Ranking Hype Level for Every Announced Match on WWE WrestleMania 36 Card
Before the in-ring action unfolds at WWE WrestleMania on Saturday and Sunday, a fan's excitement for any given match is based solely on the amount of hype and storytelling that went into it.
This year's WrestleMania, facing unprecedented circumstances because of to the coronavirus pandemic, was preceded by some stellar promo work and excellent video package productions by the WWE staff.
How did those videos, promos and the unique situations the Superstars were placed in ahead of their appearances on the grand stage affect the hype for their matches?
Find out with these rankings of the 16 announced matches on this year’s Showcase of the Immortals, determined by grades assigned based on the aforementioned criteria.
16. Universal Championship Match: Goldberg vs. Braun Strowman
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Roman Reigns is out, and Braun Strowman is in the Universal Championship match against Goldberg at WrestleMania 36, per Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio.
The angle explaining Reigns' absence from the title bout has not aired. Nor has it been hinted at by WWE officials, thus making it impossible to grade the hype for the bout.
One thing is for sure: A hoss fight should be expected when Goldberg gets Strowman's hands on wrestling's grand stage.
Grade: Incomplete
15. Aleister Black vs. Bobby Lashley
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Aleister Black and Bobby Lashley have not been in the same building, let alone on the same screen since their match for the forthcoming extravaganza was announced.
There has been no build, hype or nary a mention of the match other than briefly during Black's squash matches against enhancement talent.
With no discernible build other than a lazy attempt by the commentary team to suggest it is a match between two guys each looking for a fight, Black and Lashley suffer the harshest grade of this year's show. A shame given the talent involved and how red-hot Black has been in recent weeks.
Grade: F
14. Raw Tag Title Match: The Street Profits vs. Austin Theory and Angel Garza
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NXT star Austin Theory replacing United States champion Andrade and then teaming with Angel Garza and Seth Rollins in a loss to Kevin Owens and The Street Profits is the extent of the hype the Raw Tag Team Championship match had heading into WrestleMania.
While the contest has plenty of potential to be one of the pleasant surprises of the night based on the talent involved, it will have to wow fans between the ropes because there is no prior story fans can invest in.
Grade: D-
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13. Elias vs. King Corbin
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For weeks, Elias approached King Corbin in the backstage area with a new song all about the pompous heel. Corbin brushed him off each time, disinterested in hearing what the troubadour had to sing.
Then came an in-ring scuffle with the guest host of WrestleMania 36, Rob Gronkowski, which saw Corbin humiliated and Gronk strongly suggest the match between the Kansas City native and Elias be made official for The Show of Shows.
Tired of being the punchline, Corbin answered Elias' new musical masterpiece with an attack that culminated with the former knocking the latter off a platform and 15 feet to the floor below.
While the last angle added some heat to the rivalry, it still feels like an afterthought of a program and a match that will likely be positioned to give fans a break from the action if need be. That is immensely disappointing for Corbin, who has been an integral part of WWE television over the past 12 months.
Grade: C-
12.Women's Tag Team Title Match: Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross vs. Kabuki Warriors
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The Kabuki Warriors defeated Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross to capture the Women's Tag Team Championship at the October 6 Hell in a Cell pay-per-view. In the six months thereafter, Asuka and Kairi Sane's reign has been diminished in significance by a creative team lacking any desire to build that particular area of the roster.
It was not until Bliss and Cross laid down the challenge for a match on the March 6 edition of SmackDown that the former champions caught the attention of the titleholders. One week later, Asuka appeared and cost her rivals a match against Sasha Banks and Bayley.
An upset win for Bliss over Asuka set the babyface tandem up for a championship opportunity on wrestling's grandest stage and proved that WWE Creative still only cares about doing the bare minimum to maintain the tag titles' prestige.
Grade: C-
11. Intercontinental Championship Match: Daniel Bryan vs. Sami Zayn
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Daniel Bryan and Drew Gulak have been a thorn in the side of intercontinental champion Sami Zayn and The Artist Collective since Elimination Chamber. They have defeated Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro in tag action, and on the latest edition of SmackDown, Gulak earned Bryan a shot at Zayn's title by defeating The Artist.
