7 Things WWE subtly told us at WrestleMania 36 Day 1: Title change delayed, Heel champion set to turn face? (April 4th, 2020)

Day 1 of the most unique WrestleMania in WWE history
Day 1 of the most unique WrestleMania in WWE history

Welcome to things WWE subtly told us at WrestleMania 36! It's a special edition because we'll get two days and a lot to cover at the grandest stage of them all. This is undoubtedly the most unique WrestleMania in WWE history as it took place inside the WWE Performance Center.

While there were several flat finishes, we felt that the last few matches saved the first day and left it on a high note, with WWE making the most of the limited resources they have.

It's going to be another big day tomorrow, which is why we'll jump right into it:


#7. The Man will lead the way...but for how long?

Becky Lynch entered the WWWE Performance Center in style
Becky Lynch entered the WWWE Performance Center in style

There were rumors about how Shayna Baszler didn't convince Vince McMahon with her instant push upon debuting on RAW and with the result at WrestleMania 36, one would think that it's true.

Becky Lynch defeated Shayna Baszler after pinning her back down vertically, which was quite flat in itself. With that win, Becky Lynch is set to complete a full calendar year as RAW Women's Champion - the first woman to do so in the title's 4-year lineage.

We don't know what the future is for WWE's shows after WrestleMania, but given the finish, it appears as though Shayna Baszler will be right back in the hunt for the RAW Women's title. It's possible that Becky Lynch's title reign was supposed to end, but was delayed for the next PPV - either due to the circumstances or to complete a full year as Champion.

We can see Shayna Baszler dethroning Lynch in her second attempt - which is exactly how she won the NXT Women's Championship from Ember Moon in 2018.

#6. Sami Zayn finally gets his push after 4 years

Sami Zayn finally gets his WrestleMania moment
Sami Zayn finally gets his WrestleMania moment

It took Sami Zayn 4 years after his RAW debut to finally win his first title on the main roster. It was at Elimination Chamber when he beat Braun Strowman in a 3-on-1 handicap match to become the Intercontinental Champion. He had one of the biggest matches of his career at WrestleMania 36 when he took on Daniel Bryan.

Daniel Bryan's partner Drew Gulak had lost to Cesaro in the Kickoff show and the two veterans Bryan and Zayn would have one of the better matches of the night. We expected Daniel Bryan to beat Zayn and win the title, as it would seem like an apt time to have a title change.

However, Sami Zayn managed to beat Bryan with a Helluva Kick out of nowhere. It was his first singles match in over 6 months and he managed to secure a victory over Bryan at WrestleMania.

It's taken four years, but Sami Zayn could be on his way to a big singles push in the near future. We can see a babyface turn in the cards.

#5. Nikki Cross has her breakout moment

And new!
And new!

WrestleMania 36 kicked off with the Women's Tag Team Championships on the line, as Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross looked to regain the titles against the team who beat them for it - The Kabuki Warriors.

The Japanese duo have been dominant, but all reigns must come to an end and it was the right time and place for the title change to happen. It's no secret that Nikki Cross only managed to get a regular spot on TV due to her association with Alexa Bliss, but the entire situation has been a win-win.

It paired Bliss up with an underutilized superstar and they went on to become Champions together. They've now become the first team to win the Women's Tag Team titles twice. It's going to be exciting to see who their next challengers are, but what we noticed was that Nikki Cross was given the spotlight in a big way. She's been overshadowed by her tag team partner a lot, but at WrestleMania 36, she won the match of her team - even if she didn't get the pin.

#4. The SmackDown Tag Team trio

A good ladder match
A good ladder match

The SmackDown Tag Team Championship ladder match was a bit of a bizarre one since it was competed by three singles competitors. The reason for this was The Miz pulling out of WrestleMania 36, which forced WWE into this situation.

As expected, the match was fast-paced and action-packed and didn't disappoint. For the last three years, the SmackDown Tag Team division has been centered around The Usos and The New Day. While The Usos had a run on RAW last year, it was cut short after the duo and Naomi took an extended hiatus.

They would return to the blue brand and as it turns out - it's the best place for them. The New Day has stayed firm on SmackDown since the 2017 Superstar Shake-Up and while there have been multiple teams that have held the SmackDown tag team titles, The New Day and The Usos have largely dominated the division.

With John Morrison's win to retain the titles for The Miz and himself, it's clear that a third team has been added to the mix.

#3. WWE didn't want to pay off many feuds...except two

A KOMania moment
A KOMania moment

One of the big takeaways from WrestleMania 36's first day was that WWE didn't want to end many feuds at the grandest stage of them all. When looking at the finishes for most of the matches, the superstars who lost look like they're still going to be in the mix.

WrestleMania is essentially WWE's unofficial season finale and it's the stage where all major feuds pay off. However, the only two feuds which had a conclusion were Kevin Owens-Seth Rollins and The Undertaker-AJ Styles.

We'll get to the latter at the end, but the decision to have Kevin Owens beat Seth Rollins was the right one. It gave Rollins only his second WrestleMania defeat in 7 years and at first, it looked to be another feud that was going to continue, as Rollins got himself disqualified. Owens demanded a No DQ match and Rollins obliged, continuing their match, which many would argue was the best of the night.

From an in-ring perspective, it was. However, we're curious as to why WWE decided to have as many dusty finishes as they did on day one.

#2. Who's next for Braun Strowman?

At long last
At long last

Even in unfortunate situations, the truth is that one superstars' loss is another's gain. In this case, Roman Reigns pulling out of WrestleMania 36 resulted in Braun Strowman being the biggest beneficiary of them all.

Strowman was a last-minute replacement for Roman Reigns and no explanation was given as to why The Big Dog pulled out. We feared that this could have been Strowman's last opportunity at the World title and we're glad that our fears were put to rest as Strowman defeated Goldberg in 130 seconds to win the Universal Championship.

It took Strowman close to three years since his first Universal title shot and he deserves to win the title. Most people would agree that Strowman should have won the Championship in late 2017 or early 2018 while he was the hottest star in WWE, but the company never wanted to pull the trigger on him, preferring to focus RAW on Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar instead.

As for who's next for Braun Strowman, the two most likely options are Roman Reigns (given the situation), or 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt. It's going to be an interesting first title defense for him.

#1. The incredible main event

The most unique WrestleMania match ever?
The most unique WrestleMania match ever?

AJ Styles has topped the list of accomplishments in his 22-year career with possibly the biggest one of them all - main eventing WrestleMania. We know that the circumstances were different and had it been in the Raymond James Stadium, they wouldn't have main evented, but it's an accomplishment regardless.

Sportskeeda's own Tom Colohue reported that The Undertaker is in phenomenal physical shape and even with the entire match being pre-recorded and shot like a film, the rumor was true. The Undertaker had his best match in seven years and it's only apt that it came against a veteran like AJ Styles.

The Undertaker made his return as The American Badass, but the truth is that the match was an entire mix of his past gimmicks, even featuring moments where he was The Deadman and moments where he referenced his days in The Ministry of Darkness.

This change in gimmick should have happened a long time ago and it goes to show that The Undertaker isn't done just yet - he's only getting started.

One of Samoa Joe's colleagues had harsh words for him HERE