In the wake of COVID-19’s worldwide outbreak in the last month, WWE was unsure of whether or not WrestleMania 36 would even take place. Unlike the rest of the sports world, which has essentially shut down in recent weeks, WrestleMania is still scheduled to go on.

That said, the venue and certain matchups that were planned for Mania have changed dramatically in attempts of following protocol and slowing down the spread of coronavirus, while still providing professional wrestling fans with their yearly dosage of WWE’s “Showcase of the Immortals.”

As expected, WrestleMania will no longer go live from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. Instead, WWE has opted to air the event from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. This will also be the first WrestleMania since its 1985 inception to be held without fans in attendance.

On the topic of firsts, WrestleMania 36 will utilize two nights instead of the traditional one with the slogan “Too Big for Just One Night.” The only time WrestleMania has come close to anything like this was WrestleMania II in 1986, which took place from three separate venues: Uniondale, N.Y.; Rosemont, Ill. and Los Angeles, Calif.

WrestleMania 36 will air on Saturday, April 4 and Sunday, April 5 with both shows going live on the WWE Network, as well as the traditional pay-per-view option, at 7 p.m. eastern time. The kickoff shows will begin at 6 p.m.

Match Card

While we are unsure of which matches will occur on what night, the go-home show for SmackDown last night cleared up much confusion in terms of matchups, especially the Universal Title match. Here is a composite list of every match scheduled for WWE’s 36th installment of “The Greatest Spectacle in Sports Entertainment.”

• WWE Championship: Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Drew McIntyre

After McIntyre did the unthinkable in the 2020 Royal Rumble match by eliminating Lesnar, he gave “The Beast” a hard stare down, hinting at a probable feud between the two. McIntyre went on to win the Rumble match and, as expected, used his WrestleMania title opportunity to challenge Lesnar for the WWE Championship.

• Universal Championship: Goldberg (c) vs. Braun Strowman

A controversial decision to have a seemingly unbeatable Bray Wyatt (as “The Fiend”) drop his Universal Championship to Goldberg at WWE Super ShowDown in less than four minutes led to Roman Reigns feuding with Goldberg. Reigns was initially set to face off with Goldberg at Mania. However, his concerns about coronavirus, mainly due to the fact that he is immunocompromised after two battles with leukemia, caused him to withdraw from the match. It was announced last night on SmackDown with no storyline explanation that Strowman was chosen to fill the spot.

• Edge vs. Randy Orton (Last Man Standing Match)

Since Edge’s return to WWE in the 2020 Royal Rumble match, and his initial interactions with former friend and foe Randy Orton during the match, the two have rekindled a rivalry that has been on over a decade-long hiatus. Week after week wrestling fans have witnessed violent retaliations with the stakes going up each week.

• John Cena vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt (Firefly Funhouse Match)

Cena had planned to miss this year’s WrestleMania claiming that he had not earned a spot on the card. However, a non-verbal challenge from “The Fiend” gave him a match. Cena, who has never been one to back down, was obviously accepted. Last week, Wyatt challenged Cena to a “Firefly Funhouse Match.”

• NXT Women’s Championship Match: Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Charlotte Flair

Flair claimed that she wanted to hold “all the gold,” alluding to the idea that the RAW and SmackDown Women’s Championships and the superstars holding them were no longer of any competition to her. Ripley then interrupted Flair and challenged her, which Flair initially rejected. However, at NXT Takeover: Portland, Flair took out Ripley as a way to say “challenge accepted.”

• Kevin Owen vs. Seth Rollins

In a feud that has been building up for a while now, complete with backstage attacks and the costing of matches, Owens and Rollins were set to duke it out at WrestleMania after Rollins issued the challenge of a match “any time, any place.” Owens accepted.

• SmackDown Tag Team Championships: The Miz & John Morrison (c) vs. The New Day vs. The Usos (Ladder Match)

This match was set after a No. 1 contenders match between The New Day and The Usos to decide who would battle Miz and Morrison for the titles was interrupted by the champions themselves. However, this match will most likely not take place after PW Insider reported that The Miz did not take part in the WrestleMania taping due to an illness.

• Intercontinental Championship: Sami Zayn (c) vs. Daniel Bryan

On SmackDown, Bryan issued a challenge to Zayn to compete against both him and Drew Gulak for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania. Zayn refused but compromised saying that if Gulak could defeat Shinsuke Nakamura, he would face Bryan. Gulak won, earning Bryan a shot at Zayn’s title.

