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WWE WrestleMania 36 is around the corner at this point, although the show has been hugely affected by the coronavirus outbreak this year. The show will take place behind closed doors this year and will also be pre-taped.
With the Show of Shows almost here, there have been a number of rumors doing the round and we did our best to break down as many of them as we could.
#9 Vince McMahon has changed his mind on multiple WrestleMania matches
One thing fans have noticed about the WrestleMania 36 card is that a lot of matches are not blow-off matches to feuds and are instead set in the early part of said feuds like Orton vs Edge and Goldberg vs Roman Reigns.
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Dave Meltzer recently spoke about this issue on Wrestling Observer Radio. According to Meltzer, Vince McMahon has made a lot of late changes to the WrestleMania card. Meltzer said that the only match that hadn't changes was Brock Lesnar vs Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship.
Here's what Meltzer had to say:
The only match that wasn't changed, because they did have Roman Reigns and Bray - which they changed, but the only other match, because of Brock Lesnar and Drew that was still in January, that was still being decided between Drew McIntyre and Aleister Black, and the Royal Rumble was going to go to Roman Reigns, and Drew was going to win the Chamber that never happened, and but, the only one was Shayna Baszler and Becky Lynch.
That was actually decided a year ago probably, but certainly months ago. But everything is just makeshift. You know Bill Goldberg and Roman Reigns have had one confrontation and one quick thing and it's not like overdone and if anything, all these matches are coming way too soon.
#8 Possible plans for Undertaker and AJ Styles' Boneyard Match
We found out on WWE RAW that The Undertaker and AJ Styles match at WrestleMania will be the first-ever Boneyard Match. This has led fans to wonder what a Boneyard Match will actually entail. Dave Meltzer gave an update on this on Wrestling Observer Radio.
According to Meltzer, WWE planned to film the match on a closed set. He added that the set for the match could also have a graveyard theme. Speculation regarding the match has been rampant with some fans suggesting that it could be a new take on the Buried Alive stipulation.
Styles and Undertaker have been feuding since WWE Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia. Undertaker entered as the last man of the Tuwaiq Trophy gauntlet match after The OC attacked Rey Mysterio and laid him out backstage. The Deadman pinned AJ to win the Tuwaiq Trophy and Styles has been verbally ripping apart Undertaker since then, even going as low as taking shots at his wife Michelle McCool.
#7 Shayna Baszler versus Becky Lynch for the RAW Women's Championship could be one of the main events
This year, for the first time, WWE WrestleMania will be held over multiple days - April 4th and April 5th, 2020 (more on this later). With two days of WrestleMania, there will now be two main events, one for each day.
One of the main events for WrestleMania 36 looks like it could be Becky Lynch defending the RAW Women's Championship against Shayna Baszler. This was revealed by WrestleVotes on Twitter.
According to WrestleVotes, their source said there is a good chance Becky Lynch and Shayna Baszler could main-event day 1 of WrestleMania. The source also added that the lineup was still being worked out and there could be likely 8 matches each day. You can check out the Tweet by WrestleVotes below:
Becky Lynch has been RAW Women's Champion since beating Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 35, along winning the SmackDown Women's title which she later lost. Shayna Baszler, a former NXT Champion and former UFC star, made her main roster debut in the women's Royal Rumble match which she almost won.
#6 Why WrestleMania will be held over 2 days this year
As we mentioned previously, WrestleMania will be a 2-day extravaganza this year. As you can understand, this is because of the coronavirus pandemic. PWInsider went into further details regarding why WWE were forced to break WrestleMania over two days.
The first thing the PWInsider report stated was that 2 days was a way to get around the current restrictions imposed to curb the outbreak:
If they broadcast the entire Wrestlemania card over one day, they would run into a lot of production issues just in terms of the logistics of having and managing so many talents, producers, staff, etc. in one place at the same time under the current restrictions.
A number of state and local governments in the United States have imposed a lockdown in the United States with tight restrictions on how many people can gather together in one location.
WrestleMania 36 was therefore broken up into two days to deal with the ensuing logistical issues arising from this.
