WWE WrestleMania 36 will take place on Apr. 5 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT live on the WWE Network with the kickoff show beginning at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT. With the full card in store for this WWE event, the following will address some bold possibilities that must happen three days away from the two-night event.
WrestleMania 36! The Showcase of the Immortals and potentially the very first WrestleMania without a live audience. Nonetheless, there are many exciting bouts to look forward to for the biggest PPV of the year. Per WWE’s official website, the following is a preview of the official WWE WrestleMania 36 Match Card thus far:
"WWE Championship Brock Lesnar (c) (w/Paul Heyman) vs. Drew McIntyre Universal Championship Goldberg (c) vs. Roman Reigns BoneYard Match The Undertaker vs. AJ Styles (w/ The O.C.) Firefly Funhouse Match John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt Last Man Standing Match Edge vs. Randy Orton Raw Women’s Championship Becky Lynch (c) vs. Shayna Baszler SmackDown Women’s Championship Fatal-5-Way Elimination Bayley (c) vs. Sasha Banks vs. Naomi vs. Lacey Evans vs. Tamina NXT Women’s Championship Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Charlotte Flair Grudge Match Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins Intercontinental Championship Sami Zayn (c) (w/Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro) vs. Daniel Bryan (w/Drew Gulak) SmackDown Tag Team Championship Triple Threat Ladder Match The Dirt Sheet (c) vs. Usos vs. The New Day Raw Tag Team Championships Street Profits (c) vs. Austin Theory and Angel Garza (w/Zelina Vega) Grudge Match Elias vs. King Corbin Grudge Match Aleister Black vs. Bobby Lashley (w/Lana) Grudge Match Otis vs. Dolph Ziggler (w/Mandy Rose) Women’s Tag Team Championships Kabuki Warriors (c) vs. Bliss Cross Applesauce"
Despite recent events, this card is stacked enough to sufficiently entertain the WWE Universe and possibly put smiles on their faces. With that being addressed, here are five bold predictions that must happen on the first WrestleMania that is too big for just one night.
5.) Drew Gulak Replaces Daniel Bryan to Win The Intercontinental Championship from Sami Zayn
Although Drew Gulak and Daniel Bryan respect each other after a hard-fought, technically sound match at WWE Elimination Chamber 2020, it does not mean they like each other. Gulak teaching Bryan could hurt him more than help him on the road to WrestleMania 36.
Imagine if Drew Gulak had a devious plan all along to overtrain Daniel Bryan just so that Bryan would be too fatigued to compete at WWE WrestleMania 36 against Sami Zayn? This would permit Gulak to replace Bryan and attain his first ever championship match on the main roster.
Considering that Gulak won the number one contender’s match for Bryan to get the Intercontinental Championship match against Zayn at WrestleMania, it would not be too far-fetched for Gulak to take Bryan’s place in the championship match as well.
With Bryan potentially taking some time off after SummerSlam, it would be a smarter booking decision to put the championship on Gulak for a longer championship reign if WWE has any plans to take championship off of Zayn.
4.) Mandy Rose Figures Out The Truth About Otis and Dolph Ziggler
On the Valentine’s Day episode of Friday Night SmackDown, Otis received a text message from Mandy Rose that she will be running late for their date. However, Rose actually showed up early for her date and was clueless as to what text message was sent to Otis when Tucker addressed the situation with her and Sonya Deville backstage.
If Rose is clueless about the text message, someone must have had access to her cell phone and sent the text message to Otis before Rose went out for her Valentine’s date with Otis. If anyone would know the pass code or have any sort of access to Rose’s cell phone, it would have to be her best friend, Sonya Deville.
Since Otis helped Mandy Rose win her matches on Friday Night SmackDown but failed to do the same for Sonya Deville, Deville may have been upset about Rose being distracted with Otis when she should have been focusing on winning the Women’s Tag Team Championships with her.
Henceforth, Deville could have sent the text to Otis to screw him over and allow ample time for Dolph Ziggler to swoop in and have the date with Mandy Rose before Otis could even show up.
