramatic and so dark and eery – it was definitely something never seen before in the WWE.
The match started with Cena coming out to the ring, still a bit unsure about what a FireFly FunHouse match was. This came clear to the viewers at home when Wyatt appeared on the titantron ready for a FireFly FunHouse. He declared that the fight was in Cena’s mind and the biggest opposition in the match is John Cena, himself.
This took us on a rocky story about the career of John Cena. From his ruthless aggression towards Kurt Angle to his match with Wyatt at ‘Mania 30. It went to Saturday Night Main Event and WCW – making us picture Cena as the nowadays Hulk Hogan, which he quite obviously is.
This was documented by Bray Wyatt, it was creepy but something we couldn’t stop watching. My eyes were glued to the screen, frightened and excited for what’s going to happen next.
Having Mercy the Buzzard and Mr. McMahon puppet on commentary made this moment even better!
The ending moments of the match were Cena believing he was getting the upper hand on Wyatt’s mind games only to find out he was beating up Huskus the Pig Boy. Then “The Fiend” was lying in wait. Ready to pounce on his latest victim.
I saw this as nothing short from spectacular. The storytelling, the background, the aura. It was tremendous and worked great during a show with no fans. Like the Boneyard Match, this style worked better cinematically rather than a one-on-one match with no crowd.
Thank you WWE, Bray Wyatt & John Cena for Sports Entertaining myself and many others and I beg that these style of matches don’t disappear once the pandemic is over.
Do you agree with these Takeaways? Have you got any more? Let us know on Twitter!
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