10 Fascinating WWE Facts About WrestleMania 36
A bleak but fascinating WrestleMania that, hopefully, will forever be a one-of-a-kind.
It had to be WrestleMania.
The "Show Of Shows", the "Showcase Of The Immortals", the "Grandest Stage"; these are tags commonly associated with WrestleMania because it almost always delivers on those lofty promises. WWE moved to stadiums permanently with 2007's WrestleMania 23, and counting the older editions that took place in megastructures, there have now been substantially more that have played to 40,000+ than the 14,000 or so that packed in the likes of Madison Square Garden in the earlier incarnations.
Massive it is. And it's why, when the whole world came to a terrifying standstill in March 2020, it simply had to be WrestleMania that was the first to fall. More on that specific process elsewhere in this article, but while WWE's biggest Premium Live Event was the first of any significant kind to take place in front of the dreaded empty space that had haunted the company's television output, moving a set around wasn't going to replicate the feeling fans had come to expect.
There were different feelings to summon though, and WWE's central task was to figure out how to do just that...
10. It Was The First Two Nighter...
...and it was a long time coming.
After the post-show chaos surrounding the fan experience at WrestleMania 35, and NJPW's decision to spread Wrestle Kingdom over two nights in January 2020, there'd never been more pressure on WWE to finally make the move with the 'Show Of Shows'.
It was reportedly always Vince McMahon's preference that everything take place on one long night, but the pandemic forced the former Chairman to rethink his strategy. All of WWE's television output on the closing stretch before the event had been a real slog, but the earliest days of the lockdowns understandably threw up such challenges. WrestleMania was the first attempt to try and create something that felt closer to an event, and splitting the big card into two more managable shows was the first crucial step.
It was - predictably - more successful in just about every respect, and has stuck as part of the 'Showcase Of The Immortals' ever since.