That is the extent of the build to the match, but there is low-key excitement for the title match, if only because it features two of the best performers in the industry battling it out for a title defended in legendary 'Mania bouts such as Ricky Steamboat vs. Randy Savage, Ultimate Warrior vs. Rick Rude and Bret Hart vs. Roddy Piper.
Grade: C-
10. Fatal 5-Way Elimination Match for the SmackDown Women's Championship
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For months, Bayley has dominated the SmackDown women's division as its resident mean girl and champion. She has beaten every challenger put before her and sits on her throne, the undisputed top competitor on the blue brand's roster of female talent.
When Sasha Banks returned, it appeared as though her stranglehold on the division would only tighten.
Instead, The Boss enters WrestleMania one of the greatest threats to her friend's reign thanks to a Fatal 5-Way Elimination Match set up by Paige.
The former NXT women's and Divas champion revealed that the egotistical, braggadocios Bayley will defend her title against Evans, Naomi, Tamina and Banks. The announcement drew anger from the heels, but a quick look back at Banks' reaction to Bayley's insistence they are stronger as a united front than two individuals suggests The Boss will not hesitate to beat the ever-loving hell out of Bayley if it means leaving WrestleMania with the gold.
That one story element single-handedly elevated the overall hype and storytelling.
Grade: C+
9. Triple Threat Ladder Match for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship
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With The Miz not participating because of illness, who really knows what the SmackDown Tag Team Championship match at WrestleMania will look like, but its hype had been considerable prior to the revelation.
Miz and Morrison captured the titles by defeating New Day at Super ShowDown in February. They somehow managed to escape Elimination Chamber with their title reign intact despite a concentrated effort by The Usos and The New Day to punish them late in the match.
On the latest episode of SmackDown, the champions attacked the teams contesting a No. 1 contender's match, only to find out they would have to defend against them both at WrestleMania—in a ladder match.
While hardly reinventing the wheel, it was still enough effort by the creative team to warrant a slightly above-average grade.
Grade: C+
8. NXT Women's Championship Match: Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair
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To be the man, you've gotta beat the man.
So says the legendary "Nature Boy" Ric Flair, father of 2020 Royal Rumble winner Charlotte Flair. The quote was most recently used by NXT women's champion Rhea Ripley to explain her decision to challenge The Queen on wrestling's grandest stage.
Citing comparisons to her WrestleMania opponent made by her contemporaries, she decided that if she wanted to be taken seriously and recognized as a top Superstar in WWE, she had to beat the best the company has to offer.
Along the way, she has created a groundswell of support and enters WrestleMania as one of the hottest stars on the roster.
Her opponent, though, has let it be known she will not roll over for the young juggernaut, wrapping her knee around the ring post and applying a painful Figure Four that left the NXT women's champion hobbled. A sneak attack Monday on Raw was yet another display of the lengths Flair will go to in order to one-up her opponent.
The hype for this match has been relatively subdued over the past week or two, but early on, it was one of the highest-profile programs on the show and made a star out of Ripley instantaneously.
Grade: B-
7. Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins
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Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins have been feuding since The Monday Night Messiah's heel turn the night after Survivor Series in November. Whether they have battled in singles matches or Owens aligned himself with Samoa Joe to take on Rollins and his associates, AOP and Murphy, they have been around each other constantly since then.
It was not until recently that the feud ramped up, though.
KO cost Rollins and Murphy the Raw Tag Team Championship at consecutive shows, once on Raw and again at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. The heel retaliated, joining his followers in a beatdown of Owens.
That did not stop KO from continuing to cause Rollins issues.
The feud developed a personal edge in mid-March, when Rollins pointed out Owens' long list of failures on the grand stage while he, himself, has risen to the occasion and created moment after moment.
Monday's episode of Raw saw Owens team with The Street Profits to defeat Rollins, Angel Garza and Austin Theory, only to endure a stomp immediately after the pinfall victory. From there, Owens launched into another superb promo, vowing to defeat Rollins and create his first WrestleMania moment.