Since Ziggler actually helps Fire and Desire win their tag matches, Deville noticed that Ziggler has their best interests at heart, as opposed to Otis. This explains why Deville is so supportive of Ziggler being with Rose and why she continuously persuades Rose to forget about Otis.
At WrestleMania 36, Mandy Rose should figure out the truth of this story, preferably by eavesdropping on Ziggler and Deville’s secret backstage conversations. It’s a shame that her ‘boyfriend’ and best friend would betray her, but betrayal never comes from one’s enemies.
After figuring out the truth, she should help Otis win his match against Ziggler for a fulfilling WrestleMania moment. In some way, shape, or form, she and Otis should have a happy ending once this love storyline is completely over.
3.) Randy Orton Destroys Edge To Win The Last Man Standing Match
Randy Orton is called The Legend Killer for a reason and he should not be counted out as a potential swerve for WrestleMania weekend. He needs to defeat Edge not only because he wants to ‘protect Edge’ but also because he needs to solidify his future Hall of Fame status.
On the December 9 episode of Monday Night Raw, Randy Orton was asked about his thoughts on Batista going into the Hall of Fame this year.
In that same interview, he was asked about his future Hall of Fame status since each of his Evolution brethren (i.e. Triple H, Ric Flair, and Batista) have accomplished Hall of Fame status while he has not yet.
The put a chip on Orton’s shoulder but aspiring Orton calmly retorted that he was not ready for the Hall of Fame yet because he still has a few more objectives to accomplish in his career. One of those objectives could very well be defeating fellow Hall of Famer, Edge, at WrestleMania 36.
This match is not about a championship or simply a WrestleMania moment for Edge’s return to in-ring competition after nine years. This match is more importantly about fulfilling Orton’s ‘evolution’ and sustaining his ‘legacy’ on the road to his future Hall of Fame induction.
2.) Sasha Banks Intentionally Loses To Bayley
In the Fatal 5 Way SmackDown Women’s Championship Elimination match at WrestleMania 36, Sasha Banks and Bayley should help each other eliminate everyone else (i.e. Naomi, Lacey Evans, and Tamina) to assure that they are the final two wrestlers standing for the match.
Usually, it would be suitable for the two best friends to battle it out to determine who the best really is.
However, as heels, it would be fitting for them to leave a sour taste in everyone’s mouth and do something unfavorable for the betterment of their long-term storyline.
Instead of instantly breaking up their friendship by battling it out and giving the WWE Universe what they want, Sasha Banks should lie down for Bayley and intentionally lose to Bayley to show to her that their friendship means more than championship gold.
The WWE Universe will hate this outcome, which is a good thing for heels. Nonetheless, it would be worthwhile for the long-term because Banks would be backhandedly assuring that Bayley fully trusts her before she catches her off guard later down the line with possibly a MITB cash-in or some other orchestrated scenario, leading to a more meaningful rivalry for the upcoming summer.
1.) Goldberg Retains The Universal Championship
Although Goldberg is scheduled to defend the Universal Championship against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 36, reports and rumors have surfaced of Roman Reigns getting replaced by Braun Strowman since his leukemia makes him more susceptible to the novel coronavirus and since Strowman has nothing else to do on the show of shows.
If this is the case, Goldberg should retain the Universal Championship. Considering that Braun Strowman recently lost a mid card championship (i.e. the Intercontinental Championship) to Sami Zayn at WWE Elimination Chamber 2020, he should not be in a main card championship match at WrestleMania 36.
From a logical booking standpoint, Braun Strowman winning the Universal Championship would not make any sense. Instead, the WWE should keep the Universal Championship on Goldberg until Roman Reigns returns for their championship match to take place later down the road.
Winning back the Universal Championship he never lost was a worthwhile journey for Roman Reigns and that moment should be saved for him, especially since his match was billed to be a Spear vs. Spear match.
Goldberg must retain the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 36 not only because it’s what’s best for business but also because it’s best for long-term booking.