• RAW Women’s Championship: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Shayna Baszler

Baszler attacked Lynch on RAW, which sparked a feud between the two. At Elimination Chamber, Baszler earned a shot at Lynch for her RAW Women’s Championship, making the WrestleMania pairing official.

• The Undertaker vs. AJ Styles (Boneyard Match)

Styles’ claims that he could take down anyone, including former superstars, sparked Taker’s return at Super ShowDown where he entered the gauntlet match and pinned Styles after one chokeslam. It was egged on further when “The Dead Man” returned, once again, at Elimination Chamber, costing Styles a no disqualification match against Aleister Black. The stipulation was changed to a “boneyard match” on the March 23 edition of RAW.

• SmackDown Women’s Championship: Bayley (c) vs. Lacey Evans vs. Tamina vs. Naomi vs. Sasha Banks (Elimination Match)

The match was announced by Paige in mid-March, with Bayley and Banks continuing to mock her. Paige continued to add participants to the match before adding Banks as the final competitor and ultimately pitting the two friends against one another.

• Women’s Tag Team Championship: The Kabuki Warriors (c) vs. Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross

After The Kabuki Warriors defeated Bliss & Cross for the Women’s Tag titles back at Hell in a Cell, the two have been on a mission to get them back. The torment from Asuka and Kairi Sane in recent weeks led to the formation of a title match between them at Mania.

• Aleister Black vs. Bobby Lashley

There was no buildup to this match, which was announced on the March 23 edition of RAW. However, with Black as one of the fastest rising up and comers in WWE, he has the clear advantage.

• RAW Tag Team Championships: The Street Profits (c) vs. Austin Theory and Angel Garza

Andrade was initially set to team up with Garza against The Street Profits, however, an injury suffered by Andrade last week has him sidelined. Instead, the rookie Austin Theory will take his place.

• Elias vs. King Corbin

After weeks of building issues between the two, it finally came to a head on the March 20 edition of SmackDown. Corbin interrupted WrestleMania 36 host Rob Gronkowski, who called for the two to compete at Mania after Elias threw Corbin from the ring.

• Otis vs. Dolph Ziggler

The love triangle between Otis, Ziggler and Mandy Rose has only added to the issues boiling in recent weeks. Ziggler finally challenged Otis to match at Mania, which he accepted.

Predictions

Sports Editor Noah Powers and Opinion Editor Darius Melton gave their predictions for WrestleMania 36.

• WWE Championship: Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Drew McIntyre
  • Noah: McIntyre
  • Darius: McIntyre
• Universal Championship: Goldberg (c) vs. Braun Strowman
  • Noah: Strowman
  • Darius: Strowman
• Edge vs. Randy Orton (Last Man Standing Match)
  • Noah: Orton
  • Darius: Edge
• John Cena vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt (Firefly Funhouse Match)
  • Noah: Wyatt
  • Darius: Wyatt
• NXT Women’s Championship Match: Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Charlotte Flair
  • Noah: Ripley
  • Darius: Ripley
• Kevin Owen vs. Seth Rollins
  • Noah: Rollins
  • Darius: Rollins
• SmackDown Tag Team Championships: The Miz & John Morrison (c) vs. The New Day vs. The Usos (Ladder Match) *If the match takes place*
  • Noah: The New Day
  • Darius: The New Day
• Intercontinental Championship: Sami Zayn (c) vs. Daniel Bryan
  • Noah: Bryan
  • Darius: Zayn
• RAW Women’s Championship: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Shayna Baszler
  • Noah: Lynch
  • Darius: Baszler
• The Undertaker vs. AJ Styles (Boneyard Match)
  • Noah: The Undertaker
  • Darius: The Undertaker
• SmackDown Women’s Championship: Bayley (c) vs. Lacey Evans vs. Tamina vs. Naomi vs. Sasha Banks (Elimination Match)
  • Noah: Bayley
  • Darius: Banks
• Women’s Tag Team Championship: The Kabuki Warriors (c) vs. Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross
  • Noah: Bliss & Cross
  • Darius: Bliss & Cross
• Aleister Black vs. Bobby Lashley
  • Noah: Black
  • Darius: Black
• RAW Tag Team Championships: The Street Profits (c) vs. Austin Theory and Angel Garza
  • Noah: The Street Profits
  • Darius: The Street Profits
• Elias vs. King Corbin
  • Noah: Elias
  • Darius: King Corbin
• Otis vs. Dolph Ziggler
  • Noah: Ziggler
  • Darius: Ziggler