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#2 WWE goes cinematic for WrestleMania 36
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The COVID-19 pandemic started to have a real effect on the planet in March, with every public happening being scrapped from that point forward. Much to WWE's misfortune, their next pay-per-view was WrestleMania. The show had to go on, but couldn't in its intended form at Raymond James Stadium.
WWE was forced to produce WrestleMania from the Performance Center with zero fans in attendance. Spread between Saturday and Sunday, which was the absolute right call from WWE, The Undertaker vs. AJ Styles and John Cena vs. The Fiend were filmed separately to break away from the monotonous and eerily quiet setting.
Did you know a top WWE Superstar just wrestled outside the company? More details HERE
Night One of WrestleMania was headlined by the Boneyard Match between Undertaker and Styles, which turned out to be a smash-hit brawl. It was gory and action-packed, with The Undertaker looking incredible in the setting. He thrived in his hybrid character of The Deadman, The American Badass, and his real-life self.
It was the perfect match for Undertaker to retire from WWE on, much like the Firefly Fun House was to write John Cena off. His career was broken down into several plot points, with Bray Wyatt standing across him. Cena constantly found himself in old situations that were relevant to him in the past. He was being psychologically attacked.
From Cena's WWE debut on SmackDown in 2002 to his WrestleMania 30 match with Bray Wyatt and a near-miss of him forming his own version of the nWo in WWE, the Firefly Fun House Match successfully deconstructed the 16-time World Champion's career with a barrage of inside jokes at every turn. He was eventually laid to rest by The Fiend.
Whether one prefers the Boneyard Match or the Firefly Fun House Match, it cannot be denied that both cinematic matches at WrestleMania 36 were perfect. The two of them truly rescued WrestleMania from being too much of a slog. This enabled WWE to produce more cinematic matches in the months that followed, but nothing came close to these two masterpieces.
