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Day 1 of WrestleMania 36 is in the bag and it ended with quite a bang. There were a few important talking points from Day 1 of the show, and we bring it to you in this article.
From Goldberg's contract situation to another title match that could be added tomorrow, there were some important takeaways from the first day of WrestleMania 36. We also saw The Undertaker bring back a legendary gimmick which could be the start of another fantastic run for The Phenom. Let's take a look at some takeaways from the night.
#6 Goldberg's possible contract situation with WWE
WWE Universal Champion Goldberg was originally supposed to face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania. However, with Reigns pulling out of WrestleMania late on, it was Braun Strowman’s chance to get a shot at the title.
A lot of fans expected Goldberg to win, especially because there was barely any build to the match and add to that the fact that Strowman didn’t even have a match at WrestleMania. However, Strowman grabbed the chance with both hands and managed to beat Goldberg to win his first ever WWE Universal Championship.
One reason why Strowman won could be because WWE didn’t want to extend Goldberg’s contract with the company so his run could be over. Sportskeeda’s Tom Colohue spoke about this a little while ago:
There is a concern that the Championship, the root as it were, from him after winning the Championship as was expected, and then going forwards, there is no saying what to do now. Goldberg is very expensive and he wasn't planned for any more appearances than this one, so it's difficult to say that this is going to happen or this is going to happen. There is some dislike about that.
#5 Biker Taker is back
The main event of Day 1 of WrestleMania saw AJ Styles take on The Undertaker in a Boneyard match. The match itself was a great cinematic experience which was eventually won by The Undertaker.
The biggest takeaway from this match was the return of Biker Taker. Taker both entered and left the match in a chopper bike. Going forward, it looks like Biker Taker could be back for good and in my opinion it’s a great decision at this stage of his career.
#4 Another title match could be added to Day 2 of WrestleMania 36
The host of WrestleMania 36 was none other than former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski. Gronk recently signed with WWE after retiring from pro football. He was joined on the podium by his close friend and fellow WWE Superstar, Mojo Rawley.
At one point through the night, we saw WWE 24/7 Champion R-Truth join Mojo Rawley and Rob Gronkowski on the podium. Truth said that other superstars were trying to get him and take his title and said that he felt safe with Rawley and Gronk.
This led to Gronkowski laying out R-Truth and tried to pin him. Rawley pulled Gronk off and pinned R-Truth to win the title for himself. It looks like Gronk will now face Mojo Rawley on Day 2 of WrestleMania for the WWE 24/7 Championship.
Dave Meltzer hinted at this on a recent episode of Wrestling Observer Radio:
The only thing that has been said is that Rob Gronkowski does things that you would not expect him to do. So that makes me think that he's doing something physical with somebody.
#3 WWE management doesn’t fully trust Shayna Baszler… yet
Shayna Baszler was one of the most dominant Superstars in the history of the women’s division of the NXT brand. Baszler is the only woman to hold the NXT Women’s Championship twice, holding the title for 548 days over both her reigns.
The Queen of Spades made her main roster debut during the women’s Royal Rumble match earlier this year and despite a strong performance, did not win the match. Charlotte Flair won the match even though Baszler needed to the win more.
Baszler then attacked Becky Lynch on her RAW debut, leaving the champ in a bloody heap. She went on to destroy her opponents inside the Elimination Chamber, becoming the first person in WWE history to eliminate every other Superstar in an Elimination Chamber match.
However, the big stumbling block now is what happened at WrestleMania. Baszler losing to Becky Lynch shows that management doesn’t fully trust her yet. This follows reports last month that said Vince McMahon wasn't fully convinced by Baszler despite how strongly she was booked after her main roster debut.
#2 Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins put on a masterclass
In my opinion, the best match of day 1 of WrestleMania was the match between Kevin Owens and the ‘Monday Night Messiah’ Seth Rollins. Rollins and KO did everything they could to keep fans engaged during the match which can be hard to do in an empty arena with no fans there to provide the atmosphere. Both men kept talking trash to each other throughout so there wasn’t really much of downtime in the early stages of the match.
The match itself was fantastic and booked to perfection. Midway through the match, Rollins hit KO with the ring bell to get disqualified. KO wouldn’t take the win that way and took to the mic, imploring Rollins to get back in the ring to continue the match as a No DQ.
The final phase of the match saw a WrestleMania moment. KO laid Rollins out on the announcer’s table before climbing the giant WrestleMania sign behind it. He then leapt off to hit Rollins with a spectacular flying elbow drop. KO then hit Rollins with a Stunner in the ring to leave with the win.
#1 The age of the Monster could finally be here
Braun Strowman has been a popular Superstar with fans for a while. WWE did a great job pushing him to the top a few years ago during his incredible feud with Roman Reigns. Strowman lost the feud but both men left it as bigger stars.
However, Strowman losing to Brock Lesnar was the beginning of a downturn for him and he didn’t really do much of note since other than maybe winning the Intercontinental Championship.
Strowman did not have a match at WrestleMania before he replaced Roman Reigns in the WWE Universal Championship match. Most fans expected Goldberg to win and that felt inevitable after the first four Spears. However, Strowman powered back with a number of running Powerslams to pin Goldberg and win his first WWE Universal Championship.
The age of the Monster Among Men could be here. If WWE book this correctly, Strowman could be the next big breakout star. Strowman can be a dominant champion and it will be interesting to see who is chosen as his first opponent.