#5 WrestleMania 36 will be taped in multiple locations
This is another fallout from the Coronavirus outbreak across the globe. Due to restrictions placed by governments, and WrestleMania taking place without fans, WWE have decided to film their matches from multiple locations in order to keep the look and feel of the show fresh throughout. This was reported by PWInsider.
The report also stated that another reason behind multiple closed sets was to try and keep spoilers from leaking ahead of time. Here's what the PWInsider report stated:
The multiple locations will allow WWE to switch from place to place and keep the broadcast from looking and feeling monotonous. That could also allow WWE to pre-tape material (and even matches) for insertion into the broadcast, as a closed set might make it easier for the company to keep spoilers from leaking.
Having a portion of the show pre-produced could also glitz up the final product and allow the show to have a grander feel, since this is Wrestlemania.
#4 Why Jerry 'The King' Lawler will not be on commentary for WrestleMania
One big name who will be missing WrestleMania is Jerry 'The King' Lawler. Lawler wasn't on RAW last night after WWE asked him to stay home instead of coming to tapings. With Mania also being taped this week, it's unlikely that Lawler will be doing commentary for the show.
Dave Meltzer explained the reason behind Lawler missing RAW and tapings this week on Wrestling Observer Radio:
Lawler not being on the show tonight, I’m sure everybody; if they watched the show; noticed that. The minute he wasn’t there I presumed something and in fact, it is the case that it’s better to be safe than sorry. You don’t really need Lawler, you don’t really need Lawler this week.
Meltzer added that he knew Jerry 'The King' Lawler wanted to go and do his part on commentary, but the way things are with the world right now, WWE chose to be safe and asked him to stay at home, which was definitely the right decision.
#3 Reason why the United States Championship won't be defended at WrestleMania
Andrade has been WWE United States Champion for a while now but he, unfortunately, won't be able to defend his title at WrestleMania. According to Dave Meltzer, WWE were looking to have him defend the US title against Rey Mysterio at the 'Show of Shows'.
However, with Rey Mysterio now in quarantine due to the coronavirus, WWE have decided against having Andrade defend the United States Championship at the show. Here's what Dave Meltzer had to say on the matter:
This came out of nowhere. So it was, there were a lot of different ideas. Multiple different ideas for US title matches but from last week, the main idea if you watched last week’s show was probably going to be Andrade and Rey and Rey is also in quarantine, so he’s off the show. Yeah, you got to be safe rather than sorry for sure.
Andrade will now team up with Angel Garza at WrestleMania to face the RAW Tag-Team Champions - Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins.
#2 There could be special plans in place for Bray Wyatt and John Cena's match
One of the marquee matches at WrestleMania 36 will see John Cena go head-to-head with former WWE Universal Champion Bray Wyatt. Wyatt lost his winning streak and title to Goldberg at WWE Super ShowDown and will be looking to make a statement at the 'Show of Shows'.
Gorilla Postition recently gave an update on what Cena and Wyatt's match at WrestleMania could entail. According to them, the match could get the "full blown movie treatment". Here's what Gorilla Position said on Twitter:
Apparently John Cena VS The Fiend at #WrestleMania will get a full blown movie treatment with a unique look & feel; rumours suggest a match shot (on a closed set) in a warehouse, like House of Horrors. As long as there’s no projections of cockroaches, I’m happy
WWE clearly have plans to make this match one to remember, and looking at rumors, it looks like it could be one of the more memorable matches on the card WrestleMania this year.
#1 WWE's post WrestleMania shows could be in jeopardy
WWE have already had to make a number of adjustments to their programming thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, including RAW and SmackDown taking place in the Performance Center. Parts of WrestleMania will also be shot in the Performance Center.
WrestleMania is reportedly being pre-taped by WWE in case of a full lockdown order by the authorities. However, a stay at home order has already been issued in the county where the Performance Center is and will go into effect at 11PM on Thursday night. More details on the order are below:
According to PWInsider, WWE are pre-taping WrestleMania today and tomorrow (Thursday). Although it looks like WrestleMania taping will be done and will not be affected by the stay-at-home order, WWE's post-WrestleMania content could be in jeopardy thanks to this.
WWE are reportedly also taping the RAW after WrestleMania at the Performance Center this week as well but we aren't sure about the content which will follow that.
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