A strong feud and even better build that will allow two of the better in-ring performers of their generation the opportunity to steal the show, theirs is one that's easy to understand and connect with.
Grade: B
6. Firefly Funhouse Match: John Cena vs. 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt
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John Cena defeated Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania XXX in 2014, and since then, the latter suffered a downward spiral that saw him hit rock bottom before he last year reinvented himself as a Mr. Rogers ripoff, the host of The Firefly Funhouse.
More importantly, it has spawned an alter ego, the masked maniac known as The Fiend.
At WrestleMania, Cena will compete against the former universal champion in a match not many know much about beyond the fact that it will apparently take place inside the Funhouse.
That likely means a heavily cinematic contest that is over-produced and lacks any traditional wrestling. That, alone, is enough to dampen spirits for a bout that had the most simplistic and effective build of the entire card.
Grade: B+
5. Otis vs. Dolph Ziggler
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In Mandy Rose, Otis found his first crush in WWE. He courted her, set up a Valentine's Day date and appeared to be on his way to the most unlikely love story in the history of a company that once had Mark Henry and Mae Young romantically involved.
Instead of the storybook ending, arrogant ladies' man Dolph Ziggler swooped in and stole Rose's attention. Since then, he has repeatedly antagonized Otis, reminding him that he has what the big man wants. It awakened a monster in the lovable heavyweight, one who brutalized John Morrison and The Miz with steel chairs and nearly ripped apart Ziggler in a backstage vignette.
Rose stating she is not a trophy to be won adds an interesting layer to the story, leaving the distinct possibility that she opts to leave both warring Superstars hanging if they try to objectify her.
It all makes for one of the better stories entering WrestleMania and one of the most hyped matches on the card.
Grade: B+
4. Raw Women's Championship Match: Becky Lynch vs. Shayna Baszler
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At Survivor Series in November, Shayna Baszler defeated Becky Lynch and Bayley to win a star-studded Triple Threat main event. Lynch, unimpressed by The Queen of Spades and her victory, left the then-NXT women's champion lying to close out the show.
Fast-forward two months, and Baszler made her Raw debut, brutally attacking Lynch and biting her neck in a sign of superiority. From that moment, the former cage fighter has brutalized and put to sleep any woman who has crossed her path.
At Elimination Chamber, she earned the WrestleMania title shot against Lynch by defeating Sarah Logan, Ruby Riott, Natalya, Liv Morgan and Asuka, picking each one off and sending them to la la land in the process.
Since then, both her and Lynch have cut promos on each other, but it was two weeks ago on Raw that things again turned physical, as The Man blasted her WrestleMania opponent with a steel chair, sending a message that she will not be intimidated.
Baszler, not one to take such an action lightly, returned the favor by smashing the champion into the commentary table.
An intense rivalry that has made a star of Baszler and given Lynch renewed purpose after she knocked off her last great rival, Asuka, at January's Royal Rumble, their match has the potential to be a sleeper on a stacked 'Mania card and one of the most physical of the night.
It is also a legitimate contender to headline of the of the two broadcasts, thanks in large part to the strong story that accompanies it.
Grade: A
3. WWE Championship Match: Drew McIntyre vs. Brock Lesnar
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Drew McIntyre delivered a massive Claymore Kick that sent WWE champion Brock Lesnar tumbling over the top rope to ruin The Beast's quest to win the Royal Rumble match. The moment lit a fire in the Scottish Psychopath, who rode the momentum from it all the way through the end of the match, when he eliminated Roman Reigns to cash his ticket to a title shot at WrestleMania 36.
Choosing Lesnar as his opponent, McIntyre expressed no fear.
He even popped up on Raw a few weeks later and delivered not one but two massive Claymores to the champion, leaving him lying and posing with his title. The moment established the idea that McIntyre was not like most of Lesnar's opponents, that he would not engage him in drawn-out promos or allow the Beast to establish dominance.
He took the initiative and left Lesnar reeling.
