WWE WrestleMania 36: Date, time, venue, how to watch, match card, rumours and potential returns

Liam O'Loughlin

WWE WrestleMania 36: Date, time, venue, how to watch, match card, rumours and potential returns image

'It's the Grandest Stage of Them All'. The 'Showcase of the Immortals'. The Superbowl of pro wrestling. Yep - it's WrestleMania season.

But this year is going to be like no other WrestleMania, with WWE's showcase event taking place over two days on Sunday April 5th and Monday April 6th (AEST). 

This year the event will emanate from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida - and it will be behind closed doors due to the coronavirus. 

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Here is everything you need to know about Wrestlemania 36. 

REIGNS PULLS OUT OF WRESTLEMANIA 36

One of WWE's biggest full-time wrestlers, Roman Reigns, has pulled out of WrestleMania 36 with ongoing fears surrounding coronavirus.

Reigns was slated to challenge Hall of Famer Goldberg for the Universal Title, but reports surfaced on Friday morning (AEDT) that the 34-year old would not be competing.

As first reported by Ryan Satin from Pro Wrestling SheetReigns asked to be taken off the show due to concerns over his health with the COVID-19 pandemic in full-effect.

The belief is that Reigns requested this as he is immunocompromised by his past battles with leukemia, and didn't want to risk his health further.

WWE obliged with Reigns' request and have taken him off all upcoming shows from the Performance Center.

A replacement to face Goldberg for the title has yet to be announced. 

BASZLER CREDITS ROUSEY FOR RISE TO TOP

One of the marquee matches at this year's WrestleMania will be Becky Lynch vs Shayna Baszler for the Raw Women's Championship.

And Baszler's rise to the top has been vastly different to fellow UFC alumni and close friend Ronda Rousey.

The 'Submission Magician' said in a recent interview that Rousey played a big part in making sure she could make it to WWE. 

“Ronda set the four of us up in a way that we could concentrate on being exactly what we are," she said.

"You don’t make a lot of money in MMA, especially at first… she set us up so that we could just concentrate on showing up at the gym.

"We were free to concentrate on being whatever it is we wanted to be and that is what really set the tone for where I am at today.”

But it was actually Rousey's mother who recognised Baszler's future inside the squared circle - before she'd even stepped foot inside one.

“If it was up to Ronda’s mother, she would take full credit for the way my life and career has gone," Baszler said.

"There was a time where I was living with Ronda in a house in Venice and I happened to have wresting on the TV, and I was watching wrestling.

"Ronda’s mum came to the living room and she goes ‘you are not watching this, you are studying this’… and she said ‘keep that in mind’ and then walked away.”

WWE HALL OF FAMER EXPLAINS WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH WRESTLEMANIA 36

WWE Hall of Famer Edge is one of the major attractions at this year's WrestleMania after making a massive return at January's Royal Rumble.

The 46-year old will take on Randy Orton in a 'Last Man Standing' match at the show - and will be doing so in front of no fans at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando.

But the 'Rated-R Superstar' is taking the positives from it, and believes the world needs outlets during the tough time of COVID-19. 

“This year more than any year we are all in the midst of something we have never experienced before, the world really needs outlets," he said.

"Whether that is books, whether that is movies, whatever it is, just to be able to try and forget and laugh and have fun and remember what it is to be human.

"That’s why we’re doing this. There’s one reason. That’s the reason.

“As long we can try and be as responsible and as safe as we can, why wouldn’t we try and do this for everyone?

"As a performer, that’s what we want to do. If we can do that and if people watch and can have fun for a few hours then our mission is accomplished.

"It’s a privilege, it’s an honor, it’s also a responsibility – and it’s one that I know all of us don’t take lightly. There’s a reason the show is going on. Those are the reasons why.”

Edge is one of the most accomplished WWE superstars of all time, and is widely-regarded as one of the greatest performers of all time. 

WRESTLEMANIA 36 TO BE A TWO-NIGHT EVENT

After WrestleMania was moved to the WWE Performance Center due to the coronavirus, the WWE have now made another huge announcement.

The event will now take place over two nights, and will be hosted by former NFL superstar Rob Gronkowski. 

In a press release, WWE announced the news that is sure to create plenty of debate in the pro wrestling community. 

"WrestleMania, for the first time ever, will be held as a two-night event streaming on Saturday, April 4 and Sunday, April 5 at 7 pm ET on WWE Network and available on pay-per-view," it said.

"The two-night pop culture extravaganza will be hosted by three-time Super Bowl Champion Rob Gronkowski.

"As previously announced, only essential personnel will be on the closed set during the production of WrestleMania."

This is truly a bizarre time for the company. 

WRESTLEMANIA 36 MOVED TO PERFORMANCE CENTER

WrestleMania 36 has been moved from the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, Florida to their performance center in Orlando.

The event is the latest casualty of the coronavirus outbreak, with wrestling's biggest event set to take place in front of no fans.

“In coordination with local partners and government officials, WrestleMania and all related events in Tampa Bay will not take place," they said in a statement. 

"However, WrestleMania will still stream live on Sunday, April 5 at 7 pm ET on WWE Network and be available on pay-per-view.

"Only essential personnel will be on the closed set at WWE’s training facility in Orlando, Florida to produce WrestleMania.”

WHEN IS WRESTLEMANIA 36?

