WrestleMania night two results and analysis: Did WWE stumble upon a brand new era for Mania?
After a wonderful and entertaining first night of WrestleMania, the pressure was on night two and we all wondered if it would actually deliver. Well, it did and so much more. I also take a look at what we learned from WrestleMania moving forward.
Results
(SPOILER ALERT!!)
NXT Women’s Championship Match
Charlotte def. Rhea Ripley (via submission)
Aleister Black def. Bobby Lashley (via pinfall)
Otis Def. Dolph Ziggler (via pinfall)
Last Man Standing Match
Edge def. Randy Orton (Orton failed to answer 10-count)
Raw Tag Team Championship Match
Street Profits def. Angel Garza and Austin Theory (via pinfall)
Smackdown Women’s Championship Match (Five-Way Elimination)
Bayley def. Lacey Evans, Naomi, Sasha Banks, and Tamina (via pinfall)
Firefly Fun House Match
Bray Wyatt def. John Cena
WWE Championship Match
Drew McIntrye def. Brock Lesnar
What we learned from WrestleMania
WrestleMania should go to two nights next year and beyond
It makes all the sense in the world, and ironically it is world events that forced WWE to put on a two night show and they may have stumbled onto a tremendous idea. A total of 16 matches on one night would’ve made WrestleMania a 7-8 hour adventure that wouldn’t give everybody a chance to shine like they did. The lengthy Edge-Randy Orton “Last Man Standing” match went closer to 30 minutes and would have shortened the tag and women’s match that followed.
This is the Super Bowl of professional wrestling and nobody wants to feel like they work a full calendar year to only shine for just a minute or two. Each match this past weekend felt like it mattered no matter how long or short it was.
A two-night Mania also gives WWE a chance to convince ESPN and FOX to perhaps take a chance and broadcast one or both of the night’s on a major network. WrestleMania gets bigger each year, WWE’s biggest event deserves two nights.
The “Firefly Fun House” match was perfect?
Bray Wyatt’s “Firefly Fun House” has been one of the more fascinating things on WWE TV in recent memory. I came into it with very low expectations to start the weekend but after the boneyard match on night one, those expectations were elevated somewhat.
I must say, while there wasn’t much physical action as I anticipated, the storytelling and the layers that were pulled back helped tell the history of Wyatt and Cena both. Nice surprises and a shot of John Cena in NWO gear, the end saw Wyatt pin Cena and now we are left to wonder what happens to John Cena. Six star match!
What happens to WWE moving forward?
WWE was one of the last active companies rolling out live entertainment and programming. Now what WrestleMania is over, they join the NBA, MLB and NHL that sees a major disruption.
We do know that WWE has recorded the Raw after Mania, but we are not sure about the future of Smackdown Live or NXT. After President Trump’s meeting with league commissioners regarding sporting events, late spring and summer live WWE events are all but canceled. Apparently, WWE is in the process of finding a place to record future programming but nothing has been official as of this writing so WrestleMania may be getting a few replays on Fox Sports programming over the next month or two.
This story was originally published April 6, 2020 at 9:30 AM.