In the wake of that moment, Lesnar's advocate, Paul Heyman, has cut some extraordinary promos, vowing that McIntyre will end up just another one of Brock's victims and ensuring that Lesnar will enter WrestleMania season in 2021 with the WWE Championship.
Simple yet effective, it is hype for a match that does not necessarily need it but has benefited from it anyway.
Grade: A
2. Boneyard Match: The Undertaker vs. AJ Styles
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At Super ShowDown in February, Undertaker made a surprise appearance, defeating AJ Styles in mere seconds to win the Tuwaiq Trophy gauntlet match. Had the story simply built off of that moment, it would have been acceptable enough, but instead it became deeply personal.
Just 24 hours after The Deadman appeared at Elimination Chamber, answering Styles' insults by dropping him with a chokeslam and costing him a No Disqualification match against Aleister Black, The Phenomenal One used his rival's real name to insult him, suggesting the aura of The Phenom was gone and in its place was old man Mark Calaway.
It got worse when he evoked the name of Michelle McCool, the former Divas champion and Undertaker's wife.
Fueled by rage and vengeance, Undertaker showed up the following week on Raw to sign a contract for a match with Styles at WrestleMania. He did that and also punished Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows for their associate's transgressions.
Styles continued to run his mouth, and on Monday's episode of Raw, an Undertaker looking decidedly less like The Phenom and more like The American Badass cut his own scathing promo using his opponent's real name and claiming he only signed with WWE once all the legends had left because he's much more comfortable being a big fish in a small pond.
Disregarding the fact that it was a line that essentially diminished the credibility of today's roster, it was a fantastic promo from a guy we have not heard talk like that in 17 years. It added to the heat to a match that will need it—the Boneyard stipulation essentially confirms it will be highly stylized and cinematic rather than a traditional in-ring war.
Grade: A
1. Last Man Standing Match: Edge vs. Randy Orton
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The best story in the entire lead-in to WrestleMania has featured the devolving relationship between Edge and Randy Orton.
The Rated R Superstar returned to a thunderous ovation at the Royal Rumble, wrestling his first match in nine years. He joined former tag team partner Orton in laying out several of the competitors in the contest.
Edge, the ultimate opportunist, seized an opening and eliminated Orton before The Viper could do the same to him. Little could he have imagined the consequences for his actions.
The next night on Raw, in a shocking display of brutality and deceit, Orton delivered an RKO to his friend just moments after relaying an emotional story of friendship. He proceeded to deliver a wicked con-chair-to that threatened to put Edge back on the shelf.
Managing only a meek, insincere apology, Orton again lashed out by brutalizing Matt Hardy in consecutive weeks and sending the Broken one off to All Elite Wrestling.
His actions becoming more depraved by the week, Orton stood across from Beth Phoenix, the Hall of Fame wife of Edge, and claimed that he loves her husband and children more than The Glamazon. He labeled Edge an addict and said he is simply trying to spare him beatings to keep him home with his wife and daughters so he does not have to go through the agony of more physical pain and punishment.
When Phoenix responded to his insults with a slap, he dropped her with an RKO.
A vengeful Edge returned the following week, dropping Orton with his own finisher and laying out MVP with a spear. From there, he issued a challenge to Orton for a Last Man Standing match at WrestleMania, to which The Viper responded affirmatively.
The Superstars exchanged brutally honest, painfully emotional promos in the final two weeks of build to hammer home the impact of the match.
In a day and age when storylines are often half-heartedly thrown together to get from show to show, Edge and Orton, along with Raw executive director Paul Heyman, have crafted a brilliant and beautiful tale of a jealous friend striking out against a returning icon for no reason other than he sees his spot slipping away as long as his former tag team partner is around.
Orton can explain it away as something else, but in reality, that is what the feud comes down. What elevates it and makes The Viper such a phenomenal villain is the fact that he speaks with conviction and believes he is right, no matter how warped his reasoning may be.
It only helps to enhance the product and leads to what should be one of the best and most memorable bouts of the entire card.
Grade: A+
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