WWE WrestleMania 36 will take place on Apr. 5 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT live at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, Florida and on the WWE Network with the kickoff show beginning at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT.
With only four matches declared official for this WWE event, the following will address five more matches that should be added to the card one month away from the biggest WWE PPV of the year.
WWE WrestleMania 36 is rumored to have approximately sixteen matches this year. Per WWE’s official website, only four of those matches have already been officially announced:
"WWE Championship Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Drew McIntyre Universal Championship Goldberg (c) vs. Roman Reigns NXT Women’s Championship Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Charlotte Flair Grudge Match John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt"
There are also matches that are blatantly evident, such as Randy Orton vs. Edge and AJ Styles vs. Undertaker, that will very likely be added to the WrestleMania card. However, since they are not yet official, it would be remiss to neglect them.
In terms of Randy Orton vs. Edge, it would be criminal to leave this match off the card. As can be indicated by Orton’s ‘protection’ of Edge, Matt Hardy, and Beth Phoenix over the past month, it is quite frankly the best built storyline on the road to WWE WrestleMania 36 and Edge’s new contract agreement of five WWE appearances each year for three years should undoubtedly include WrestleMania.
This is not only an unparalleled return rivalry for the Ultimate Grand Slam Champion, 2012 Hall of Famer, and Rated R Superstar, Edge, but more importantly a star-fulfilling rivalry for a future ballot Hall of Gamer (especially on Twitch), Randy Orton.
In terms of AJ Styles vs. Undertaker, not only is The Phenom vs. The Phenomenal One a solid headline but it is also a dream match that many WWE fans did not know they wanted. Although The Undertaker is older and slower in the ring, AJ Styles will make him look like a million bucks before he eventually tips his hat and hangs up his boots.
Undoubtedly, Styles is one of the best workers in the business and he could definitely steal the show with The Deadman while hopefully getting his revenge from their Tuwaiq Trophy bout.
With that being addressed, there are matches that are not so obvious. The following will identify and explain five more matches that should be added to the WrestleMania 36 card.
5.) The Dirt Sheet (c) vs. Usos vs. The New Day [SmackDown Tag Team Championships]
Assuming The Dirt Sheet escape WWE Elimination Chamber 2020 with the SmackDown Tag Team Championships, they should defend their championships in a triple threat match against Usos and The New Day at WWE WrestleMania 36.
Since these three tag teams are booked as the best in the SmackDown Tag Team Division and Heavy Machinery will most likely be in a rivalry with RooDolph due to the Mandy Rose love storyline, this triple threat match should be a foregone conclusion.
The Dirt Sheet dethroned The New Day to become SmackDown Tag Team Champions at WWE Super ShowDown 2020 and lost to the Usos in a non-title match last week on Friday Night SmackDown; they have cracked jokes at Kofi Kingston for losing the WWE Championship in eight seconds and will soon build up a more personal rivalry with the Usos.
Meanwhile, The New Day and The Usos have their historic rivalry in 2017 to fall back on as The New Day even boasted that they have one more championship reign than The Usos.
If booked correctly, this triple threat rivalry would be a neat set-up for the Usos to become seven-time SmackDown Tag Team Champions, like The New Day, at WrestleMania and put the SmackDown Tag Team Division on lock-down in the Usos penitentiary.
Not only would they match the number of tag title reigns The New Day earned but they could also celebrate with future Universal Champion Roman Reigns to represent their bloodline with championship gold on the grandest stage of them all.
4.) Kabuki Warriors (c) vs. Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross vs. Natalya and Beth Phoenix [Women’s Tag Team Championships]
Assuming The Kabuki Warriors defend the Women’s Tag Team Championships at WWE WrestleMania 36, they should defend them in a triple threat match against Bliss Cross Applesauce and Divas of Doom.
