'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
WrestleMania 36 is finally in the books. Both nights were rich with fun action, good storytelling, and some amazing matches. Night 2 had some of the most anticipated matches of the entire event and after a fairly successful night 1, expectations were high for Sunday's 'Show of Shows'. There were a good number of shocking moments, without a single bad match on the card.
WWE did the best they could in the current circumstances and delivered a good WrestleMania overall, even without a crowd. But which matches shone the brightest on night 2 of the 'Showcase of the Immortals'?
Here is every match from night 2 of WrestleMania 36 ranked, from worst to best.
#9 Street Profits vs Angel Garza and Austin Theory (RAW Tag Team Championship)
After the incredibly long Edge vs Randy Orton match, the RAW Tag Team Title match served to be a palette cleanser, with quite a lot of action pushed into 6 minutes. All four men in this match were showcased, with Montez Ford being a particular highlight.
However, by far the most interesting thing to happen in this segment came after the match was over. Ford's wife, Bianca Belair came to the Street Profits' rescue after a post-match assault led by Zelina Vega. The match was drowned by this moment and as a result, was pretty forgettable.
#8 Aleister Black vs Bobby Lashley
Much like the RAW Tag Title match, Aleister Black and Bobby Lashley had next to no build for their WrestleMania match. It was just an excuse to get two upper midcard players on the card, while playing out like a typical TV match.
It was solid and harmless, showcasing Lashley as a powerhouse and possibly beginning a divorce storyline between him and Lana. Black did get the win, as he continues to build momentum on Monday Night RAW.
#7 Natalya vs Liv Morgan
While Liv Morgan was in a budding rivalry with Ruby Riott, she faced off against the dependable Natalya on the 2nd night of WrestleMania 36's pre-show. Despite the random nature of the match, it was very solid and served to re-establish Morgan as a potential star.
She earned a good victory over Natalya and sold well, nailing her facial and vocal expressions during the bout. It only lasted six minutes, but Liv Morgan's impressive showing makes this rank higher than some of the other matches with a minimal build.
#6 Otis vs Dolph Ziggler
While the RAW undercard did not have much build at all, Otis vs Dolph Ziggler quickly became one of the most interesting storylines on SmackDown. Last Friday's reveal of Sonya Deville sending the deleted text from Mandy Rose's phone was well done.
The match was alright, but the conclusion makes It better. Rose came out and attacked Deville, before hitting Ziggler with a low blow. So as a result, Otis got the win as well as the girl. A truly happy ending, albeit one that would have been so much better in front of a crowd.
#5 Brock Lesnar vs Drew McIntyre (WWE Championship)
It may be the shortest main event in WrestleMania history but in terms of impact, there was hardly much that was better on night 2. Drew McIntyre defeated Brock Lesnar in a 4-minute match which only featured German suplexes, F5s and Claymores.
Lesnar and McIntyre were violent with each other, but the match was severely hurt by the lack of a live audience. The Scottish Terminator became the WWE Champion and while you were happy for him finally winning the big one, you were also sad because he couldn't celebrate it with the fans.
#4 Bayley vs Lacey Evans vs Tamina vs Naomi vs Sasha Banks (SmackDown Women's Championship)
Much like WrestleMania 36 as a whole, the 5-way elimination match for the SmackDown Women's Championship was subject to low expectations and ultimately exceeded them. Bayley and Sasha Banks were the stars of this show, planting seeds for their eventual breakup and feud.
The early stages were a bit rough, but the action settled and every competitor had some time to shine. Bayley and Lacey Evans were the final two in this match after a miscommunication with the champion led to Sasha's elimination. She ended up helping Bayley retain the title, but her post-match body language was very interesting.
#3 Edge vs Randy Orton (Last Man Standing Match)
This was the most anticipated match of the entirety of WrestleMania weekend and while it was good, a couple of critical elements let it down. Randy Orton and Edge fought all over the Performance Center for what felt like an eternity. There was a bit too much unnecessary punching and kicking, which could have been removed from the match.
The Last Man Standing match was not as epic as hoped and the lack of fans in attendance hurt it more than initially expected. Edge and Orton sprinkled a bunch of spectacular moves in between their mobile stalemate, with the final stretch of their grueling contest being absolutely fantastic.
To their credit, the storytelling in this match was excellent. The way in which Edge won was also poetic, with his reactions to everything at the end stealing the moment. There seemed to be genuine emotion within the Rated-R Superstar, as he finished this rivalry with the same move that started it, the con-chair-to.
While there was quite a lot of good, 36 minutes is way too long for a match happening backstage with no audience and no proper commentary.
#2 Rhea Ripley vs Charlotte Flair (NXT Women's Championship)
The main portion of WrestleMania Night 2 began with a 20-minute NXT Women's Championship match between Rhea Ripley and Charlotte Flair. The match was initially made primarily for the big stage, but it delivered perfectly at the Performance Center. Add this to Charlotte's epic collection of WrestleMania gems.
The match was physical, hard-hitting and intense, as Ripley brought her A-game as well. This was another great performance by her and even though she tapped out to the Queen, the future still looks bright for the former NXT Women's Champion. She fought valiantly on the 'Grandest Stage of Them All', more so than many other female wrestlers.
Charlotte targetted Ripley's knee for most of the match, with this strategy ultimately paying off as she won the NXT Women's Championship. There is tremendous potential in a long title run for her in NXT, with many huge opponents in waiting.
Maybe the scaling down of WrestleMania this year played a part in WWE's decision to switch the NXT Women's Title. Nevertheless, Rhea Ripley and Charlotte Flair partook in a tremendous match and the best women's one at WrestleMania.
#1 John Cena vs 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt (Firefly Funhouse Match)
If you liked the Boneyard match between AJ Styles and The Undertaker from night 1, chances are you would have loved this "match". This was a masterful production with some ridiculous effects and transitions, courtesy of the genius mind of Bray Wyatt. It was a mash-up of many significant plot points tying him and John Cena together, layered with multiple digs at Cena and WWE as a whole.
Wyatt took the 16-time world champion on a journey that contradicted his promos in the lead-up to this match. From his 2002 debut on SmackDown to the Doctor of Thuganomics phase, the master manipulator made Cena re-live various incarnations of his own self before he became the global mega-star of today.
There was a scene depicting the WrestleMania 30 match between Wyatt and Cena, as well as many other references that rewarded long-time WWE viewers. The Vince McMahon puppet also showed up, bellowing "This is such good s***" while on commentary. It was, indeed.
The end saw The Fiend show up to end Cena with Sister Abigail and the mandible claw, with his own words about the "most overvalued, overhyped and overprivileged WWE Superstar in existence" being played. This was brilliant, as was the entire segment.
This was sports entertainment at it's artistic finest, showcasing the fun side of it. This proved just how great wrestling can be. And hopefully, the one lesson that WWE takes from WrestleMania is that cinematically-produced matches very much have a place in wrestling.
This and the Boneyard match proved that WWE can pull these matches off spectacularly, giving the WWE Universe two unforgettable and creatively satisfying experiences over this insanely unique weekend.