WrestleMania 36 is on Sunday April 5th and Monday April 6th (AEST) - which is of course, Saturday and Sunday night in the US.

It will be the third fourth PPV event of the year and is usually the biggest in terms of attendance, revenue and PPV buys - but with COVID-19 in full effect, that has changed. 

WHERE IS THE WRESTLEMANIA 36?

The 2020 edition of WrestleMania was set to take place at Raymond Jones Stadium in Tampa, Florida - but now, that has been moved to the Performance Center in Orlando. 

The 2019 event was held at Metlife Stadium in New Jersey, and had an attendance of 82,265 people. 

HOW CAN I STREAM WRESTLEMANIA 36?

There are two ways you can watch WrestleMania 36 - or any WWE PPV for that matter.

The first - and most popular option - is to subscribe to the WWE Network which is $9.99 a month in the US, which works out to be about $13 Australian.

The Network is free for a month for new subscribers and has weekly programming as well as replays of Raw, Smackdown and NXT. 

The other way you can watch the WrestleMania 36 is the old-school way - on Main Event. This is usually between $30-50 to purchase. 

WHAT TIME DOES WRESTLEMANIA 36 START IN AUSTRALIA?

A lot of WWE PPV events start a bit later on in the morning, but WrestleMania is a different beast and a longer show.

Each main card should start at 9am (AEST) on Sunday and Monday morning. 

WHAT MATCHES WILL BE TAKING PLACE AT WRESTLEMANIA 36?

So far, there have been 18 matches confirmed for WrestleMania 36 over the two nights (winners in bold): 

WRESTLEMANIA DAY ONE

  • Goldberg (c) vs Braun Strowman for the Universal Championship
  • 'Boneyard Match': AJ Styles vs The Undertaker
  • Becky Lynch (c) vs Shayna Baszler for the Raw Women's Championship
  • Seth Rollins vs Kevin Owens
  • Sami Zayn (c) vs Daniel Bryan for the Intercontinental Championship
  • Ladder Match: John Morrison (c) vs Jimmy Uso vs Kofi Kingston for the Smackdown Tag Team Championships
  • Elias vs King Corbin
  • Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) (c) vs Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship
  • Drew Gulak v Cesaro (pre-show)

WRESTLEMANIA MATCHES DAY TWO 

  • Brock Lesnar (c) vs Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship
  • 'Last Man Standing': Edge vs Randy Orton 
  • John Cena vs 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt
  • Rhea Ripley (c) vs Charlotte Flair for the NXT Women's Championship
  • Bayley (c) vs Sasha Banks vs Lacey Evans vs Tamina vs Naomi for the Smackdown Women's Championship 
  • The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) (c) vs Austin Theory/Angel Garza for the Raw Tag Team Championships
  • Bobby Lashley vs Aleister Black 
  • Otis vs Dolph Ziggler
  • Liv Morgan v Natalya (pre-show)

2020 WWE HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

Each year as part of 'WrestleMania Weekend', WWE will induct a group of former stars into their Hall of Fame.

But with the coronavirus crisis, there has not been an announced ceremony after Mania Week proceedings were cancelled in Tampa. 

So far, the announced inductees are:

  • Batista
  • NWO (Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Sean Waltman)
  • The Bella Twins (Nikki and Brie)
  • JBL 
  • Jushin 'Thunder' Liger
  • Davey Boy Smith (The British Bulldog) 

ARE THERE ANY RUMOURED SURPRISES FOR WRESTLEMANIA 36?

As with all WWE events, anything can happen at any time and surprise returns or debuts are not uncommon at WrestleMania.

But this year is different with no fans in attendance and WM36 taking place behind closed doors at the WWE Performance Center. 

WWE would usually do their very best to get legends to return and celebrities to appear, and that might still be the case for the PPV audience. 

The likes of Stone Cold Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels and Mick Foley are never far away from events of this magnitude.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez signed with WWE last year, but has only had the one match to date.

Same goes for boxing superstar Tyson Fury, who competed last year against Braun Strowman.

After defeating Deontay Wilder to become the WBC Heavyweight Champion, Fury could appear at the event after expressing his interest in returning to the company. 

CM Punk, The Rock and Ronda Rousey are other big names the WWE could try get to return - but they would all be considered long shots. 

ARE THERE ANY AUSTRALIAN WRESTLERS COMPETING AT WRESTLEMANIA 36?

Yes - in fact, Australia's own Rhea Ripley will be in one of the featured matches on the WrestleMania 36 card when she takes on Charlotte Flair for the NXT Women's Championship.

Ripley - who hails from Adelaide - will take on the daughter of the legendary Ric Flair in Tampa after the latter won the Royal Rumble match in January.

Buddy Murphy has been a featured part of Raw in recent months and could feature on the show.

The Iconics - Peyton Royce and Billie Kay - have been off WWE television for some time and will be unlikely for the show. 

 

Liam O'Loughlin

Liam O'Loughlin Photo

Liam has been with The Sporting News since 2019, helping lead both NRL and cricket content, as well as delving into the world of combat sports and NFL. A true rugby league tragic, he has spent the past 20 years playing, coaching and volunteering for his beloved junior club, Penshurst RSL. 

Away from work, Liam has a lifelong passion for all things pro wrestling and has travelled abroad to attend showcase events for WWE, AEW and NJPW.