Kabuki Warriors won the Women’s Tag Team Championships from Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross at WWE Hell in a Cell 2019, and Bliss and Cross have not yet attained their rematch for the Women’s Tag Team Championships despite winning a number one contender’s match against Fire and Desire on Friday Night SmackDown.
Meanwhile, after the November 2019 Draft, the Kabuki Warriors have only defended their Women’s Tag Team Champions once on PPV (i.e. WWE TLC 2019) and are now in a rivalry with Natalya, who is in serious need of a tag team partner (i.e. Beth Phoenix).
Natalya and Beth Phoenix got robbed of the Women’s Tag Team Championship from the IIconics at last year’s WrestleMania, so they have some retribution to obtain when it comes to those Tag Team Championships.
Since the Kabuki Warriors are restricted to the Raw brand, they have been stuck feuding for the Raw Women’s Championship against Becky Lynch instead of defending their Women’s Tag Team Championships due to the severe lack of women’s tag teams on the Raw roster.
Considering that there are not that many women’s tag teams, the Women’s Tag Team Champions should be allowed to violate the separate brand rule and battle on all three brands in order to keep the women’s tag team division relevant.
Henceforth, a triple threat match at WrestleMania that includes a SmackDown Tag Team and a Raw Tag Team would be worthwhile for the division. If booked correctly, this triple threat rivalry would be a neat set-up for Bliss and Cross to become the first ever two-time Women’s Tag Team Champions.
Not only would they get their revenge on the Kabuki Warriors for dethroning them in 2019 but they would also obtain their first WrestleMania moment with their first WrestleMania victory in their careers.
3b.) Andrade (c) vs. Humberto Carillo vs. Angel Garza vs. Rey Mysterio [United States Championship]
As can be indicated by their tag team match on this week’s WWE Raw, it seems that a fatal four way United States Championship match is being built up for WrestleMania 36 amongst Andrade, Humberto Carillo, Angel Garza, and Rey Mysterio.
Assuming that Andrade retains the United States Championship against Humberto Carillo at WWE Elimination Chamber 2020, the WWE could set up this fatal four way match for Mania by having Garza and Mysterio interfere in said championship match between Andrade and Carillo this Sunday.
This championship match would be an incredible mesh of styles and would fulfill the storyline amongst all four superstars, who encompass the center piece of Raw’s mid card division.
Despite rumors of Andrade losing the championship soon, he should retain his Championship at WrestleMania to prove that he took Rey Mysterio’s torch and ran with it, that he is truly a better face of the Latinos in the WWE than Humberto Carillo, and that he will never be replaced by Angel Garza as Zelina Vega’s top client.
Hopefully, Andrade Hammerlock DDT’s each and every one of these superstars onto the concrete pavement outside the ring before retaining the United States Championship at WrestleMania. That would make the victory a special end to this long-told storyline.
3a.) Andrade (c) vs. Aleister Black [United States Championship]
As CM Punk suggested on WWE Backstage, an alternative path for Andrade’s United States Championship match at WrestleMania 36 would be to go one-on-one with Aleister Black. Thanks to their historic NXT rivalry and Black’s rapid momentum on Raw as of late, a championship match between these two superstars would be fitting.
At the moment, Aleister Black is battling former United States Champion, AJ Styles, at WWE Elimination Chamber 2020 and defeating a former United States Champion (thanks to The Undertaker’s interference) would catapult him into the United States Championship picture for this year’s WrestleMania.
If this match occurs, the rumors of Andrade losing the United States Championship soon could hold some truth because Black would definitely win this match to resume his unstoppable momentum and win his very first main roster championship.
2b) Bayley (c) vs. Naomi vs. Lacey Evans [SmackDown Women’s Championship]
After retaining her SmackDown Women’s Championship against Lacey Evans at WWE Royal Rumble 2020 and against Naomi at WWE Super ShowDown 2020, Bayley seems to have her hands full with both of these superstars as of late.
As can be indicated by their tag match on last week’s Friday Night SmackDown, Naomi and Lacey Evans seem to have Bayley and Sasha Banks’ number with a huge tag team victory with Naomi pinning Bayley for the win.
According to an announcement from WWE’s The Bump, they are scheduled for a rematch on this week’s Friday Night SmackDown and that match could result in Lacey Evans pinning Bayley for the win this time around. If that occurs, a triple threat match amongst Bayley, Naomi, and Lacey Evans could feasibly be set up for WrestleMania 36.
However, if Bayley and Banks win the tag rematch, there is another potential SmackDown Women’s Championship match looming in the balance that is in higher demand for this year’s WrestleMania.
2a) Bayley (c) vs. Sasha Banks [SmackDown Women’s Championship]
Our Kevin Parvizi already addressed the pros and cons of Bayley vs. Sasha Banks occurring at WWE WrestleMania 36. The pros show that this is the biggest match possible for the SmackDown Women’s Division while the cons show that the rivalry needs time for build up and would be best fit for WWE SummerSlam 2020 in Sasha Banks’ hometown of Boston, Massachusetts. In objection, why can’t the WWE Universe witness both?
The WWE should book Bayley vs. Sasha Banks for the SmackDown Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 36 so that Banks can obtain her WrestleMania moment by winning her first SmackDown Women’s Championship from her best friend and greatest NXT rival as well as earning her very first WrestleMania victory in her career.
Afterwards, WWE SummerSlam 2020 should feature a rematch between Bayley and Banks as a testament to Banks’ ability to retain the women’s championship for the very first time in her career since she has always been known for losing her women’s championship (all four of them) in her first title defenses.
Consequently, WrestleMania 36 will reignite the rivalry between Bayley and Banks and the WWE will have enough time to build up the rivalry to WWE SummerSlam in August, where the rivalry can culminate into something special for the Legit Boss in her hometown. Besides, her blue hair meshes well with the SmackDown Women’s Championship and it would be a waste to not see it around her waist once WrestleMania 36 comes to a close.
1.) Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins [Loser Leaves Raw]
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At a Town Hall Meeting post-Survivor Series in November 2019, Seth Rollins called Kevin Owens a lazy superstar who just shows up and does absolutely nothing but desperately desire Rollins’ main event spot. Since Owens heard enough of Rollins’ backhanded insults, he delivered a Stunner to Rollins and their rivalry began.
Thanks to Rollins’ condescending language, his beef with Owens led to a his pivotal heel turn and a new heel faction with Authors of Pain while establishing Owens as the top babyface on Raw. Since Seth Rollins, Buddy Murphy, and Authors of Pain had continuously beaten down Owens in the main event week after week, Owens finally found help in Samoa Joe, Viking Raiders, Street Profits, and even Big Show to fend off these attacks.
Thanks to the consistent storytelling in the main event of Raw every Monday night, a match between the top heel on Raw, Seth Rollins, and the top face on Raw, Kevin Owens, at WWE WrestleMania 36 would be thrilling because they will fight till they can’t fight anymore.
Now that Rollins and Murphy lost the Raw Tag Team Championships to the Street Profits on this week’s Elimination Chamber go-home episode of WWE Raw, Rollins is free to battle Owens one-on-one on the grandest stage of them all.
Considering that this will most likely be a non-title match, the WWE should raise the stakes and book this match as a ‘Loser Leaves Raw’ match. These two superstars have been representing the main event scene of the Raw brand since the 2019 draft and the true leader of the red brand should be decided with this stipulation.
Since Rollins has been strictly on the Raw brand for four consecutive years, losing to Owens would be the best booking decision going forward. Logically speaking, if Owens can beat The Beast Slayer, he can beat the Beast for the WWE Championship.
Consequently, this decision would not only permit Rollins to be written of TV and start things fresh on SmackDown upon his inevitable return but also potentially set Owens up for a WWE Championship opportunity against Lesnar (if he retains the championship against Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 36) on the road to WWE SummerSlam 2020.